By Blackamura
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you’re having a great day.
If you check out one of our latest podcasts; “What is your 2022 Game of the Year?” - I spoke about a few games I can’t wait to get my hands on in 2023 including Wo Long, Forspoken and Like a Dragon: Ishin!
The above titles are all going to be great but they are all AAA games - I didn't give any love to the indies! So to make things right, I wanted to talk about the indie games I can’t wait to play this year.
1. City of Beats
(Developed by Torched Hill Games, Published by Freedom Games)
Release Date: Q2 2023
Platforms: PC
At the top of this list is a game that doesn’t fall into the usual Streamcast wheelhouse. City of Beats is a rhythmic rogue-lite shooter with a futuristic Cyberpunk look.
I first got hands on with this title at EGX 2022 and it took a lot to drag me away from the booth!
I had the opportunity to speak with Nicholas Singer, the Audio Lead and Composer for City of Beats, who said that he and Kai Hillenbrand have worked on this game for about 4 years!
Nicholas and Kai have really put a lot of effort into this game and it shows! Some rhythmic games can come across as gimmicky and superficial - City of Beats does not. It is a deep experience, having to work with (or against) the music to overpower the enemy forces you encounter in this game.
I cannot wait for when City of Beats hits the market in 2023!
You can wishlist City of Beats here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1470390/City_of_Beats/
2. Coromon
(Developed by TRAGsoft, Published by Freedom Games)
Release Date: 31st March 2022
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Mobile
Next up, a game that is already out but one that I have only been able to play recently.
I’m sure most people who call themselves gamers have played a Pokémon game, and if you haven’t, you are at least aware of the powerhouse franchise.
Coromon is a game heavily inspired by Pokémon and looks to deliver a more adult approach to the turn-based monster taming genre.
You still have type advantages, limited move sets and evolutions but where this game differs is in the options afforded to the player. With more than four hairstyles available for black people and the opportunity to apply difficulties such as in-built Nuzlocke and Randomizer modes, you can really give yourself a refreshing challenge!
Your journey begins with your first day at a new job so already this game wastes no time in setting itself apart from the established Nintendo franchise and I would recommend that any Pokémon lover at least give this game a try.
Freedom Games have been kind enough to provide us with some copies of this game to give away and we just streamed this game on our Twitch channel; StreamcastTV.
You can pick up Coromon below:
3. Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club
(Developed and Published by Behold Studios)
Release Date: 2023
Platforms: PC
I’ve got to give Destinee from Burn Out Brighter a shout out for this game right here.
Imagine you’re at Comic Con, dressed up as Sailor Moon and all of a sudden, you have her powers?! That’s the general gist of this game, you assume the powers of the hero whose costume you put on and fight other cosplayers at events in a turn-based RPG.
As this is only a single player experience, I’m hoping this game has a really good story. I want to know why all these cosplayers have gone rogue and why we’re fighting.
Cosplay Club sounds like a ton of fun and I hope this game performs well so we can get more games like this. I’d love a similar concept in the fighting genre; imagine watching a He-Man cosplayer fighting a Tifa Lockhart cosplayer at San Diego Comic-Con.
If you could put on the costume of any fictional character and you’d gain their powers, whose costume would you choose to wear? Let me know in the comments below!
You can wishlist Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172180/Mahou_Senshi_Cosplay_Club/
4. Grid Force: Mask of the Goddess
(Developed and Published by Dreamnauts Studios [formerly Playtra Games])
Release Date: 15th September 2022
Platforms: PC
We have had the pleasure of interviewing Dreamnauts Founder and CEO, Dan Bernando on our podcast, which you can check out here!
I think Dreamnauts’ Steam page has the best description of this game - “the speed of a fighting game with the depth of an RPG”. I had the opportunity to play Grid Force at the Barclays Games Frenzy event back in June and the speed of the game got me addicted! I had no desire to put this game down.
Grid Force boasts an all-female cast with the main character Donna waking up at the start of the game with no memory of who she is. Donna meets friends and adversaries alike such as Bird and Koniko, who all seem to recognise her so maybe they are the key to finding out what’s going on in this game.
As a manga reader, I really appreciate the story progressing in black-and-white manga-esque panels and there will be important decisions to be made in the game. These decisions will determine who joins your team and which ending you get. This means multiple endings, alternate paths and a whole boat-load of reasons to replay Grid Force.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that this game makes it over to the Nintendo Switch by the Spring because I’m ready to complete this game yesterday.
You can purchase Grid Force here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1379960/Grid_Force__Mask_Of_The_Goddess/
5. 5 Force Fighters
(Developed and Published by Kaizen Creed)
Release Date: TBA
Platforms: PC
This is very much wishful thinking, on my part. I have been obsessed with this game since lockdown and I have been keeping an eye on this game’s development.
We even had the director of this game, Love, on our podcast which you can check out here!
Back in the day, I loved fighting games. The Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm games were all I wanted to play when I got home from school.
I think I fell out of love with the genre in the last decade but Guilty Gear brought me back in.
After that, Dragon Ball FighterZ came along and reminded me why the fighting game genre was my favourite for many of my formative years.
I feel 5 Force Fighters’ presentation is very similar to Dragon Ball FighterZ’s; with the 2D landscape, bright colours and flashes all being signature aspects of the game.
Love expressed how he wanted the game to be structured as strategically as possible. For example, light attacks won’t cause much damage to your opponent but will build metre to unleash devastating attacks later on.
We don’t often see a game with a majority of the cast being black so I am really excited to follow the main story and I cannot wait to listen to the game’s soundtrack!
With rollback netcode, story mode, mini games, local and online versus modes I am sure there will be no limit to the fun when this game releases.
5 Force Fighters (5FF) has amassed a cult following and I can tell the developers really care about this title. I hope this game launches well and wins many awards to show that games with an all-black cast can sell well.
You can wishlist 5FF here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1599170/5_Force_Fighters/
And that concludes my list! What indie games are you most hyped to play this year? Were any of your favs mentioned?
Take care of yourselves and your loved ones, stay safe and I hope you have an amazing 2023. See you in the next one fam!