It's that time of a year again! The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is in full swing. The show offers plenty of insight into game development, but it also hosts a huge assortment of indie games. We scoured the Moscone convention center to get our hands on as many games as possible, vetting through dozens of upcoming indies to let you know what we think you should have on your radar. Check out our evolving, expanding list of the best indie gems from GDC 2017 to learn more about the intriguing titles ahead.
Mineko's Night Market
This adorable market simulation game's art style may look reminiscent of Tearaway, but it has its own charm and engaging gameplay loop that makes it stand on its own. As the name suggests, you run your own weekly night market, dealing with eclectic customers who want to barter. You have dialogue options to win them over and try to get the best sale. By day, you create your own items and collect things out in the wild to sell. Sounds pretty basic until you realize the town you explore has been overrun by cats, which just adds an extra layer of intrigue and cuteness. Expect silly minigames, such as cat races, sumo suit wrestling, karaoke, and taiko drumming to keep you entertained. Seeing the game in action showcased its charm as sillier things kept happening in our demo that made us chuckle. For instance, you can farm and harvest...cats?! Silly as it may be, the game celebrates Japanese culture and friendship, so there's something very endearing about it. Mineko's Night Market is due out in 2018 for PC and Mac. – Kimberley Wallace
Perception
Perception, a game created by former Bioshock developers, made our list last year and returns for good reason: it continues to be a fascinating experience. Set in a creaky, spooky house, you play a blind woman navigating a terrifying setting as she's pursued by a mysterious force. You can find out more about Perception here on developer The Deep Ends' website. – Javy Gwaltney
Where The Water Tastes Like Wine
Envisioned as "a bleak American folktale," Where The Water Tastes Like Wine is a gripping and morbid adventure game that lets players explore the landscape of the country, using stories they find along the way as currency. The brief snippet we played showcased gorgeous visuals, a lovely soundtrack, and fantastic short stories that were both moving and macabre. – Javy Gwaltney
Ooblets
Ooblets combines the farming of Harvest Moon with the monster-catching of Pokémon. In Ooblets, you come to a new town and must make a new life for yourself. What better way to do that than to farm and have battles with the creatures (ooblets) you collect? Villagers will come up and challenge you Pokémon-style to battle with the critters you collect. The creatures are especially adorable. We saw a mushroom with sunglasses and top hot, who had attacks like "snot boop." Once you defeat a creature you don't have, you receive a seed, which you can then plant and harvest for a new ooblet to join your party. During your trek, you also explore different regions and find better items to help you get by. Hopefully, Ooblets can capture the engaging loop of the games it apes, but it already looks super promising and cute. Ooblets is coming to Xbox One and PC. – Kimberley Wallace
Ape Out
Ape Out is a simple game at first glance. You play an Ape who has bust our of his containment cell and is trying to escape a maze filled with gun-toting baddies. Luckily for you, you're an ape. You can beat them to death with a single punch or even pick them up and throw them into other foes like bowling balls into pins. It's an enjoyable, gruesome loop bolstered by stylish visuals. Ape Out is due in late 2017 and fans of Hotline Miami and its bloody ilk should take notice.– Javy Gwaltney
Russian Subway Dogs
Russian Subway Dogs is, according to developer Spooky Squid Games, based on the real-life phenomenon of dogs in the Russian metro system. However, nothing about the game is realistic. You play as a dog (or cat) who's trying to trick civilians wandering the subway platforms into throwing their food in the air so you can catch it and restore your ever diminishing health. It's a fun, arcadey experience that gets more challenging as it goes along. – Javy Gwaltney
Monster Prom
Monster Prom is an adorable send-up of dating simulators that has you trying to win the affection of a ghoulish love interest in a high school setting. Oh, did we mention that's also multiplayer and that you'll be competing against other players as well? Monster Prom not only puts a unique spin on the dating simulator genre but it also has oodles of style and humor to boot. You can find out more about the game here. –Javy Gwaltney
from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/02/27/the-best-indie-games-of-gdc-2017.aspx
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