The Indie Boss

The Indie Boss

@bosskernel.bsky.social

I'm Boss & This Is My Indie Corner! Ex-Xbox/Microsoft Studios QA/UI-Dev (Unaffiliated With Any Devs Unless Stated Otherwise!) Follow along to learn about new & obscure indie titles! And be reminded of nostalgic games! Power To The Indies!

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The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Big Dig Day 2 of playing incremental games cause of the dog bite on my palm, i've decided to check out Big Dig and i'm quite happy I did, you run a museum for animals and you go out to dig sites and dig up wild artifacts that bring in the crowds! #indiegames s.team/a/4304900

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Did I mention there was saucy political undertones? It turns out the Mayor may not be such a good guy after all, he's one of those "for the greater good" types and then you have Mayor frog who keeps trying to put a stop to him and eventually does (sort of), i'm still not clear if he's good either.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

You'll start off with a basic shovel and eventually upgrade yourself to having workers and eventually even an excavator, there may be more to it i'm unsure as I haven't completed the game yet, but i've been enjoying my time with it for the past few hours.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: OKUREK [Demo Available] They're calling it Cozy Pickle Horror, I know.. Not something I ever thought i'd say either, it's a horror farming game where you'll do your best to grow crops and pickle things, with creatures attempting to steal your yields. #indiegames #horror

store.steampowered.comOKUREK on SteamTend the farm, the chickens, the grieving jars. COZY-PICKLE-HORROR experience set in the rotting mountains of Czech Switzerland. Preserve what you couldn't save.
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: One Way Tickets I took a dog bite to the palm today trying to make sure my dogs didn't end up fighting, I have been forced into checking out the Incremental side of Steam, which lead me to finding this little gem out of China. (More in comments.) #Indiegames s.team/a/4817620

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

As seen below, there are a variety of fun little mechanics you'll have to get used to in order to fire your weapons or reload them, a lot of them work incredibly differently from each other. The bow for example has a draw string you have to manually pull for each shot, or turn cranks for auto guns.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: One Way Tickets I took a dog bite to the palm today trying to make sure my dogs didn't end up fighting, I have been forced into checking out the Incremental side of Steam, which lead me to finding this little gem out of China. (More in comments.) #Indiegames s.team/a/4817620

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

And other cart upgrades like better wheels, etc. You'll also get curios that act like stat boosts or game modifiers moving forward with your run, the point of survivors is that they'll ride on the cart with you and man the weapons and reload stations as needed. The weapons are also manually used-

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: One Way Tickets I took a dog bite to the palm today trying to make sure my dogs didn't end up fighting, I have been forced into checking out the Incremental side of Steam, which lead me to finding this little gem out of China. (More in comments.) #Indiegames s.team/a/4817620

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Essentially you'll have this cart that you'll load down with weapons and pick your route as you move over beautiful and often dangerous backdrops swarmed with monsters. At the stops you'll have the choice of buying new weapons, better versions or even cart upgrades. Along side survivors-

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Mycopunk Mayhaps I covered this during early access, but now it's 1.0 and they've done a good job at realizing the vision, Deep Rock meets looter shooter! It's so packed with stuff to do i'll take it to the comments to describe it all. #indiegames s.team/a/3247750

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

There's even set up missions where you have to build out a pipeline that will be incredibly familiar to Deep Rock fans, overall I think if you enjoy Deep Rock Galactic at all, you'll end up liking Myco cause there's enough cross over that it's kept mine and my wife's interest, it has 4-player co-op.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Mycopunk Mayhaps I covered this during early access, but now it's 1.0 and they've done a good job at realizing the vision, Deep Rock meets looter shooter! It's so packed with stuff to do i'll take it to the comments to describe it all. #indiegames s.team/a/3247750

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

There's infestation missions where you have to go and clear out hordes of enemies and abominations that like to show up as mini-bosses. Aside from the main objectives a lot of the time it has side objectives you can come across like Far Far West, you also get vehicles to traverse the map.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Mycopunk Mayhaps I covered this during early access, but now it's 1.0 and they've done a good job at realizing the vision, Deep Rock meets looter shooter! It's so packed with stuff to do i'll take it to the comments to describe it all. #indiegames s.team/a/3247750

