So 2023 has passed and it was a year with lots of massive game releases like Baldurs Gate 3, Starfield and Diablo 4. These releases of long awaited AAA titles overshadowed some really nice indie game releases. So here i want to present you two indie games released in 2023 i really enjoyed and that stood out to me. And because missing game releases is quite easy in the mass of games getting released, i wanted to highlight another indie game i discovered last year.
Kandria is a precision platformer taking place in an atmospheric post apocalyptic open world.
The precision platforming feels just like celests. Its snappy, intuitive, but still very hard. I am not the best at those games, so some rooms took quite some time to finish. But it never felt unfair or too hard. Just very challenging. If these kind of games are your thing, Kandria is an absolute must play in my opinion.
What made it really stand out to me though, was the open world. The atmosphere is great, from the art to the music and the sound effects. Since there is no ability gating like in most metroidvanias, you can without limitations go and explore the world from beginning on. Catch all kinds of fish, do speed challenges some NPCs offer or if its not your jam, just ignore the story and everything alltogether(which i wouldn't recommend since the story was pretty nice).
Kandria websiteBarotrauma is a game where you are part of a submarine crew in a sea full of cthulhuesque monstrosities.
At the beginning of your submarine adventure, you have to pick one of six roles and a vessel. During your cruises you than have to keep your vessel in good shape, fend off evil beings of all sorts, keep everyone well and so on. Each role has a skill tree with three specializations, which you can mix and match as you wish. There also is a crafting system, different factions, multiple types of stations offering different services/items and a lot more to discover. The only thing thats not optional is praising the honkmother!
I have been playing this game with a group of friends since march. And the crew is constantly growing. We are currently at 8 crew members. I don't know if i ever had a game that stuck so long with us and that wasn't a MMORPG or a MOBA.
Barotrauma websiteBarony is a first person, realtime roguelike, which feels like a mix of nethack and daggerfall.
As with most roguelikes you venture into a dungeon filled with different kinds of monsters, traps and other evils. There are a lot of different classes and races you can choose from. The classes and races all have their own twists and starting abilities, giving a lot of variety in playstyles. So for example you can be the typical axe swinging berserk or a tinkerer that scraps found items and builds little turrets and such. The design of the levels and progression through the dungeon also has some depth to it.
And there is multiplayer!
Barony website---
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