October saw the release of several big games, leaving not much room for the indie games that came out alongside them. Continue to read about the best indie games we played in October 2023 that you might have missed.
A Look Back on October 2023’s Indie Titles
A Wide Array of Genres and Creativity
October saw the release of several huge titles in gaming. Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Super Mario Bros Wonder are just to name the biggest ones. With such an abundance of high-budget titles, we made sure to leave some time for the indie titles that were released alongside them.
Countless indie games are being released every year, in varying levels of quality and polish. Sometimes they take the gaming world by storm and see unbelievable success, sometimes they hit their marks and perform well, and sometimes they fade into obscurity. It’s important to give focus to indie releases, as they provide alternative concepts and creativity that might never be found from the largest development studios. Sometimes, it’s not their uniqueness that begets success, but their out-execution and direction.
Let’s take a look at the indie titles that might have got lost in the shuffle in the very busy month of October.
Rungore | A Killer Card Game
First in our list, we have the Rungore, an energetic and silly action card battle that is currently in early access. It provides a unique take on the peculiar fusion of card games and action games, in which this roguelite idle battler produces a speedy and gory experience that will certainly turn heads.
From its breakneck combat, with so many "Guys" to choose from, and all the gimmicky enemies in your way, the game feels intense and frenetic. Add all the zany pixel art on top of that, and you have a great foundation of an action card game in Rungore. However, some of the progression might feel too dependent on random chance, which could leave you waiting and wishing for an upgrade that you want. Some of the "memey and funny" stuff might also run their course if you play for long enough.
As Rungore is still in early access, we’ll be keeping a close watch on its progress. We might not see how much more chaotic it could get for now, but we sure notice the game’s potential and can’t wait for future updates.
Wizard With a Gun | A Dry Bite-Size of Many Things
Next up is Wizard With A Gun, which is the most self-explanatory title you’ll ever need. It’s an online isometric sandbox survival game for up to 2 players, where you must prevent Chaos from obliterating everything. Take your magical-firearm-wielding wizard and fight through the sci-fi western-inspired wastelands of the Shatter to grow stronger and save the world.
It’s a very unique combination of a survival shooter sandbox with base building, crafting and roguelike elements. As Chaos prepares to destroy the world in 5 minutes, you must do all that you can within that time, and return to The Tower and wind the block back to prevent Chaos’s victory.
You have a wide selection of ammo that allow for much game-changing creativity and havoc. Though the combat mechanics are good enough, the survival itself is a bit underwhelming, as the enemies aren’t much of a threat to begin with, as their attack patterns are basic and easily avoidable. They become all the more underwhelming when you unlock even more powerful ammunition. This problem persists with the bosses, as they also have predictable and lackluster fights that require not much strategy at all.
Wizard With a Gun as it is, does a lot of good things, but hasn’t refined the more important aspects of engaging adversaries. The developers recently revealed a roadmap of updates and new content for the game, so we can expect the game to improve, and perhaps more wizarding and gunning in our future.
Jusant | Reaches High Heights but Lacks Depth
We’ll relax a bit for now with Jusant, a cozy action-puzzle rock climbing simulator. You take control of a boy as he silently climbs up a gigantic, immeasurably tall mountain-tower. Alongside him is a Ballast, a creature made out of water, who can revive the dried up fauna near their surroundings. The two slowly but surely make their way up through The Tower, investigating the remains of deserted settlements, and discovering mysterious monuments.
Jusant is completely without dialogue, as the story is visually told and presented throughout the climb. The rock-climbing mechanics lend itself to a high degree of freedom, where with the game’s physics engine, you’re able to solve puzzles or explore through your own volition and solutions. The game also looks beautifully rich, with an abundance of environmental storytelling spread all over The Tower. However, as the game is dependent on its physics engine, there are inevitable moments where you could get stuck in weird areas such and so that break the immersion and relaxation aspects of the game.
Jusant, as it stands(or climbs), is a spectacle-filled experience with a relaxing atmosphere where you can solve puzzles and reach the summit at your own pace.
Ghostrunner 2 | Strike First, Strike Fast, Strike Again
Ghostrunner 2 is an exhilarating fast-paced first-person platformer where everyone dies in a single hit, even you. It’s the sequel to the beloved first game, where it ramps up to 11 with a number of new movement and combat tools, as well as new skill progressions that change the way you can play the game.
