30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[Kiah]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game:

Am I the only one that when hearing of indie games for the first time, thinking they were video games that came from India? Anyway...

Several of the indie games that I like have already been mentioned, so to go with something different at this point, I am going to go with this indie game here:

Glow Arcade Racer: I love racing games as a whole, and this one I like as it has a nice colorful and retro 8-bit look to it. It also has an acceleration button, boost pads, power-ups, weapons to fire at your opponents, and unlockables which include more weapons as well as new tracks and play modes for even more fun. You also have the ability to create your your own racetracks for the possibility to have endless racing opportunities and options.

This short video does a good job explaining what the game is like and about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr3i5dtYvJA

Glow Arcade Racer proves with it's bright colors and neon lights that a game doesn't have to be all extravagant with graphics in order for it to be a good game and be fun as well. Simply put, this indie game is both simple and sweet.

[buba]

Day 5 - Favorite Indie Game

 

While I'm not really into the indie scene, two games that I actually really enjoyed where made by indie developers: Super Meat Boy and Skullgirls which I'm going to talk about.

 

 

I started hearing about Skullgirls by the time I got into fighting games. I don't really remember what was the first thing I saw, but the one I remember the most was Peacock's reveal trailer. After watching the said trailer and some gameplay videos, I was officially hyped for it.

The game had quite some problems with the release dates, but when it finally hit the EU PSN I bought it immediately.

The gameplay mechanics of Skullgirls are very similar to the one's in Marvel vs Capcom 2, featuring tag-team combat, assists and snapbacks, but what really made it stand out for me was the flashy and lewd artstyle combined with the fluid animation.

Not only Skullgirls looks good and plays good, but also features an extensive training mode and an alright story mode for each character.

While the roster is pretty small, each character is unique in terms of design and fighting style and nowadays new characters and stages keep being added for "free" thanks to the fans that supported the game in the last difficult months that Reverge Labs went through.

I can't really say that I helped by donating, but I wish only the best for the team behind Skullgirls and highly recommend the game to everyone.

[Noir]

Day 5 - Favorite Indie Game

 

 

Probably my earliest memory of playing an indie game, no other's come near topping Cave Story. Few games I've ever played, period, can match the quality of Cave Story; one hell of a feat knowing it was made by a single person. Its retro look and character designs are super charming, the world has a great sense of scale, and the gameplay is beyond fun. The music and sound effects are spectacular too. The plot isn't necessarily anything too special, but the environments make it a wonderful experience nonetheless. The Outer Wall is one of my absolute favorite locations ever in a game (If you expect you'll ever play Cave Story, don't watch the video because it's best as blind as possible) and the rest of the island is packed with equally gorgeous locales. It's an amazingly solid experience all around.

 

Bastian would be my runner up. The gameplay's fun though it didn't necessarily blow my mind, but the artwork, music, and narration alone turn it into something spectacular.

[Speederino]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game

 

Sorry, I can't really give anything more than a very half-hearted answer today because the fact of the matter is, I just haven't really played any indie games. The only one I can think of is World of Goo and it didn't appeal to me, so all I can really do is give an honorable mention to the one I'm most interested in playing: Castle Crashers. Why am I interested in it? Well, because I like old-style arcade beat-em-ups. And Castle Crashers is that. And it looks good.

 

....yeeeeeep. I'm sorry but that's really all I can say without having played the game. I'll go ahead and download the demo and maybe add more to this later based off my experience with it, otherwise this is the best I can do for this question.

[TearForFear]

 

Cave Story gets all my admiration.

This game is the proof that with just a computer, a strong imagination and an even stronger passion our dreams and fantasies can become true.

 

It's imaginative, it's challanging, it's fun and heartbreaking, and it's hard (but hard in a good way, it's not proivitive) and has one of the best soundtracks in the history of videogaming.

 

 

Not kidding.

[Winston]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures

Sorry, I'm not really that big of an indie guy, but I think this is an indie title and I enjoyed this game alot, but I'm also a fan of the nerd so that's probably why. The game was put on the steam greenlight sometime last year and was released I believe in September, I got it launch day because I'm a pretty big fan of AVGN. I do believe it was announced to be coming to Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, but I don't know what happened to those versions.

