Papers, PleaseĪt the beginning of Papers, Please, the protagonist is selected via national lottery to be a border agent. Once you get a group together, though, it’s as tense and trash-talkingly fun as the Mario Kart and Goldeneye bouts of our collective memory.- Garrett Martin 14. Towerfall is intentionally limited to local-only play, which is a bummer if you don’t have friends over. with a retro aesthetic and arrows instead of fists. This multiplayer scrum (and Ouya exclusive) is a frantic four-way archery duel, like a single-screen Smash Bros. It’s indicative of how games can uniquely combine interactivity, time and systems to create an emotional effect that’s similar to the ones brought on by a traditional narrative.- Joe Bernardi It’s a smart and surprisingly affecting use of permadeath, the unpredictable nature of progress in roguelikes, and the short, often-uneventful lives of roguelike protagonists. Through its emphasis on lineage and nostalgia, Rogue Legacy has a different relationship to failure and success than just about every videogame in recent memory. It recalls an earlier time, before science and technology made the world a less mystical and esoteric place (while also making computer gizmos like Proteus possible).- Garrett Martin 16. Proteus doesn’t attempt a realistic recreation of our world, but its chimerical approach makes us ponder the mysteries of nature. It expects us to care and think about how we interact with nature. It asks us to actually pay attention to our surroundings, even if nothing outwardly exciting or memorable is happening. Proteus aims to make us consider our relationship with the world around us. Platform: PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, PS Vita The protagonist is in the midst of a nerve-wracking public speaking gig that does not go as planned, and the player decides how she will deal with the fall-out.- Maddy Myers This short, text-based browser game, made by the developer of Dominique Pamplemousse, provides a play-by-play internal monologue from the perspective of someone who suffers from Impostor syndrome. Players also uncover journal entries and recordings that shed light on the machine, Mandus’ past, and his sons’ future.- Drew Dixon 18. Reaching new areas triggers memories that tell us more about the machine. Much like Dear Esther, the game is a story-driven first person experience. Frictional Games, the developers of the first Amnesia, handed development of the sequel over to The Chinese Room, the developers of Dear Esther. Play it ( for free!) with the sound on, and do your best Indiana Jones impression while you’re in the thick of it.- Maddy Myersĭespite being almost as unsettling as its predecessor, A Machine for Pigs is quite different. The game serves as a miniature subversion of the oft-used videogame trope of a “warning” for players, telling them not to play the game … but, of course, you will anyway. Room of 1000 SnakesĪrcane Kids’ short-and-sweet game is exactly what it says on the tin. Here are the 20 most compelling indie games of the past year. This list includes a lot of disparity in terms of what some game aficionados might call “polish”-but even supposedly “unpolished” games have their charms, and their influence can be felt among the games of their more “polished” peers.
BEST GAMES OF 2016 PC INDIE FREE
The word “indie” has lost much of its meaning in the videogame industry, since the term can refer to games made by experienced developers who’ve quit their day jobs at high-powered videogame companies to make their dream project … or less experienced developers who might use inexpensive tools like Twine or Game Maker in their free time, while juggling a non-videogame industry day job.