While 2018 has provided plenty of notable blockbusters, the year has provided plenty of indies that have gone under the radar too. If you’re looking for something fresh to play, here’s 45 to keep in mind.
A small note with the below list: all games included either released in 2018, or came out of Early Access this year. Some titles also got a second lease of life on the Switch, but were released on other platforms prior.
Football Game
A US99c point-and-click adventure from the makers of A Date in the Park, Football Game is a short story about local high school football hero Tommy. Set in 1987, the game runs for around an hour and takes heavy inspiration from David Lynch. Good for fans of creepy vibes and banging tunes.
Iconoclasts
Metroidvania fans, roll up. If you’re after a platformer with more intricate puzzles and a stronger dose of character, courtesy of the mechanic Robin and the people inhabiting the dying planet of Iconoclasts, Joakim Sandberg’s creation is worth a look. Also worth considering for those intrigued by the genre, but not after something billed as brutal as Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, and so on.
Meanwhile: Interactive Comic Book
Little Jimmy comes across three things on his way home: a time machine, a doomsday device and a mind-reading helmet. What do you test first?
In 2010, Jason Shiga took the idea of a choose-your-own-adventure and adapted it to a comic book. That was Meanwhile, and earlier this year Zarfhome Software digitised the idea. It’s faithful to the original in that it’s a pure comic experience: you’re going along for the story, and how it unfolds, rather than a traditional game experience. But by being a game, Meanwhile is able to live up to the idea of the infinite canvas principle a lot better.
The Red Strings Club
A cyberpunk game about manipulation, lies and serving drinks: welcome to the Red Strings Club. It’s a point-and-click adventure from the makers of Gods Will Be Watching, a short but intense experience that comes full circle. I won’t spoil anymore.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/01/a-cyberpunk-game-where-you-manipulate-people-with-alcohol/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/jblvhkljfmsco33zg39d.png” title=”A Cyberpunk Game Where You Manipulate People With Alcohol” excerpt=”The Red Strings Club starts, and ends, with a character falling out of a high-rise window. There’s no indication that you could do anything to stop this from happening, or even that you’re supposed to. The game is more interested in how you get to that point — and the web of lies, manipulation, and tough choices you leave in your wake.”]
Overload
It’s modern Descent. Not literally, of course, but you get the idea.
Tell Me Everything
A cross between a word puzzle and a murder-mystery, Tell Me Everything is a five-part episodic series, with the first two episodes having already shipped.
You unlock new words by asking the right questions, and finding the right questions to ask so you can ask the next questions you need can be a bit tricky. But it’s a fun concept that L.A. Noire fans will appreciate, particularly for US99 cents.
Yoku’s Island Express
A Metroidvania crossed with pinball. I need say no more.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/07/a-pinball-metroidvania-is-one-of-the-years-most-wonderful-surprises/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/fleqltev8ba5hmdlvu4k.jpg” title=”A Pinball Metroidvania Is One Of The Year’s Most Wonderful Surprises” excerpt=”I’ve just finished a super little game called Yoku’s Island Express on my Switch, a pinball Metroidvania featuring a tiny red ant rolling a lil’ rock around.”]
FRAMED Collection
A bundle with FRAMED and FRAMED 2, but as of this year it’s become available on PC and the Switch instead of just mobiles. Great little Australian puzzler.
Into The Breach
It would be remiss to not play Into The Breach, the latest strategy from the makers of FTL. We’ve waxed lyrical about it already this year, but if you need a reminder, here you go.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/02/into-the-breach-the-kotaku-review/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/xybk0vrwjdj1w4iholsl.jpg” title=”Into The Breach: The Kotaku Review” excerpt=”Into the Breach is a game about the accumulation of small decisions, good or bad. It’s a game that never lets you forget your past runs, especially your failures.”]
