We set aside the world of Triple A to focus on the nominees for best independent game of 2019. There's life beyond
The ceremony of delivery of The Game Awards 2019 is less than a month to start. This celebration of the video game industry, led by journalist Geoff Keighley, serves as a final closure to a year full of experiences of all kinds. Because in these last months we have lived absolutely everything.
In the last edition before we receive the new generation of consoles, we want to leave behind the pyrotechnics of triple A to focus on what the independent scene has left us. The five nominees for best indie game of the year are as diverse as they are unique; One more sample of the moment we live. Therefore, we want to discover what each of the candidates are.
Baba is You, from simplicity your triumph
Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari had the brilliant idea of conceiving a puzzle title in perspective of small levels full of details at playable level. Its intelligent design left us with several of the best puzzles seen in recent years, all with the simplicity of a black background and small pixel figures.
In our Reviews, we said that "Baba is You breaks with what is constantly established to claim itself as a transgressive game, of those to whom texts will be dedicated throughout the year." We have not been wrong, and it has been on the lips of all who love the indie scene.
Available on Nintendo Switch and PC, we recently learned that at some point in 2020 you will receive the much demanded level editor. Although they have not transcended details, we do know that creations can be shared among all the platforms on which it is available.
Disco Elysium, the RPG you don't want to miss
Almost without making noise, the game that fell in love with all the RPG fans, with all the lyrics, arrived on October 15. We described Disco Elysium as "a new beacon that marks a valid and necessary address of the role in computer." The "mirror in which other productions want to look in the future" comes almost 20 years after a name that still resonates within the genre, Planescape: Torment.
Because the way we are allowed to be detectives has rarely been seen in an industry product. The possibilities are endless, even being able to talk and form a relationship with a mailbox; we, more than ever, define what history we want to travel. Because "excellence does not require action, you only need commitment and brilliant writers willing to leave your eyelashes writing a monumental work."
Shortly after its first weeks, we learned that the intention of its developers is to transfer the experience to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The port will arrive in 2020.
Katana Zero, violence Neo Noire in 2D
On many occasions, Katana Zero has been compared to the dimension offered by Hotline Miami, one of the indies that demonstrated the ability of this young industry in its early stages. Beyond the fact that they share a production company (Digital Return), the similarities lie in the way in which they express their personality. It is a title with its own style, fast and tremendously addictive: "an impact, a death."
The narration of Francisco Serrano Acosta, our editorial coordinator, leaves no doubt: "We are talking about a round game, full of style, with very satisfactory mechanics and a great soundtrack." As in Hotline Miami, the sensations after passing a section full of enemies immaculate "are magnificent", although according to comments in the Reviews it would take more moments like that. It often demonstrates its greatness, although Askiisoft's work "goes at times". What is clear is that it does not leave anyone indifferent.
Shortly after its launch on PC and Nintendo Switch, it received an update that incorporated many new features at no additional cost, such as a more difficult mode, remixes of established levels and much more.
Outer Wilds, the solitude of the universe
Imagine the scene: we are wandering through a solar system that restarts every 22 minutes. Everything we find is subject to the unexpected, the most inopportune change. As a good astronaut (or madman who crosses the galaxy on board his ship) we must get carried away while we explore alone all the secrets that hide their planets.
Annapurna's title came at a convulsive moment for the company, since it broke free of bankruptcy. Participate in the Xbox Game Pass subscription since its inception; recently arrived on PlayStation 4. As for PC, it is still part of the temporary exclusivity in Epic Games Store.
"For example, Brittle Hollow falls apart into fragments that implode in its core, and in Hourglass Twins a sea of sand from the arid ruins of one planet floods the complex network of caves of another," says the company in one of the examples of How your system works We are facing a game to share the experience with others: nothing is the same.
Untitled Goose Game, the most thug goose
The House House Australians did not come up with a better idea than to conceive a kind of geese simulator … thugs, to put it in some way. Under its extravagant surface is a puzzle game that uses its differentiating elements to create delusional situations. We are a goose that should bother the inhabitants of a small English town. Are you tired of hearing your neighbor drill the garden fence? Steal it without him noticing your presence.
The mechanics are as simple as effective. While we squawk we will make the characters react, which usually leaves us free to be able to do everything we want. That kind of tug of war between the sounds and our presence will make the puzzles become increasingly complicated. The network made everything around it viral.
Currently available on Nintendo Switch, it will soon do the same on PC. Completing it for the first time will not be the end of your offer, but it will be expanded with new challenges and a new speedrun mode, as we mentioned in our Reviews.
