Another month another lump of indie games. Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Here are 10 compelling indies to sink your teeth into this August 2024!
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Developer: Coal Supper
Release Date: August 1
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5
“Thank Goodness You’re Here! is an absurd comedy slapformer set in the bizarre Northern English town of Barnsworth. As a travelling salesman, take the time to see the sights and meet the locals, who are very eager to give you a series of increasingly odd jobs…”
Not to be confused with the Australian comedy show of a similar name, this looks to be an incredibly delightful experience where you’re getting into incredibly comedic vignettes and situations. There’s so much to be excited for here: the humour, the art, the general vibes… It’s giving Untitled Goose Game except you’re human and finding yourself in awkward situations you might not really be able to explain yourself out of.
World of Goo 2
Developer: 2D Boy
Release Date: August 2
Platforms: PC (Epic), Switch
“Use living liquid creatures to build bridges, grow towers, terraform terrain, and more in a beautiful, dangerous, and evolving world when World of Goo 2 arrives.”
It’s not often that some of the early hallmark indie titles get to have a sequel. Can you believe the first World of Goo was released all the way back in 2008? This would be like if Limbo or Braid got a sequel. Not much to say for this one except if you’re not hyped yet, why aren’t you?
Motordoom
Developer: Hobo Cat Games
Release Date: August 2
Platforms: PC
“Motördoom is a freestyle-sports roguelite horde shooter that combines high octane, visceral combat with fluid movement and trick mechanics. Perform gnarly tricks while defeating grotesque monsters and upgrade your character with demonic offerings to become ever more powerful.”
Imagine if you could play a roguelike where you had to engage in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-esque tricks on your BMX and battle it out with opponents in arenas Twisted Metal-style. You don’t have to! You can finally get that! What a world!
Eden Genesis
Developer: Aeternum Game Studio S.L.
Release Date: August 6
Platforms: PC, PS4 & PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X & S
“Eden Genesis is a platform game focused on fast-paced trials, quick reflexes, and a rich story by the same dev team responsible for Aeterna Noctis. Take control of Leah, a young cyborg lady, and overcome challenging trials to liberate her corrupted mind!”
I’m not going to lie, I’m incredibly excited by but also terrified of this game. The speedrunning options are aplenty, the controlling of gravity as a mechanic is a nice touch and undoubtedly I’ll be spending lots of time stopping and restarting for that perfect run. You can move so fast. I’m shivering already, just thinking about how much my hands are going to cramp from this.
SteamWorld Heist II
Developer: Thunderful Group
Release Date: August 8
Platforms: PC, PS4 & PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X & S
“Join Captain Leeway and his ragtag crew as they uncover the enigmatic menace threatening the Great Sea. Equip and upgrade your crew for turn-based gunfights packed with ricochet action and engage in real-time naval combat. Get ready to aim, plot, and plunder in this uproarious Steambot adventure!”
Though we only got a franchise release in SteamWorld Build late last year, the popular indie series keeps on trucking. SteamWorld Heist II will excite a lot of people, nine years after its predecessor. Erm, I haven’t played any of these games. Can anyone clue me in on how deep the lore is? Will age-old questions introduced in Steam World Dig be answered here? Please hit me up.
Cat Quest III
Developer: The Gentlebros
Release Date: August 8
Platforms: PC, PS4 & PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X & S
“In Cat Quest III you play as a purrivateer in a freely explorable 2.5D open-world swarming with Pi-rats. You can sail the seas in your ship for treasures galore! But prepare for peril, as the Pirate King aims to hunt you down…”
Cat Quest was always one of those series I see heavily discounted on digital storefronts and just kind of ignored and dismissed as another “one of those.” Can you blame me? Regardless, I took the plunge on this series earlier this year and let me be honest with you, this series is far better than it has any right to be. The Cat Quest games are peak comfort junk food gaming. Serving as dungeon crawlers that are lush and vibrant but never all that challenging, they’re prime for turning your brain off and just having some fun with it. Do not miss this one, fellow rotted-brain girlies.
Leximan
Developer: Knights of Borria
Release Date: August 13
Platforms: PC
“Do you like silly hats? Were you that one kid in class who broke reality? Are you eating nutritional slime right now? Embark on a brilliant adventure, using words and incompetence to solve bizarre problems. There are also hat goblins.”
Like wizards? Undertale? Have I got the game for you. Being tasked with ‘using words and incompetence to solve bizarre problems,’ excites me. That’s just my day to day life in video game form.
Farewell North
Developer: Kyle Banks
Release Date: August 15
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
“Restore color to the desolate islands of Farewell North, an atmospheric journey where you play as a border collie on an adventure with your human. Explore land and sea, uncover hidden paths and free wildlife to bring color back to her world, while revealing an emotional story about saying farewell.”
I Am Your Beast
Developer: Strange Scaffold
Release Date: August 15
Platforms: PC
“Hunt the military-industrial complex across stylish comic book micro-sandboxes in this fast-paced covert revenge thriller FPS from the developers of El Paso, Elsewhere.”
This is probably the first and only time a developer will feature in two consecutive months of our monthly indie game articles. Strange Scaffold is such a talented studio, always creating weird and unique experiences. I’ll follow them to the ends of the Earth. Thankfully, it doesn’t even feel like I have to feign interest. I Am Your Beast looks to be my absolute jam. A speed-running focus akin to Neon White? A comic book art style that’s reminiscent of XIII? I’m counting down the days.
Tactical Breach Wizards
Developer: Suspicious Developments Inc
Release Date: August 22
Platforms: PC
“In Tactical Breach Wizards, you lead a team of renegade wizards in kevlar through turn-based battles to unravel a modern conspiracy plot. Combine their unique spells in clever ways, or rewind time to try every crazy plan you can think of to punch a Traffic Warlock through a 4th story window.”
I am first and foremost a tactics girly. There’s simply no better thrill to me in games than a clutch turn-based win where I’ve employed every strategy to the best of my ability and come out on top. In saying that, what’s our recent insistence on giving wizards guns? Are their cool staffs not enough? Make wizards great again.
That’s just some of the indie excellence that’s due in August 2024! Yes, as always, I can’t fit so many other exciting titles in. I’d be here all day otherwise. Let us know what you’re keen on this month!
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
