Lifehacker's Best Indie Games of 2018

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Independent projects that will be remembered for the year.

Florence

Platforms: Android, iOS.

Florence is a mobile game that tells the story of two people meeting and falling in love. It is made in a chic visual style with pleasant bright colors. The gameplay is very inventive and completely tied to the elongated shape of the smartphone screen: sometimes they even give control of applications on the heroes' devices.

This is a rather short but touching and unforgettable adventure. A true work of art - games like this are rare.

Dead cells

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch.

Dead Cells is one of those games in which you have to constantly find a balance between speed and caution. After the death of the character, they are sent back to the first level, and the path has to be repeated. The structure of the levels changes, only the available skills and weapons are saved.

The main thing in the game is the combat system. It is very pleasant to fight here. The hero moves rapidly, and thanks to the excellent voice acting, you feel the blows almost physically. Many types of magic and melee weapons, grenades and traps add depth to the battle. Unique combos can be crafted and honed to be used on common enemies and creepy bosses.

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Into the Breach

Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch.

Huge insect-like aliens attacked the Earth, and only a detachment of the same huge robots can repulse them. In Into the Breach, the player needs to control these robots in order to destroy enemies and minimize the damage from their attacks.

This is a difficult task: there are almost always more opponents. It is necessary to think over actions for several moves ahead and use the potential of mechanical fighters to the fullest. Thanks to the unique combat system, the game is very addictive, and the procedural level generation diversifies the gameplay and ensures the uniqueness of each battle.

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Frostpunk

Platforms: PC.

In Frostpunk, the player takes on the role of mayor of one of the last cities on a planet almost completely covered in a thick layer of snow. The task is to build the city so that it lasts as long as possible.

In the course of the game, you have to make difficult decisions, choose between the common good and the personal, send people to grueling work, and so on. Frostpunk is complex, but there is a charm about having to constantly exist on the border between life and death.

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Celeste

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch.

Celeste is a stylish pixelated platformer about a girl trying to climb a high mountain. The most important thing in the game is the movement system. It is simple at its core, but additional mechanics are added as you progress. The player regularly gets new tricks and the opportunity to try them out on levels of varying degrees of difficulty.

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Return of the obra dinn

Platforms: PC.

The merchant ship "Obra Din" went to sea in 1803 and never reached its destination. Four years later, the ship washed ashore - only bones were left of the crew. The player in the role of the state inspector must find out what happened to the people.

Return of the Obra Dinn is a first-person adventure in which you need to search for clues and reconstruct what happened. In addition to a fascinating story, the game also has a unique visual style. It is made using the 1-bit technique - all graphics consist of black or turquoise dots.

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Two point hospital

Platforms: PC.

A hospital manager simulator in which you have to monitor all aspects of the building. Build offices, buy benches and vending machines, hire nurses and doctors. With light humor and progressively increasing difficulty, Two Points Hospital is fun to play. And this is good news: there have been no quality games about hospital management for a long time.

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Minit

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch.

The main character Minit has a problem: he has a cursed sword in his hands, due to which every 60 seconds the character dies and is reborn at his bed. The hero needs to find a way to get rid of the sinister blade.

The player here has to explore the world for a minute at a time. You can change the spawn location, but you first need to get to it. The developers play up the idea with a time limit in an interesting way. Either the hero finds himself in a labyrinth cave, then he meets a character who speaks very slowly.

Overall, Minit is a unique adventure with a great idea. The game is fast, but inexpensive.

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Iconoclasts

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch.

The developer under the pseudonym Konjak has been working on Iconoclasts for seven years. He made a great platformer about a mechanic girl who went against the government of a dying planet. One of the main features of the game is the visual component. Iconoclasts are very bright and beautiful, and the characters look incredibly cute.

The game also has a gorgeous plot. The main character goes through great difficulties, meets good friends and solves riddles with the help of gadgets. Thanks to colorful graphics, interesting story and inventive gameplay solutions, the platformer received high marks from both critics and players.

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Moonlighter

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch.

The gameplay of the 2D action game Moonlighter is divided into two parts. The first is a journey through dungeons and other realities, in which the hero fights enemies, solves riddles and searches for artifacts. The second is working as a salesperson. You need to stand at the counter, meet visitors and sell them previously found values.

The levels in the game are procedurally generated, so they do not repeat. Every shopping trip is a real adventure. You never know what awaits you and how many artifacts you can collect. And even though the plot in Moonlighter is presented in very small portions, and the characters seem a little inanimate, it is still a very exciting game in which you can easily spend 8-10 hours.

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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Platforms: PC.

The RPG from Obsidian Entertainment is inspired by classic RPGs. An isometric top view, the ability to assemble a party of heroes with different characteristics, a tactical combat system - everything here is what franchises like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale love for.

As expected, the game has a lot of dialogues, characters and quests. You can talk to almost everyone, and tasks can be solved in different ways. Deadfire's adherence to the canons of the genre means a high barrier to entry for newbies. But if you can find the strength and time to fully immerse yourself in it, then you will find one of the best and deepest role-playing games in recent years.

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