Pax South 2016's Top 10 Indie Games That Almost Took My Money
1. Nuclear Throne
Nuclear Throne from Vlambeer is a post apocalyptic roguelike top down shooter for Steam. Monsters roam the world and gamers have to kill everything while managing their ammo.. Gamers will fight their way to get to the nuclear throne while collecting weapons and picking up radiation to mutate and gain new abilities. This is a fast paced game where no two playthroughs are the same.
This is also one of the only indie games I checked out that is already released. My favorite part was experimenting with the different classes and weapons. There are a lot of options and I found myself drawn to melee weapons to fit my play style.
2. Black Ice
This was another stand out game at PAX South 2016. Black Ice can be best described as a Cyber Punk FPS/RPG about hacking. The game is randomized and is full of great loot. The game screams Tron and reminds me of such movies as Blade Runner.
Gamers have plenty of weapons at their disposal to hack the world and take down enemies. It looks like the final product will have multiplayer. This is a game for anyone who is looking for FPS with a different twist.
3. Lords of New York
Lords of New York was probably one of the most unique games I saw at PAX South 2016. Lunchtime Studios has created a Poker RPG set in the prohibition era where gamers play as Vince who must hone his poker skills. There is plenty of interesting banter between characters and instead of a battle system, gamers play poker.
Vince can use his skills to overcome his opponents which will let him intimidate and threaten the other poker players. There is an interesting amount of depth in this game and this is a must watch for anyone looking for a different Indie game.
4. VideoBall
VideoBall was a game one of my friends recommended from last year. While the booth was small, the number of people wanting to play was not. This game could be best described as Asteroids meets Pong, although according to the wikipedia page it's a minimalist sports game that combines air hockey and soccer.
Players control triangles that shoot projectiles and try to knock balls into goals. The longer players hold down the action button, the larger and more powerful the projectiles become, which can be used to knock other players around and move the balls. This is a fun game that includes online multiplayer and the game is coming to Steam, PS4, and Xbox One.
5. Moving Hazard
Just when gamers thought Zombie games had become over-saturated, enter Moving Hazard. This games combines fast paced FPS tactical combat with zombies. The twist for this game is the undead is part of the weapons.
Players can use the undead against each other, which could mean the difference between life and death in this game. If gamers are looking for something with the undead that is different from what has been recently released, keep an eye out on this game.
6. Rivals of Aether
There was a theme amongst the Indie games at PAX South this year, it was party fighting games. While everyone crowded the Brawlhalla booth, I stopped by and played Rivals of Aether, which is a very retro feeling fighting party game. The game has some great artwork and all the fighters are melee based.
The game is fast and players have to be aggressive; there are a lot of options for fighters and players should be able to find someone to suit their needs. It looks like the game is coming to Xbox One and PC. This is a fantastic game with a lot of potential for die hard fans and newcomers to games with a Super Smash Brothers feel.
7. Screen Cheat
This is game that was tucked amongst other games in the Indie area at PAX. Screen Cheat takes the traditional FPS concepts and flips them upside down. Players can see each other’s screen but they are all invisible.
The game is forcing players to watch each other’s screen to try to hunt each other down. There are plenty of weapons to use including a Hobby Horse. This is a unique take on an fps and is the kind of game players should gravitate toward if they are looking for something different.
8. Dungeon Quest
Dungeon Quest from Shinybox was a pleasant surprise. Most of the time I pass on mobile games, but there was something about this game which drew me in. Dungeon Quest can be described as Diablo 3 for mobile devices. There is plenty of loot grabbing and dungeon crawling; the game really reminds me of Diablo 3 or Dungeon Siege.
The game works well on tablets, phones, and Amazon Fire devices; I really think this could be a mobile game that can captivate players attention, and it's free to play. There is no paywall in Dungeon Siege.
9. Omnibus
OmniBus looks like it should have come out and the 32 bit era of consoles. This doesn't mean it's not fun and it does have interesting gameplay. Gamers are driving a large bus in a variety of bizarre missions that feature collecting items or knocking down things in the environment. Outside of the single player games there is a free roaming mode and multiplayer modes including deathmatch and trick attack
The bus won’t stop and the physics are what make this game memorable. If gamers are looking for something different from the guys behind BroForce this may be the game.
10. Final Station
This is a game from TinyBuild the makers of SpeedRunners, Boid, and Party Hard. They are known for their interesting games. According to the company this game is comparable to another survival game known as War is Mine.
TinyBuild had a few stations set up to play Final Station and from what I played its 16 bit retro game, players traverse a post apocalyptic world. Stock up on fuel, kill the 16 bit undead and rescue survivors. Anyone that likes an interesting take on post apocalyptic games should keep an eye on this.