11 Indie Games to look forward to in 2021
While it’s a lot of fun to name your most anticipated games, as we did on my very own God Mode Unlocked podcast, indie games often go unnoticed on these lists. Indie games are by nature, less visible since they usually lack the marketing budgets of their AAA counterparts and sometimes release out of no where. Developed by smaller teams, indie games sometimes don’t even get announced until they are very close to release or in some cases, release and go unnoticed by the masses until years later when they go viral or become cult classics, promoted through word of mouth.
Just because indie games aren’t front and center on most people’s most anticipated games list however, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be looking forward to plenty of them. I have developed a knack for seeking out and spotlighting indie games with great potential and streaming them when their launch arrives. That’s also why I’ve decided to compile this list of indie games to look forward to in 2021. If you know where to look, there are a lot of great indie titles that have already been announced and could potentially make their way into your game library in 2021. The following eleven games are indie titles that you should have your eye on as we cross over into the new year.
Brutal Fate
The Retro FPS genre has been undergoing a renaissance over the last few years for good reason; Retro FPS games tend to be fast, frantic and focus on making the core combat experience as satisfying as possible. The fun here is simply in using cool weapons and fighting great enemies. Brutal Fate is one such game, being developed by the creator of one of the most famous Doom mods of all time, Brutal Doom, which many believe helped inspire Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal (2020). The prospect of Brutal Doom’s creator stepping into original game development for the first time has many fans excited, which is why Brutal Fate kicks off our list of indie games to watch in 2021.
The Shore
The Shore tells the story of a shipwrecked father who wakes up on a mysterious island, sans his daughter. It doesn’t take long for him to learn that the island is afoot with Lovecraftian monsters and evil of all kinds. A demo of The Shore is currently available online which gives a sample of the game’s narrative driven adventure. Unlike many Lovecraft inspired games, The Shore doesn’t beat around the bush with Lovecraftian inspirations but instead puts Cthulu himself right in your face. The Shore will be a must play game for fans of Lovecraft’s lore.
Weird West
While everything that Devolver Digital publishes tends to be incredible, Weird West is new territory for gaming’s most colorful company. Weird West meshes the concept of the “western,” with the undead, occult and drops it in the action-role-playing genre. Think Diablo, but with a distinct new flavor, developed by the co-creators of Dishonored and Prey. While we don’t know if there’s loot in Wild West, we’re confident knowing that anything that Devolver touches is gold. Anything that Devolver Digital publishes is always worth checking out and Weird West is no different.
Road 96
Road 96 was just revealed at The Game Awards, looking a bit like a modern take on the core concept of Oregon Trail. You just won’t be shooting any buffalo or dying of dysentery, that we know of. Instead, your character is seeking to escape a post apocalyptic country on a road trip from hell, filled with branching narratives based on your decisions along the literal path. Road 96 could be a wild ride to remember if things pan out like we hope.
Gloomwood
Have you ever wondered why the Thief franchise went away? The folks at New Blood Interactive asked themselves the same thing and have taken it upon themselves to create a spiritual successor, set in a stylish world that they can call their own. If you’ve played any of the games in the New Blood catalogue (Dusk, Amid Evil, Ultrakill, Faith), you’ll understand why we are looking forward to this stealth-focused retro FPS romp. Gloomwood looks to entice players to sneak around its world with a very talented development team crafting it. The level of talent and inspiration behind Gloomwood make it another indie game worth watching.
Mad World
Mad World is literally a hand-drawn MMORPG that you play in your web browser. If you weren’t expecting a browser based MMO to have made this list, I don’t blame you but its on here for good reason. If you look at how incredibly detailed the game’s art style is, you’ll understand why the concept behind Mad World is intriguing. If Mad World can create an alluring world that is as accessible as typing in a web address and give players simple but addicting gameplay, they might be on to something. Maybe Mad World will even be the next Neopets. Did I just say that?
Dennaton Project- Sector
The gaming world has been waiting with baited breath to find out what the Hotline Miami creators at Dennaton have been working on since finishing Hotline Miami 2 in 2015. While we don’t know a whole lot about Dennaton’s next game, we do know that it is a side-scroller set in a sci-fi universe and is seemingly being published by Devolver Digital, once again. Some of Devolver’s wild conference highlight reels have included tiny hints at what many believe to be Sector, the code name of Dennaton’s next game but details are scarce beyond that. Let’s hope that Dennaton unleashes their next work upon the world in 2021 and that its as incredible as Hotline Miami.
Bomb Rush Cyberpunk
Team Reptile has taken it upon themselves to create a spiritual successor to Sega’s classic Jet Set Radio franchise since Sega won’t do it themselves. Team Reptile’s successor is dubbed Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. It looks and sounds exactly like you would expect a new Jet Set/Grind game to look, if Sega made it. If you were a die-hard fan of Jet Set Radio or Jet Grind Radio back in the day, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is going to be a must play game. It will be interesting to see if Sega ends up kicking themselves for not producing a third Jet Set game themselves if Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is a hit.
Mewgenics
While there are certainly some weird games on this list, and indie games can get pretty weird in general, you’d be hard pressed to find one that is more strange than Mew-Genics. Developed by the iconic creator of Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac, Mew-Genics has been announced and put on hold numerous times over the course of the last seven years. Despite the game’s lengthy existence, we still know very little about it. What we do know is that players will be tasked with managing randomly generated cats, who have distinct features and abilities. That’s literally all that we know. Mew-Genics could be anything from a Pokemon rival to a Sims-like game. Given the hilarious concept and the legacy of the developers behind the game however, Mew-Genics makes its way onto our list.
Postal: Brain Damaged
I’m going to be honest and say that I have never been a fan of the Postal franchise. The Postal games always seemed a little too self indulgent and cringe-inducing for my tastes. The Uwe Boll produced Postal film didn’t help, either. When Postal: Brain Damaged was announced at Realms Deep 2020 however, it piqued my interest. Trading in the franchise’s formerly ugly aesthetic and open world for a stylized new look, Brain Damaged takes place in an asylum and picks up the pace. Based on what we have seem, Brain Damaged has more in common with old school FPS’ like Quake than it does, its predecessors. Meshing the tongue-in cheek humor of Postal with retro FPS gameplay and an asylum for the insane sounds like it could be a winning formula. For these reasons, I am actually not ashamed to say that I can’t wait to play the next Postal game in 2021.
Open Roads
Open Roads is the next story-focused adventure game from the team behind Gone Home and Tacoma. Sporting a new visual style, Open Roads is the tale of family members taking to the road to discover secrets about a recently deceased family member. These tales are almost always filled with intrigue, surprise and emotion drama that almost all of us can relate. Based on the fact that Gone Home is literally one of my top ten games of all time thanks to its unparalleled levels of atmosphere and dread , virtually anything that Fullbright releases is going to make its way onto my radar.
Honorable Mentions: Fallen Aces, Boomerang X, Graven
While it can be difficult to limit your list of most anticipated games, it’s that challenge that also makes it fun. Feel free to leave a comment down and let me know what indie games that you’re looking forward to. This year has been such a challenge for our society but gaming has been one of the things that has helped pull us through. May indie developers with passion continue to save us!
