December closes a great 2020 for independent development and does it with a good handful of indies. Here we collect the best of the month.
It’s Christmas already! After an endless series of catastrophic misfortunes, 2020 is dying between fir trees and nougat. It has been a very particular year in every way, also for video games. There is no doubt that many have found the comfort that the pandemic denied them by enjoying their favorite titles. Confinement gave us more time to play and video games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons allowed us to connect with friends and family in a unique way.
The pandemic has changed the way we consume video games. Streaming, for example, has taken on a new dimension. Many have found company with content creators like Ibai and many others have started sharing their games on Twitch to connect with others in a time when that is so difficult. That explains, in part, the success of proposals like Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. His light-hearted tone and hilarious proposition wowed millions of viewers on Twitch at a time when we needed to smile. Mediatonic’s work was one of the most important indies of the year, but not the only one. If we look back, 2020 has gifted us with countless indies of draft. Titles like Hades, Carrion, If Found, and The Pathless are just a tiny part of an extremely long list of great indie games. As a last gift, this year will conclude with a good list of the most varied indies. At FreeGameTips, as always, we recommend the best.
Call of the Sea (Out of the Blue)
Call of the Sea is a first-person adventure full of interesting puzzles. Developed by the Madrid studio Out of the Blue, this indie has been one of the great surprises of the last bars of 2020. Our writer Rocío Torrejón, of course, has been captivated in her Reviews. And is not for less.
It is the 1930s and we accompany Norah, a woman who follows the trail of her missing husband’s expedition. The search takes Norah to the confines of the South Pacific, more specifically to a secret island full of secrets. It is an unexplored and beautiful territory in which every corner exudes Lovecraftian inspiration. But the genius of Providence is not only honored with the setting and supernatural elements that haunt the island, but also through a very unique way of constructing the story and its characters. Along with gorgeous art and inspired puzzles, Call of the Sea is well worth a try. You can give it to him on PC and in the Xbox ecosystem for 20 euros. On Series X and S, as well as the Xbox One family, Call of the Sea is available on Game Pass. There are no excuses not to taste this native indie!
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes (Still Running)
Without abandoning the Lovecraftian inspiration, although this time in a more classic sense, we recommend Morbid: The Seven Acolytes. Still Running’s work is an action RPG with a very successful pixel-art aesthetic and gore elements worthy of the best Cronenberg. With a horrorpunk setting, this indie proposes a terrifying future set in tormented Mornia. A pixelated pandemic has brought death, corruption, and dangerous mutant beasts to the scene. Just killing them will prevent evil from spreading out of control. And that’s where we come in.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes puts us in the shoes of the last Striver, a very powerful warrior. Only she will be able to overcome a plague that turns men into beasts and keeps the fearful inhabitants of Mornia confined. Yes, we have also thought about BloodBorne. In isometric perspective, two dimensions and with a much more marked commitment to body-horror, but the connection with Yharnam’s evils is evident. In that sense, such a grotesque game may not be suitable for all audiences. Neither because of its difficulty, which although it does not reach the levels of a Souls, it is capable of providing a good challenge. Especially through the seven acolytes, final bosses as unpleasant to look at as they are interesting at the helm. If a short action RPG, with good pixel-art and a lot of gore catches your attention, don’t hesitate to try Morbid: The Seven Acolytes on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch for around 20 euros.
Haven (The Game Bakers)
We are sure not the only lovers of The Game Bakers. After giving us a work as brilliant as Furi, it is no wonder. The new proposal from the French studio has little or nothing to do with the frenetic action of said boss-rush, but it does promise the same quality in a completely different genre. From constant boss fights we move on to an RPG about love and freedom: Haven.
In the new from the French developers, we are told the story of Kay and Yu, two lovers who renounce everything and escape to a remote planet to be together. A beautiful setting in which anyone falls in love, but in which they are not entirely alone. The fauna that surrounds them is not always friendly and the couple will have to fight on more than one occasion. This is where Haven aims to innovate the most, since its combat system is unique. With the crosshead we control Kay and with the buttons Yu, a combination that reinforces the idea of fighting as a couple. Each button is assigned an action that we carry out while maintaining it and that translate into a system that hybridizes shifts and action in real time.
