10 Cool Indie Games from 2024 you need to try
Rhianne Ward
Note: this post has been transferred over from my old Wordpress blog. I could go through the trouble of reformatting everything with supporting images and italicisation and whatever else, but I don't really have time to do all that unfortunately, and I'd prefer to spend my time writing new things than labouring over the old. So, if anything looks a little weird or messy, that's why. I hope you enjoy it regardless!
We’re at the halfway point of the year, and what better way to celebrate the occasion than you talking about some cool games that released within this arbitrary six month timespan!
It’s been a solid year for games so far, but personally I’ve been a bit disappointed by the bigger releases this year. We’ve had some bangers for certain – Dragon’s Dogma 2, Shadow of the Erdtree and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess shine especially bright – but generally it’s been up to the indie scene to cover a lot of bases. As such, we’ve had some really special releases from a variety of genres, and that’s what I’d like to talk about today. Let’s put a spotlight on the games that have given 2024 some much-needed flavour!
ANIMAL WELL
Animal Well is an enchanting enigma of a video game. Developed almost entirely by one person, the mysteries it holds are what had me coming back again and again. You play as a nameless, formless, polite little friend who bounces and shuffles around this gorgeous environment, whose life goal is to leave no stone unturned. With every discovery brings with it information – the game’s most valuable resource – and offers a fresh new collection of mysteries to solve. The world is an ever-expanding puzzle box, and as you traverse it piece by piece, you acquire new tools to navigate its many challenges. Animal Well a metroidvania in design, but by removing combat entirely, the game is able to invest all its time and energy into its greatest strength: the beauty of adventure and discovery.
In many ways, Animal Well feels like a modern classic, and I would be a heinous criminal to rob you of any of that magic. If you like games that allow you to simply exist within them and absorb its splendours, it’s a game for you. It’s certainly been a game for me.
Animal Well is available on PS5 (PS Plus Catalogue), Nintendo Switch, and PC.
ATLAS WEPT
I’ve already written about this game, more than once! I talked about it a little in my monthly roundup, but I also wrote a dedicated review about it.
I love this game, and it really left an impact on me when I came out of it. Looking back on the experience, I’m glad I took the gamble and gave it a chance. It definitely made me feel more confident to trust my gut on indie game purchases going forward, especially if the game is really small. It’s messy and strange and filled with imperfections, but being made predominantly by a solo developer, it’s also so specific in its vision. I’m not about to hold it to the same polish standards as a game with hundreds of people working on it and a dedicated QA department at its beck and call. Besides, there is a beautiful human element to when a game makes mistakes, because you can usually see the logic behind how they got the game to that point, which is an observation more difficult to achieve when a game has so many hands molding it.
It sounds like I’m making excuses which feels a little condescending when ultimately this is a really good video game with a complex, touching story and some really sweet and lovable protagonists. The journey of seeing this tale through to the end was an enriching one, and I encourage anyone who likes RPGs and queer narratives to give this a shot.
Atlas Wept is available on PC.
BUCKSHOT ROULETTE
The cheapest game on this list, coming in at a very affordable FREE on itch.io, or £2.49 on Steam if you’re feeling a little freaky. It’s a short and straightforward Russian Roulette-em-up where you need to beat a creepy cryptkeeper guy at his own game in order to win a briefcase of cash.
I don’t wanna say too much, not because there isn’t a lot to say, but rather that this game is better off experienced rather than read. So much of Buckshot Roulette’s artistic brilliance lies in its immaculate vibes, from the bumping nightclub music hammering against the walls of your grimy play room, to the intensity of waiting for the gun to fire and the beautiful relief in hearing the click of an empty shell. It’s just staggering in the confidence with which it presents itself, where booting it up feels like entering hell, and quitting out a loosening of the noose.
This game is fucking awesome, and it takes less than an hour to beat if you’re absolutely cracked like me. Play it!!
Buckshot Roulette is available on PC.
HOME SAFETY HOTLINE
Video games are awesome because they have the capacity to make some of the shittiest, most tedious jobs in the world fun and engaging. Think games like Powerwash Simulator or Wilmot’s Warehouse, games I love which remove the physical and mental exhaustion involved with them that would make me want to cry.
Home Safety Hotline is another one of those, this time gamifying the realm of working at a customer call centre. Your job is to listen to the caller, find out their problem, then diagnose it with the handy cheat sheet at your disposal. These things range from simple stuff like pest control to more complicated issues like frozen pipes. But then day two rolls around and the problems become noticeably more…supernatural. Instead of black mould, it’s boggarts; common mice are paired alongside common hobbs, and so on. You’re basically a fey pest control specialist, and you’re going to want to be good at it too, lest you are transformed into a pitiful creature for your failings.
It’s a fun kind of vibe; workplace mundanity meets magical shenanigans, and it’s pretty short too! I finished it in a single sitting with some help from a guide when things got a little too obtuse. It’s a short and sweet little time, so give it a try!
Home Safety Hotline is available on PC.
INDIKA
Oh man, INDIKA. This game is a little hard to describe in a way that doesn’t sound made up. It’s about a nun living at a monastery who leaves on an extended errand after a demon takes up residence in her head. She goes on a journey through a heightened reality version of Russia, where structures are enormous and animals similarly so. She goes through all sorts of trials trying to figure out her purpose, accompanied by escapes convict Ilya who wants to seek God’s blessing to save him from his rotting arm.
INDIKA is genuinely phenomenal in ways that you need to just experience for yourself. To simply tell you what happens in this game is to remove so much of its impact and charm. It’s an intensely off-beat game that wants you to feel confused and aimless in its wake. It expects that you have your own perspective on religion, and seeks to interrogate that position to the best of its ability. It’s at times a deeply depressing experience with no perceivable happy endings, and yet I couldn’t help but find its bittersweet conclusion incredibly liberating. It’s one of those games that’s just as interesting to think about and deconstruct as it is to simply play, and I love it for that. Art that makes you think: an incredible invention!
