Hades 2 – one of 2024’s most anticipated indie games (Picture: Supergiant Games)
GameCentral looks ahead to what could be a landmark year for indie titles, from highly anticipated sequels to brand new games from acclaimed developers.
If 2023 was a banner year for blockbuster games, it was slightly more subdued in terms of indie breakouts. The likes of Cocoon, Humanity, and Dredge managed to cut through the noise to join the same breathing space as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, but it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t a year defined by heavy-hitters from the biggest studios.
It looks set to be a different story in 2024, where many of the most anticipated games are coming from established independent studios like Supergiant and Yacht Club Games. The list below doesn’t include titles in the unknown ether, like Hollow Knight: Silksong – which has gradually attracted an unhinged excitement through its increasingly elusive existence.
In the interest of brevity, we’ve condensed our most anticipated indies into 16 titles that look set to make waves in the coming year. Some have carried over from our previous list due to delays, while others have been elevated due to their imminent arrival. If you haven’t been paying attention to the indie space so far, 2024 is about to catch you with your pants down.
The Plucky Squire
Formats: NS/XSX/PS5/PC
Release date: TBA 2024
Jump in and out of a storybook as Jot in this action adventure from developer All Possible Futures, a studio founded by former Pokémon designer James Turner and Jonathan Biddle. This made a splash with its first trailer in 2022, showing its impressive animation and various gameplay styles across 2D and 3D realms.
The high expectations for its novel premise might end up working against it, but this has all the charm and ambition to be one of the year’s standouts.
Manor Lords
Formats: PC
Release date: April 26 (early access)
This strategy game combines city building, large scale battles and sim management as you maintain your medieval village. Following a demo in 2022, Manor Lords has become one of the most wishlisted games on Steam – competing with genre heavyweights like Cities: Skylines.
The level of historically accurate detail, as shown by the developer in various updates on social media, might be the real winner here. For a certain type of player (those who play Age Of Empires all year round) this might be the only game you’ll need in 2024.
World Of Goo 2
Formats: TBA
Release date: TBA 2024
A sequel to 2008’s WiiWare breakout, World Of Goo 2 was the most welcome surprise at this year’s Game Awards. In the original, you guided goo balls through levels by building bridges, towers, and other structures, in order to funnel them towards the exit.
In World Of Goo 2, the creativity in its design appears to have escalated several notches. The aesthetic, as cheekily pointed out in the trailer, also feels just as fresh as it did 15 years ago.
Mina The Hollower
Formats: NS/PC
Release date: TBA 2024
Castlevania meets Zelda in this adventure game which is inspired visually by the Game Boy Color era. Mina The Hollower comes from Yacht Club Games, who have largely worked on Shovel Knight spin-offs since 2014, following that game’s huge success.
As such, anticipation around their next original title carries significant weight. This was originally announced in 2022, and while it hasn’t been officially confirmed for 2024, all signs point to it arriving in the coming year.
Pacific Drive
Formats: PS5/PC
Release date: February 22
Customise a battered station wagon as you try to escape the Olympic Exclusion Zone in this survival game set in the Pacific Northwest. You have to counter celestial monsters across the land by upgrading and repairing your vehicle at a garage, as you uncover the mystery behind the bizarre, hostile environment.
Besides its striking art style, Pacific Drive appears to have one of the most unique concepts for a driving game in years.
Thrasher
Formats: PC
Release date: TBA 2024
From the artist and composer of Thumper, this cosmic racer looks set to build upon the intense rhythm action of its predecessor. This time, the loop revolves around evolving a space eel into a giant beast using pointer controls in time with the music.
The concept might not be as immediate as Thumper but aesthetically, this looks to pack a similarly hypnotising punch.
Still Wakes The Deep
Formats: XSX/PS5/PC
Release date: TBA 2024
The Chinese Room, makers of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, Dear Esther, and Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, are taking another stab at horror; this time set in the confines of a North Sea oil rig. It’s suitably claustrophobic and atmospheric, although whether it’ll steer closer to a walking simulator like their past works remains a mystery.
Even if it boils down to a linear narrative driven experience, Still Wakes The Deep marks the return of one of the UK’s most esteemed developers.