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

In scrapper missions you'll do stuff like knock down Satellites out of space and then scavenge the cores out of them, there's a roguelike mode, or a slower paced exploration mission that sort of acts like MH:World where you can freely explore and resource gather.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Mycopunk Mayhaps I covered this during early access, but now it's 1.0 and they've done a good job at realizing the vision, Deep Rock meets looter shooter! It's so packed with stuff to do i'll take it to the comments to describe it all. #indiegames s.team/a/3247750

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

So essentially you choose about four different mercenary bots (I think they're mercenaries?), but they work for this little roach that sends you on a variety of missions that you can pick from on the global map. You've got planetary defense missions, retrieval missions, scrapper mission. -

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Forever Ago This one is gonna be a little different than my usual, i'm not gonna share screenshots cause I don't want to give spoilers, but I also do and do not recommend this game. It's an incredibly powerful and sad story about grief, so go in with that in mind. #indiegames

store.steampowered.comSave 10% on Forever Ago on SteamFollowing a tragic stroke of fate, Alfred embarks on a journey north in search of redemption in this single-player road trip adventure.
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played - OPUS: Prism Break Games often claim inspired by Studio Ghibli and sometimes they get it right, but often they're just art aesthetic. If this game had used the Ghibli art style and made a movie out of it, it'd be in my top 3 Ghibli movies of all time. #indiegames s.team/a/1947910

s.teamSave 20% on OPUS: Prism Peak on SteamOPUS: Prism Peak is a narrative adventure where you play as a weary photographer stranded in the Dusklands, traveling with a girl who's lost her memories. Together, you'll uncover the mysteries of thi...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

And a lot of the spirits you'll meet (who were mostly all humans when they were alive) are now mostly talking animals, it's all incredibly Ghibli-esque and it's a near tragedy that I almost missed this game. Which is now undoubtedly one of my top indies of the year.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played - OPUS: Prism Break Games often claim inspired by Studio Ghibli and sometimes they get it right, but often they're just art aesthetic. If this game had used the Ghibli art style and made a movie out of it, it'd be in my top 3 Ghibli movies of all time. #indiegames s.team/a/1947910

s.teamSave 20% on OPUS: Prism Peak on SteamOPUS: Prism Peak is a narrative adventure where you play as a weary photographer stranded in the Dusklands, traveling with a girl who's lost her memories. Together, you'll uncover the mysteries of thi...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

So you'll spend a majority of your adventure getting her back home to her mountain, but she's also fading so you have to find someone that can bring her back into existence cause your seeker camera (you're a photographer) isn't capable of saving her like it is the others.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played - OPUS: Prism Break Games often claim inspired by Studio Ghibli and sometimes they get it right, but often they're just art aesthetic. If this game had used the Ghibli art style and made a movie out of it, it'd be in my top 3 Ghibli movies of all time. #indiegames s.team/a/1947910

s.teamSave 20% on OPUS: Prism Peak on SteamOPUS: Prism Peak is a narrative adventure where you play as a weary photographer stranded in the Dusklands, traveling with a girl who's lost her memories. Together, you'll uncover the mysteries of thi...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

And to fade out of existence calls a big bad called the Shade out to come and take you away, which is like a tsunami of evil goo like stuff. So you meet this girl early on and she says she lives atop this giant mountain in the distance.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played - OPUS: Prism Break Games often claim inspired by Studio Ghibli and sometimes they get it right, but often they're just art aesthetic. If this game had used the Ghibli art style and made a movie out of it, it'd be in my top 3 Ghibli movies of all time. #indiegames s.team/a/1947910

s.teamSave 20% on OPUS: Prism Peak on SteamOPUS: Prism Peak is a narrative adventure where you play as a weary photographer stranded in the Dusklands, traveling with a girl who's lost her memories. Together, you'll uncover the mysteries of thi...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

It gets it right down tot he very core, you play as an utterly depressed guy whose life has been nothing but misfortune after misfortune. Something happens and you wake up in sort of a fantasy land between worlds, if people go on being forgotten they start to fade out of existence.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: Magnetic Catch [Demo Available] Different fishing game for once, I know you've seen YT shorts with magnet fishers, so you know what direction this is heading in. No action, just straight laid back chill treasure hunting, clean your finds and profit for better gear! #indiegames #demo

store.steampowered.comMagnetic Catch on SteamA magnet fishing adventure about rusty scrap and hidden wonders. Clean your finds and upgrade your gear to explore murky city canals, countryside lakes, and forgotten places, where every pull brings a...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: The Witch's Bakery It's not as on the nose as Mika's Witch Mountain, but by the nine TWB would live comfortably among a lineup of Studio Ghibli games. It's as cozy as can be and the hand drawn art is ah-mazing, you're gonna love this game. #indiegames #cozygames s.team/a/2967950