With your life possibly ending in one hit, Ghostrunner 2 provides excellent safety nets for failure. Dying at any combat, parkour, or motorcycle segment doesn’t feel as frustrating, as there are reasonable checkpoints for the player to respawn at, giving you better and faster chances to learn from your mistake and overcome any hurdle. Though forgiving, one of the main recurring segments, the motorcycle, could still use some refining. This was one of the new features added to the sequel, and it’s evident with how the controls are a bit janky and slow, being a stark contrast to the responsive-fast paced combat and parkour. Motorcycles segments also have combat sections, but they too are slow and sluggish, with weapons taking their time to function and fire.
Though the game contains a lot of challenges meant for the mechanically skilled, Ghostrunner 2 encourages learning about your enemies and mastering the tools and skills at your disposal in order to prevail over your challenges. Once you’ve gotten a hang of it, leaving decimated foes in your wake will be unmatched in terms of satisfaction.
Battle Shapers | A Blast From the Future
Battle Shapers is an exceptionally fast sci-fi FPS roguelite that launched in early access. It certainly doesn’t feel that way though, as it is highly polished with addicting and refreshing gameplay that never gets boring. You’re Ada, a Shaper tasked to liberate New Elysium, a once bustling city that has been taken over by evil Overlords. Fight your way through enemies and pry the city from the clutches of evil.
Battle Shapers’ FPS gameplay is among the best we have ever seen, as all your skills harmoniously provide you the means to conquer the opposition. From agile movement, spammable jumps, flashy abilities, and various guns with their own unique traits, they lead to an extremely fun time. After battling in rooms, however, in order to gain the resources for progression and upgrades, you’re forced to explore each area you’re in to find tiny and missable boxes that contain the resources you need. These uninteresting and unintuitive search and collect segments break the flow and pace of the excitement built up from the great gunplay.
Battle Shapers is still in early access, and with the huge amount of enjoyment we’ve had, we see and expect so much potential still untapped with the game. The developers are ever responsive and pushing out patches, and we eagerly await for the full release.
Reverse 1999 | Ahead of Its Time
Reverse 1999 is a mobile turn-based tactical role-playing card battler. As the new millennium was set to come, when the clock struck at 23:59, a storm rained up towards the heavens, and the world mysteriously changed. A young girl called the "Timekeeper" was the only one who remained unaffected, as she had already witnessed the beginnings and ends of numerous eras.
As a card-based game, it’s more deep and thought provoking than you might expect. Meticulous care is required, as weighing your options between the cards on your hand can lead to drastically different results. Careful consideration of each use of a card for the future turns is essential. Team composition also plays an important role, as some characters have the needed abilities to manipulate the state of the battle, which can pave the way for near-perfect victories. The story is also stellar, succinct with just the right amount of poetic embellishment that never goes over the top. Though the arcs stretch over a long period, they are chock full of events and engaging narrative that make reading it a tireless treat. With the story however, there is a very minor gripe of unskippable extra lore, where it unnecessarily pads out the narrative even more.
Nevertheless, Reverse 1999 is still one of the best mobile games to come out in October, perhaps even one of the best of the year. It has just released a new event with more content and characters, and will continue to do so for the massive fanbase it has amassed over the last month.
Slay the Princess | She’ll Take Your Breath Away
Lastly, at the end of our list, comes Slay the Princess, a psychological-horror visual novel that involves, well, having to slay a princess. A simple enough premise that immediately raises your curiosity and makes you question why the princess must be slain in the first place.
As a visual novel, what carries the experience isn’t the one-note point-and-click gameplay, but the astoundingly surreal horror storytelling, stunningly unnerving visuals, and exceptional voice performances. With each choice you make, you branch off into another set of unique circumstances that evolve into stories of violence, betrayal, horror, and even romance. With all those winding branches and parallel paths however, if you’re the one to replay the game to exhaust all content, it will be a whole ordeal. With the immeasurable amount of possible events, the game doesn’t have a map of any sort to perhaps shuffle through and continue on from any point.
In any case, Slay the Princess is still worth playing all over again and again, to provide yourself with some doses of psychological horror, self-reflection, and existential dread.
