2024 looks as stacked as ever when it comes to innovative indie games. From Pokémon with guns game Palworld and the long-awaited sequel to this Hades, there's no shortage of games to get excited about. There is so much to look forward to that it can be a challenge to keep track of it all. That's why we have another list of upcoming indies to add to your to-play list.
The video games created by independent game studios often offer a refreshing look at the future of the industry. Elsewhere in the industry, video game companies are consolidating: They're working on bigger projects that cost more money and take longer to create, which means less risk and more games for publishers to release. know will work. In the indie game space, we're seeing studios breaking away from these norms and creating stories and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Which indie games are you most looking forward to in 2024? Put them in the comments.
Palworld
Date of publication: January 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
I'm sure you've seen the trailer for Palworld, a game that basically gives Pokémon weapons. An early access period will begin in January, where players can try out the multiplayer survival gameplay and brutal (but still cute) world. Just like in Pokémon, you befriend creatures called Pal who fight for you as you survive this dangerous world. Apparently there is agriculture, building, breeding, poaching, And factory work to dig in. —Nicole Timmerman
Ete
Date of publication: Q1 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
Easy said, Ete looks nice. It's a story about a girl who goes to Montreal for the summer and captures the experience in her watercolor sketchbook. You paint the real world while also painting on canvas, using the stickers and stamps you collect to fill in your artwork. It seems like the perfect holiday, without pressure or stress. I don't think I've seen a game that better suits my own interests. —NC
Indika
Date of publication: Q1 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
Russian studio Odd Meter announced Indika in 2023, looking to create an arthouse-style video game set in an alternate 19th-century Russia. The game focuses on the Russian Orthodox Church, something studio founder Dmitry Svetlow told Polygon is “one of the weapons of Russian propaganda.” Because of the themes – and the studio's outspoken views on Russia's war against Ukraine – Odd Meter moved its work to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to finish the game for its 2024 release. —NC
Locomotive
Date of publication: Q1 2024
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch
What do you get when you cross Agatha Christie crime thrillers with point-and-click adventure classics like Pedal to the metal And Day of the Tentacle? You get Locomotive, a 1930s slapstick mystery adventure in which you play as a lawyer, a rookie detective, and an undercover spy working to solve a murder aboard a continental train. Everyone and everyone is a suspect, including yourself! —Toussaint Egan
Open roads
Date of publication: February 22, 2024
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series
Open roads, from Annapurna Interactive and The Open Roads Team, has had a tumultuous development period. Originally a Fullbright game, the developers split from co-founder Steve Gaynor and Fullbright in 2023 after he halted development in 2021 following allegations of workplace abuse. Went home developer. Open roads stars Keri Russel (The Americans) and Kaitlyn Dever (Smart book) as mother and daughter on a road trip – a relationship not often explored in video games. —NC
Chasing the invisible
Date of publication: March 7, 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
Do you enjoy chasing and climbing on top of bizarre colossal creatures in video games? Of course you do! Explore vast, otherworldly landscapes and brave dangerous new heights as you embark on a journey through this abstract fantasy adventure. -AT
Demon School
Date of publication: Q2 2024
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, macOS
Faye and her friends take on demons in the aptly named area Demon School, a tactics role-playing game from Necrosoft Games. It's a part In the breakpart RPG and part Italian horror cinema, a combination that promises to create something entirely unique terribly Stylish. Fight and flirt your way through school to rid the world of demons. —NC
Hades 2
Date of publication: Q2 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
The highly anticipated sequel to Polygon's 2020 Game of the Year is almost here. In Hades 2players take on the role of Melinoë, princess of the underworld and sister of Zagreus, who sets out on a journey to save her father from Chronos, the Titan of Time. Just like the original game, Hades 2 will launch in early access and receive periodic updates and patches leading up to the full release sometime in the future. -AT
Dead static drive
Date of publication: Q3 2024
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox Game Pass
This horror survival adventure “Grand Theft Cthulhu” has been in development for a minute, but we finally have a release window. Sneak, loot, fight, befriend other survivors and connect to cars as you fend off an invasion of terrible abominations. -AT
Hellskate
Date of publication: 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
Hellskate is a skateboard roguelike that has you pulling off sick combos along the way Also accept samples. The route Hellskate plays a lot like it Hades; between dungeon-crawling runs (here full of skateboarding) you'll meet various characters who can help with upgrades and flesh out the story of the skating gods. From developer Phantom Coast, Hellskate should get early access this year. —NC
Hyperlightbreaker
Date of publication: 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
Heart Machine returns to the universe of Hyper light gliderthis time reimagined as a roguelike 3D co-op adventure à la Risk of rain 2. Venture into the procedurally generated world of the Overgrowth, battle the powerful forces of the Abyss King and discover answers to the mysteries of this strange world. Hyper Light Breaker is expected to launch in early access early this year. -AT
Province reminder
Date of publication: 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
Break into Byzantine farms and avoid eccentric, hand-drawn enemies in this procedurally generated stealth game. No two houses are the same, so you'll have to use all your wits and guile to get away in one piece. Think Hello neighbourbut with more Midwestern flair. -AT
Nirvana Noir
Date of publication: 2024
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox Series
The sequel to the jazzy cosmic adventure game Genesis Noir follows No Man, an entity that exists outside of time and space, as he navigates a psychedelic, '60s-inspired dimension known as Constant Testament to unravel a baffling conspiracy. Cross the cosmos, interrogate witnesses and stop a draw taller afraid of destroying all of reality. -AT
Roman Sands RE:Construction
Date of publication: 2024
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch
The studio behind 2018's Paratopic returns with an all-new, genre-defying experience: an apocalyptic visual novel, immersive sim set between two bizarre, overlapping realities. Complete fetch missions, talk to old people and unravel the mystery of what the heck is going on. -AT
Summer house
Date of publication: 2024
Platforms: Windows PC
This meditative, small-scale building game tasks players with building a neighborhood of small, custom-built houses in different environments. Relax, discover surprising little secrets and build to your heart's content. -AT