Whenever a Steam sale comes out, I tend to get a whole bunch of indie games. Here's a list of the indie games I got during the Lunar New Year Sale this year:
CROSSINQ+:
As a fan of arcade puzzlers like Tetris Attack and Petal Crash, CROSSINQ+ is the type of game that's right up my alley. CROSSINQ+ is built off of the premise of shifting squares around a board to form crosses. As the game progresses, locks start being added to the board that force you to be more thoughtful about how you arrange these crosses. Unlike most arcade puzzle games I've played, CROSSINQ+ is an oddly calming experience. Eventually, you just get into this trance, helped by the slick UI and absolutely bopping Drum and Bass OST. I'm sure this was intended given the fact that there is literally a "Chillout" mode.
My biggest gripe with CROSSINQ+ is the lack of different gameplay modes, along with Versus Mode being only for two players. However, but there's a solid amount of customization and the core gameplay loop is addicting enough that I can see myself coming back every once in a while. The whole game has this Y2K-ish presentation to it that somehow manages to capture that late-90s/early-00s nostalgic vibe that I can't put into words. The cast of characters is colorful, quirky, and diverse, and as mentioned before, the music absolutely slaps. Overall, CROSSINQ+ is a solid puzzle game with a great presentation that I recommend checking out if you're into that sort of thing.
3/5 Stars
One Step From Eden:
Easily the most fun game on this list, One Step From Eden quickly rose up the ranks to becoming one of my favorite roguelikes just because of how fast-paced, unpredictable, and replayable it is. It's what you'd get if you turned Mega Man Battle Network's really cool battle system into a full-fledged game, while also being polished to an insane degree. Movement is fast and fluid, and the card system encourages you to pay attention to what's in your deck rather than just spamming attacks until you win. There are tons of branching paths and choices that make every playthrough feel completely fresh, and an XP bar that unlocks cards, characters, costumes, and modes helps you feel like you've accomplished something every time you play while still making the core game fully focused on skill.
The bosses are incredibly hard but once you learn their patterns, they can be the most fun parts of the game. Even better, pretty much every boss becomes a playable character later down the line and discovering that I could play through the game using their attacks opened up so many exciting new options. The pixelated graphics are incredibly lush, bright, and well-animated, and that soundtrack is absolutely spectacular. While I tend to get bored of roguelikes fairly quickly, I never quite had that same issue with One Step From Eden. The core gameplay loop is just so much fun and the sheer amount of options and unpredictability just makes me feel like I could never get bored of it. An absolute must play as long as you don't like tough games.
5/5 Stars
Omori:
I'm don't play many RPG maker games, but Omori has so much effort put into it that I couldn't help but give it a go. This game was in development for nearly seven years and it absolutely shows. There's so much love and care put into the story, dialogue, world, artstyle, and music. The battle system seems like it's fairly based on Earthbound's, but I feel it surpasses it with its unique emotion-based gimmick that adds an extra level of strategy to the game, along with its beautiful visual presentation. The overworld is the highlight, though, as it's packed with detail and quirky imagery. The game is absolutely jam-packed with unnecessary side quests, all of which are a ton of fun and add so much life to the game.
But obviously it's Omori's story that's the most praised aspect of the game, and for good reason. It manages to deal with dark themes about depression and even lean into psychological horror at times while still having a super likable and charming cast of characters, along with some really funny Earthbound-esque dialogue. There's also tons of care put into the artstyle and general presentation. While the normal pixelated overworld is pretty standard RPG maker fare, though with an incredibly unique look, the creator of the game uses this beautiful sketchy artstyle for pretty much the rest of the game, from the character icons to the battle system to the cutscenes. And once again, the soundtrack is great, especially the quirky battle themes. While RPG maker games tend to mostly gel together, Omori is that rare exception that truly feels like it's transcending the engine's limit and ended up becoming something great. Highly recommend.
5/5 Stars
Ikenfell:
Ikenfell is also an RPG, though one that's built from the ground up rather than with a preexisting engine. This allows for Ikenfell to have a whole bunch of fun and unique environmental puzzles, along with an incredibly inventive battle system that feels like a blend between Disgaea and Mario & Luigi. You can move your characters around a board to attack enemies, but you used timed actions to pull off attacks and dodges. I've always liked timed attacks as it makes the turn-based battles far more engaging, even if in this game, it can be a bit tricky to work out the timing at first.
The story isn't anything groundbreaking, it's mostly just about a magic school which isn't a new concept. However, the characters are all incredibly charming and likable, along with being surprisingly diverse. There's a ton of representation in Ikenfell, and it's all handled incredibly well. The graphics are also really clean and well-animated, and the soundtrack is a unique blend of chiptune and western that fits the game surprisingly well. It's not a masterpiece or anything, but Ikenfell is an incredibly solid and polished RPG with fun and unique gameplay and a very strong cast of characters.
4/5 Stars
My ranking of the games I got is:
1. Omori
2. One Step From Eden
3. Ikenfell
4. CROSSINQ+
All of these games are incredibly fun and unique, though, and I highly recommend checking them out.
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