Everyone is waiting for this year’s big retail titles like Mass Effect 3, Bioshock Infinite and whatever the Wii U will end up becoming (I’m hoping it doesn’t turn into another Sega Saturn). But while there are many ‘AAA’ retail games coming out, it’s worth reminding you that the smaller, downloadable and indie game space is growing huge.
So, I’m presenting you with a list of games you should be paying more attention to than whatever shooter is crawling out of the latest big name developer. Some are indie favorites, others are downloadable and a couple are retail games, but you should take notice of all of them over the course of the coming year.
1. Retro City Rampage – XBLA, WiiWare
What was originally a Grand Theft Auto demake on the NES, became an open-world love letter to nostalgia. Brian Provinciano of Vblank Entertainment has been hard at work on this game on his own for the longest time, and it looks like we’ll finally see it released this year. Explaining what’s in the game would become a laundry list of amazing features, from shoes that let you jump on people’s heads to driving a DeLorean and causing occasional chaos on the way. The trailer above should explain everything much better than I ever could.
2. Fez – XBLA
Fez is an indie game that simply just looks magical. The graphics and the perspective shift in the same way that Echochrome and Super Paper Mario do, only it’s more gorgeous thanks to beautiful pixel art. The game actually won an Independent Games Festival Award (IGF) in 2008. It plays like a traditional platformer but with perspective changes, putting a new twist on traditional platforming gameplay. Fez has been long delayed for XBLA, but it’s set to release this year and will also be part of the upcoming Indie Game: The Movie that premieres at the Sundance film festival. It’s also nominated for a few awards at the 2012 IGF Awards.
3. Home – TBA
Home hasn’t been officially announced for any platform, but Benjamin Rivers’ upcoming game appears to be very different. This is mainly due to its unconventional look. You play as a man who wakes up having no recollection of what’s going on. Where are you? Where is my wife? Where is home? These are the questions asked as you walk around an empty, desolate house with only a flashlight. The interesting part of this game is its focus on narrative and choice.
You don’t actually attack enemies in Home, you progress through a narrative that’s created by the player and every choice you make impacts the game. Benjamin demoed Home during his Gamercamp Lv3 presentation and it might be meant to be played alone, but in a group setting, it really offered more, as the audience decided what they wanted to happen next in the game. I’m hoping Home hits sometime in 2012.
4. The Witness – Windows, iOS
Braid creator Jonathan Blow is an interesting person. He believes that video games should be treated more like art and he labels many mainstream games as unethical. He’s a polarizing figure in the industry. Some people think he’s poignant and some think he’s pretentious, but you can’t deny Braid’s brilliance when it came to storytelling and gameplay.
Now with The Witness, he’s looking to stump our brains even further. The Witness is an exploration-puzzle based game, you play an unknown character that must traverse puzzles on a lonesome island. The seemingly quiet protagonist finds audio recordings to flesh out the narrative experience.
5. Journey – PSN
How would you feel about a multiplayer game where you have no idea who you’re playing with and have no way of contact beyond simple in game gestures? That’s what Journey is. From the developers of PSN games like Flow and Flower, thatgamecompany is looking to create a unique gameplay experience with their upcoming downloadable title.
You play as a character with a long red cloak and scarf and travel along a desolate desert, journeying to a mountain. Along the way, you’ll run into other random people who are in fact, human players. These human players are used to help you out with certain puzzles. But you’ll never know who they are, adding a cool sense of mystery to journey.
6. Spelunky HD – XBLA (Available now on PC)
Spelunky actually came out a long time ago on PC as freeware but an HD version is making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade sometime this year. As the Spelunker, you must avoid enemies, dodge traps, save damsels and collect as much treasure as you can. It’s very similar to the classic original Spelunker, except with a higher difficulty and more rogue-like features such as randomly generated dungeons.
Super Meat Boy fans should take note of the Spelunker’s appearance. This is another game that has a few nominations in the 2012 IGF Awards.
7. Super T.I.M.E. Force – TBA
Nothing is really known about Super T.I.M.E. Force other than it has an amazing name and looks completely insane. CAPY published two amazing games last year, Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes and the well-revered, Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP and this title looks to continue that trend.
If Sword and Sworcery was to the classic point-and-click adventure games, then Super T.I.M.E. Force is to the run and gun genre. It looks to have multiple playable characters, possibly co-op and some genius pixel art. I have no clue if it’s coming out in 2012 but the trailer shows 198X so who really knows. Just watch the trailer and enjoy the insanity.
8. Johann Sebastian Joust – TBA (Alpha Platform: Mac)
How do I describe this game? Well, it doesn’t even need a television. Currently, it requires a laptop and a bunch of Move controllers and two to six of your friends. You must keep the controllers steady in your hands while Johann Sebastian Bach’s Bradenburg concertos play in the background in slow motion. When the music is slow, the controller is extremely sensitive to movement and it is less sensitive when the music speeds up. In that spare time, you must mess up your opponent’s steadiness with the controller to win.
It sounds way more complex than it is, but it could be an amazing party game. Believe it or not, this title is also nominated for a few awards at the 2012 IGF Awards.
9. Rhythm Heaven Fever – Wii
I’ve decided to only include 2 retail games on this list to pave the way for smaller titles, but this retail title is pretty simple. Originally released last year in Japan, the next installment in the Rhythm Tengoku series with the first Rhythm Heaven debuting on the DS with the Beyonce commercial. Rhythm games might seem a bit passé but you can always appreciate a good rhythm title that gets you into the beat of the music. The wacky graphical style that’s straight out of Japan is also very appealing. Seriously, how does one gain that type of inspiration?
10. Xenoblade Chronicles – Wii
It was released two years ago in Japan and only a year ago in Europe. Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the first Japanese RPG titles worth caring about in a long time. For most of 2011, Xenoblade Chronicles wasn’t confirmed for the US alongside other JRPG’s like The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower, but they were coming out in Europe at least. This caused a movement titled Operation Rainfall to make Nintendo take notice that its fans wants these games to come stateside. After much back and forth, we finally got an April release this year for the game.
You play as a boy who wields a mysterious blade that might be the key to saving the world from the threat of legendary monsters – standard JRPG fare. After Skyward Sword, you get another grandiose game just before the Wii U (although fingers crossed the other two JRPGs come this way).
While it’s great that you’re excited for the big retail titles hitting this year and I am as well, I want Mass Effect 3 and Borderlands 2 as much as the next guy, but it begs mentioning that the smaller titles deserve their spot in the limelight. They’re introducing new ideas and new IPs that ultimately deserve your hard-earned attention.
Regarding the last two titles, they’re probably the best reason to dust off your Wii and remember there are deep experiences on that system as well. 2012 is going to be an interesting year for the indies as well as the mainstream.
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That’s a pretty solid list Perry. I’m definately looking forward to Benjamin Rivers’ Home, I used to play a lot of old school point and click adventure games as a child.
Super T.I.M.E. Force looks awesome as well.