 

The gameplay is basically a platformer similar to Mega Man. You jump, you shoot, you can die instantly by touching death blocks, pretty similar to the blue bomber if you think about it, there's even a boss at the end of every stage and you get to decide which stage you want to go to first, except the last stage, which is basically LJN itself. You know, the company that made all those shitty NES game. There's also four other playable characters, all from the nerds lore and each have a different moveset. James or AVGN has a gun and is pretty much the all around guy, Mike has a lightsaber and can jump pretty well, Bullshit Man shoots shit out of his hands and can double jump, and there's Guitar Guy who is dead that has music notes as projectiles. The bosses are pretty good, and all AVGN fans will appreciate them. Sadly, the Nostalgia Critic is not a boss though. The gameplay can be pretty frustrating at times though, but yeah, other than that the gameplay is pretty fun for a platformer.

 

The music is pretty kick ass as well, there's alot of cool shit in it and it really brings the stages to life. There's a bunch-of variations of the main AVGN theme, and then there's some original shit as well. I'd have to say the final boss theme is my absolute favorite though, as I find it really suits it well and makes the AVGN theme sound alot more epic than it actually is. So yeah, the music in the game is probably my over-all favorite part, along with the AVGN references.

 

This is probably my favorite indie game, but don't get mad at me because I really haven't played alot of them. I want to try some out someday, but something always stops me from purchasing them. The only one I really bought is this one, but only because it has to do with AVGN. I'll try to play some more someday, but for now AVGN: Adventures remains my favorite. 

[Nix]

Day 5

Favorite Indie Game

 

 

Guacamelee!

 

Now, to be fair, I only just bought Guacamelee! yesterday... but I'm having too much fun with it to not give it a mention.

 

 

Guacamelee! is a "Metroidvania" type of game, with a huge 2D world (inspired by Mexico and stuff in case you can't tell) that's filled to the brim with secrets and fun.  You pretty much go around fighting skeletons and stuff with your bare hands.  There's a lot of clever platforming challenges, the combat is tight and responsive with a large array of moves for to use and string together, the artwork is charming and the game runs silky smooth.  There are also tons o references to other media; it has absolutely no shame and it knows it.  From stupid internet memes to actual game references, it always puts its own twist on them that makes them almost seem like its actually a thing from that world.

 

 

"What's a Metroid?"

 

But really, the main draw to this game should be its great gameplay and fantastic level design.  There are tons of secrets to find, and it's just as challenging as it is rewarding.  I picked it up or $5 on the Vita, but clearly it deserves more.

 

Give it money.

 

All of you.

[BakingBluePotatoe]

Day 4- Favorite Indie Game

 

 

Hate to pull out the "Popular enough to be mainstream" card, but I haven't really played many, so I'll have to say Minecraft.

 

At first, I really didn't care about it... after all... what's the POINT? When does it END? But, my friend insisted I play it with her. And that's probably what sucked me in, is having a friend with me. And now I think it's kinda cool and fun... so much in fact, that I think I want my own copy (my friend was bringing over the xbox version that she was borrowing.)

 

We've done stuff from RPing our characters trying to survive, 15-minute building contests, to even trying to build a freaking CASTLE! Heck, one of the first things I remember making, that I'm damn proud of, was this enormous treehouse.

 

I SO want to build that all up again.

[Jolt_TH]

Day 4: Favorite indie game

 

Well unfortunately I haven't played a lot of indie games at all :/, some certainly stuck out to me though. But out of the very few I have played...

 

Minecraft

Yeah, i know its pretty mainstream, but I really enjoy this game, and the whole premise behind it, build whatever you can think of, thats pretty much it. Sure there are more things like adventuring and such, but the original premise is the best. I could spend hours on Minecraft PE making creations and such. of course I have only played the demo of the PC one but some of the ideas do baffle me, such as the hunger bar...why is it even a thing? But yeah, its basically LEGO (on a VERY simple level) with a bit of other stuff put in.

