My Indie Showcase series has reached its 100th video! That is a milestone worth celebrating and what better way than to shout out the stand out games from the latest 50 videos.
Making this list was difficult to say the least. We have played some absolute gems over the last year and I couldn’t be more excited about the future of gaming. But that made narrowing them down all the more tough. I got there in the end, but as a compromise, the list is not in a ranked order.
If you would like to see the top games from my first 50 Indie Showcase videos you can do so here. Here’s to another 100!
What is Indie Showcase? Every Saturday I try out a different indie game on my YouTube channel. It started out as short, free-to-play games on Steam and games from bundles, but soon extended to demos, games I recieved codes for and games on subscription services.
Slay the Princess [Demo]
Developer: Black Tabby Games
Release Date: 2023
You’re here to slay the princess. Don’t believe her lies.
I am beginning with Slay the Princess because not only did I love the game, but I also think it is my best Indie Showcase to date. The uncertainty, the mystery, the voice acting, the art, the mind games and everything else all came together to create a game that could have been made especially for me. While I could have explored the demo a little more to find more branches, I didn’t need to as I am 100% sold on the game and would like to experience the rest in full release.
Slay the Princess is a visual novel that feels like it is all about the dialogue tree. Navigating choices in order to unravel the mystery is as intriguing as it is entertaining, because as much as you are playing the game yourself, it is hard to shake the feeling that the game is playing you right back.
Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG that uses isometric pixel art and combines mechanics borrowed from RPGs, Visual Novels, adventure games and interactive fiction.
Here’s a secret. Every time I sit down to record a game that I know is going to be text heavy I get nervous. Every single time. Thankfully with Roadwarden my worries were completely eased by the immersion that I experienced. That sounds counterintuitive – a text based adventure being so immersive, but well written world building does that to me in a huge way and this is full of it.
Roadwarden is a text based rpg with a distinctive colour palette. The pixel art gives just enough to show you the locations you are visiting then the words populate it with history and life. This game somehow made me desperately want to hit the road to experience adventures of my own, not at all deterred by the stories of said road.
Return to the crumbling coal town your family built generations ago for the funeral of your aunt. You won’t be able to save everyone. You might not even be able to save yourself
Created by the same developer as Slay the Princess, I did not expect that they could have made another game that I liked more than this one – which is a huge compliment to both of their games since I really like this one. I played Scarlet Hollow (episode 1) first and it immediatly took a place in my heart, enough that I purchased the game to do a full Let’s Play some day.
Scarlet Hollow is an eerie visual novel with some very interesting trait choices right off the bat, including one that I think completely made the game for me. The art style is distinctive and memorable, it doesn’t hold back and I just want to see more of it!
Thanks to next generation AI technology, BUDDY SIMULATOR 1984 simulates the experience of hanging out with a best buddy! Your buddy learns from you, constantly adapting to your interests and personality. But most importantly, your buddy can play games with you!
Another Game that I purchased was Buddy Simulator 1984. I wasn’t in the biggest rush to get it as I have so many other games to play, but it cropped up in a great indie bundle and I couldn’t pass it up. The experience of the demo was so well done and ended perfectly, I wonder how the rest of the game compares.
In Buddy Simulator we create our own AI buddy by inputting commands into a machine. The games that we play with our Buddy are fun, as well as the between moments, watching our friend grow and evolve. I don’t want to say more than that, but it was certainly a demo that I did not forget in a hurry.
Coral Island is a vibrant and laid-back reimagining of farm sim games. Be who you want and experience enchanting island living at your own pace—live off the land, nurture animals, build relationships with a diverse cast of townsfolk, and make the world around you a more vital and harmonious place.
In my time doing Indie Showcase I have tried out a LOT of cozy games. They can be very hit or miss for me, and the more I try, the more I learn what I value in these types of games. Coral Island feels like exactly what I am looking for.
With a very aesthetically pleasing town to explore, Coral Island has the potential to be the low stakes with lots to do ‘podcast game’ that I love to play. Farming, upgrading and making friends are as far as I got but I know there is more as the devs are very active and open about what is to come. Coral Island is just a place that I want to be.