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Overall the puzzles are fun, the interior decorating is cute and i've enjoyed my time with it thus far. The story is also pretty great, if you're looking for sort of a whimsical shop keeper game that airs on the 25-30 hour range i'd say you've got a sweet little Indie on your hands.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: The Witch's Bakery It's not as on the nose as Mika's Witch Mountain, but by the nine TWB would live comfortably among a lineup of Studio Ghibli games. It's as cozy as can be and the hand drawn art is ah-mazing, you're gonna love this game. #indiegames #cozygames s.team/a/2967950

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

It'd be inaccurate to just call this a visual novel too, it's almost a fusion hybrid of visual novel, slightly more in-depth cooking games like Cooking Mama, with a hint of some dungeon puzzler games dashed in.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: Waltz and Jam [Demo Available] Flyway Games over here making yet another game that is nothing like their previous, this time in the shape of a buddy duo action platformer, like ToeJam and Earl/Jak and Daxter/Ratchet & Clank/Banjo-Kazooie, can't wait for full release! #indiegames #demo

store.steampowered.comWaltz and Jam on SteamWaltz and Jam is an action-adventure platformer following the adventures of Waltz, a pure soul, and Jam, his lovable dog companion. It is set in an afterlife born from a unique reimagination of the Se...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Poly Fighter Fighting game fans rejoice, we have our own roguelike now! Start off with the most basic fighter archetypes and the most simple movesets and build your tool box up with a variety of moves learned from fallen opponents. #indiegames #roguelike s.team/a/3977340

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

I was briefly concerned at the start of the game cause it felt super basic, I quickly realized the game loop they were going for and that concern quickly washed away. What i'm left with is a solid roguelike fighter that reminds me of some earlier Street Fighter games, two thumbs up from me.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: Apple Crumble [Demo Available] By the guys who gave us Duck Detective, I bring you! Essentially a much more bite sized version of Knives Out, involving your grandma on her 84th birthday and a family equally as dysfunctional. #indiegames #mysterygames #demo

store.steampowered.comApple Crumble Demo on SteamIt’s your grandma’s 84th birthday party and nobody is trying to murder her. Stop suspecting your family members, and don’t worry about the strange man in your bedroom. A new creepy-cozy mystery thrill...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Okinawa Rush We're about 5 years late to the party on this one, but it's why I do this! A stylish beat-em-up with 2 player co-op and a whole lot of combat depth, that is absolutely going to beat the brakes off you in the process. #indiegames #arcade s.team/a/777670

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

I actually remember playing this one years ago, I might've even streamed it at the time, but I know for sure I wasn't in the habit of talking about Indies to anyone and everyone yet around then. I didn't get to try co-op at the time, but man does this game hold up as a hidden gem.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On - The Sky Project: Land of Noris [Immediate Playtest Access] Time will tell the quality of gameplay and consistency of the art across all the Noris, but it's a hand drawn creature collector that features perma-death for your Noris. Fingers crossed, I like the BG art! #indiegames #playtest

store.steampowered.comThe Sky Project: Land of Noris on SteamHand-drawn monster collector where every creature lost might be gone forever. Explore four unique planes and train 200+ mana creatures.
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Isle of Reveries It's not breaking the mold, but by the nine it followed the recipe nearly to the letter and sprinkled on its own toppings for the best Zelda-like I think i've seen for the PC crowd. If Mina was too combat forward, this one is for you. #indiegames s.team/a/3100970

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Like I said in the original post, if you played Mina the Hollower and enjoyed yourself, but felt it was sort of combat heavy and lacked some of the exploration and puzzle elements of a Zelda game. This one fully realizes that and ticks those boxes for you.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Serpent's Gaze It's not we have Nightreign at home, it's a Souls-like that does roguelike properly. Where Nightreign adopts the Fortnite escape the death wall approach, SG takes more of a Risk of Rain approach with stacking curses. #indiegames #soulslike s.team/a/3069050