 

Shantae

I have only played this on my ipod and boy was it fun! the gameplay itself is really fun and different. I love the transformations and the artstyle too. all in all I think it is a really different but fun game

[Nepenthe]

Day 5- Favorite Indie Game

 

Aside from Minecraft and Behemoth stuff, which was already mentioned, I don't think I've played any of the other bigger indies worth being included here. Indeed, due to my lack of funds and laziness, I can't even be bothered with Steam which is where a lot of these games seem to rest on. My hangout are bigger free places like Kongregate and Jayisgames, and it's through these sites that I found these two games: 

 

The Askiisoft Games

 

 

Tower of Heaven and Pause Ahead are short little puzzle platformers that stuck with me partly due to their own twists. ToH's is merely aesthetic- the music and graphics are made to emulate something off of the original Gameboy (speaking of which, you should really listen to its soundtrack. It's marvelous). PA's is more mechanical: every time you pause the game, you continue heading in the direction you were as you paused, in turn rendering some environmental obstacles like large pits or spikes easily passable. What makes them further memorable to me is Askiisoft's knack of building deceptively cute and primitive worlds that house what seem to be horrific or pained deities, yet they keep you squarely in the viewpoint of a character who doesn't wish to know anymore than how to escape their respective predicaments. Subsequently, there's a weight hanging over each game the further you get into them, and it beautifully lifts once you beat it even without ever knowing the who's or why's. They're refreshing and well-made games.

[Kuzu]

...I really regret not being much of an indie gamer because I'm drawing a blank right now.

[Nepenthe]

...I really regret not being much of an indie gamer because I'm drawing a blank right now.

 

Have you played anything that wasn't released by a big publisher? Congrats, you're an indie gamer. Anything Flash, mobile, and a lot of Steam or paid stuff is pretty fair game. Super Meat Boy? Minecraft? Hexagon? Flappy Bird?

[Kuzu]

Have you played anything that wasn't released by a big publisher? Congrats, you're an indie gamer. Anything Flash, mobile, and a lot of Steam or paid stuff is pretty fair game. Super Meat Boy? Minecraft? Hexagon? Flappy Bird?

....Temple Run? I guess that counts....alright, thanks.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

day 5: favorite Indie game

 

I think it counts, so I'll go with reus, which is funky little god game where you control four giants of various elements to control the word and crush the people who occasionaly rebel

 

5/30 complete

[Chaos Warp]

Although I've gotten much more into the indie game scene in recent memory, I actually have not played many indie games, so I suppose that would make my favorite one...

Say what you will, but I've had a lot of fun playing this with friends and exploring, surviving, building and fighting together on private servers. I kind of find it boring other then in short bursts on my own, but when I'm with friends I have a blast. Sure it's directionless, but you sort of make your own direction through your survival and structures to build. Plus, there's always the option to go for the Enderdragon.

 

Games I would use but don't because circumstances.....

 

Dust: An Elysian Tale: The reason I'm not mentioning this is because I'm currently playing it and not finished yet, but so far it's super fun. I think it'll become one of my favorites when I finish it.

 

Freedom Planet: This game had humble roots as a Sonic fangame thing thing but it's some so, so far since then and the demo is really fun to play. I think I've gonna love this when it comes out for real. 

[Conando]

Day 5-Favorite Indie Game

 

Castle Crashers

 

This could actually be one of the first indie games I actually played. Though there are plenty I like, especially ones from WayForward, this one is my favorite. The Behemoth has always made wacky games with a ton of personality, but they also hit where it counts with gameplay. Being a huge fan of hack-n-slash/beat'em up, I took to this one right away. With tons of characters too choose from, tons of weapons, and one of the best soundtracks out there, you can't go wrong with Castle Crashers.

[Iggy]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game

Castle Crashers

I've never played the real game, but I've played the demo, and it was really fun. It was a nice hack-n'-slash game with a light atmosphere and a nice soundtrack. For some reason, I'd always try and pick the yellow knight. I wish I could say more, but I'm in the same boat as everyone else when I say I haven't played many indie games.