BattleTech
Like mechs, but want bigger ones? BattleTech would like a word.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/05/battletech-is-pretty-good/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/xaugla9yhozy4bdmfi2d.jpg” title=”Battletech Is Pretty Good” excerpt=”Released on PC last week, Battletech is a new strategy/tactics game by Harebrained Schemes (Shadowrun). In the absolute simplest terms, it’s kinda like XCOM, only you’re in control of some giant lumbering mechs.”]
Dead Cells
If you do want something more brutal from your platformers/Metroidvanias, however, Dead Cells is the place to be.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/05/steams-latest-hit-is-like-castlevania-except-more-random/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/wgby0mjrb3fbcez8idbq.jpg” title=”Steam’s Latest Hit Is Like Castlevania, Except More Random” excerpt=”My favourite moment in Dead Cells so far came right after I won my first boss fight. I gained the ability to make climbable vines sprout from certain surfaces, allowing me to access areas I hadn’t previously been able to. Classic Metroidvania stuff, right? The twist. Dead Cells’ levels, unlike those of a Castlevania or Metroid, aren’t permanent. But my new ability was.”]
Frostpunk
A gorgeous sandbox, if the sandbox was set in a frozen wasteland that wants you and everything you love to die slowly and painfully. It’s a city builder from the makers of This War of Mine, which tells you the kind of brutality you’re in for.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/05/frostpunk-keeps-kicking-my-ass/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/gljkf3xllfajj1dpnewm.png” title=”Frostpunk Keeps Kicking My Arse” excerpt=”Frostpunk is an oppressive game where the world has been covered by snow and humans have to rely on ingenuity and sacrifice to survive. It’s difficult, and it’s kicking my arse so hard that I don’t want to play it anymore. But like the frostpunks themselves, I persevere.”]
Jurassic World: Evolution
Build a dino park. Prey they don’t break out. It’s a Jurassic Park management sim from the makers of Planet Coaster, although sadly the licensing deal means no official mod support.
Forgotton Anne
A hand-animated indie from the Square Enix Collective, Forgotton Anne is part-light platformer, part puzzler, and part anime. To give away much more would risk spoiling, so I’ll leave it at the trailer.
39 Days To Mars
A solo or couch co-op experience, 39 Days to Mars is a game about sharing a perilous steampunk expedition to Mars. Control HMS Fearful as Albert and Baxter – or the ship’s computer-controlled cat if you’re playing alone – while navigating your way through odd puzzles.
Surviving Mars
If you want more of a sci-fi flavour to your colony builder, then Surviving Mars does what it says on the box. It’s a game about managing resources with the constant to and fro of sending colonists from Earth, balancing the need to expand while not getting thrashed by the harsh Martian atmosphere.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/03/surviving-mars-is-tempting-me-to-build-the-perfect-martian-colony/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/izctsjrqeuhypk6misv6.jpg” title=”Surviving Mars Is Tempting Me To Build The Perfect Martian Colony” excerpt=”I’m using Paradox’s new space colony sim Surviving Mars to see what would happen if I tried to establish a Mars colony full of people like me. First, though, I need to make sure they have a worthwhile colony to live in. That part’s been tricky.”]
Monster Prom
A dating sim where you have three weeks to get a fellow monster for the prom. Includes potential for banging gorgons obsessed with money, vampire weebs, oafish werewolf jocks, demon convicts, genocidal mermaids, and more. Jokes aside, the artstyle is neat and you won’t find many dating sims that have multiplayer (outside of Monster Dating Monster in the latest Jackbox pack).
Tower of Time
A dungeon crawler cRPG with real-time tactics, Tower of Time came out in April but has gotten pretty little buzz since then. It’s better thought of as a cRPG-lite, really, and worth considering for people who enjoyed the idea of Pillars of Eternity or Divinity: Original Sin but felt too intimidated by the size of the world and the lengthy playtime.
Paperbark
An Aussie-made mobile game about a wombat exploring for food, Paperbark is one of the most beautiful games on mobile right now.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/07/paperbark-is-wonderfully-serene/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/07/paperbark-1.jpg” title=”Paperbark Is Wonderfully Serene” excerpt=”It wasn’t until I sat at my desk, popped on some Bluetooth headphones and blocked out the office, that I began to truly appreciate Paperbark.”]
