Indie Hate

One of the evolution of the gaming scene over the last decade has been the extinction of mid-sized publishers and game studios and the rise of indie development studios. The liberalization of the console development scene also gave rise to interesting new titles from some of these indie studios. From the true one-man indie developer to the publisher-funded studios like thatgamecompany, the indie movement has given us some unique experiences ranging from the retro-inspired Super Meatboy to the artistically impressive, Journey.

Unfortunately, because of this, triple-A or AA budget games are getting few and far between, especially early in a console lifecycle. This had many gamers or late adopters complaining that the lack of games for this current generation of consoles.

So let me set the records straight. There is no shortage of games. There may be less of US$60 games (RM200) released monthly, but certainly no lack of games. Here are some of the 'indie-games' or digital downloads that you might have overlooked because of such pigeon-boxed thinking.

Don't Starve, Dead Nation Apocalypse, FEZ, Towerfall Ascension, Transistor, Child of Light, Valiant Hearts, Rouge Legacy, Road Not Taken. (all less than US$20 each, higher game-time per dollar value)

I must say, not all of those games are to my taste. I enjoy a bit of platform jumping in my games, but an entirely platforming Metroid-vania game is not something I play a lot. That is down to my poor sense of timing and slow reactions. Lack of games no, in fact, lots of variety. 

So, before you jump in to join the indie-hate bandwagon next time, have a think whether is it because of your gaming tastes or is it just a narrow opinion that is stopping you from enjoying a different slice of gaming?

Till next time. Open your Minds and Happy Gaming!