[super saiyan weegee]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game

 

Man, haven't dabbled much into the indie gaming scene for some reason, which I probably should poke around in more, but of what I have played, I have to say that this would be my favorite, well if it counts which I think it does so yeah:

 

 

Gaijin Games' BIT.TRIP RUNNER is really fun, the gameplay is mainly just running and jumping while collecting things, though you get moves like the slide and whatnot, that's all this game really needs. You can build up a sort of rainbow cape behind you by collecting certain pick-ups, and that adds more instruments to the music, but yeah. Speaking of music actually, this game has a fantastic soundtrack, man. I thought the levels were pretty creative with their motifs, and incorporation of the game's mechanics. All in all a real fun game, I haven't played it in a while, I should get it again. Maybe try out the sequel one day, and stuff.

 

But yeah man, it's gud, so there ya go.

[KrazyBean]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game

 

Man, haven't dabbled much into the indie gaming scene for some reason, which I probably should poke around in more, but of what I have played, I have to say that this would be my favorite, well if it counts which I think it does so yeah:

 

 

Gaijin Games' BIT.TRIP RUNNER is really fun, the gameplay is mainly just running and jumping while collecting things, though you get moves like the slide and whatnot, that's all this game really needs. You can build up a sort of rainbow cape behind you by collecting certain pick-ups, and that adds more instruments to the music, but yeah. Speaking of music actually, this game has a fantastic soundtrack, man. I thought the levels were pretty creative with their motifs, and incorporation of the game's mechanics. All in all a real fun game, I haven't played it in a while, I should get it again. Maybe try out the sequel one day, and stuff.

 

But yeah man, it's gud, so there ya go.

 

Oh wow how did I forget about this game!

[Starman Swift]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game

 

 

It's been a long time since I've played it, and it was probably one of the first indie games I've ever played. Cave Story's still probably one of the best indie games I've ever played. It's got all the things one of those 2D explore-y shoot-y games should have, it's got fun weapons like the Bubbler and the Sword, it's got interesting locations, neat gameplay mechanics, all that good stuff. It's also probably the biggest indie game I've ever played, it's hard to believe it was made by one guy. If you haven't played it, you probably should try it out. The original version of it is free.

 

I've actually got quite a few runners up here.

 

 

 

Less known as Cave Story, Iji's a level based 2D shooter game about a nano-powered girl versus some invading aliens. The less I say about the plot the better. You've got tons of weapons and stats to get up, but the main point about this game is that you can actually do a pacifist run, and the game can actually change because of this. 

 

 

Hotline Miami is a game with very good game feel. The music, gameplay, and graphics all seem to work together in the levels. It's a top down game where the objective is to kill everyone else in a level, which can get pretty brutal even with the pixel-y graphics. You can pick up enemy weapons and guns, and unlock different masks which give you different abilities. The swaying effects may give you a bit of motion sickness at first though.

 

 

 

I've just gotten into playing this one, and it's pretty addicting. Risk of Rain is a rougelike 2D shooter where it's you vs. huge hordes of enemies. This game gets harder for every few minutes you play it, so you have to try to find as many randomized items as fast as you can to hold off against the swarms. The maps and items are all pretty random, so there's a bunch of replayability going on here. Plus theres multiple characters to unlock which all have different skillsets. It's also got a really great soundtrack.

 

 

 

[Sean]

No contest for me. Noitu Love 2, a game that not many here have probably played, is modeled after the very best of Treasure's sidescrolling action games, with the twist of using your mouse for all means of attack. The spritework is crazy and the music is just as incredible, and although it's not a very long campaign, it's one that warrants repeated playthroughs due to its arcade-like structure and a handful of easter eggs to sweeten the experience. I haven't played this in a few years so my memory needs a refresher, but it was one of the first indie games I ever played and few others have had such a strong impression on me.

[NGw00d]

Day 5: Favorite Indie Game

Castle Crashers

 

I'll be honest, I haven't really played many indie games, and Castle Crashers is pretty much the only one I remember. That being said, I've sunk hours into this game. My brother picked this up when it first released on 360 and we had an awesome time playing it. The 4 player co-op story is great in itself, but the battle arena is just as fun, if not even more so. Competing to see who the best brawler was or who the fastest button masher was is always a good time, so we had a lot of fun with this for awhile.

