Hot indie: Cool games for the summer from independent and small studios

High—profile releases are great, but while waiting for hype novelties, you can skip the masterpieces from small studios. Funny rhythm roglikes, well-developed strategies, fervent races and other projects of indie developers that are worth paying attention to this summer are in the Izvestia collection.

Ratatan

Genre: rhythm action game with roglike elements
Developer: Ratata Arts, TVT Co., Ltd.
What to play on: PC, PlayStation 4, Play Station 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch

Screenshot from the Ratatan game

Photo: Ratata Arts

No sooner had the deluxe edition of the rhythm hit Patapon been released than a new project with a very similar name was on the line. This is not a coincidence — its development is led by the creator of the series, Hiroyuki Kotani.

Ratatan is a rhythm roguelike action game with an online cooperative of up to 4 people. The plot is similar to its predecessor: now you have to play for a tribe of creatures called Ratatans, who went to the mysterious land of Eternity to meet the Goddess. Their path is filled with a variety of enemies, which can only be defeated by maintaining a musical rhythm.

The King is Watching

Genre: Roglight-strategy-strategy
Developer: Hypnohead
What to play on: PC

Screenshot from the game The King is Watching

Photo: Hypnohead

A strategy with non-banal concepts: the player must control his kingdom with the power of his gaze. The subjects here only work when you look at them. It is necessary to properly distribute attention between collecting resources, training troops and protecting the castle from crowds of enemies.

With each new playthrough comes improvements, additional abilities, defenses, and ideas for the next board, as well as access to advisors with unique skills.

ISLANDERS: New Shores

Genre: urban strategy
Developer: Grizzly Games
What to play on: PC, Nintendo Switch, Play Station 5, Xbox Series X|S

Screenshot from the game ISLANDERS: New Shores

Photo: Grizzly Games

Rethinking the popular minimalistic Islanders strategy with new biomes and the opportunity to explore archipelagos. Players will have to build cities on procedurally generated islands, select the ideal location of buildings to get maximum points and discover lands.

The project will preserve the leisurely relaxed atmosphere of the original, offering even more content and creative freedom.

UnderMine 2

Genre: roglike with RPG elements
Developer: Thorium
What to play on: PC

Screenshot from the game UnderMine 2

Photo: Thorium

UnderMine 2 will improve the formula of the first part and, if you believe the promises of the developers, will take research to a radically new level.

Players will have to descend into the depths of the dungeons, create powerful relics from artifacts, and also go from an ordinary farmer to a great hero. Behind the scenes, intrigues of a universal scale are hidden: not just a war is raging in the state of Delvmore, but a secret confrontation between two demonic twins, which begins to destroy reality.

Kaizen: A Factory Story

Genre: puzzle, simulator
Developer: Coincidence
What to play on: PC

Screenshot from the game Kaizen: A Factory Story

Photo: Coincidence

The date of action is 1986. The hero was promised a luxurious life and a breakneck career: a job in the international sales department in Japan. But the transfer took him not to a modern office, but to a dilapidated factory on the outskirts of Tokyo. The goal of the game is to justify his new position as a designer of industrial lines and to establish production automation.

Coincidence Studio has established itself as a master of factory puzzles (remember Infinifactory), so the project looks promising.

Dawn Apart

Genre: colony simulator, strategy
Developer: Industrial Technology and Witchcraft
What to play on: PC

Screenshot from the game Dawn Apart

Photo: Industrial Technology

A new conveyor production simulator for everyone who liked Factorio.

Here you have to manage an industrial colony on the planet Sirius B3. Activities include resource extraction, designing production chains using conveyors, and automating processes to ensure the survival and prosperity of the settlement.

You will be able to choose the path of development of the colony yourself: the user can follow the instructions of the corporation that finances the expedition, or rebel against it.

Wheel World

Genre: Arcade adventure, racing
Developer: Messhof
What to play on: PC, Nintendo Switch

Screenshot from the game Wheel World

Photo: Messhof

An adventure race in which the player controls the cyclist Kat. The girl has a great goal in front of her — to save the wheel world from a terrible death. The prettily stylized environment will be filled with various obstacles and secrets, and for modifications of the two-wheeled faithful friend, you can get a lot of details and upgrades.

Mycopunk

Genre: cooperative shooter, action
Developer: Pigeons at Play
What to play on: PC, Play Station 5, Xbox Series X|S

Screenshot from the Mycopunk game

Photo: Pigeons at Play

Gamers are more or less familiar with cyberpunk and steampunk, but mushroom punk is something new.

In the Mycopunk universe, aggressive fungal spores have taken over the Earth. Users will have to fight hordes of mutants and giant bosses. You can fight alone or in a team of up to 4 players, using a variety of weapons and gadgets to clear infected areas and complete missions to destroy mushroom hives.

He is Coming

Genre: rogue-RPG
Developer: Chronocle
What to play on: PC

Screenshot from the game He is Coming

Photo: Chronocle

Roglight is an RPG with elements of an autobattler, in which the user will fight the rebellious Demon King and his henchmen. Every three game days, a new boss appears (out of over 30 possible ones), and the hero must adapt his strategy by collecting and combining over 350 unique items to survive and prepare for the next threat.

The project also features an asynchronous "Kingmaker" multiplayer mode, in which game characters become opponents in sessions with each other.

Everdeep Aurora

Genre: 2D metroidization
Developer: Nautilus Games
What to play on: PC, Nintendo Switch

Screenshot from the Everdeep Aurora game

Photo: Nautilus Games

Little cat Shell embarks on an underground journey in search of her missing mother. This is an atmospheric adventure with pixel graphics in the spirit of old Gameboy games.

Those who have already tried the novelty, note the bright and dynamic world, many unusual characters and a variety of puzzles. The main feature of Everdeep Aurora is the conscious abandonment of the developers of the combat system, the gameplay is completely focused on research and interaction with other characters.

Hell Clock

Genre: action-RPG, roglike
Developer: Rogue Snail
What to play on: PC

Screenshot from the game Hell Clock

Photo: Rogue Snail

Isometric action RPG with roglike elements, inspired by the events of the Brazilian Canudus War in the 19th century. A former slave, Pageau, goes to hell's purgatory to save his mentor's soul. The game includes three storyline acts and the Ascension endgame mode, where you can customize the difficulty of the levels and challenges to your liking.