The ID@Xbox program has been cooking up some delightful indies over the years. Its particular focus on supporting developers from all sorts of cultures and backgrounds has allowed for some very creative and compelling stories to be told from some unexpected places. Thanks in part to the program, Xbox Indies have definitely been going strong, with lots to look forward to.
We had the opportunity to sit down and see extended gameplay sessions of 5 exciting upcoming indie projects from various developers as part of the ID@Xbox program in Southeast Asia, with everything from multiplayer roguelikes to spine-tingling horror and everything in between.
So, let’s check ’em out!
Vapor World: Over the Mind
Release Date: TBC
Developer: ALIVE Inc.
Country: South Korea
“Lost in darkness, a boy drawn into a twisted dream, no way out. ALIVE Inc’s Vapor World is a narrative-driven souls-like platformer focused on deflection combat set in the atmospheric world of dream. Players will descend within shattered mind seeking lost memories and face a dark, beautiful world born of anguish and regret.”
Described as a narrative-driven Souls-like, the team at ALIVE Inc notes that this modern Metroidvania is inspired heavily by titles like INSIDE and Little Nightmares. It promises intense battles in dark artworks, and the team also referenced Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as some of their favourites.
It looks quite difficult, and even the mini-bosses look to be quite tough, and the artstyle is very distinct; it was mentioned that the goal was to make players feel like they are “becoming the protagonist of a living illustration”, with the dreamlike world achieved by creating real depth with 2D artwork, with countless layers that rival 3D detail, and using a 3D perspective camera with parallax effects. They noted that drawing each scene from scratch was important to them, not reusing resources. A costly approach, but one that will absolutely help them achieve a “higher level of immersion”
Vapor World: Over the Mind will be launching into Early Access initially with 7 hours of game time, and the team is aiming for 20 hours upon full release and looks to be an intriguing mix of style and tough-as-nails combat.
13Z: The Zodiac Trials
Release Date: TBC
Developer: Mixed Realms
Country: Singapore
“In Mixed Realms 13Z: The Zodiac Trials, players embark on a quest to become the 13th Zodiac in this frantic hack-and-slash roguelike action adventure. Take on a celestial trial of grit, speed and power, and rise stronger after each fall as players upgrade their skills.”
13Z: The Zodiac Trials looks like a lot of fun, a fast-paced action roguelike that’s set in a world inspired by the Eastern Zodiac. Combat looks slick and frenetic, as you move through the world, hacking and slashing through enemies, transforming into other creatures (like birds) to quickly navigate the environment, all the while upgrading your abilities as you progress.
It has a neat style that looks like a cartoon come to life, and excitingly will feature co-op as well, so you can tackle runs with your mates, which is always a plus. There’s a playtest for 13Z: The Zodiac Trials coming on April 12, so make sure you sign up to give it a crack for yourself!
Agni: Village of Calamity
Release Date: TBC
Developer: Separuh Interactive
Country: Indonesia
“Separuh Interactive’s Agni is a cinematic survival horror game inspired by the greatest classics of horror media. Play as Agni, a determined investigator from a covert Indonesian police unit who defied orders and ventures into a remote village despite ominous warnings. What begins as an unauthorized investigation quickly plunges Agni into a horrifying reality that shatters her understanding of everything she knows.”
Aiming to create a gripping survival horror game, Agni has one of the more authentic, immersive Southeast Asia settings, using cinematography and motion capture to ensure the experience is designed for “horror cinema enthusiasts”. The team referenced horror greats like Silent Hill as their inspirations, and some of the gameplay footage shown included creepy mannequins that twitch and change positions in the shadows, which I always love/hate in horror content.
Similar to Resident Evil 2, there’s a giant creature called Algojo who stomps around and is to be avoided at all costs. Instead of a suit, though, this thing is a giant, horrible-looking flesh creature, and I’m looking forward to seeing what other cultural mythology we can look forward to in what could be one of the creepiest games to mark on your calendar.
Nightmare Circus
Release Date: TBC
Developer: Fairplay Studio
Country: Thailand
“Fairplay Studio’s Nightmare Circus is an action-adventure game where the player takes on the role of a puppeteer trapped in the Nightmare Realm. As a member of a wandering Circus troupe, players will suddenly find themselves lost in an unknown land, fighting enemies, saving their fellow troupe members who are also stuck within this realm, uncovering mysteries, and making it back to the real world.”
“Puppeteer trapped in a nightmare realm” is a pretty fantastical concept, and Nightmare Circus looks to have enough interesting twists to its gameplay to show that it isn’t just getting by on setting alone. In this action-adventure, one of the main attacks you’ll have is a sort of slingshot, which you use to propel yourself against monsters or to smash debris out of the way. It’s also useful for evasion and exploration as you zip around on the puppet string.
The very cute art style is balanced by what the devs call “nightmarish bosses”, and you’ll unlock waypoints so that you can revisit key locations to find secrets, which, along with the isometric perspective, is reminiscent of titles like Death’s Door. Needless to say, Nightmare Circus looks like a lot of challenging fun.
Kriegsfront Tactics
Release Date: TBC
Developer: Toge Productions
Country: Indonesia
“From the developers of Coffee Talk, Toge Productions’ upcoming turn-based mecha tactical strategy game, Kriegsfront Tactics, is a set in alternate 1970s during an era of conflict in Southeast Asia. Players are the commander of a special mechanised military unit sent to infiltrate behind enemy lines where they must manage their squad, resources, and mechs as well as face hard, morality testing decisions.”
Given the cozy narrative nature of Coffee Talk, I did not expect to see a turn-based tactical RPG with mechas from Toge Productions. It’s a very different vibe for the team, but one they refer to as a “dream project”. During the Q&A, it was mentioned that since the inception of the studio, the team had always loved turn-based tactics games, so a mecha title in this genre with inspiration from Front Mission was hugely exciting for them.
Toge referenced XCOM as another inspiration, but they don’t like ‘hit chances’ and said that was one of the most frustrating parts of the game for them. They want to avoid that sort of system; if you can take aim and shoot at a body part, you’ll hit it. “Say goodbye to hit chances!” they proclaimed. In fact, you can take aim from the first-person perspective and shoot at certain body parts, so positioning and direction are important, and taking cover in the environment (such as hiding in a jungle canopy or behind buildings) is crucial to your success. But firepower can destroy that cover, e.g. burning down trees, so that’s another layer to keep in mind.
That said, it’s not all about combat in Kriegsfront Tactics; there’s a base where you can manage your mechas, oversee your pilots and strategies. It still has some narrative depth – and moral ambiguity – that the studio is known for. “There’s no black and white in war”.
There’s no doubt that ID@Xbox has been a huge support when it comes to championing diverse and unique concepts from indie game developers across the globe. These are just five Xbox indies that were spotlighted to us last week, but we know there’s plenty more where that came from.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