If you have a taste for the weird, then INDIKA is definitely up your street. It’s not going to hit for everyone, but it certainly did for me. And remember: “god and the devil; those are you.”
INDIKA is available on PS5, XBOX Series X/S, and PC.
LIL’ GUARDSMAN
I wrote a whole review about Lil Guardsman, and spoilers: I really liked it, and I still do! It’s a really sweet interpretation of the mechanics of Papers Please, matched with a Terry Pratchett-style light fantasy tone. You are Lil, a gatekeeper to a city called The Sprawl, and it’s your job to accept or reject those looking for entry. Most of these characters are silly and tropey, but their stories are consistently entertaining and can even reappear throughout the game depending on the choices you make.
And you will be making a lot of choices in this game! In fact, the game is very much built around a branching storyline, where your actions have very tangible consequences on the city and the people within it. This can range from little things, like a guy trying to find the perfect hat appearing in spots all across the Sprawl, to sweeping changes like letting in the leader of a goblin rebellion leading to the entire political landscape shifting to reflect his impact. I’m sure much of the story’s key events are set in stone, but the game does a good job convincing you otherwise, and it’s really cool!
Above all else, however, Lil Guardsman is really, really cute. It cannot help but tug your heartstrings at every turn, and I couldn’t help but care very deeply about what happened to my little group of weirdos. The game is fun and nice and I like it, what more could you possibly need??
Lil Guardsman is available on PS5, PS4, XBOX Series X/S, XBOX One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
LITTLE KITTY, BIG CITY
Imagine playing as a cat in a video game. Yes, I know Stray exists. Now, imagine doing it again. Incredible.
In Little Kitty, Big City, you play as a house cat who’s fallen from their window into the city streets below, and your objective is to try and make it back home. It’s a very cute game where you meet all sorts of funny fellas around this little block you land in, and you need to explore around and find ways to improve your climbing skills so you have the strength to clamber back up to your perch. You’ll encounter little stories from a variety of NPCs, each with stories to tell and favours to ask. It’s fun!
This game falls into the subgenre that YouTuber MyGameOpinions calls ‘hike-likes’, where you wander around a generally cozy environment doing little tasks in a short amount of time. So if you like games such as A Short Hike or Lil Gator Game, this is going to be right up your street.
Little Kitty, Big City is available on XBOX Series X/S (Game Pass), XBOX One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
NINE SOLS
Now here’s one for the metroidvania girlies in the audience! Nine Sols is definitively one of those, and in this one you play as a cat guy navigating a strange and beautiful world filled with surprising dangers. I truly can’t say any more about the plot because I think the early twist into what this game is actually about was wild and kept me invested for hours afterwards.
I’ll admit though: I didn’t entirely vibe with this game. The exploration felt pretty safe by the genre’s standards, and the combat has a sort of floaty quality to it that I never really settled into. I wish I could get more into it, because this is an intensely cool game in so many other ways. It’s as gorgeous as it is fascinating, and if you’re really into metroidvanias by default, or you’re a huge fan of unique science fiction, then you should definitely check this one out.
Nine Sols is available on PC and Mac.
OPEN ROADS
Another game I’ve already written extensively about in a review, but I’ll summarise those feelings here. Open Roads is a game about growing up, and as a result away from the people who raised you. It’s about the tension of wanting to be your own person, while simultaneously being unable to escape your parents’ influence. It’s also just a very touching tale about a mother and her daughter learning to work through their baggage and mend their weakened relationship.
It’s a deceptive game in its seeming simplicity, from its bare-bones gameplay to its straightforward story, but if you’re willing to dig a little, there’s so much depth to the writing and performances here. It’s definitely not a game for those looking for fun, but it is a beautiful and compelling story which really left an impact on me. I highly recommend it.
Open Roads is available on PS5, PS4, XBOX Series X/S (Game Pass), XBOX One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
PACIFIC DRIVE
There’s something to say about games that get you heavily invested in something you would typically dislike. I’m not very interested in football, but I can’t help but hook myself with the FIFA career mode, for example. Pacific Drive did something similar to me, but instead of sports, it was cars.
More specifically, one car; the vehicle you use to get around this bizarre, supernatural world. The survival mechanics are pretty fun and the game is at its best when everything is going wrong and you’re scrambling to escape with a sliver of your soul remaining. Beyond that though, I found the most enjoyment in maintaining and upgrading my trusty car. There’s a mechanic regarding car faults, where something will be wrong with the vehicle (e.g. the passenger door is opening on its own) and you need to figure out what the corresponding action is (e.g. turning on the headlights is making the door open), and the process of sitting down and troubleshooting every little thing until you figure out the issue is literally one of the most gratifying experiences I’ve had in a game this year.
I’d say it’s like crack, but it’s closer to drinking a beverage you expect to taste like piss, and it’s actually delicious. I can envision a future where I become a car girlie, and that is a thought which both terrifies and delights me. Not that it needs saying, but yeah, I recommend Pacific Drive.
Pacific Drive is available on PS5 and PC.
And that’s just ten games in a sea of bangers which I haven’t even had a chance to play yet. I just started playing 1000xRESIST and if I’d finished it in time to write this post it would almost certainly be on here. There’s also just a lot of games I still want to play, not to mention all the indie games we don’t even know about yet which will undoubtedly arrive out of nowhere later this year.
As always, it’s an incredible time to be an enjoyer of video games, and I can’t wait to see what some of the most inspiring voices in the industry have cooking up.