Hey guys, Anthony Wallace aka Nara Makes Games here… I wanted to share some of my most anticipated upcoming indie games of 2022 with y’all!
As an independent game developer myself (currently working on The Mayor of Sanctuary), I find it quite helpful to keep my eyes and ears on the indie game scene.
Staying active in the game dev community is helpful both because you might actually meet some great people and also because you might learn a thing or two to help your own game development.
I love being inspired by other independent and solo game devs out there…
And there are a ton of great artists on instagram, youtube and twitter doing very cool things for modern and retro game development.
I put in a special request at Dodo Headquarters to create an active list of some of the most exciting independent game projects to look forward to.
I will come back to this list and update it as new games are announced. So check back if you’d like to hear about some awesome upcoming indie games in 2022.
[Last updated in July of 2022]
Table of Contents
Goodbye World
Goodbye World looks to be an absolutely perfect game for me.
It is a narrative driven game, with a highly detailed pixel art aesthetic, and the story is basically about two people creating a Game Boy game (which you also get to play).
Does that not sound amazing?
Goodbye World is being developed by one person from Nagoya, Japan: Yo Fujii.
The game will have Japanese or English language options, and as far as I can tell, will be a Windows only release.
There is a free demo available now, and the release date for the final title is yet to be announced, but is currently listed as “2022”.
So we are close to getting our hands on it!
Easily one of my my anticipated upcoming indie games of 2022, dying to experience the whole story.
Beware
This one is a little different than the others on this list, as it is a modern game. But it is another really incredible project being developed by a solo dev: Ondrej Svadlena.
I actually thought the developer and game was Russian, but after reading about his history on this Guardian article, I learned that Svadlena was originally from Czechoslovakia, and the game is inspired by his story of fleeing the country in the 1980s.
He now lives and develops Beware in Germany.
The game is insanely dark, insanely mysterious, and has all that creepy atmosphere that you would expect of a game with roots in Soviet Eastern Europe.
And it takes place entirely inside of your vehicle! So it is a driving game… sort of.
It definitely has a lot of dread to it, so I can see how it was inspired by the creators childhood escaping the communist secret police.
I would describe it as a first person horror that just so happens to be navigated through the perspective of a vehicle.
The developer has released the game in pieces over the last few years through his Patreon account, and the goal is to eventually unify all of the pieces in one finished package.
And, of course, he is always upgrading elements of the overall title.
It is interesting to follow his Twitter account and see the little tweaks he makes, such as improvements to the NPC driving AI.
I can’t even imagine how complicated it must be to try to create AI for cars that must drive on the road while also trying to take you out.
This game has developed a cult following, and there are a ton of great youtube videos of people playing the game trying to figure out what is going on, discovering new details and new ways to progress.
I am very excited to see this one finished and be presented in a full package to play from start to finish.
Of course, very difficult to say when that might happen… but you can count on me playing this one in full when that time comes.
One of the most intriguing upcoming indie games, for sure.
Mina the Hollower
This is one of the most exciting game projects for me since Eastward, one of my favorite games in recent years and an obvious winner on my list of the Best Pixel Art Games.
Yacht Club Games‘ latest project is a Game Boy Color inspired top-down adventure.
You will know Yacht Club Games from their previous retro masterpiece Shovel Knight.
Mina the Hollower is part Zelda, part Castlevania, part Mole Mania (a game our followers on Twitter elected for our list of the Most Underrated Game Boy Games).
A lot of the awesome pixel art in the game is by Sandy Gordon, one of my favorite pixel artists.
The aesthetic is inspired by the Game Boy Color, while taking advantage of the capabilities of modern game engines, giving us a game experience that wouldn’t have been possible on original hardware (we would still love to see them create a Game Boy mini-game as a companion to the full title).
Game play mixes Zelda style exploration and puzzles with Castlevania style combat and weapons.
Everything about this game screams retro…
But anyone familiar with playing (or developing) retro games will see the obvious modern touches that make this thing look top notch.
And, of course, it looks like it is gonna be a ton of fun to play, and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on this one and see the experience they have crafted for us.
No release date yet, but we will certainly be keeping a close watch on progress.
Fingers crossed it is available on Switch or MacOS so I can actually play it!!! (If not, i’ll have to borrow my ladies laptop).
My number one most wanted upcoming indie games of 2022, dying dying dying to play this one.
The Plucky Squire
The Plucky Squire is a game that would appear to be quite “regular” at first glance.
Case in point… when I saw the trailer for this one, the first part didn’t really interest me: 2d platforming that takes place on an open book.
Well, it was about halfway through the trailer where we got that “ohhhhh!” moment. The character steps off the pages (literally) and enters into the 3d world outside of the book.
