Five Must Play Indies From Play NYC 2021
Play NYC is a multi-day game convention in New York City where dozens of game developers show off their games, many for the first time to the general public. As a long time fan of this event, I was happy to be back at the Metropolitan Pavilion in person and feeling the excitement in the show room. With over 65 game studios at the event, I honed in on five games that I absolutely love and cannot wait to experience in all their glory with their full releases.
Assimilate! (A Party Game) by Friendship is Fun
I immediately fell in love with this cute, wide-eyed ‘50s vibe paired with the beautiful color choices of Assimilate. The game is inspired by Jackbox games where 5-10 players finger-point-it-out to decide who the robot is and how to work together to win the game. Set up is super easy, where each person logs in with their phone to quickly dive into the shenanigans. We were able to get a round with a few show-goers and it had a few finger-pointing moments. In addition to the fun and wonderfully charming game, the small team at Friendship is Fun is equally wonderful. It was great hearing that this game grew out of the Covid-19 shelter-in-places at the start of March 2020 and grew into a full-fledged game coming out at the end of August.
Cell to Singularity by Computer Lunch
Released in 2018, Cell to Singularity where you progress through life on Earth from its earliest single-celled organism up to mankind’s brink of technological singularity. This free to play game on PC and mobile also contains accurate descriptions, tracking, and vocabulary to really drive its accuracy and attention to detail. The new expansion, Beyond, allows players to also accurately explore the Solar System - planets, constellations, asteroids, and more. This whole package caught my attention early on because of it’s amazing educational benefits. As a secondary teacher, I quickly started thinking about applications to engage students in the content, gamify the experience, and apply these skills from the game into the classroom. I may have already brought it up to a few Living Environment and Astronomy teachers...
Seed of Agony by Autonomic Interactive
This game, with it’s 16-bit art style and demonic/alien overtone, made me think of a cool mix between old-school Metroid games and the earlier MegaMan games. However, unlike those two, Seed of Agony is a procedurally generated game where you play as a demon who is charged to colonize solar systems and build an army of demons. Though the demo was very text heavy in the front, the actual gameplay was enough to hook me. With plenty of RPG elements to customize, different objectives per planet, and some interesting lore, I’m excited to give the game a go once it’s fully ready for players.
Shoulder of Giants by Moving Pieces
For a game I knew nothing about, I was blown away by what I saw and played from Shoulder of Giants. In this game, you play as two characters simultaneously, a small gunslinging humanoid frog on top of a large sword-wielding robot, who are charged to defeat the ‘darkness’ by bringing back the ‘light’. During this hefty demo, I was able to explore several planets and play around with the fighting mechanics. To balance the two characters, the robot focuses more on melee attacks and abilities, while the frog handles the long-range attacks and weapons. There’s also roughlite features to the game, though that wasn’t really prevalent in my time with the game (since, you know, it’s still a major work in progress). Combat and movement felt super smooth, and after the 25-minute adventure in the demo, I was hungry for more. I cannot wait to play this game again and dive right into the mechanics and lore.
Squish by PM Studios
Another game that I had no idea existed until Play NYC is Squish. At first, I almost scoffed at this game - you play as glowing skeletons who are maneuvering blocks to squish your opponents. The last skeleton standing wins the round, and if you win three rounds, then you win the match. However, I was sadly mistaken by my immediate reaction. Once I started playing, the fun factor skyrocketed and within seconds I figured out the mechanics. Additionally, there’s some hazards and recovery abilities to add layers to this game, so anything can happen. This game reminded me a bit if Runbow and Super Smash Bros. had a baby with its adjustable platforming within a confined space and the hilarity of a simple party-fighting game. With a release window for early 2022, I can’t wait to squish my friends in this game.
Honorable Mentions
Beat the Bomb: A team based adventure that challenges players to solve puzzles together where each person has only a portion of the information (think digital escape room without the escaping part).
Rushdown Revolt: A competitive fighter game that combines Super Smash Bros and Guilty Gear into a fast-paced smash-fest.
Scrap Bringer: A tough, fast paced combat game with beautiful hand drawn animation and fantastic art style.
Written by Harry Loizides