House Flipper
Ever wanted to remodel your own house, with as much brute force as possible? Don’t. You live there. But in House Flipper, you’re a one-person demolition crew, able to knock down every wall, window and fitting by hand.
There’s also the bit where you remodel it and sell it for profit, but to be honest, the smashing is the truly fun part.
Through The Ages
Vlaada Chvatil’s Civilization-esque game came out on mobiles late last year, and while it’s great there it’s much nicer blown up on a bigger monitor with a CPU that can fly through AI turns faster. One of the best digital adaptations of a tabletop game in a while.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/10/im-losing-so-much-sleep-to-through-the-ages/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/through-the-ages-2.jpg” title=”I’m Losing So Much Sleep To Through The Ages” excerpt=”Vlaada Chvatil is a bit of a legend in board games, having made Codenames, Mage Knight and Galaxy Truckers. And recently, one of his earlier hits got released on mobile. Through The Ages. It’s basically a Civilization inspired card game, and it’s been keeping me up all week.”]
Grabity
Demoed at PAX Australia last year, Grabity is a Kiwi-made couch co-op game where up to four players basically peg giant crates at each other. It’s ridiculously fun; grab it for your next game night.
Pool Panic
An “unconventional” game of billiards, where billiards is used in the same kind of way golf gets used in Golf Story. But with the Adult Swim-esque off the wall humour.
The Adventure Pals
A light-hearted comedic platformer with a charming art style. Also, you have a pet rock. Available on PC and the Switch, Adventure Pals is a good platformer if you’re looking for something kid-friendly.
FAR: Lone Sails
A game about travelling across the remnants of a decaying world, FAR: Lone Sails gives you a battered vehicle and tasks you with maintaining it on your perilous journey. FAR has some light puzzles along the way, but it’s mostly about enjoying the journey as you reproduce and repair your way across the changing landscape.
Element
A simplified spin on the RTS formula, Element gives you a planet and tasks you with building a small army while you mine energy and elements. Fun for those who want the oldschool flavour of games like Total Annihilation, but in a shorter timeframe.
Heaven Will Be Mine
A queer sci-fi mecha visual novel set in 1981, Heaven Will Be Mine features three characters who are deciding which awful decisions to make while battling giant robots. It’s ultimately a game about blurring the lines between things people ordinarily see as diametric opposites, while also offering the opportunity for making out between mecha pilots.
InnerSpace
A game for fans of Abzu or Journey, InnerSpace is a serene, peaceful game about exploring through flight. Small tip: this game absolutely requires a controller on PC, although you can enjoy it on the Switch or consoles just fine.
A Way Out
Shawshank Redemption: The Video Game, albeit with less interesting characters and a vastly less interesting prison break. Still, great fun to share with a partner.
Lumines Remastered
Re-released for PC and consoles this year, Lumines Remastered is basically a spin on the Tetris formula where you rotate squares to match colours. It’s an amazing time sink, but you can see more through the video below.
Dandara
A Metroidvania where your character can only bounce from wall to wall, rather than running and jumping like a traditional platformer. The movement will throw you initially, but once you get it down pat you’re able to explore with some incredible speed. Hard game, so be warned.
Celeste
A tale of Madeline’s attempt to conquer a mountain, courtesy of one of the best mid-air dashes in video games.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/02/celeste-is-brutal-without-being-a-jerk-about-it/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/wpxn5c5hldjmt3efahmh.png” title=”Celeste Is Brutal Without Being A Jerk About It” excerpt=”Last weekend, I spent hours chasing after a single elusive strawberry in Celeste. Over and over again, I kept dying to the toxic muck surrounding my collectible prize. Hundreds of wasted lives, an endless number of fuck-ups, a complete halting of progress. There was only failure, but I was stubborn. I was going to get that fucking strawberry if it was the last thing I did.”]
