Being at EGX in London was a prime example of the hustle and bustle of a convention. You can often get lost in endless queues and intimidated by the crowds. So, it can be a refreshing change of pace to commit to the indie section—an often quieter segment of the show floor.
It’s in these areas where true upcoming gems can come to fruition. Here are five indie games we saw at EGX that you should have on your radar.
Rune Factory 4 Special
Starting off at EGX was a wonderful behind closed doors session with Marvelous Games’ Rune Factory 4 Special. Originally released for the 3DS, this remaster is being ported to the Nintendo Switch.
Immediately, the art style feels well suited to the Switch hardware, boasting a vibrant color palette, gorgeous world design, and anime inspirations. Exploring the world was pure joy, due to its warm, friendly art direction.
The premise of Rune Factory 4 Special is predominantly a farming sim, in the same vein as games such as Stardew Valley.
Farm, cook, fish and complete quests to further your progression within the world. Unlike most games of that genre, Rune Factory 4 Special boasts an array of fully animated cutscenes and a complete RPG based storyline with goals to motivate you to push forward.
The demo allowed us to engage with dungeon exploring as well as a variety of farming aspects (and yes—the wildlife is ridiculously cute!) Even when portraying different genres, Rune Factory 4 Special manages to give them all the depth they deserve.
Rune Factory 4 Special looks to merge multiple genres into a successful concoction. Though no release date has been announced, we were told that they’re fishing for a winter release.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Speaking of genre hybrids, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, by developer Edelweiss, aims to follow the same vein. This time however, the focus is on a beat-em-up, side-scrolling adventure combined with an open world farming simulation experience.
Very little was provided story-wise, but the main outline is that you play as Sakuna, a washedup heroine who finds herself on a new island. By herself with the inhabitants, she hopes to find her place within the world.
With the time we got with Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, only the action heavy side was available to play. We were shown a gameplay video of the other aspects, which promised open world exploration within the island, alongside the day-to-day activities you can partake in.
What we did get to play however was strong enough within itself. The combat in Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin was punchy, slick, and intuitive.
The promise of new weapons to test, as well as combos, was wonderfully alluring. Sakuna controls with pitch-perfect precision and navigating the 2.5 style environments feels tight and responsive.
A boss battle at the end of the demo proved that Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a challenging game. Said to be taking place within the first hour of the game, the creature we were pitched against was hard-as-nails (and it kicked our butts!)
The action/farming simulation hybrid shown to us at EGX attempts to try something new for the genre. Again, no set release date was announced, but a winter release is also on the cards for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC.
Heroland
One of the biggest surprises was Heroland; a new upcoming RPG game for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Heroland, by developer FuRyu, is an RPG that sees your character, Lucky, washed up on the shore of an island known as Heroland—a theme park in which guests can experience RPG-dungeon crawling adventures.
You’re quickly thrust into the role of a tour guide, as you lead your party through these treacherous dungeons to defeat an assortment of enemies (or known to you as fellow employees dressed as mystical monsters—our demo has us fighting bunnies!)
Quite a few things make Heroland stand out. Firstly, the game is highly focused on its world, story, and hilarious script rather than its RPG mechanics.
Heroland’s EGX demo was long. The first 20 minutes was mainly a text adventure game, but consistently amusing dialogue kept our interest piqued. The style of humor wouldn’t feel out of place within the Mario & Luigi series.
We managed to experience one dungeon in our time, which plays it like a board game, as you travel from space to space. Each segment involves a new situation, such as battles or story.
Combat in the game is very different from most other RPGs, too. Instead of being involved directly, as a tour guide you step back and allow your party to fight. This doesn’t detach you from the heat of battle however, as you still possess a responsibility to care and nurture your team mates.
The ability to give guidance on what party members should do, assist when needed, and generally guide the flow of battle proved to be a rewarding experience. It’s an unusual system that not many games have adapted, but it worked and gave you that feeling of direction as a leader.
Heroland is a fresh take on the RPG experience that will be interesting to follow. No concrete release date is available to us at EGX, but again, a winter date is the focus.
Roki
Bathed in Scandinavian folklore, the beautiful Roki was an instant charm. With a visual aesthetic reminiscent of a painting, it was immediately eye-catching.
Roki, by developer Polygon Treehouse, tells the story of Tove, a young girl on a journey to save her family amidst the atmospheric setting. Underneath the striking art style is set to be a dark story, dripping with local folklore.
Everything plays out as a point-and-click adventure game, but what made Roki so inviting is how natural the progression felt.
A common mistake games of this genre can make, is not following a natural progression of events. For example, combining items that would seem impractical, resulting in a trial and error mindset to progress.
The world feels natural and the way Tove interacts with the world flows perfectly. Accompanying this was a stellar soundtrack and immaculate sound design, with characters sounding very reminiscent of those in Ori and the Blind Forest.
From the section of the game displayed, it’s hard to judge how dark Roki will go and where the story is going—but that’s exciting.
Knowing so little about the world and learning more about Scandinavian culture is one of the charms. Tove also possess a journal, which provides entries that further expand the lore and made for a wonderfully interesting addition.
Roki was one of the best games we played at EGX and it is scheduled for a winter release on Nintendo Switch and Steam.
Moving Out
Ever wanted to experience an Overcooked-style game, but this time it revolves around you moving out?
No?
You want to. Trust me.
Moving Out by SMG Studio and DevM games brings Overcooked’s winning formula to a new, unique setting.
The basic premise involves you and a friend teaming up to remove all the furniture from the level to the removal truck. That is literally the game, but an injection of humorous style and ragdoll physics ramps up the insanity, creating a hilarious experience.
Through the multiple levels we played, we were subjected to removing possessed furniture from a haunted house while avoiding ghouls, loading live cattle from a farm to the back of a truck, looting an office block of all of resources as quickly as possible, and an array of other crazy scenarios.
The couch co-op play that worked so well for Overcooked has been successfully translated over to this game and will likely prove to be a multiplayer stand out when it’s released.
It’s unclear whether online multiplayer will be available as the EGX demo only showcases local, but it definitely appears to be the perfect party game—no matter the crowd.
Moving Out has a release window of 2020 and is due to move onto Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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