The best indie game highlights for March/April 2024
From retro and bite-sized fun to viral surprises
Our latest round-up of the best indie game highlights for your console of choice aims to be an antidote to the modern AAA games that while not without merit can try and rob you of all your time, be they absolutely rammed with content for the sake of it or hooking you into its live-service clutches. Sometimes you just want a smaller game that’s fun and does the job in several hours that leaves a long-lasting impression, while letting you experience something else.
This past month we’ve dug into a bit of retro gaming history, as well as enjoyed bite-sized retro-inspired games, although one late addition is also the kind of game that can only exist today in our viral streaming culture.
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (PC, Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox)
You can’t really talk about indie games without mentioning Jeff Minter, one of Britain’s great exports and a truly independent spirit in games. This interactive documentary from Digital Eclipse covers the hairy developer’s career from his very first game up to the mid-90s, consisting of video interviews taken from the upcoming Heart of Neon documentary, original photos and documentation such as articles that covered his games (including an infamous spat with Zzap!64’s games journalists) or the Yak’s own newsletters, and the ability to play 42 of his classic games spanning the Sinclair ZX81, Commodore 64 all the way to Atari’s Jaguar console.
Some of the games may be an acquired taste by modern standards, to the point it’s more interesting as a historical document (it’s also fascinating to see the different versions of games like Gridrunner back when different platforms really did have very different specs), though you still really get a sense of what makes Minter tick – camelids and light synthesisers being a common theme. But just having trippy masterpiece Tempest 2000 here is worth the price of admission.
Open Roads (PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox, Switch)
While this sounds like a road movie narrative with the possibility of many paths, Open Roads is actually more of a tight story delving into family secrets, with only a handful of scenes on the road, as you’re mostly spending your time slowly walking while exploring empty houses. In other words, it’s not too different from Gone Home, with many folks from that indie classic also behind this game.
It’s however more than just exploring the ghosts of the past alone, and injects more human presence as 16 year-old Tess (Kaitlyn Dever) is joined by her mother Opal (Keri Russell), and the game will occasionally pull back from its first-person perspective to show the two conversing with each other. The hand-drawn art is rather lacking when it comes to animations and the story stakes end up not being nearly as much as you’d think. What really elevates it are the two central performances and the compassionate writing that makes you realise the universal truth that parents are people after all, with whole other lives we often never think to ask about.
Pepper Grinder (PC, Switch)
This short and snappy action platformer wastes no time in showing you what it’s about. Shipwrecked and robbed of her treasure, Pepper journeys through four worlds using her trusty drilling device Grinder. It’s more than just drilling through terrain however as her movement makes it almost like you’re swimming, while you can use a boost to burst out from one terrain to reach a higher platform.
Throw in the fact that Grinder is also versatile, allowing you to wield a mini-gun and even a giant mech and this game’s packed with fun and delightful mechanics. Its size also shouldn’t be underestimated as it’ll be a challenge for completionists as well as unlocking secret levels. Controls can however get unwieldy with some sharp difficulty spikes, but the ability to slow the game down to half the speed is a welcome option.
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S)
Cosy hand-drawn art, Sigur Rós in the soundtrack, Moomins, what’s not to love? But as the title suggests, you don’t play as the lovable roundish trolls but Moomintroll’s best friend Snufkin, who returns to Moominvalley in the spring to discover it’s been taken over by a greedy park keeper erecting signposts with strict rules. So of course it’s up to you to pull these signs out and reclaim the wild.
As well as steathily evading policemen to tear down signs (a peculiar companion piece to Untitled Goose Game, if you will), Snufkin can also use his harmonica to charm animals to help him solve puzzles, the more you do to help others also raising your charm to unlock new abilities. It’s a fairly short and simple game that’s definitely targeting a younger crowd but a pleasant time nonetheless that’s faithful to Tove Jansson’s original creation.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist (PC, Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S)
As everyone still waits patiently for Hollow Knight: Silksong, other Metroidvanias are here to try and take its place. This is actually a sequel to 2021’s acclaimed Ender Lillies: Quietus of the Knights, and is set in the Land of Fumes where toxins have driven mad Homunculi, human-like machines that were created to benefit the kingdom.
The twist is that when you defeat Homunculi, they join you as allies and effectively fight for you. Which makes sense as you’re actually a pint-sized anime girl called Lilac who’s quite powerless by herself. While the full game is out later this year, an early access version has launched on Steam, giving players the chance to play through the first four areas of the game, unique bosses in each, as well as one village hub, while you’ll get a taste of some core abilities and Homunculi. The developers may also add more over time ahead in the coming months and before the full launch later this year.
New Star GP (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
From the team behind New Star Soccer comes a gloriously retro-inspired arcade motorsport racer that’s like having a new Virtua Racing. Unlike Sega’s arcade classic, there’s actually a bit more meat here. We’re not saying this is trying to be a racing sim, especially when you have access to speed boosters each lap, but there is some strategy in having to make use of pitstops, while a career mode taking you through different decades of motorsport history with real world-inspired circuits will keep you racing more than just the same few tracks.
Overall, there’s a fun balance between arcade and sim racer that never takes itself too seriously. And while there’s no online multiplayer, a racing game with local splitscreen racing is a rare gem these days. Lap it up!
Content Warning (PC)
Any announcement made on April 1st should be taken with a pinch of salt, but Landfall, the studio behind Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, had a genuine surprise, as its new game received over 6 million downloads – it does help that it was given away for free the first 24 hours.
Being a viral hit is apt as that’s the point of Content Warning, as you and your friends ride a diving bell down to the Old World with the purpose of shooting scary things with your camcorders and then making it back to the surface alive to upload the footage onto SpookTube and make money. While a run only lasts 3 days (one day ending as soon as you snuff it), if you become enough of a viral sensation you get to keep playing, while you can spend your hard-earned cash on more supplies to make those trips a little more manageable. Or just have fun scaring your friends silly, emphasis on silly.
Doronko Wanko (PC)
Stop snivelling at the back – in Japanese, ‘wanko’ is just an informal word for a puppy. ‘Doronko’ meanwhile means muddy, which sums up this short and sweet (and free) game where you play as an adorable Pomenarian whose goal is to make a mighty muddy mess of her owners’ new home, wracking up a huge bill at the end.
In the 40 or so minutes it takes to beat, it’s pretty simple and undemanding fare, but what a delight it is. It has both the energy of Untitled Goose Game (yet another naughty animal) and cult classic Katamari Damacy. Interestingly, the latter game was made by Namco back in the day, and Doronko Wanko is actually one of three free games from Bandai Namco as part of an internal indie game label called Gyaar Studio, staffed by new recruits. The other two free games you can grab on Steam are NOTTOLOT, a robot hacking action game, and Boomeroad, an action game where you slide across the sky on boomerang rails. It’s a great way to experience tomorrow’s talent!
Alan Wen
