Top 5 Best Upcoming Indie Games of November 2019
Legends return and new ones are forged.
We might be in the thick of triple-A season this month but there are some spicy indie games dropping for those with a taste for it. Expect some unusual genre mixes and the return of an indie favourite with a few unexpected surprises thrown in. It’s quite an eclectic selection this month so, hopefully, there’s something for everyone. Let’s a take a look to see if any of this month’s indies can tempt you away from the triple-A bandwagon.
5. Still There
Fancy some alone time in the melancholy of endless space? Then psychological adventure, Still Here might be just the escape you need. As the lighthouse keeper at the Bento space-lighthouse with only your AI companion to keep you company you’ll have plenty of time to think – that is until a mysterious radio message shatters the harmony of your remote workspace.
Combining a variety of genres through its technical puzzles and minigames, Still Here offers a thoughtful sci-fi experience that uses dark humour in the face of challengingly introspective themes. It’s all shrouded in the kind of deep mystery you’d hope to find yourself embroiled in such a story. You can also play games with your AI buddy which looks like great fun.
Still Here releases on Steam 20 November.
4. Skybolt Zack
Skybolt Zack is quite an unusual game in its fusion two genres you wouldn’t typically put together. But, much like peanut butter and jam, it’s blend of Sonic-esque fast-paced platforming and rhythm action timed button presses combine to create a satisfying duo. In this case, the notes you’d typically expect to see in a rhythm action game are coloured enemies and our hero, Skybolt Zack leaps between them with furious rocket punches.
The game has a great flow to it that harnesses everything enjoyable about hitting buttons in an accurate fashion. The only difference is instead of finely tuned music, you zip about the colourful levels on your quest to rid the world of Dr Kaz’s robot army. In a lot of ways, Skybolt Zack is its very own genre, playing kind of like a rhythm action Sonic game in a way. To be fair, if that’s not enough to at least peak your interest then we don’t know what is.
Skybolt Zack is coming to Steam 7 November.
3. The Touryst
We’ve all been a tourist at some point in our lives and although often associated with blindly wandering around cities confusingly snapping photos there’s also a pleasing sense of discovery that comes with the experience. The Touryst by Shin’en Multimedia aims to bottle that feeling and package it so you can enjoy a holiday any day of the week.
The trailer showcases some of the things you can expect on your visit to the Monument Islands including shopping, arcades, spelunking and deep-sea diving. Going beyond the tourist experience you can further explore the islands discovering the secrets of ancient monuments by unravelling complex puzzles. Of course, you could also just hang out at beach parties, which also sounds nice.
The Touryst launches on Nintendo Switch this month.
2. Black Future ’88
Get ready for some rocking ’80s synth-punk roguelike action in Black Future ’88, a fast-paced pixel-art shooter with bags of personality. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, your sole task is to reach the top of a tower and kill the tower architect, the source of the nuclear cataclysm before your heart explodes.
It all sounds pretty tense and it looks it, each playthrough gives you only 18 minutes until your heart goes boom. Death isn’t the end though, as every failure offers you more opportunities to gain experience, upgrades and weapons to help aid future attempts. Taking on the mantle of one of five of the last remaining survivors you’ll have to climb the ever-evolving procedural tower facing an onslaught of fire, lasers and slashes. You don’t have to go it alone though, there’s co-op play should you wish to bring a friend, or enemy.
On top of that, the future never sounded so good, it seems the world ending in the late ’80s had its benefits after all as demonstrated by Black Future ’88’s pumping analogue-synth soundtrack.
Black Future ’88 releases on Steam 21 November.
1. The Legend of Bum-Bo
Legendary indie developer, Edmund McMillen brings us the long-awaited prequel to The Binding of Isaac this month in the form of The Legend of Bum-Bo. There are some slight gameplay changes from The Binding of Isaac though, for one, this a puzzle-based deck-building game although it remains a roguelike similar to its predecessor.
With his only coin stolen our hero, Bum-bo is unceremoniously pulled down into the sewer where he’ll have to face droves of deranged enemies, lost children and his fears if he ever hopes to find the beast that stole his beloved coin.
Players will get to select from a variety of item combinations and gameplays styles on their quest through the sewer facing a range of ugly, and cute boss enemies. The whole adventure is wrapped in a distinct cardboard cut out style accompanied by music from Ridiculon. Of course, there’s also poop, it is a sewer after all.
The Legend of Bum-bo hits Steam 12 November.
That’s it for this month, hopefully, there’s something to fill your downtime between the triple-A hell storm that is November. If that’s just not enough for your ravenous appetite for indie games then you could always check out our Top 50 Horror Games or better yet The Best 100 Free Indie Games.