Hades 2
Formats: PC
Release date: Q2 2024 (early access)
Supergiant’s best game so far receives its long-awaited sequel in 2024, albeit only in early access form. As the developer’s first ever sequel, the big question is whether it’ll be an iterative roguelite dungeon crawler experience or something which rejuvenates the genre once more.
What we do know is Zagreus’ sister and Princess of the Underworld, Melinoë, is taking the lead as she pursues the Titan of Time, Chronos.
Open Roads
Formats: PS4/NS/XSX/PS5/PC
Release date: February 22
After it was delayed last year, the next game from Gone Home and Tacoma developer Fullbright is set to arrive in February. Open Roads is billed as a narrative driven adventure about a mother and daughter road trip.
One of the biggest draws is the two leads, with Keri Russell (The Americans) and Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, Dopesick) in the roles of Opal and Tess, respectively.
Skate Story
Formats: PC
Release date: TBA 2024
If you’re after an unconventional skateboarding fix, Skate Story takes the fluid movement and complex trick mechanics and sends them literally to hell. Here, you play as a crystalline demon who has been handed a skateboard by the devil, under the agreement that he’ll be freed from the Underworld if the demon skates to the moon and swallows it.
The surreal premise is matched by the flashy, sci-fi nightmare visuals. It comes from developer Sam Eng, who previously created cube shooter Zarvot.
Tales Of Kenzera: ZAU
Formats: NS/XSX/PS5/PC
Release date: April 23
Inspired by African Bantu tales, this side-scrolling platformer is the debut title from Surgent Studios, led by actor Abubakar Salim (who voiced Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins). As noted in his emotional The Game Awards speech, it’s a very personal project – driven by the loss of his father, who he played video games with.
Even without the impassioned backstory, Tales Of Kenzera: ZAU looks like a stylish and slick action adventure, to potentially rival Ubisoft’s Prince Of Persia reboot.
Beastieball
Formats: PC
Release date: TBA 2024
Pokémon meets volleyball in this turn-based role-playing game where you recruit ‘beasties’ to join your squad. While we’ve seen plenty of Pokémon clones in recent years (Cassette Beasts, Temtem, and more), this beautifully animated take is from the developers of Chicory: A Colorful Tale and features music by Lena Raine, best known for her work on Celeste.
If the monster-sport blend has made you curious, a demo is already available to download on Steam.
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Formats: NS/PS5/PC
Release date: TBA 2024
Described as a ‘cheeky comedy slapformer’, Thank Goodness You’re Here! might be the most Yorkshire game to ever exist. Set in the fictional Northern town of Barnsworth, you play as a travelling salesman who takes on various jobs from the eccentric locals. Things start out mundane, like cutting grass and baking pies, but they soon escalate into the bizarre.
How any of this is going to go down with anyone that isn’t from the UK remains to be seen, but judging by early trailers this looks to tap into a brand of English silliness rarely, if ever, seen in video games.
Windblown
Formats: PC
Release date: TBA 2024 (early access)
The creators of Dead Cells are set to deliver another action roguelike in Windblown, which supports co-op for up to three players. The main selling point seems to be the high-speed elements, with each cel-shaded anthropomorphic character equipped with rocket boosters on their back.
Developer Motion Twin describes it as what happens when a roguelike game ‘guzzles a whole lot of energy drinks, hits the gym, and wears treadmills on its feet’. It’s fast, alright?
More: Trending
Nine Sols
Formats: PC
Release date: Q1 2024
Another delay casualty from 2023, Nine Sols is a 2D action platformer swerve for developer Red Candle Games, who are best known for psychological horrors Detention and Devotion.
The deflection-based combat is inspired by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in particular, coated with a self-described ‘Taopunk’ aesthetic and pounding electronic soundtrack. If you want to try the basics, a demo is available now on Steam.
Earthblade
Formats: PC
Release date: TBA 2024
Six years after the acclaimed Celeste, Maddy Thorson and the team at Extremely OK Games is set to release their next creation in 2024. Earthblade is an ‘explor-action’ platformer where you navigate a ruined world to piece together the fractured history of Earth.
The animation style looks similar to Celeste but it seems like there’s greater ambition elsewhere, with more expansive level design and a larger emphasis on combat. However, it turns out this will likely be one of the most high-profile indie releases of the year.
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GameCentral looks ahead to what could be a landmark year for indie titles, from highly anticipated sequels to brand new games from acclaimed developers.