Best Indie Games of E3 2019
You’re breathtaking.
Indie games are looking a lot more comfortable at E3, aren’t they? In a year where Sony’s absence was felt and Microsoft was wrongly assumed to have been given an open-goal chance at success, the independent industry at large stepped up. Despite the Microsoft conference whizzing through their indies at breakneck speed, some of the most exciting conversations coming out of E3 centred around indie gaming. While triple-A games have the budgets and trained public speakers, indie games just have that charm that can’t be bought.
Here’s the top 7 indie games you can’t ignore after E3.
7. RustHeart
RustHeart is for anyone who has always wanted The Iron Giant as a video game. Sitting under the EA Originals banner, RustHeart is an action-RPG that pairs the player with an NPC co-op partner. Your robot will be fully customisable, allowing for RPG-like upgrades as well as aesthetic options as well. The game isn’t wholly nostalgia, though. The robot AI will learn from player behaviour and adapt itself to a player’s idiosyncrasies. RustHeart felt personal, despite there being no gameplay or proper trailer to speak of.
6. Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy
Remember when everybody’s jaw collectively dropped when Sable was announced last year? While Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy didn’t elicit quite the same reaction, its gorgeous, cel-shaded visuals and use of shadows glued our eyes to the screen from the first moments of its 90-second reveal trailer.
Then, the trailer zoomed up to reveal a biome-spanning map complete with delicate, muted mountains and dusty, atmospheric deserts. Despite only being a short trailer, it was clear the game was filled with a sense of soul; a meticulous attention to detail in both its visual scope and sound design.
Unexplored, its predecessor, was a decent game, but was held back by a relative lack of scale, tone and depth. If Unexplored 2 can iterate on its predecessor’s tight gameplay, then colour us hyped. The game is currently seeking funding on Fig, so do check it out.
5. RAWMEN
In RAWMEN, players assume the role of, um, half-naked men who – wait, what on Earth is this? – throw soup and other foodstuffs at each other…for fun. Yeah, that’s a game idea alright.
Okay, okay, bear with us, the game may seem a little too out there or childish, but the short snippet shown off at the Kinda Funny Games showcase depicted a casual, light-hearted multiplayer shooter that oozed with style. Think Katamari Damacy meets Jet Set Radio except sweatier and hairier. Maybe ‘oozed’ is the wrong word to use there, given the game’s contents…
4. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Does anybody remember Takeshi’s Castle? You know, that zany Japanese show that had an army of ill-fated people tackle a nigh-on-impossible obstacle course? Well, now you can play the video game form of it: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout.
Described as a battle royale, players assume the role of colourful, cutesy lil’ dudes as they evade a litany of obstacles. The game runs on the tried and tested format which sees a set number of players defeated in each round until a victor is found. The game is exactly what the quickly stagnating battle royale genre needs; it’s fun, fast, frenetic and, most of all, loaded with charm.
3. 12 Minutes
Groundhog Day has been done a million times, but has any game or piece of media confined the “time loop” principle to such a small space before? 12 Minutes – directed by San Francisco-based Luis Antonio – has been in the background around for a while, but recently it has kept things pretty quiet. That was until the game managed to land a prime spot on Microsoft’s E3 Conference with an enthralling, concise trailer.
The trailer begins with a nonchalant, romantic dinner before a swelling soundtrack accompanies the beginning of a grim, quickly unfolding tale. Suddenly, a peaceful domestic scene erupts in confusion after the husband correctly guesses events with minute accuracy, not because he’s a magician, but because he’s trapped in a 12-minute loop. By framing a time loop within the confines and machinations of the domestic space, 12 Minutes has breathed life into a trope that was believed to be finished.
While not much information has come out about 12 Minutes, the concept of a small time loop in a tiny apartment has whetted our appetites. The trailer didn’t show any gameplay, but it implies a structure of branching pathways, decisions and endings, all likely based on finding a resolution to the loop itself; it’s sort of like classic BioWare but in espresso shot form.
2. Way To The Woods
Most reactions to Way To The Woods is a simple “wow”. This exclamation is shortly followed by a bemused “how?” when onlookers learn that the game has been totally developed by one man. Oh, and he’s only 19, too. Crazy, I know.
For those unfamiliar with Way To The Woods, the game is a Ghibli-inspired stroll through the remnants of humanity, complete with an adorable deer and fawn. The game has a Miyazaki-like blend of whimsy and darkness, complimented by the trailer’s excellent use of lighting.
The teaser is familiar, as it covered a lot of what we’ve seen of the game in the past, but news that the game will finally be releasing in 2020 is exciting. The fact that it occupied a space on such a big stage shows how far indies have come in a few short years at E3, as well as showing the limitless potential of the industry’s youngest creators.
1. Spiritfarer
Despite its brief appearance, there isn’t a game we have thought about more from E3 than Spritfarer. Described as a game about last wishes, its stunningly delicate and fragile art style is what hooked us first.
As more and more information came out via previews, Spiritfarer painted itself as a game with deep themes combined with stripped-back gameplay. The whole game just felt so calm and whimsical, even though it’s about ferrying the dead to the next world.
The more I heard about the game’s diversionary tasks and heartfelt deliverances, the more I realised that this simple, yet beautiful, indie game had the potential to not only be enjoyable to play, but deliver a metaphysical message beyond its means. It helps that it’s dead pretty, too.
Indie games are looking so much more comfortable on the big stage. It’s the place where gaming’s newest talents are finding some space for expression and experimentation, and while the rest of gaming threatens to stagnate, the indies are blossoming still.
Is that not enough indie games for you? Well you could always check out what we think are the 100 best indie games of all time.