The submissions to Indiepocalypse Issue #20 have come to a close. After trying out most of the awesome games, these are the three titles that especially stood out for me.
Will Die Alone
If deleting the happy and sad memories creates a better future, is it worth it? In Will Die Alone, you play as Alex, tasked with duties to delete one of four memories of your clients, amidst dystopian chaos.
Since the future of your clients all depends on you and that deleting memories can feel like such an immoral thing to do, the choices are very heart-wrenching to make. The atmosphere felt cozy thanks to its delicately designed visuals and choices of sounds. It is only half an hour long and you can play the game here.
Space Hop
Space Hop is a ~30 minutes Kinetic Novel about a duo of superheroes in space. They will meet a mischievous bandit, alien citizens who need their help, and a poor human who just wants to get to work! While the story featured a funny and diverse cast of characters, what really stood out to me is its technical work.
In comparison to other Visual Novels I have played, Space Hop is jam-packed with top-notch neon-colored visuals, an upbeat original soundtrack and animation that compliment the fast paced action plot. The Space Hop experience felt very vibrant, energetic, and most importantly, fun! You can play the game here.
Randy Learns Science
Have you ever wanted to travel back to the edutainment era of the 90s and experience them all over again? Even though many of the inside jokes and pop culture references flew over my head, it is still a hilarious experience.
Learning the lessons from other edutainment games, Randy Learns Science crafted a game that is both educational (more than some edutainment titles at least) and entertaining! Play four simple and fun mini-games to unlock the best mini-game of all games! Meet Randy, a friendly guide who is a male, female, dog… something? Existential crisis simulator can be played here.
Honorable Mentions
While these games did not make the top three, they are still fun and I highly recommend them to anybody checking out Indiepocalypse #20!
Chesstris 2000 by jwhop (itch.io) is a game that imitates the 90s and 00s fad of companies making games that combines Tetris and Chess into one. The game is surprisingly fun.
And Other Stories by JohnLee Cooper is a slice-of-life game that combines Bitsy and Unity into one and you get to control four characters at once! It is very unique but if you find playing as four characters at once too tiring, I would advise you to focus on playing the game one screen at a time.
A Twisted Place by Rana Strange is a short interactive fiction about self-worth and suicidal thoughts. If you are suffering from these issues, you may find this piece of work relatable.
A Solarpunk History/Future of Our Cities by bernie is technically not a “game”, but a zine that encourages you to go outside and reflect on the city that you reside in. For those blinded by work and routine like me, it is a good time to try this zine when COVID is over.
Interested in finding out more about Indiepocalypse or supporting independent developers? check PIZZAPRANKS on itch.io for all the past bundles of the Indiepocalypse collection.
What is Indiepocalypse?
Indiepocalypse is a game jam that celebrates the creative force of indie developers! If you are a student, hobbyist, zinemaker or independent developer who needs some exposure, Indiepocalypse is a great way to get your game out there and get some compensation!
You can join the latest one here or just go on itch.io -> Jams -> Indiepocalypse in the future when this article becomes outdated.