[KHCast]

I'm gonna branch off from Wayforward games, as those, while great, are kinda obvious for me. Recently however, I've been playing tons of Plants vs Zombies.(that still counts now right?) The first one on PS3 since I got it for free. It's actually pretty addicting, and it's a good brain jogger. It requires some skill later down, but I like that. Now if only PvZ2 was on consoles...

 

I still haven't tried Journey yet and I really want to, so soon I plan on trying it out. It looks like a great experience.

[Endy]

ICANTPOSTABOUTMETROID NOOO

 

I can't ever talk about indie games without mentioning this guy:

 

 

 

Super Meat Boy is a pure platformer AND fair difficulty at some of its finest. Its own little philosophy when it comes to design just works so perfectly to create a game thats very VERY challenging, but it makes you feel like it was your fault instead of the game's....most of the time.

 

The best part of this game is its structure. Every single level is very short. If you are good then you can beat most of them in less than a minute, but this is the games' strength. Instead of making you run a marathon of difficulty *cough* EGGMANLAND *cough* it gives you little bursts of challenge to make up for it. 

 

The level design itself is solid. The levels are perfectly built around how Meat Boy handles (and the controls are SOLID BTW). The name of the game is trial and error, but because the levels are so short practicing is easy and you feel like you've truly conquered a great feat by beating a level. Also watching all of your previous attempts in the replays go by is entertaining. Seeing all of your other ones fail and to see the one shine through feels good.

 

It also helps that the game has some AMAZING music, a charming art style and has some entertaining homages to classic games. And theres also quite alot of content to the game too. It has an alternate set of levels for those who can A+ all the regular levels, a huge variety of other playable characters each with their own set of abilities (and some of them are also from other indie titles) and lots of achievements. You can say this is a game with alot of...MEAT. *shot twice*

 

why is this so good

 

However the game isn't without its issues. The bosses are crap...in fact they're not even boss fights. They're entirely planned out marathons with no checkpoints, and that completely contradicts what the game is all about. But even with that little issue, Super Meat Boy is an amazing indie title that you should buy right now.

 

....BUY IT NOW.

[Covskin]

With some developers, I'm starting to find the "Indie" line to be a bit blurry.

 

Do Double Fine count as an indie developer? Not their intial console games, Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, hell, the latter was published by EA. But since then they've been digital only, and my favourite since then is definitely Stacking.

 

Stacking is a game where you play as a tiny Russian style stacking doll called Charlie. When his siblings are sent to various workhouses, Charlie is rejected due to his size. He sets out to rescue them, by working his way up in bigger dolls using their unique abilities to solve puzzles. What's particularly great about this is that every puzzle in the game has at least three different solutions, giving you tons of replay value. After that, you can cause different kinds of mischief in each level as well for more fun interactions. The presentation is sublime as well, with cutscenes given similar to 1920s silent Hollywood films.

 

 

 

But if Double Fine don't apply, what about Telltale? They rely on episodic content, after all. In which case, there's only one contender, and that is The Walking Dead, Series 1.

 

I was beginning to think Telltale had gone stale, but TWD was a huge shake-up in tone from their usual fare, and bloody hell did it work. The choice-based system, rather than simple puzzles and silly jokes create an amazing experience. Its one I don't think I could ever repeat, because to me the story I went through wouldn't be the same seeing "alternative" scenes.

 

 

But hey, Telltale are almost exclusively working on licensed games, that's hardly indie, is it? Hmmm...Starbreeze?

 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons I only recently played, and that has left an impression on me. At first it seems simple fantasy fare with an unusual control system, but the further you get the deeper the themes become. Also, that final playable sequence. ALL OF MY FEELS.

 

Of course, they've made blockbuster type games such as Riddick before. Well...uh...I don't even know the name of the company that made Limbo...that must be Indie!!!

 

 

So yeah. Limbo gives off a very xreepy vibe early on, and that spider in particular freaked me out. The world frequently changes and evolves as you progress, starting off in a forest before ending up in some weird factory, and then you...well, that ending is up for debate, I guess. But yeah, I really enjoyed that, too.