Swim Out
Ever remember that classic Rush Hour puzzler, where you had to maneuver cars to escape the gridlock? Swim Out is a little like that, except you’re in a pool and you have to navigate people like on floats, kayaks (!) and other swimmers. Very chilled, very pretty and very cheap ($5.40 on the Switch right now, or $US5.99 on Steam).
Genital Jousting
This is unbanned in Australia, and came out of early access this year. You’re welcome.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/01/genital-jousting-is-finally-available-in-australia/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/11/ss-20b89fde96ed82b737382a52fbc40fdd40d9264e1.jpg” title=”Genital Jousting Is Finally Available In Australia” excerpt=”Days before the game launches out of Early Access, publishers Devolver Digital confirmed that the flaccid, penetrative party game will finally be available in Australia and New Zealand on Steam.”]
Wartile
A game about controlling Viking figurines over some spectacular dioaramas. Actions are cooldown based, and the whole thing is designed more like a “living and breathing tabletop” game.
Moonlighter
A cutesy rogue-lite about blending an action-RPG with a very different kind of role: being the shopkeeper. It’s essentially a management sim that turns into a dungeon crawler at night, blended with some adorable music and pixel art.
Nantucket
A game about chasing controlling an American whaling ship, while chasing after Moby Dick. Fantastic art style and very challenging.
Fe
A game about exploring a forest as a woodland animal, singing to the other creatures to band them together and solve puzzles. Very pretty game, although can get a little frustrating as it pans out.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/08/fe-is-all-about-exploring-a-forest-without-the-handholding/” thumb=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/08/fe-ea-originals.jpg” title=”Fe Is About Exploring A Forest, Then Saving It” excerpt=”When Fe was first announced as one of EA’s latest indie bets, it wasn’t completely clear what exactly it was. There was a little creature making sounds at other, often bigger creatures, and a whole bunch of trees.”]
Wreckfest
Destruction Derby with lawnmowers. Obviously, there’s cars and regular vehicles as well, but crashing ride-ons is way more fun.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/06/wreckfest-is-murder-disguised-as-a-racing-game/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/cdtosg9xba4ndlvunxdp.gif” title=”Wreckfest Is Murder Disguised As A Racing Game” excerpt=”I first wrote about Wreckfest back in 2014, before it even had a name. Four years of Early Access later it’s actually out, and I’m happy to say the wait has been worth it.”]
The Council
An episodic narrative adventure set in 1973 about a secret society. Three of the five episodes have been released at the time of writing, so you’re looking at around 7 hours gameplay thus far. Worth a look for Life is Strange and fans of Telltale games in general.
Isle of Skye
A digital adaptation of the board game about developing territory and trading with other clans. Shares some similarities with Carcassonne, but with a cooler acquisition mechanic. Each player sets their own prices for the tiles they want, and if nobody buys at that price, you have to forfeit that amount to the house.
It’s available on iOS and Android now, and worth a look for anyone who picked up 7 Wonders when the mobile version dropped.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Basically a new Left 4 Dead 2 but with lots of hordes of Skaven and Chaos, instead of zombies. Vastly improved from the original Vermintide and highly recommended with friends.
Subsurface Circular
A text-based adventure with robots from the maker of Thomas Was Alone and Volume, Subsurface Circular dropped on the Switch earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, a story about talking to robots going about their daily lives on the commute is a great fit for your own commute. Having touch controls actually makes a huge difference to the gameplay too, so definitely pick this up on the Switch over PC if you have the choice.
BYTEPATH
A top-down 2D arenashooter that tries to mix the style of Bit Blaster XL with the build depth of Path of Exile. Seriously. The skill tree has over 900 nodes.
Forsaken Remastered
Night Dive are the best in the business when it comes to bringing games back from the past. Forsaken came out of absolutely nowhere, but it’s wonderful to have it back. It’s essentially a 3D shooter in the style of Descent and Terminal Velocity, where you nip through underground tunnels on a hoverbike scavenging for weapons and gear.