The inventory management roguelike! Collect rare items, organize your bag, and vanquish your foes!
The most recent addition to the list – as it is game 98 of 100 – is Backpack Hero. Based on the premise this one could have gone either way for me, but I enjoyed it so much, I may have bought it outright if I had enough time to get addicted to a game right now.
Backpack Hero is a turn based roguelike that has a focus on strategic inventory tetris. Every item that you pick up takes up precious space in your bag. The limited space forces you to try to get over any ‘too good to use’ syndrome that you may have, as well as make difficult choices as empty spaces can be just as valuable as a treasure. Throughout the game you are making your way through dungeons, fighting groups of enemies while collecting their treasure, if you can carry it.
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you.
Vampire Survivors was almost bumped off this list as I added in Backpack Hero, thinking that one roguelike was enough. But how could I do that when I purchased the game on Steam as I wanted to continue playing so much. The real reason is because I don’t feel like I got quite as obsessed as others when the game was really taking off. But just because I didn’t, it doesn’t mean that this game doesnt deserve a place in the top 10.
In Vampire Survivors, all you have to do is move your character to dodge enemies, collect things, and make choices to see how long you can survive against the masses. It is super easy to pick up and play, I got more than my moneys worth and I am not done yet! It served me well as a great ‘1 or 2 runs before bed’ kind of game.
Abscission is a Lovecraftian, story-driven horror point-and-click investigation game. It involves searching crime scenes for evidence, combining clues and questioning suspects. Puzzles can have multiple solutions as you guide the protagonist – Detective Will Stanhope – through the story.
I am unsure how I heard about Abscission but I am so glad I did. Murder mysteries and detective games are among my favourite genres and I am always very happy to find them. Particularly when the cases are compelling like this one.
During my time with the demo I encountered some pretty ghastly scenes, both of the crime and the eldritch kind. The point and click set up had me combing crime scenes, questioning witnesses/suspects and problem solving as I tried to put together a strange series of events.
When I played the Abscission demo it was only available on Itch but since then they have also put up a Steam page!
Casebook 1899 – The Leipzig Murders [Demo]
Developer: Homo Narrans Studio
Release Date: Coming Soon
Feel like a real 19th-century detective in this retro pixel-art detective adventure. As well as featuring classic point & click gameplay you will have to draw your own conclusions and use a deduction board to find the real culprit under several suspects in four murder cases.
Like I said before, I am partial to a detective game. While both Abscission and Casebook 1899 are point and click adventure games, they feel very different both tonally and in play.
Casebook 1899 – The Leipzig Murders is a series of cases that you gather clues in order to solve correctly (or not). I can’t help but compare this to the Sherlock Holmes games – particularly ‘Crimes and Punishment’ and ‘The Devils Daughter’. Imagine those games but rather than 3D action adventure they leant more towards 2D puzzling. That is what this is and if that excites you, it should!
You must stay in your apartment as the city around you falls to an Eldritch horror.
Finally – going back to Indie Showcase roots – I had to include a short, free-to-play narrative game. But not out of obligation – You Will (Not) Remain earned the spot all by itself. Two things struck me with this game. The first was the ability to tell a complete story in a short amount of time. That was one of the my big interests as I begun this series – to see what people could make within a small game, whether that is run time or complexity. The second was the simple yet striking art.
You Will (Not) Remain is a short but sweet (?!) narrative game. Taking place in an apartment, we spend time with our main character as they contemplate life in their apartment as the world crumbles – or has already crumbled – around them.
Thank you for reading and thank you for any support, be that financial, engagement with my content or moral support via kind words. It is all very much appreciated and helps me continue my work.
Also, thank you if you have ever engaged with any of the games that I have showcased. Other than the enjoyment that I get out of trying such a variety of games and being inspired by peoples work, the ultimate goal is to be able to help indie games, working as a signal booster to help games find their audience.
If you are looking for even more interesting indie games, I have you covered. Here are links to all of my previous Indie Showcase work.
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