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

I should make a clarification after reading this post back too, I don't think Nightreign's approach was wrong either and quite frequently enjoy Nightreign with the buds. They're just two entirely different ways to make it work, I just happen to think this one does an incredibly good job at it.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: At Fate's End [Demo Available] The brilliant people over at Thunder Lotus, known for Spiritfarer, Jotun & More, are working on a Vania Action-Adventure game with flavors of Lost Kingdom's card system, you'll be to sort of pause time and use cards to do fantastical abilities. #indiegames

store.steampowered.comAt Fate's End on SteamAt Fate’s End is an action-adventure game where you fight the ones you love and your skill tree is your family tree. Explore a lush fantasy world, defeat the foul creatures of the realm, and face your...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Serpent's Gaze It's not we have Nightreign at home, it's a Souls-like that does roguelike properly. Where Nightreign adopts the Fortnite escape the death wall approach, SG takes more of a Risk of Rain approach with stacking curses. #indiegames #soulslike s.team/a/3069050

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

It's also 1-4 players co-op and early access, so not only are they already doing it correctly, but they have room to grow. Also a funny part about the curses, you could even say it has flavors of Resident Evil 3, cause one of the curse modifiers is a boss that'll chase you throughout a level.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: Bet You Won't [Demo Available] Play as an unboxing streamer in a hybrid horror/detective/puzzler, you'll have to gamble on opening boxes as things inside of the box and out start get stranger. Monsters at your door, dead on the rise, what happened to your small town? #indiegames #horror

store.steampowered.combet you won't on SteamBet You Won't is a story-driven first-person horror game where you play a livestream unboxer targeted by a killer. Inspect the disturbing packages they send you, decide what to open, uncover hidden cl...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Which is also fine! Cause when one of your streamer characters die, another will inherit their money and progress so that you can carry on, so try not to get too attached, ey?

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: Bet You Won't [Demo Available] Play as an unboxing streamer in a hybrid horror/detective/puzzler, you'll have to gamble on opening boxes as things inside of the box and out start get stranger. Monsters at your door, dead on the rise, what happened to your small town? #indiegames #horror

store.steampowered.combet you won't on SteamBet You Won't is a story-driven first-person horror game where you play a livestream unboxer targeted by a killer. Inspect the disturbing packages they send you, decide what to open, uncover hidden cl...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

So there's a few things you can do during the gameplay as well, you gotta manage your audience and keep them entertained, but you also have to slowly but surely piece together who/what is causing all of this to happen. Death is also part of the process with plenty of different ways to die.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played - Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle A personal passion project by the legendary Yoshio Nishimura (Vanillaware, aka. Dragon's Crown/Odin Sphere/GrimGrimoire, etc) that plays out like a literal choose your own adventure book. #indiegames s.team/a/4508570

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played - Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle A personal passion project by the legendary Yoshio Nishimura (Vanillaware, aka. Dragon's Crown/Odin Sphere/GrimGrimoire, etc) that plays out like a literal choose your own adventure book. #indiegames s.team/a/4508570

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Complete with dying and having to rewind back time slightly so that you can go back a couple pages or start over with an advantage. The combat is dice focused with sort of a DnD-lite system going on, on the side. The story so far has been excellent and even pulled some heart strings once or twice.

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Retro Space Bit of System Shock, a bit of Bioshock, a bit of it's own thing really. Between the mutations you can pick up that fit with the narrative and the very System Shock like gameplay, this game was a welcome surprise out of left field. #indiegames #horror s.team/a/2067820

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Eyes On: Deep Siren [Demo Available] A new Lovecraftian game, it's a horror puzzler, fully voiced and they've added a neat mechanic to compliment their sound design with the ability to close your eyes to see if the horrors you experience are real or not. Hand drawn art too! #indiegames #horror

store.steampowered.comDeep Siren on SteamDeep Siren is a Lovecraftian WWII horror fairytale. When the lone survivor of the USS Siren discovers a mermaid while adrift at sea, he finds himself plunged into a world of supernatural horror fathom...
The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

Today I Played: Cohen 1939 Think of it sort of like Peaky Blinders era Hotline Miami, it's a revenge story where you play as the widow out for blood. I'm about 60/40 on the experience cause the sound balancing is off during 'cutscenes' but I enjoyed my time with it. #indiegames s.team/a/3582120

The Indie Boss
@bosskernel.bsky.social

There's definitely some bosses that take you out of the grounded feel the game has going most of the time, like even when it's one person slaying dozens and dozens it never gets too fantastical. But the Butcher boss pulled me out of immersion when he started machine fun firing cold cuts at me.