October is packed with heavy-hitter AAA releases like Ghost of Yotei, Ninja Gaiden 4, Little Nightmares III, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and the hotly anticipated Battlefield 6. But don’t let these titans overshadow these promising indie games dropping this month! Here’s five you probably haven’t heard of to keep on your radar.
Absolum
In their third epic team-up following Streets of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, studios DotEmu, Guard Crush, and Gamirror Games have reunited to bring you a brand new roguelite beat ’em up! This classic-style action game is set in a colorful hand-drawn fantasy world, putting players in the shoes of a team of outcast warriors battling to retake the very essence of magic from a tyrannical king. Just as in their previous games, you can play entirely solo, with couch co-op, or online with your friends. No matter what else happens, you can be sure the action is going to be high-octane, intense, and never ending. A demo is available right now on Steam for you to try it for yourself! Absolum will be available on October 9.
Steam Page / Nintendo eShop / PlayStation Store
Becastled
After four and a half long years in Early Access, city-builder/tower defense game Becastled is finally making its 1.0 debut. During the day, you’ll leisurely enjoy building out a cozy city in medieval style. But then everything changed when the Moon Beasts attacked. At night, you’ll defend your town from waves of monsters with the troops and defenses from your town. It’s a simple gameplay loop, but with an 84% Steam rating on the Early Access version, it clearly works. If you’re craving some RTS goodness but are looking for beautiful idyllic visuals, Becastled will definitely hit the spot. Of course you’ll manage regular city-builder stuff like happiness, food, water, and fuel, but you’ll need to balance everyday life with creating an army that can hold the line. Becastled comes out of Early Access on October 23, but if you’re going to play it on PC you can grab it right now in Early Access for a lower price.
Steam Page / GOG Galaxy Page / Nintendo eShop / PlayStation Store / Xbox Store
Blood of Mehran
This upcoming action RPG from Permanent Way Game Co. looks like a promising indie answer to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. In particular, Blood of Mehran heavily evokes Assassin’s Creed Mirage as well as Prince of Persia, sending the players to a world inspired by the ancient poem Arabian Nights. The players take control of Mehran, a legendary warrior who must defend the weak from a conspiracy of invaders. The developers promise a faithful recreation of Ancient Mesopotamia in which players can choose between stealth, melee combat, ranged combat, or mounted combat for each encounter to level up a skill tree and unlock new abilities. If you’re missing the early games like Assassin’s Creed II, I definitely recommend trying the more recent Mirage at some point. However, first take a look of Blood of Mehran – this indie offering might just hit the spot when it drops on October 7.
Steam Page / Epic Games Store / PlayStation Store / Xbox Store
Bye Sweet Carole
Bye Sweet Carole has been on my radar for years now, and I’m psyched to finally get my hands on it on October 9. This story-rich survival horror game takes place in a world strongly inspired by both mid-century classic Disney cartoons and the works of master animator Don Bluth, the artist behind Anastasia, The Land Before Time, Fivel: An American Tail, and Pete’s Dragon. Set in the throes of the women’s suffrage movement of the 1900s, young British woman Lana follows the trail of her missing best friend to an orphanage with dark and terrifying secrets. Players will need to learn to manipulate both the physical and ethereal world of Corolla in order to find a way out. The blend of Disney Princesses and survival horror promises an experience like none other. This is the first outing from the small Italian studio Little Sewing Machine, and I am crossing my fingers it lives up to the hype.
Steam Page / PlayStation Store / Xbox Store / Nintendo eShop
Dreamed Away
I have no qualms with games that wear their influences on their sleeves. Solo developer Nicolas Pelton has big shoes to fill with this Kickstarter-backed project, as his upcoming turn-based bullet hell RPG is so heavily inspired by Undertale and Deltarune it references those very games in the opening scene. If you’ve played Toby Fox’s masterpieces, or Earthbound before them, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect in Dreamed Away. Your choices will have weight as you explore a dark forest alongside young Théo, searching desperately for his lost parents and sister. With dark forces at work in a world that is constantly flipping between a dream and nightmare, players will need to steel their nerves to survive this whimsical pixel art world. Dreamed Away releases in full on October 23 but has a demo out you can play right now on Steam!
Honorable Mention: Ball x Pit
Devolver Digital still publishes and funds lots of games from small independent developers, which is awesome! However, it would be hard to argue they are hurting for marketing or public awareness with their games. So I wanted to make sure I give room to five true, blue indie games on this list, but also issue a reminder that the solo-developed Ball x Pit, a roguelike game unlike anything I’ve ever played, will be hitting stores on October 15! Think Loop Hero meets that Brick Breaker game from Windows XP but you’re driving a tank and fighting demons. It’s hard to describe! And it’s got a soundtrack from Citizen Sleeper and Minecraft composer Amos Roddy, so that’s going to slap for sure. Just check out the demo you can play right now on Steam and jump into the pit to find out for yourself.
Steam Page / Xbox Store (Unlisted as of yet on the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Store)
Did I miss any indie games you’re looking forward to? Let us know in the comments and share this list with your friends to promote some cool games from small developers!
