In a year when many AAA developers have plagued their games with delays, indie games have done the opposite and ramped up for the year. To the delight of players, there were indie surprises in many different genres, making indie games a viable option even for those who have never tried games in the indie market. While some of the most anticipated indies of 2022 like Sea of stars have been delayed since then, surprising indie hits have given fans plenty to play for in the absence of major AAA releases.
Without many major AAA games, and with the absence of even bigger indies that were thought to be out this year, such as Hollow Knight: Silksong, little India has been given a real spotlight this year. Games like neon white and burger sleeper which may not have received much attention in other years could gain a little more audience. In addition, some of the larger Indies could still be hits, such as sifu.
With a few months to go in 2022, there are still some great games ahead. AAA hits like God of War: Ragnarok for PS5 owners and Bayonetta 3 with its many returning characters for Switch players are still on the way. For game fans who aren’t interested in those big games on the horizon, here are the best indie games you may have missed so far in 2022.
Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void is a fantastic expansion to a fantastic Roguelike
One of the best roguelike games just got better in 2022. Risk of rain 2 got its first expansion, Survivors of the Voidon March 1, 2022. With this new expansion came a ton of features, including two new survivors, five environments, 41 new items, eleven new monsters, three new bosses, and an all-new ending sequence.
Whether players have played Risk of rain 2 sooner or not, Survivors of the Void is a perfect complement to the original game. New mechanics such as “corrupt items” and the new endless game mode, the Simulacrum, will give players hours of fun playing new content like new Risk of rain 2 characters like the Railgunner. And as an added bonus, only one player in a multiplayer lobby needs to own the DLC pack to play the new content, allowing Survivors of the Void a perfect purchase for players looking for a new multiplayer experience.
Neon white is a satisfying Speedrun experience
One of the biggest surprises of 2022, neon white is a joy to run fast. It takes place in a world where ghosts called Neons compete for a spot in heaven, neon white uses angelic and demonic imagery to create an immersive setting for a first-person shooter game. The emphasis on speed takes the game to another level, making the fun firefight even better with an added mechanic.
In addition to using weapons to send enemies, each weapon also contains a movement skill that can be used by throwing the weapon. Each level technically has a “correct” answer, but the movement skills add a deeper element to the game, making each bite-sized level a fun speed playground. Whether players play each level and then advance or chase neon white‘s Ace Medals, this first-person shooter from Annapurna Interactive is not something players want to miss out on.
Sifu is a tough martial arts roguelike
A bigger budget release than many other games on this list, sifu is a fantastic roguelike on PlayStation and PC. sifu is a martial arts revenge story with satisfying combat and interesting environments with a lot of interaction. However, where the game really shines is in its unique mechanics with age.
In a difficult game like sifu, players can expect to die a lot. These deaths take on significance in the age mechanisms, which affect how different skills are unlocked and the player’s aptitude in combat. Finally, not only is the game a fun roguelike in its own right, but it expands even more with sifu character mods like Shaggy, Daredevil, John Wick and many more.
Citizen Sleeper is a masterful TTRPG style story
Just a few years after the hit RPG Disco Elysium, burger sleeper is a fantastic new indie game from developer Jump Over The Age. With dice generated by each in-game “cycle”, players use those dice to complete tasks to help support the people of the game’s location, Erlin’s Eye. These dice are limited and make the player think about where to use their limited time and actions.
These actions are spent with the charming and complex characters of burger sleeper. There are so many different characters with their own ambitions, stories and secrets. From the devoted adoptive father Lem, one of the greatest fathers of video games, to Ankhita, an intergalactic mercenary stranded on the space station, there are many different and engaging characters to interact with.
OlliOlli World is an evolution of skateboard platforms
From developer Roll7, OlliOlli World is a new game in the OlliOlli series. Released from the PlayStation Vita in 2014, the first OlliOlli game was released with not much fanfare, but eventually got ports to almost all platforms at the time. OlliOlli got a sequel the following year, with better reviews, but neither game was very memorable.
OlliOlli World, however, takes the series to new heights. Instead of traveling linearly from level to level as in the original two games, there is also a world map with quirky characters that appear in each game. There’s even a Danny Trejo performance in OlliOlli World to give the player a quest, which contributes to a game already brimming with personality in its world and character designs.
Rogue Legacy 2 is a sequel to a classic
A sequel nearly ten years in the making, Rogue Legacy 2 left early access in April 2022. The game has similar mechanics to the first Rogue Legacy, one of the first rogue states. After each death, instead of staying the same character like many other games in the genre, the player chooses an heir, each with their own unique traits. The first game is still seen with love, but some of the mechanics have aged a bit badly.
Rogue Legacy 2 on the other hand, relieves some of these pains. Traits are easier than in the first game, and a fast travel system means less repetition when grinding gold to unlock more permanent abilities in Rogue Legacy 2‘s castle upgrades. The first game had a big impact on the growth of an entire genre, but the sequel brings Rogue Legacy masterfully into the modern era.
2022 was a year of quality over quantity in the AAA game industry, and the indie scene was similar. Indie games will always have significant output, but these games were of high quality. Whether it’s additions to franchises like OlliOlli World and Rogue Legacy 2new ideas like burger sleeper and sifuor even a DLC pack like Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Voidindie games had a fantastic year so far.
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