Upcoming indie games for 2024 and beyond

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2024

TBC 2024

2025

TBC 2025

TBC

When it comes to upcoming indie games, there’s no shortage of exciting new experiences to look forward to. We’ve already seen some fantastic releases this year, with the likes of Dungeons of Hinterberg and Flock – to name a few – but there’s still more to come.From narrative adventures to cozy life sims and platformers and much more set to land across all platforms, there’s sure to be something here to add to your Wishlist. And as we celebrate the new Steam Next Fest, you may already be itching to see what new games will have fresh demos, as we itch closer to all those 2024 release dates and highly anticipated launches scheduled for next year and beyond.While you wait, we’ve also been busy tucking into the most recent releases, so be sure to see what we’ve been enjoying with our Indie Spotlight series for more recommendations. Read on below as we take you through some of the most exciting …

14 years later, Hideo Kojima reveals why Peace Walker wasn’t called Metal Gear Solid 5: “It faced strong opposition from overseas marketing”

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker launched on PSP 14 years ago, and for much of that time we’ve wondered why it wasn’t made a proper numbered entry in the series. Now, director Hideo Kojima has revealed it’s because of “overseas marketing.””After creating MGS4, I strongly felt the need for a proprietary engine,” Kojima says in a new tweet. “The leap forward for games in a vertical direction would only come after the engine was complete.” That led to the creation of the Fox Engine that powered Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In the meantime, Kojima wanted to evolve the series “horizontally” – onto other platforms.”I proposed Peace Walker as a way to evolve MGS horizontally,” Kojima continues. “Initially, it was titled MGS5: Peace Walker, but it faced strong opposition from overseas marketing, so we dropped the numbered title. Since it was for the PSP, we lowered the target age range to middle and high school students, aiming to discover younger fans and build a multi-generational fol…

Capcom drops the best Monster Hunter Wilds video yet, plus an extended trailer confirming the return of a 20-year-old monster we haven’t seen in 7 years

After a lush $1,260 Ultra Collector’s Edition, some frankly terrifying PC system requirements, and most importantly a February 2025 release date for Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom released a lengthy beginner’s guide for the next entry in this storied action RPG franchise. It’s a useful collection of details and features seen previously, and there are even a few things in here that I hadn’t really noticed. 

A Beginner’s Guide to Monster Hunter Wilds – YouTube

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For my money, this video offers the clearest summary of the main story of Monster Hunter Wilds. The setup is classic Monster Hunter: we head to the Forbidden Lands, “uncharted territory” that the guild is investigating. This area was thought to be uninhabited before the discovery of a boy named Nata, seen in several grim trailers, who was rescued by the guild after his village, home of the Keepers, was attacked by a monster that we now know to be Arkveld, the White Wraith and the flagship monster for Wilds. …

The roguelike that was Balatro’s “largest influence” has had its own “minor sales spike” thanks to the hit indie’s upcoming mobile release

Indie roguelike hit Balatro is set to jeopardize world productivity later this month when it launches on mobile devices, but it turns out its upcoming launch has caused a sales spike for a completely separate game.Luck be a Landlord, which was developed by indie dev Dan DiIorio (TrampolineTales), is a roguelike deckbuilder which sees players use an in-game slot machine “to earn rent money and defeat capitalism,” adding new symbols to the machine as they go in the hopes of earning more and more coins. Its gameplay is by no means the same as Balatro’s, which is inspired by the card game Big Two and lets you deploy all sorts of wacky cards with special abilities to earn a ridiculous amount of points, but the Google Play Store certainly thinks the two are similar enough for DiIorio’s game to show up when you search for LocalThunk’s.”So many people have searched for Balatro on Google Play that it caused Luck be a Landlord to have a minor sales spike from people finding it in the suggested s…

Cozy shop management RPG “inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service, Persona 5, and Paris” is absolutely killing it on Kickstarter

The Witch’s Bakery is a shop-management RPG that’s pulling inspiration from all the right places – or at least all the places that have me very excited – and no surprise, it’s already killing it on Kickstarter so far.The Witch’s Bakery’s name pretty much says it all. You play as a witch. You run a bakery. You also have a pink, magical cat. Oh, and the bakery’s in modern day Paris. The game is split between running the shop by day, which consists of bread making minigames and decorating, and then exploring the city by night to make friends or chill. The trailer down below shows off both states, alongside a wonderful 2D art style.

The Witch’s Bakery – Kickstarter Launch Trailer – YouTube

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Over on Twitter, developer Sunny Labs Games explained that the game was “inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service, Persona 5, and Paris.” You can definitely see that on display in The Witch’s Bakery’s social links and broomstick misadventures, and that winning combination attracted almost 2,00…

The ultimate God of War Ragnarok guide to becoming myth and legend

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Review

How long is it?

Graphics modes

Tips

Nornir Chests

Ravens

The water puzzles

Svartalfheim mines puzzles

How to get to Muspelheim

The Lost Treasury

Best armor

Lunda’s armor

The Crucible combat trials

Berserker Gravestones and armor

The Mystical Heirloom Relic

Draugr Holes

Shattered Runes

Treasure maps

Special equipment

Cast and voice actors

Ending explained

Our God of War Ragnarok guide will help players get to grips with Kratos’ newest odyssey in the Nordic nine realms. Whether you’re playing Ragnarok on PC or PS5, it’s a nuanced, complex adventure, with combat, boss fights, puzzles, secrets and more beyond. Here we’ve been researching and writing dozens of essential guides to help players better navigate God of War Ragnarok, and this page is a hub to easily help you navigate through them and find the one you want. Ravens, Maps, Nornir Chests, armor and more besides – we’ll have wha…

Days Gone studio celebrates its cameo in “masterpiece” platformer Astro Bot, but one former developer says it’s a sad “way to protect your legacy”

One of the many PlayStation games to cameo in the hot new platformer on the block Astro Bot is Days Gone, though how neat that is seemingly differs depending on which of the game’s developers you ask.”Astro Bot is a masterpiece!” says Bend Studio community manager Kevin McAllister. “Such a well-designed, creative, and polished experience that brings me so much joy. Thank you again, Team Asobi, for including Days Gone into your wonderful game. Our team is incredibly honored. Please go play it and say hi to Deacon for me.”McAllister’s sentiment echos that of the official Bend Studio account, though not so much Days Gone’s now departed director and writer John Garvin.”Kinda sad that Deek has been reduced to promoting other games … well done Bend Studio! Way to protect your legacy!” he says before a back-and-forth with several fans, including the following response to one telling him to calm down: “I see my character reduced to a cartoon schill promoting some small game and I’…

Honkai Star Rail banner schedule, current and upcoming

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Current banner schedule

Upcoming banner schedule

The Honkai Star Rail banner schedule provides useful information for players, by listing all of the active warp events so you know what is currently happening, along with predictions for the prospective future banners based on leaks and officially released announcements. I’ve got details of everything that’s included at the moment, and there’s a bumper crop of banners so you have plenty to choose from! The most recent releases are launching on September 9 following the release of the 2.5 update phase 2, featuring Feixiao (The Hunt: Wind), Kafka (Nihility: Lightning), Black Swan (Nihility: Wind), and Robin (Harmony: Physical) as the four 5-star characters available, though as always there are plenty more rewards to be claimed.These banner or warp events make up the gacha element of Honkai Star Rail, where players have the opportunity to win additional Light Cones and new characters to add to their team, on top of c…