Great indie games to keep an eye on

Years ago, if I told you that indie games were the future you would slap me across the face with a gamepad.

Today we live in a world where indie developers have the backing of KickStarters and console giants to help them develop and release their vision of a video game.

With more than 100 indie games scheduled for release n 2014, its going to be hard to filter through all of them and decide what you want. Never fear! Here are some of the biggest indie games due out this year.

PixelJunk Inc

Developer: Q Games
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux
Date: 2014

Running a factory, you are tasked with making liquid food. By gathering new ingredients you discover new kinds of soup, and at the same time you need to protect your factory from enemies by building defences.

The game plays out like a traditional tower defence with a twist; while you are digging underground for new ingredients you can program robots to perform various tasks like picking up ingredients you throw near them and depositing them into the factory.

As your factory grows so do the monsters trying to destroy it, so get ready manage defence towers, program robots, and cook soup at the same time.

Hohokum

Developer: Honeyslug, SCE Santa Monica
Platform: PS3, PS4, PS Vita
Date: 2014

Playing as a serpent named “Long Mover” your objective is to peacefully fly through the world.

Almost everything in the environment is interactive and responds to your fly-by; every object emits a sound that adds to the ambience of this game.

There are no objectives, no time limits, or score. Think Flower, but flat and ridiculously colourful.

The Witness

Developer: Number One, Inc
Platform: PC, IOS, PS4
Date: Mid 2014

The Witness is a beautifully imagined 3D puzzle game designed by Jonathan Blow (Braid).

In The Witness you play as an unnamed character on an island divided into ten sections arranged around one large mountain. In each section the player must complete certain puzzles which consist of tracing a route through a maze on a board; finding the right path and placing the right colours on the right dots will prove tricky.

Once the player has completed all the puzzles in each section, a Gold Turret will appear to beam a light towards the mountain. Once all the turrets have been activated the player will proceed to the mountain and get closer to the end of the game.

The Witness not only looks amazing but also promises one of the best soundtracks this year.

Rime

Developer: Tequila Works
Platform: PS4
Date: 2014

Rime involves a boy who has been cursed and needs to escape his island prison by solving puzzles.

The game is an open world third-person 3D puzzle game with a cel-shaded art style.

There are no spoken words and the story is told through other means ells the story through other means, such as the dramatic soundtrack and player character reactions.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

Developer: The Chinese Room, SCE Santa Monica Studio
Platform: PS4
Date: late 2014

This PS4 exclusive is developed by The Chinese Room and is the successor to Dear Esther. It is set in a large open world and revolves around six characters each telling their own story.

Each of the characters are connected to the landmarks in the world, a village in Shropshire during the apocalypse. This mysterious FPS title will release late this year.

The Transistor

Developer: Supergiant Games
Platform: PS4, PC
Date: 2014

From the developer of Bastion comes The Transistor. Assuming the role of a young woman who comes into contact with a powerful weapon and is then killed with it, she must now exact revenge and stop at nothing to get the weapon back.

“The Process” is the organisation after her and the weapon; they are relentless and will stop at nothing. The game features free exploration with a bit of tactical combat.

The Transistor looks beautiful and will release later this year.

What do you think about these indie titles? Let us know in the comment below.