It is here where the concept of the game becomes evident, and when playing the game starts to sound very intriguing.
There isn’t much else about the game known, but it does have some strong Toy Story vibes, and that is something that sounds really interesting to us.
We can safely assume it will jump between 2d platforming and 3d adventure with elements of exploration, puzzle solving, and probably some light combat.
Release is set for 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox and PC, so we have a little time.
I am sure we will start to see more as the release gets closer.
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
If you played Oxenfree, then this one will need no introduction.
That game was described as a “A Supernatural Teen Thriller” by the developer, Night School Studio. And that describes it quite well.
So what we can expect from the next title in the series is more mystery, more supernatural scariness, more teeny-pop dialogue, more freaky radio signals, and a ton of awesome music.
The game features the same incredible art style that made the first game feel so unique and intriguing.
This second game in the series will have ties to the original, and interestingly.. the dev team has actually been updating the first game with hidden signals you can locate that hint at what is to come in “Lost Signals”.
Oxenfree 2 will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and PS4 later this year.
And I cannot wait to jump back into the strange world of Oxenfree. An easy addition to this list of exciting upcoming indie games.
Little Devil Inside
Little Devil Inside is a game that has a cute and cheerful aesthetic, but the themes do not seem quite so cute and cheerful once you dive deeper.
What starts as an adventure into beautiful landscapes eventually leads to mysterious events and something much more unsettling.
I love the way the game switches between perspectives and camera distances. And also switches up the game play style as well.
From narrative, exploration, survival, hack and slash combat, boss battles… It’s got it all.
And of course, the visual style and audio all have such charm, and make you wanna explore the full game to see everything they have created.
Something I look forward to doing, for sure. One of the most highly anticipated upcoming indie games of 2022!
Little Devil Inside is coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and PC in late 2022.
Season: A letter to the future
Season: A letter to the future speaks to me, because it seems to be all of the things I love in some of my favorite games.
The casual open world exploration of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Death Stranding (minus any combat) mixed with the narrative elements of games like Life is Strange or The Last of Us (not same vibe, obviously).
To me, this looks like a game you can explore at your own pace, and just kind of chill out and exist in the beautiful world they crafted.
And when you are ready to do so, you can start to figure out exactly what is going on in the story.
Ride around on a bike in a beautiful environment, take some photos, record some ASMR, take notes. Sounds like an absolute perfect time, to me.
Such a unique game, and I’m quite confident I will enjoy this one a LOT when it is released on PC, PS4 & PS5 in the fall of this year.
Nine Sols
Nine Sols is a gorgeous platforming game by Red Candle Games that takes inspiration from recent classics in the genre, as well as Sekiro? Yup! Sekiro.
The 2d hand drawn art is beautiful, and it is quite impressive with the diverse animation and incredible
If you are familiar with Ori or Hollow Knight (number one on our list of Best Indie Games On Switch), you know what to expect with this addition to our list of upcoming indie games.
It looks to be an awesome platformer with smooth movement, intense combat, and futuristic Japanese elements.
The combat and puzzles look challenging, but the reward seems worth the work.
Definitely looking forward to checking this one out when it comes out in 2023 Q2 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.
Somerville
Somerville is an incredible looking game created by developer Jumpship, a studio co-founded by Dino Patti, previously of Playdead.
This might be of interest to you if you are familiar with the incredible titles from Playdead: Limbo and Inside.
Limbo was on our list of the Best PS3 Horror Games Of 2022, and Inside is on my top ten of all time.
You could say Somerville has similarities in style and game play to Inside, but taking things a little further with full cutscenes and 3d portions of game play (not just platforming perspective).
And one of the best parts… you have a dog with you throughout the game. I mean, what’s not to love about that?
I love the atmosphere of the game, reminds me a lot of Inside, but it’s definitely doing its own thing.
Somerville is coming to PC and Xbox later this year. CANNOT WAIT. High on my list of upcoming indie games I’m excited for.
Replaced
Replaced is a retro-futuristic sci-fi platforming game in a 2.5d visual style.
I know right? That’s a lot of information to take in all at once.
But if you read it back a couple times, what that all means is a game that is gonna have some interesting pixel art mixed with modern elements, resulting in an intense action game.
The overall vibe of the game reminds me of The Last Night, another interesting 2.5d game that has been in development for a long time (I don’t imagine we will see that one for a while, as they had some controversies and lost their publisher).
But it is the mix of the futuristic elements and the 1980s setting that make the theme of Replaced quite unique.
The visuals are obviously the focus here, but I’m very interested in seeing how everything actually plays.
Replaced was due to come to Xbox and PC this year, but has been delayed till 2023 due to the conflicts in Ukraine.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
