We’re halfway through 2024 and the indie scene's still on a roll with the best indie games this month has to offer. Let’s look at the best indie titles we covered in June. Continue reading to discover great titles that you might have been sleeping on.
Showcasing June 2024s Indie Titles
With half of 2024 behind us and six more months of indie releases to look forward to, let’s sum up the best and greatest titles from the indie scene for the month of June. We’ve got an amazing lineup this time around, with everything from a psychological thriller a la CSI to a God-like crab-like roguelite gracing this month’s roster.
We’ve also got a couple of visual masterpieces for the gritty realism enjoyers and Art Nouveau nerds among you, so sit tight, get your hazmat suits on, and get your sushi mats ready as we go over the best indie titles June has to offer.
Check out last month’s edition of our indie showcase if you missed it!
Songs of Silence
Let's kickstart this list with the most visually appealing and artistically driven game in this month’s roster, Songs of Silence! If you’re a fan of tactical RTS games and army formations, then the kingdom-spanning tactics and 4X elements of this game will most definitely satisfy you. If you also happen to enjoy the Art Nouveau movement, you’re in luck, because this game is absolutely bedecked in gold filigree, bold colors, and enough detailed linework to impress the genre’s greatest artists. Bundle all that with a well-built fantasy world and a soundtrack to die for, and you’ve got the utter majesty of Songs of Silence.
Autopsy Simulator
Let’s follow up that helping of artistry with a side order of psychological horror in this month’s sole horror entry, Autopsy Simulator. You heard that right; you’re not just cutting up cadavers in this simulator, you’re also diving headfirst into a psychological trip from which you won't return unchanged. Set in a heavily urbanized and undeniably early-90s New Orleans, this gritty and disturbing game is as atmospheric as it is gut-wrenching, with its amazing set design and character writing. If you can handle the guts, gore, and nudity, then you’re in for a wild ride. Just make sure to keep your gloves on.
Crab God
While the previous game was all about death and rediscovering the past, the next one is about rebirth and the prospect of a new future, both within the context of the game and in real life. Crab God is a strategy game and is among this month's many indie roguelikes. In this game, you command a legion of devout crablings as you all try to survive the Great Migration to bring about the birth of a new Crab God. Various sinister forces and imbalanced ecosystems stand in the path of your migration, and only through your divine intervention can these wrongs be righted.
That’s well and good, but what sets this game apart is its real-life impact by way of the game’s unique donation system. As you play through Crab God, you can guide the developers' donations to various ecological preservation missions around the world, allowing you to make a difference beyond the game. How’s that for an achievement?
Chornobyl Liquidators
From talks of death and rebirth to tributes of real-life heroes during times of disaster, let’s move on to this month’s other hyperrealistic simulator game, Chornobyl Liquidators. Set in the catastrophic aftermath of the infamous 1986 Chernobyl Disaster, this is a game about disaster management and political intrigue. You take on the role of a liquidator trying to contain the fallout from the disaster’s wreckage. If you can forgive the game’s buggy nature and awful voice acting, then this might be your chance to relive one of the most iconic moments of human history.
Megacopter
If you’re looking for something a bit wackier than national disasters and psychological distress, but not one bit less gory, then you’re definitely going to love Megacopter. Evoking a gameplay and visual style similar to old-school shoot-'em-up games like Choplifter and Strike, this isn’t a game for the faint of heart, lest the sentient Megacopter take it as a sacrifice. You won’t find anything half as random as this game’s story, nor will you experience as fun a throwback from anywhere else. If high-energy action, senseless violence, and lol-so-random humor is your cup of gasoline, then Megacopter is for you.
Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends
Now let’s talk about something truly wholesome with yet another simulator game, this time—as its title so helpfully reveals—it’s about making sushi and making friends. Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends is a restaurant/social simulation game where you control a robot and their management of a sushi shop. As you go about your day, sushi-making gives way to socializing, and the narrative aspect of the game takes over. If you’re looking for a wholesome, seaweed-wrapped time, then Rolling Hills might just be the Roll-playing game you’re looking for.
Athenian Rhapsody
While the game before this was a roll-playing game in the most literal sense, let’s hunker down with an actual RPG. Athenian Rhapsody is a quirky and whimsical RPG with pixel art stylings reminiscent of Toby Fox’s Undertale and Deltarune. Although the comparisons between this game and Fox’s indie masterpiece are unavoidable, Athenian Rhapsody manages to carve out its own legacy as an RPG with its well-written characters, fun combat, beautiful pixel art visuals, and various narrative paths. It’s certainly worth a shot if you’re still waiting for Deltarune’s next chapter.
Until Then
Speaking of games with amazing pixel art, let’s have another one with one of this month’s most unique entries, Until Then! Until Then is an interactive visual novel with a distinct pixel art design that’s inspired by the urban sights, sounds, and environments of the Philippines. All manner of familiar Filipino locales populate this game’s various sceneries alongside a positively engaging coming-of-age story. Visual novels aren’t everyone’s cup of halo-halo, but if you’re looking for stories written with heart, then Until Then’s the right game for you.
The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty
We move from one amazing visual novel to another, this time with a distinctly Chinese touch and an outstanding review score to boot. The Hungry Lamb: Traveling the Late Ming Dynasty is a masterfully crafted visual novel following the story of a bandit named Liang and his journey across China with several children in tow. It’s a gripping tale showcasing the true struggles of the lower castes at the time, one that you won’t soon forget even after you’re done clicking through the game’s plentiful dialogue. Pair that with its stunning visuals and showstopping audio, and you’ve got one of this month’s greatest chart-toppers.
#BLUD
Let’s end on a nostalgic note with one of this month’s most unique and childhood memory-inducing entries, #BLUD! Don’t let the hashtag in the title fool you; this game is all about the classics—the Cartoon Network classics, that is. #BLUD is an action beat-em-up style game designed to look like old Cartoon Network shows, complete with title cards for chapter introductions and wacky animation. It also features a school-age vampire-hunting premise you’d expect from a Saturday morning cartoon with hilarious dialogue to match. So, if you’re looking to relive that mid-2010s nostalgia, then #BLUD is the perfect channel-turner for you.