And if the combat understands the couple dynamics very well, the same happens with the argument. The relationship of the protagonists is the main point of interest in a game in which dialogue and flirtation set the pace. Nor can we forget the movements around the stage, moments for relaxation and to explore the wonders of the remote planet. In short, Haven proposes a different and ideal RPG to enjoy cooperatively on PC, the Xbox and PS5 ecosystem. On Switch and PS4 we will have to wait until early 2021.
Unto the End (2 Ton Studios)
It makes sense to close such a difficult year with a game as challenging as Unto the End. The 2 Ton Studios play narrates an odyssey in which tension and blood guide the desperate search that the protagonist undertakes in pursuit of his family. After losing everything, the journey of this humble family man will take him through frozen, colorful and minimalist environments. Every corner hides a fight to the death, a clash of swords from which we may not come out alive. His arsenal is meager and he can hardly rely on anything other than wits to overcome the dangers that await him, but even that doesn’t stop him. Anything to see his son and his wife alive again.
The most interesting thing about combat in Unto the End is the enormous weight it places on skill and practice. The rivals are very smart and have their own motivations to be the ones who keep breathing, not you. On its Steam page, the improvised nature of its battles stands out, almost always based on observing the rival and developing a tactical mindset. Those are the ingredients that make it a challenge of height as well as a visual delight. Lovers of tough games and raw stories will find Unto the End an excuse not to get cold at Christmas. 2 Ton Studios’ work is available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Google Stadia.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (ustwogames)
In his book Polo de Limón, journalist Íñigo Domínguez defends that summer is the true New Year’s Eve. For him, the great vital changes occur in the summer period, when one changes partner, job, city or even life model. The author of these lines is a firm adept of summer and agrees with Domínguez that those three months encapsulate the best that life can offer us. If you had to score a Bill Murray in Groundhog Day and spend the rest of our days anchored to an era, surely many would choose summer. And among them, we have no doubt, would be ustwogames, the studio responsible for Alba: A Wildlife Adventure —in Spanish, Alba: Una Aventura Mediterránea—.
The creators of Monument Valley, its sequel and Assemble With Care are abandoning the puzzle game to offer an open world and exploration video game with a clear environmental message. Its own creators defend that Alba’s adventure seeks to raise awareness among young and old to take a step forward in the defense of the environment. To do this, ustwogames takes us to Pinar del Mar, a Mediterranean island clearly inspired by the Levantine coast. In the company of her grandparents and her best friend, Alba will scrutinize every corner of such a paradise to find, catalog and protect the more than 60 species that make up the island’s fauna. It is a very cute and playful indie with a relaxing and precious proposal that will captivate anyone. Impossible not to fall in love with its Mediterranean landscapes, the innocence that the protagonist exudes and the memory of those summers on the beach with our grandparents. If any of those questions connect with you, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is made for you. You can enjoy it on PC, iOS devices and Nintendo Switch.
PHOGS! (Bit Loom Games)
A pair of adorable Siamese dogs and dozens of hilarious puzzles. What is probably the best premise in the history of the video game corresponds to PHOGS !, an ideal indie to spend Christmas playing cooperatively. Connected by the stomach, these two canids will have to stretch, bark, bite and jump all the obstacles that are put in front of them in the thematic zones that make up the game.
This title proposes us to travel the worlds of Food, full of delicious things, Sleep, full of teddy bears, and Games, with an amusement park worthy of a good “wow!”. Although strolling through this collection of worlds alone is a guarantee of laughter, the cooperative experience is one notch above. Here it happens as in Overcooked or many other games capable of ending the most stable couple; the important thing is to have fun in truly chaotic games. It’s your ideal Christmas date, huh? Well, don’t wait any longer and try it on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia and Windows.
Happy indie year!
Surely with these recommendations it is a little less complicated to enjoy Christmas at home. Do it for yours, for the PHOGS dogs! and for us. If you behave well, Santa Claus and the Three Wise Men will overflow you with the best of gifts: one more year with yours. Also alongside the best indies, because 2021 promises to be a very special year for independent development. Stay on FreeGameTips to discover it and enjoy the last days of 2020 with your family and your favorite video games. Until next year, my friends!
