Top 5 Indies of February 2021
A large number of developers every month bring potential rough diamonds to the market that often go unnoticed, disappearing into the dark fog of this battle for survival that involves everyone but makes few win. Between Early Access projects and productions perhaps born from kickstarter campaigns, in addition to the more classic medium-budget productions, every month we can really find surprises that can make us breathe a breath of fresh air. For this reason, with Top 5 Indies, we want to report to you in alphabetical order the five best Indies of the month, starting precisely from that of February 2021.
30XX
30XX is a production entirely inspired by Mega Man X. The action platformer proposed by Batterystaple Games is the sequel to 20XX title released by now in 2016. The creator Chris King has always been a fan of the Mega Man series and his desire for other titles along the lines of the Capcom series led him to the 2014 to launch a Kickstarter for his game. The peculiarity of the franchise is the presence of permanent death along with a roguelite style that will allow you to get bonuses, upgrades and items during the levels, to better face the challenges that will arise in front of you.Ace and Nina are the protagonists of the adventure and both can be used in both online and local co-op. The goal of the title will be to find out what has happened to the world since the advent of the Synthetic Mind during the thousand years of sleep that preceded the awakening of the protagonist. If you are a lover of the endless cycle of jumps, stunts and mind-blowing guns, then 30XX is definitely the trial and error production for you. The game is scheduled for February 17, 2021 on PC, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One.
Blue Fire
Blue Fire is one of the most anticipated Indie productions of this early 2021 especially after the its appearance on the Nintendo Indie Showcase in March 2020. Initially scheduled for last summer, the title will arrive on PC and Switch on February 4th. The title will immerse you in the mysterious world of Penumbra made up of large 3D dungeons that can be explored and full of platform challenges and tough enemies to face. What the player will be faced with is a title with an inspired artistic component that recalls a lot Hollow Knight, despite the playful structure level ROBI Studios winks on several occasions to productions such as Zelda and Dark Souls. If you are a lover of wastelands full of silent lore, mystical temples hiding ancient mysteries and if you care about production with an unconventional artistic design, then Blue Fire is definitely a title that will make your heart beat faster.Century: Age of Ashes
At The Game Awards 2020 one of the Indie productions that could steal the eyes for several reasons was definitely Century: Age of Ashes, a PC title clearly inspired by the famous Panzer Dragoon but who has so many arrows in his quiver that he can shoot. First of all it is a competitive Multiplayer characterized by fighting with dragons (or rather it would be to say with living) and secondly it is a game that wants to offer a respectable technical level. These two characteristics made the first videos and the first images very intriguing, the combat seems frenetic and the dragons linked to a system of classes all seem well characterized, not so much at a playful level (we cannot yet know it without a hands-on test) as in artistic level.The title will initially follow the Early Access philosophy having, according to the developers, the intent to prefer quality over quantity. For this reason the game will be continuously updated with a planned release of new classes, modes and maps. Century will have three dragons, three maps and three game modes at the launch of Early Access, on an unannounced day in February (we are inclined towards the end of the month as the closed beta should arrive at the turn of the last days of January) . A particular title, but which could turn out to be a small gem in the competitive multiplayer landscape.
Dandy Ace
Hades has shown how to get to the top of the ratings of critical and public approval must necessarily move the sea and the mountains in every area that characterizes a video game, a few but inspired ideas are enough, positioned within a functional and intuitive scheme. Supergiant Games titles have always shown these characteristics, also possessing a truly bewitching style for the eyes. Dandy Ace, a title that will see the light in February on PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One, aims to follow the track crossed by Supergiant.The title is in fact a roguelike experience in which the player will be called to overcome opponents and obstacles by creating your own personal build using the myriad of combinations that, in this case, the magic cards will offer. The protagonist is in fact a magician who will first have to free himself from the magic mirror in which he was locked up and then hunt down the villain on duty, the green-eyed illusionist, Lele. Wacky monsters created in Lele's crazy palace, allies over the top and many customization possibilities of each run are the key that could bewitch you. Furthermore, lovers of the works of the creators of Bastion and co. They will certainly be at ease in what is one of the most interesting Indie titles of February.
King of Seas
The Jolly Roger, symbol of pirates, has always had its charm above all in the videogame field. Sea of Thieves, Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, Monkey Island are the most famous exponents of this theme, but perhaps someone will also remember Captain Claw and Overboard !. In short, pirates and video games are a combination that has always worked and for this reason 3DClouds has decided that on February 18th, King of Seas will sail the seas of the videogame market on PC, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One.We are talking about an action RPG title with naval combat. The title will offer a story driven campaign and a series of missions and secondary assignments scattered around the game world that will be procedural, thus ensuring a good variety in every game. The most interesting aspect of King of Seas is certainly the layering of the customization of your ship and the layering of the gameplay that could derive from the different cannonballs, the magical component present in the game and the depths of the story. Unfortunately, these elements have not been a fully testable part in our recent title test, but surely lovers of pirate adventures will have fun on the seas of King of Seas.
Honorable mention : Rhytm Doctor
The Indie scene has been waiting for Rhytm Doctor for four years. For four years the demo, no longer usable today, of Rhytm Doctor was played and replayed and perhaps, on an unspecified February day on Steam we will finally be able to get our hands on the Early Access version of a game that has everything to remain imprinted in the mind and space bar of many players. This is the honorable mention of the first Top 5 Indie and could only go to one of the most talked about (and most awarded) titles of the Independent scene in recent years.Rhytm Doctor is a very special rhytm game strongly linked to music theory, to profound concepts and to the possibility that music is an excellent medicine. By pressing a single key (the space bar) to the rhythm of the music, you will have to take care of the patients' diseases, playing the role of a doctor in a world where certain diseases can be treated with the rhythm of defibrillation. A peculiar and powerful story, which already hit the deepest chords of the players in the demo, a journey in pixel art that will drag you into a world made of amazing, unpublished melodies, through twenty levels made strictly by hand. However, the aim of Rhytm Doctor is not only to make you have fun and reflect, but also to teach the players notions of music through an active method of learning: play.
