A colorful bouquet of games: the indie games of the coming months
Indie games took up significantly more space at Gamescom than in previous years. The next few months therefore hold promising releases in store.
(Image: Liane M. Dubowy/heise medien)
The indies are unstoppable: the "Indie Arena Booth" alone, the largest joint indie stand in Hall 10.2, takes up 2037.5 square meters at Gamescom this year, which is around 500 square meters more than last year. This means not only more games, but also a little more space in between. Larger and smaller stands are lined up here, with tiny arcade boxes in between for the games of 198 studios from 38 countries. The federal states of Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-WĂĽrttemberg and Gamecity Hamburg have also given some game studios a booth. There are other game stations from other providers all around.
Strengthening democracy through play
Under the motto "Games for democracy", the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) also has a stand in the Indie Arena Booth this year. The bpb will be presenting five curated games with a political education objective at its stand. The focus is on games that address the challenges facing democracies worldwide. The five selected titles are wide-ranging: In"The Darkest Files", you play a prosecutor investigating old Nazi crimes. In"Compensation not guaranteed", a government employee examines the distribution of land in post-colonial Southeast Asia. In the turn-based CRPG"Glasshouse", you have to investigate a mysterious triple murder in a neighboring apartment and confront a political conspiracy. In"Media Circus", you found your own newspaper and try to influence the masses in an animal world. Finally, the narrative title"Take us north" takes us on the journey of migrants and asylum seekers on their way across the border between the USA and Mexico.
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Honeycomb – The World Beyond
Polish studio Frozen Way Games is presenting its sci-fi adventure "Honeycomb – The World Beyond" in the Indie Arena Booth. In the game, players slip into the shoes of bioengineer Hennessy O'Quinn, who lands on the planet Sota 7 for a research mission. The alien planet is full of unknown animal and plant species, which Hennessy must first research. However, she is not only doing this to ensure her own survival. She is also trying to find – or grow – a plant that can exist on the contaminated Earth, where life is only possible in arks.
(Image:Â Frozen Way Games)
The game is largely peaceful: Hennessy lives in harmony with nature and is kind to flora and fauna. Most of the animals are also peaceful and like to be stroked. However, the world is not without danger; some creatures defend their territory.
In order to survive on the alien world of Sota 7, Hennessy must build a base and a research laboratory, research the local flora, breed new species and explore the planet and its secrets. The game "Honeycomb – The World Beyond" by Polish studio Frozen Way is scheduled for release on November 6, 2025 for Windows and macOS.
Rue Valley
We encounter a completely different scenario in "Rue Valley" by Emotion Spark Studio. Protagonist Eugene is sitting on a couch in a therapy session and only reluctantly answers the therapist's questions. He is not in this remote hotel by choice and his memories are patchy. His mood does not improve when he realizes that he is stuck in a time loop. He has exactly 47 minutes to find out more about what happened and free himself. When the loop starts again, he is back in front of his therapist. However, he is able to take memories and ideas with him and gradually put the events into context, explore the background stories of the other characters and develop further.
(Image:Â Emotion Spark Studio)
Eugene's personality is the key in this narrative role-playing game; you choose his character traits at the beginning. Depending on your choice, he is more introverted, determined or paranoid, for example. This determines which action and dialog options are available in the game. Eugene's personality changes over the course of the game, and status effects can also influence it. For example, Eugene is more decisive when he comes out of the rain soaking wet or is drunk. In order to consolidate intentions and take them into the next run, you have to invest inspiration points in the game. Eugene receives these through small successes, such as when he manages to fly a paper airplane or enjoy the view instead of letting his depression get him down.
Eugene can use the memories of previous runs to his advantage, because it makes a difference when he is where and does things. For example, if thunder always causes a power cut at 8.38 am, he can use this knowledge to open an electricity box at exactly the right time. The game is never hectic, as time only runs when Eugene is doing something relevant, talking to people or walking down the street.
The graphics of Rue Valley are impressive; even the menu is designed in the style of a comic strip, and the graphics in the game continue this. Sketchy, animated lines give the isometric RPG the impression of a hand-drawn comic strip, while brushstrokes skillfully simulate rays of light. Rue Valley is due to be released for Windows on November 11, 2025, and a demo version is already available on Steam.
Winter Burrow
(Image:Â Liane M. Dubowy/heise medien)
"Winter Burrow" also comes with beautifully drawn graphics, but that's about it in terms of similarities. Here you play a little mouse trudging through the snow and restoring her parents' home. In the cozy survival game "Winter Burrow" by Danish studio Pine Creek Games, you collect all kinds of materials in the forest to gradually rebuild the old tree stump, your parents' old house. Once the rocking chair has been repaired, the mouse can sit in it and knit a warm sweater and other items of clothing from the collected fibers. This looks very nice in the isometric 2D perspective with hand-drawn comic graphics.
Once equipped with warm clothing, the mouse can survive longer in the winter cold and travel further distances in the forest. While exploring the surroundings, she meets the locals and also sets off searching for her aunt, who should have been looking after her parents' home.
(Image:Â Pine Creek Games)
The game from the small Danish studio Pine Creek Games is due to be released later this year, and a playable demo version is already available on Steam. Developer RĂ©mi Fusade announced around ten hours of gameplay in an interview with c't at Gamescom.
A nice preview of the upcoming indie games
As always, the indie games presented at Gamescom are at very different stages of development. While some of them only have a prototype to help find a publisher, others are already playable in Early Access or have just been completed. The latter include the post-apocalyptic survival game "Forever Skies", the open-world survival crafting game"Len's Island" and the cozy game"Tiny Bookshop", which are therefore worth another look. The next few months also promise more exciting releases. So nobody should get bored so quickly, and the outlook for the coming indie year is very promising.
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(lmd)
