The 5 Best Upcoming Indie Games of November 2018
The indie games we’re getting giddy about this month.
Remember, remember, the month of November, is often filled with triple-A. But we see no reason why triple-A season should limit the games that you play…
So, that in mind, here are the five best / most exciting / most noteworthy indie releases coming up in the next few weeks. Be sure to keep checking our reviews section for our super-ultra-definitive verdicts as they come!
The Shapeshifting Detective
A supernatural murder mystery FMV game, and a collaboration between Soul Axiom developer Wales Interactive and murder mystery writers D’Avekki Studios? Don’t mind if we do…
There’s been a moider, and it’s down to you to solve it. Using your powers of interrrogation, you’ll need to find out what the three prime suspects really know – with in-depth conversations spanning 1,600 full HD video responses.
A neat touch is that the murderer is randomly selected at the start of the game, with the story you see piecing together around this, making it easier for you to dodge spoilers. The legendary Jupiter Hadley will have our Shapeshifting Detective review when it launches for PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch on 6th November.
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
Developer Kasedo Games has a strong history in the strategy and sim genres, so it’s exciting to see them try their hand at a licensed property. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus sees players take control of the most technologically advanced army in the Imperium – The Adeptus Mechanicus – in a turn-based tactical game that boasts meaningful consequences to your decisions on the battlefield.
Whisperings from those who played a preview build seem to suggest this is a strong effort, if a departure for Kasedo from the likes of Project Highrise. The game’s out on 15th November for PC.
Kursk
Upcoming adventure game Kursk makes the intriguing and rather unusual claim of being the first ever documentary to adopt the form of a video game. It tells the true story of a Russian nuclear submarine which, in the year 2000, was destroyed by a massive on-board explosion that killed everyone on-board.
In the game, players take on the role of a spy who’s managed to infiltrate the sub in the run-up to its untimely demise. You witness first-hand the events that led up to the disaster, collecting secret information as you sneak around the vessel. It’s an odd premise, at once striking and with the potential to be a little dry. Delayed at the last-minute last month, it’s finally out on November 11th for PC, so we don’t have long to wait to see if it lives up to its unlikely potential.
Steel Rats
Among the higher-profile indie releases this month is Steel Rats – a hybrid of high-octane arcade action with, allegedly, thoughtful storytelling. Set in a city in which robots have taken over, it’ll be up to the player to investigate and figure out what’s going on, as they battle their way to saving the day.
It looks like a sort of sci-fi Trials with narrative moments, action sequences, and precision platforming built in for good measure. It’s also something a little different from a studio whose previous games include the bona fide Wii, DS and PC classic, My Horse & Me. Not long to wait to see if they deliver: it’s out on 7th November.
Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Die
Uh, yeah, so ‘best’ might be pushing it for this one. Then again, who knows? While the later entries to the Leisure Suit Larry series have been more than a little grim, the earlier ones were often lauded for their campy Carry On-esque humour.
It is now 2018. Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Die purports to tell the story of Larry trying to get by in a more modern, progressive era. It’s a setup that has the potential to go either way. If developers CrazyBunch – whose only previous point-and-click experience is from contract work on Daedelic’s Anna’s Quest – can really own the series’ past foibles and show that Larry genuinely has learned from his sordid mistakes, then it might be an opportunity for the series to catch up with the times.
It’s not fair to judge a game before playing it (which we’re about to – our review code arrived this morning!) but we do have concerns going in that Wet Dreams Don’t Die may be more intent on poking fun at the likes of the #MeToo movement, rather than trying to learn from it. But we’ll have to see. In any case, it marks the big return of a classic series, and we’ll be sure to bring you our thoughts on it when the game launches via Steam and GOG on 7th November.