The calm before the storm is turning into a frenzied roar as information begins to come out on the major summer gaming events. It’s exciting and I am pumped. Too pumped to simply add an updated section to some of my earlier (but — in my humble opinion — fantastic) posts on indies to watch and summer predictions.
Like a ray of sunshine, an article on the PC Gaming Show’s lineup appeared this morning to wake indie lovers right up. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t reveal everything but the article states we have around 50 games to look forward to and the featured list has some names that I am stoked about.
You’re on the List
FJRD, bring it! Seeing this developer listed is huge for the self-acclaimed “micro game studio settled in the deep forests far away from society.” The team has been plugging away at their first game, Among Trees, after making a vibrant debut two years ago. Among Trees is easily on my list of most anticipated indies, in no small part because of its gorgeous look.
At its heart, Among Trees is a survival game. You’ll attempt to live the transcendentalist life by gathering food to feed yourself and supplies to shelter from the elements deep in the forest. I hold out hope this game will not only have a satisfying game loop pushing the player to explore farther abroad in the beautiful and deadly patch of woods, but also that Among Trees will deliver some kind of narrative to invest me in the world.
Yaza Games, another of my indies to watch, also snuck into the lineup. The creators of Inkulinati launched a Kickstarter for the game two weeks ago, but have already blown past their initial goal and sit slightly above $40,000 as I write this. It looks like people are ready for a medieval romp through history’s pages.
Inkulinati sets you as a Master of Living Ink, one of the eponymous Inkulinati, battling for bragging rights against your fellow order members. Giant snails, rabbits, dogs, and more creatures made from ink battle in silly, medieval style. It looks ridiculous and like good fun.
While I’m looking forward to these two projects specifically, there are absolutely other developers named in the article that pique my interest. Dontnod, creators of Life is Strange, has two announced games coming soon. Twin Mirror is a trippy-looking psychological thriller centered on player choice and Tell Me Why is an adventure game featuring Tyler, the first playable transgender character from a major studio, and his twin sister who will revisit their old home and childhood memories.
The studio behind Ooblets, Glumberland, is also ready to show something off at the PC Gaming show. During the Wholesome Direct, the studio hinted the game would be coming to early access soon and I bet the date for that will be announced here.
And Merge Games has something up their sleeve since the company is slated for multiple shows this summer. Cloudpunk is getting a lot of critical and fan attention and is coming to consoles later this year, but I hope we see something new from them as well.
Big names like Sega and Atlus are stirring up the pot as well, but mostly with speculation. Persona 5 on PC would be a pleasant surprise. Being forced to think about Game Gear Micro, the handheld for ants, wouldn’t be. To be fair to Sega, the gaming giant might have more in store to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
No doubt we also have some surprise announcements to look forward to at the PC Gaming Show, both for indies and bigger studios. If you want to tune in, you can watch the the show June 13 at 11AM PT.
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