New Indie Games in 2020: December Digest

RÖKI

Röki is a fairytale adventure with a dark atmosphere developed by Polygon Treehouse. The game will take you into the mysterious world of Scandinavian folklore, lost and hidden, full of unfamiliar creatures, perilous secrets, and lonesome places. You'll play as Tove, a girl who sets off on an adventure to save her family despite any danger she might face. If you choose to step on her path, be prepared for challenges. Wandering in unexplored murky forests, you'll have to face any riddles and inhabitants they hide under their roofs, and while some might turn out hospitable and friendly, others might not.

For anyone interested in the development of the game, guys from Polygon Treehouse have a devblog. In their recent posts, you can read about work with references, use of shadow volumes, and a walk cycle animation.

AGE OF GRIT

In Age of Grit, Wild West merges with Steampunk offering you a vivid world of cowboys and airship fights. You play as the captain of a battle-scarred steam-powered airship, and with your reckless team, you roam the West in search of jobs that will keep you afloat. Enter ship combats, become a bounty hunter or an outlaw smuggling contraband, visit towns and interact with characters that have their own stories, - you're free in this wild free-spirit universe. 

The game is in the Early Access and still has a lot to polish, but the developers from IQ Soup are working hard on it.

SPORTS STORY

Sports Story is a new adventure coming on Nintendo Switch in mid-2020. Despite its name, it's not only about sports but also about quests, dungeons, and treasures! Sport is there too - golf, football, volleyball, tennis, and whatnot. If you played Golf Story developed by the same studio Sidebar Games, Sports Story will most likely be to your taste as it's made in the same friendly and colorful pixel art style, with fun characters and exciting activities you can indulge in with your friends.

SUPERMASH

SuperMash is another Nintendo Switch exclusive coming in May 2020. This is a game where you can create your own games by combining different genres - Adventure and Stealth, Metroidvania and JRPG, Shoot'Em Up and Platformer, plus more variations are coming. By choosing what to mix, you'll get unique levels that can be further customized with enemies, mechanics, environments, and other elements. Even a combination of two Adventures (or other genres) will give you a different result providing endless possibilities for experimentation. Pure joy for your inner game developer.

The game is meant to be a single-player, however, each new level receives a unique Mash Code that can be shared with other players. Basically, it's like Super Mario Maker: you can let imagination run wild, create enjoyably simple or simply merciless "Mashes" and challenge your friends to play them.

RED LANTERN

Red Lantern is a mystery that is not yet fully uncovered by the developers. What we do know about it is that it is a narrative rogue-lite and another game about the challenges of the northern wilderness. Judging by the trailer, the main character travels to Alaska in an attempt to escape her past mistakes and do something meaningful. She decides to participate in the Iditarod, an annual long-distance sled dog race, so she buys dogs, necessary equipment, loads everything into the van and hits the road. What will happen next is close to unknown, but we can probably expect startling snowy landscapes, severe northern winds, harsh plot twists, and struggle for survival.

Fun fact: Guys from Timberline Studio share their office with several dogs that were probably a direct inspiration for the four-legged companions in the game.

WAYWARD STRAND

Wayward Strand is a beautiful interactive indie game that narrates about Casey Beaumaris, a curious teenage journalist who visits a hospital on a ship floating in the sky. You'll investigate what's happening around you and learn other people's stories by either directly talking and interacting with them or secretly eavesdropping and following. The lovely art style and well-developed characters promise to draw the players deep into the story and leave no one indifferent. 

AXIOM VERGE 2

In 2020, Axiom Verge 2 is coming on Nintendo Switch with new characters and gameplay. For those who are not familiar with its prequel, Axiom Verge, - this series of games is about a line between reality and unknown. Imagine you're a scientist who finds himself in an unknown place after an accident in the lab. This place doesn't look like anything on Earth, obeys unknown laws, and feels hostile. You have thousands of questions and no answers. You don't know what's real anymore. That's what Axiom Verge is about.

If put in more specific words, this game is about exploring surreal lands, finding strange weapons and items, and fighting ghastly creatures. Highly recommended for Metroidvania fans.