Indie Round-Up Oct 12-18
It’s been an interesting week for indie games as just about everything that could happen with a title has happened. We’ve got new game announcements, new game delays, old game updates, and of course, Switch ports. Let’s take a look!
New Reigns Sci-Fi Entry Announced
Beloved swiping RPG Reigns is receiving a wiley new sci-fi installment by way of Reigns: Beyond, Devolver Digital announced this week. It’s currently in development for Apple Arcade specifically and is set to follow an interstellar rock band of whose resources, gear, and bandmates you will manage. The game’s store preview page is promising quite a bit including dogfights, space pirates, and over 1400 decision cards – that’s more decisions than I’ve confidently made in my life. It looks like the band’s manager will also be a character named Lord Shark, which I must admit, I am most interested in so far. The game’s soundtrack is also being composed by Sam Webster, who also composed the music for Apple Arcade hit Grindstone. There’s no release date for the game just yet, but I personally would bank on it being out by the end of the year.
Axiom Verge Kicked into 2021
Several factors played into the delay of the sequel to the cult hit Metroidvania Axiom Verge, which was set to release for the Switch later this fall. Naturally one of those factors is the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but some of the others actually bode well for the upcoming sidescroller. Developer Thomas Happ Games explained in a blog post that part of the delay is due to the more sophisticated art style and enemies, who will now scan the environment for the player before trying to escape their inevitable demise. They also teased an item similar to the first Axiom Verge’s Address Disruptor, which allowed players to “glitch enemies and the environment.” As someone who only spent a bit of time with Axiom Verge during a post-Shovel Knight retro-inspired deep dive, the revelation of such a unique item makes me want to give it another shot. Plus, it sounds like the developer is going really hard on this sequel, and that alone makes it interesting to me. The game is now set to drop in the first half of 2021.
Terraria Gets Final *Final* Update
Notorious game that never ends Terraria has received an extra update in addition to the recently no-longer-honestly-titled 1.4 patch, Journey’s End. The new 1.4.1 update “Journey’s Actual End” includes “pieces that were not quite ready in time” for the previous update including 6 Vanity Sets from the Journey’s End Vanity Design contest, a new NPC – “The Princess,” a handful of new achievements, and some new items. You can check out the entire game’s patch notes here, as it looks like there is more than one would expect in a post-final-update patch. The new update is currently available for players on PC, and there’s no set date for it to come to consoles just yet. I personally haven’t played Terraria, but if I were a big fan, I would definitely be super stoked about all this additional content.
If Found… Comes to Switch Next Week
Is it even a weekly indie roundup if an indie game isn’t being ported to the Switch? Publisher Annapurna Interactive announced that they’ll be bringing developer Dreamfeel’s surrealist self-exploration adventure If Found… to the Switch this coming October 22nd. It’ll include quite a few upgrades such as a bonus chapter, extra story stuff, a few new endings, some new artwork, and new accessibility options. It’ll also come with a new song from Irish singer-songwriter Loah and composer 2mello, with lyrics from the game’s co-writer and director Llaura McGee. If you haven’t played it yet (or even heard of it), that’s okay, neither have I! The game’s website refers to it as an “interactive visual novel about searching for connection,” and follows the coming-of-age struggles of a young girl named Kasio as she destroys her diary. It looks pretty artsy, which I love, and is currently available on Steam and iOS if you can’t wait 4 days to dive into it.
Stardew Valley Getting Split-Screen Co-Op
Virtual farmers rejoice! Stardew Valley developer Eric Barone has revealed via Twitter that the game will be receiving vertical split-screen play in the upcoming 1.5 update. As our own Zane Wong reported, players will be able to wander the world of Stardew Valley alone together sitting side by side (or six feet apart) as they won’t be subject to being in the same room at the same time (lookin’ at you, Animal Crossing). Up to 4 farmers will be able to play split-screen on PC, though the console version will only support 2 players (which, sounds a little backwards to me? Who the hell invites 3 friends over to sit in front of their PC?). There’s no release date for the update just yet, but you can find out a little more about what might be in it by checking out Zane’s article.
What do you think of this week’s indie gaming news? Are you checking out If Found… on Switch? Are you gonna get 3 friends to come to play Stardew Valley split-screen? As always, let us know what you think of this week’s roundup in the comments, and be sure to keep it locked to COGconnected for all your gaming news!
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