Oooh boy, is there a lot of juicy stuff coming from the indie world if Developer Day is anything to go by.
They’ve served us this year’s Developers Day showcase after the main Summer Games Fest showcase, and I’m foaming at the mouth, folks. Day of the Devs, presented by the good people of Double Fine and iam8bit, is an annual showcase that shows fantastic work from the world of indie games.
This year, they’ve given us a lot to get excited about, from announcements to gameplay images to long-awaited title release dates. Why don’t we go through what they showed this year?
Desta: The Memories Between
two games
A new turn-based strategy game about fixing your past friendships made by the creators of Monument Valley and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. If Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle it was about stretching the heart. You play the role of Desta, a 20-year-old boy who aims to fix the life they left behind in his hometown.
[Trailer]
Time flies
Michael Frei and Raphaël Munoz of KIDS
This is a VERY cool concept. You’re a fly, and obviously flies don’t live long. You have to make the most of your time on this planet as a fly. Blow, play a little guitar. Live your best fly life. You have a list of things to fill out before you die. Comes to PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC and Mac.
[Trailer]
Bear and Breakfast
Gat Gummy
WE FINALLY HAVE A DELIVERY DATE FOR THE BEAR AND BREAKFAST! And even more game images too. Guys, I’m really excited about this game. I’ve been waiting for it for so long. “Humans come back for some reason, and they need a place to stay,” and that’s where you come in, a bear. You have to manage this B’n’B while discovering the story of the bear and breakfast. A very “go at your own pace” game. We now know that Bear and Breakfast will be released on July 28, 2022.
[Trailer]
A little to the left
Max Inferno
God, yes, I love these guys. It is important to know that a large, fluffy cat was vital in the development of A Little To The Left. Tidy up household items and keep in mind that the cat is trying to cause problems on purpose. This is the game made for perfectionists, but also for perfectionists cursed to a life with a very cheeky cat.
[Trailer]
FOR ANIMALS
Shared memory
This game is full of secrets. A very difficult puzzle platform game to dodge with much more than it seems. You’re a little blob that you have to dig deeper and deeper into this maze of pixels. There are many creatures in the game, but not all of them are your friends.
[Trailer]
Birth
Madison Karrh
A nice adventure puzzle game where you have to build your own friend with bones and parts you find, because you are very lonely. It is very sad but also very beautiful. It’s done by solo developer Madison Karrh, and it’s a point-and-click adventure that requires going through other people’s stuff and doing the puzzles out there. Made with Karrh’s “whole heart”, Birth premieres in August 2022.
[Trailer]
Choo-Choo Charles
Two star games
Thomas the Tank Engine has seen better days. This game is very hard. Choo-Choo Charles comes from a solo developer and is an open world horror game where you navigate an island on a train that gets better over time. You have to summon Charles and fight him to the death, and in the process help the locals and fight the cultists who seek to quell Charles’ hunger for human flesh.
[Gameplay]
Escape Academy
Coin Crew Games
Described as “Hogwarts for Escape Rooms,” the game is created by Coin Crew Games and is a cooperative escape game that will be released on July 14, 2022. The game teaches you to be the escapist master. The puzzles in the game are never repeated and do not require skill, only your big juicy brain. It basically offers an experience you would never imagine in a real escape room.
[Trailer]
How to say goodbye
Florian Veltman, Baptiste Portefaix, ARTE France
A narrative puzzle game inspired by picture books. The artistic style is very reminiscent of Moomin. Play the ghost of a person who has just died and you have to go through a puzzle to accept your death, while helping other ghosts to move on. Coming in 2022, this game will make me cry.
[Trailer]
Little Nemo and the Slumberland Guardians
Die Soft
This may surprise anyone, but the music of Little Nemo unleashed something inside me and I screamed. Why am I crying at the club right now, Peter Berkman of Anamanguchi? Why would you do that to me? Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland is a platform Metroidvania where you explore a dream world like a sweet boy. I’m screaming with emotion. The game has just been released on Kickstarter, where you can support its development. The expected release date is December 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PC and Mac.
[Kickstarter]
NAIAD
HiWarp
A nice exploration game from solo developer HiWarp. He swims through a beautiful world from top to bottom as a guardian of the river. Listening to this boy’s voice is an absolute dream. Definitely a game to play when you are very stressed. Available on PC and consoles in late 2022.
[Trailer]
Wool planet
Looking forward to it
Is Planet of Lana a little boy game? May be. You and your new friend will have to traverse a strange new world, avoiding beasts and strengthening your bond in the process. It’s like a stylized, side-scrolling version of The Last Guardian, unless your animal friend is much smaller (and follows instructions much better).
[Trailer]
Pacha roots
Soda Den
A game inspired by Stardew Valley, this one goes much, much further back in time to bring the experience of agricultural simulation to the stone age. You can get a woman, make friends with mammoths, go back to your instinctive way of hunting and gathering, and build your village from the ground up. Capitalism does not yet exist in Roots of Pacha, so there are no shops, that is, you just have to work with your community to build your people and make them prosper. You can play the demo right now.
[Trailer]
gest
Ewoud van der Werf
This was one of the many indie games I was already very excited about. You are an Eskimo, a small creature of the shadow, and you must try to find the human being to whom you belong and help other friends of the shadow to find the objects to which they belong. It is beautiful, accessible and full of life.
[Trailer]
Fox and Frog Travelers: The Demon of Adashino Island
Rias (Rias Coast)
A great 3D action platform game where you play a fox girl with a little frog friend. A good mix of terrifying and absolutely adorable. The concept of the game comes from illustrations made by the developer, Rias. It will be released ‘in a few years’.
[Trailer]
Goodbye world
YO FUJII
A first game from a solo developer, the game follows two independent game developers trying to make a game. It is a puzzle game, based on puzzles, inspired by games like Mother 3, and is very reminiscent of the games of the Game Boy Advance and SNES eras. It will be released later this year.
[Trailer]
Which games excite you the most? Personally, I’m very excited about … In fact, pretty much everything on this list. Good sir, what an amazing formation.