Indie games are taking the gaming industry and community by storm, and 2023 is no different with a vibrant lineup of releases scheduled for next year.
With 2023 fast approaching, gamers interested in playing something different for themselves next year should make it a point to check these games out.
Here are the games gamers may want to look out for in 2023.
Moonstone Island
Moonstone Island is a game that takes Animal Crossing's formula and places it in a No Man's Sky-type video game.
The game places players in the shoes of an alchemist-in-training eager to set out by themselves and prove that they have what it takes to show that they have what it takes in a world stifled by dark forces, per Nintendo Life.
The game's AI procedurally creates 120+ islands full of activities for players to do, including taming spirits, crafting items, and discovering secrets.
Dungeon crawling is also possible in the game, allowing players to utilize everything in their arsenal, from tamed spirits in the form of card decks to defeat various enemies and uncover the source of "the Creeping Dark."
The Plucky Squire
Have you ever wondered what it would be like for book characters to break the fourth wall and come into our world? The Pucky Squire is a game that answers that question.
The game follows the adventures of storybook characters Jot and his group of friends, who magically discovers a three-dimensional world outside the pages of their storybook, per game publisher Devolver Digital.
However, the storybook's villain also realizes his fate, and in an act of defiance, kicks Jot out of the storybook, altering the book's ending. To restore the book's original happy ending, Jot must return to his storybook and save his friends in the process.
The game switches between 2D and 3D beautifully, with the game's visuals being eye candy for players to enjoy.
Valheim
Although Iron Gate AB's Valheim has been out for some time, it has yet to be playable for consoles. That is until the developer announced that the game would be available on Microsoft's Xbox platform sometime in Spring 2023, per IGN.
The game was critically praised for its excellent art design and music, to say nothing of the wideness and depth the game provides with its open-world exploration and combat mechanics.
Each playthrough is different due to the game's AI procedurally generating maps for players to play in and die if they are not careful enough.
It also gives players the freedom to role-play as much as they want. They can build homes and ships, live and fight as Vikings, and even play with nine other friends if they so wish.
Replaced
Replaced is a sci-fi retro-futuristic action platformer that lets players experience a combination of cinematic platforming, pixel art, and free-flow action combat in a dystopian cyberpunk 1980s, per the game's Steam webpage.
Players take the role of REACH, an AI trapped in a human body against its will and struggling to adjust and adapt to human life in and around Phoenix-City.
However, the city is run by individuals who see humans and their organs as currency, which is in direct contrast to the city's vibrant life and bright lights.
Not everything is dark and gloomy in the city, though, according to Xbox Wire. Players can meet the people that suffered through this treatment and learn more about them.
They can even help REACH understand and learn what it is to be human in such a world.
Sea Of Stars
If you're looking for a sense of nostalgia and find something new in the process, then Sea of Stars may be the thing you're looking for.
The game, according to developer Sabotage Studio, uses an art style that hearkens back to classic RPG games but feels modernized enough to make it fit in a time when 2D games are the minority in the gaming industry.
It also uses turn-based combat reminiscent of similar games like those from the Final Fantasy series, per the game's Steam webpage.
Furthermore, players looking for a nostalgia fix can expect exploration and interactions with the environment to be similar to that of classic games in the past.
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