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It is time once again to celebrate the indies, both released and on the horizon, that deserve a spot in your wishlists and on your radars. Today’s chaotic bunch — Tears of Metal, Helix: Descent N Ascent, Dodo Duckie, and Worlds Upon The Wind — follow the typical On The Radar pattern. That is to say that there really is no pattern to the games. They all inhabit different genres, manifest differing design philosophy, and appeal to disparate audiences. All of them do share one thing: you need to get your eyes on them.
With the Kinda Funny crew having highlighted this recently release into Early Access game, Tears of Metal should already be on many indie fans’ radars. But I though I would toss my enthusiastic second to the fray. It has also already celebrated selling 100,000 copies, which is more than a feather in an indie game’s cap, it’s a surety the studio can continue with its vision. In this instance, that studio is Paper Cult, which some may remember from the gory action game Bloodroots.
You can play it either as a single-player campaign or as a co-op experience with up to four people, so everyone can join in. In the Tears of Metal steam page, the team sets a very wide range for its eventual full release. Depending on the feedback the studio gets, fans can expect the 1.0 launch in four months or a year. No matter how long it takes, I suspect players will be happy to jump in.
Helix’s name is cumbersome, which is a shame because every other aspect of the game is dripping with artistic vision. Mysterious, atmospheric, and with an art style I would happily drown in, I’m positively mesmerized.
I started at a confident glide of a brushstroke. A swirling of black ink on a snowy backdrop which forms momentarily into a fruit on the branch. It falls. And as it hits the ground it splatters my character into life. With no on-screen prompts, my feet instinctively follow the floor’s spiral patterned path until I reach a chamber. With no rhyme or reason, I strike right to an adjacent room and behold a figure nearly identical to my own. But it is scared, probably figuratively as well as literally. It helps me navigate the room and move beyond it. Though never conversing with me directly, it haunts my steps and shows me more about the enigmatic world. If the intriguing sense of wonder isn’t enough to compel you through the game, the truly unique art may be.
Every so often, a game slides across my consciousness that I know deserves more attention that it’s getting. This time around, that game is Dodo Duckie. Don’t let the bright, cheery colors blind you to this game’s impressive core concept. It is simultaneously a 2D platformer and 3D action-adventure title, and choosing between each experience is how players navigate the world.
In the dead of night, a farm lies covered in sleepy peace while an enemy draws closer. It’s aliens. Without waking any farmyard inhabitants, a UFO takes off with all the resident chickens. However, they didn’t count on our duck hero to chase after them. Running through the world is a delight, with the beautifully designed countryside to admire. Soon, I stumble on to perhaps the greatest NPC of all time: Capie the Capybara cap merchant. He offers me a hat to change my perspective, literally.
Wearing the magic headgear, I can swap between 2D view, where I am able to jump, and 3D view, which allows me to attack and see the entire level. The first test of the game is learning to swap between leaping up a Mario-like tiered mountain in 2D and 3D perspective to land on the next tier while mid-jump. It broke my mind and made me smile.
The title is unusually poetic for a world-building game, but it gives a great glimpse into the core experience. Strategy meets leisurely reflection in this painterly deck builder. The world begins as a plentiful realm. Humans find or take everything they could ever want. That always goes well, right?
In this case, humanity’s greed leads to losing divine favor and a catastrophic event called The Shattering. The world is torn asunder into thousands of small islands drifting along and alone. Setting the tone perfectly, this entire story is shown through opening and closing scrolls filled with lively ink paintings. My job is to explore as many of the sundered island worlds as I can in order to bring back civilization. Once on an island, I draw mystical cards with emblems and powers. I can slot the emblems into objectives, and by slotting in all the right emblems, build a location. Or I can right-click to trigger a card’s power, like looking at the upcoming deck or filling in random spaces. Each journey comes with target objectives. Sometimes I need to construct workshops to help with production. Other times, I need to focus on plotting out a farm to feed the people. Hopefully, the cards go my way.
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