Welcome back, everyone! I genuinely thought that 2024 would be a little quieter to catch up on some of the brilliant indie games that I’ve missed out on. Alas, we’re back with another round-up of essential picks from the indie variety.
Last month we got to cover the wonderfully whimsical Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, the petrifying co-op trial and peril that was The Outlast Trials, as well as the somewhat surprising console release of the brutal top-down shooter OTXO.
Once again, this month has got something in store for everyone. Whether it’s some beatings to the beat you’re into, or questioning life itself in claymation, Finger Guns have got you covered with some cracking titles. So without further ado here are 15 Indie Games to be excited about during April 2024.
Terra Memoria by La Moutarde – 27th March 2024
Terra Memoria is a cute-sized RPG that rewards those who see and do everything. Told from the perspective of six friends, you’ll investigate the ancient land of Terra, uncovering the mystery behind the recent shortage of magic crystals and the sudden awakening of robots. The warm and welcoming world has a mixture of 3D and pixel art, creating a lush and cosy atmosphere.
Using a distinctive construction tool, you’ll change the world and solve puzzles along your epic road trip. Create buildings, decorations and everything in between whilst meeting all the eccentric citizens. Sifting through relationships and gathering information from every nook and cranny is of utmost importance when you take on the cosy epic adventure in Terra Memoria. The game is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Moonglow Bay by Bunnyhug – 31st March 2024
Take on an emotional slice-of-life fishing RPG with Moonglow Bay. You play as a Rookie Angler, trying to fulfil your partner’s final wish, all the whilst the town around you is trying to stay afloat from bankruptcy. With just a journal and fishing rod in your possession, you’ll travel the furthest reaches of the ocean to uncover the secrets of Moonglow Bay.
With over 150 aquatic species to catch, cook and or showcase at the local aquarium; a whole town to befriend and fix up, and drop-in drop-out co-op to enjoy the journey with a friend – Moonglow Bay is a relaxing yet emotionally potent journey. Featuring a great voxel art style and a wonderful soundtrack by Lena Raine, the game looks to fit perfectly with other cosy life sims. Moonglow Bay is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Saviorless by Empty Head Games – 2nd April 2024
Saviorless is a dark narrative platformer with a brilliant hand-drawn art style. You play as Antor as he embarks on an adventure to The Smiling Islands to become a Savior. A story told by the narrator hundreds of times across centuries, will you defy destiny? Or do what is written?
Engage in precise platforming and light puzzle-solving as you’re guided through the strange and enigmatic lands. Face off against unique enemies and bask in all of the weird and wonderful environments with the game’s completely hand-drawn and animated art style. Saviorless will release on PlayStation 5 & 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Beat Slayer by ByteRockers’ Games – 4th April 2024
Get ready to breakdown bots to the beat in musical action roguelite, Beat Slayer. You play as Mia, a music lover and tinkerer, who’s put it upon themself to take on the evil former musician Dietrich. Mia will have to take on hordes of robots across the shabby streets of Berlin, to stop Dietrich from ruling with an iron fist. Fight to the beat of the music to pull off better moves when you’re in the groove to turn Mia’s opponents into scrap.
Featuring music in collaboration with the German Babelsberg Film Orchestra, the game will also launch with full voiceover in both German and English. Furthermore, Beat Slayer at launch will have accessibility features for hearing-impaired gamers, ensuring everyone can enjoy this action-packed roguelite. Beat Slayer will release on PC.
Sons of Valhalla by Pixel Chest – 5th April 2024
Lay siege across England and build your own fortress in 2D action strategy, Sons of Valhalla. You play as Thorald Olavson, a warrior with a burning revenge to kill the Jarl who burnt down his home and took his lover. The quest for vengeance won’t be a solitary one, as you’ll need to build an army and a powerful fortress before searching across the unknown land of England.
With deep base-building mechanics at the core of the game, you’ll spend a great deal of time gathering resources and upgrading facilities to strengthen your army. Once your settlement is ready for conquest, you’ll go out on missions full of tactical combat encounters as you lead from the front and blunt your sword with bodies. Sons of Valhalla will release on PC.
BIOMORPH by Lucid Dreams Studio – 5th April 2024
Become the creatures that you kill in dark Metroidvania BIOMORPH. Discover your own origins and uncover the mystery of a fallen civilisation as you explore the vast ruins of Blightmoor. Defeating enemies can result in usurping their form and taking their special abilities to utilise for yourself. Be careful of returning to areas, however, as previously defeated enemies harbour even deadlier abilities to best you.
Collect abilities, mementoes and chips to help forge a new and improved Brightmoor, bringing back a once-forgotten civilisation. With a large number of optional bosses, eccentric NPCs and tons of secrets to discover, BIOMORPH is a sprawling non-linear Metroidvania to sink your teeth into. The game will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Botany Manor by Balloon Studios – 9th April 2024
Botany Manor is a peaceful first-person exploration puzzler within the manor’s walls. You play as Arabella Greene, a retired botanist, exploring your home of gardens filled with research. Your goal is to discover the forgotten fauna and work out their perfect conditions to unlock the special qualities they hold.
Across the manor are a variety of items to aid you in your research and room by room you learn more about Arabella’s life – diving deep into the difficulties she faced being a female scientist. Botany Manor will release on PlayStation 5 & 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Children of the Sun by René Rother – 9th April 2024
A recent reveal during Steam Next Fest and one amazing demo later, Children of the Sun has very quickly become one of 2024’s must-play indie games. The game sees you take a deadly road trip into the darkness as you take control of a single bullet to take out the sinister cult that ruined your life. You play as ‘The Girl’ who’s out for revenge to kill ‘The Leader’ as you take on increasingly more complex level designs.
Scope out and shoot up the enemies in this third-person tactical puzzle shooter with an awesome art style. Utilise the abilities to re-aim your one bullet on impact, curve around obstacles and pick up speed to pierce armour, in what feels like a game with endless possibilities to play. Children of the Sun will release on PC.
Broken Roads by Drop Bear Bytes – 10th April 2024
Broken Roads is an in-depth narrative RPG that sees you traipsing across the post-apocalyptic outback of Australia. Blending together traditional as well as new roleplaying elements built on top of a classless system that offers diverse character development options. Your actions are dictated by the Moral Compass system which influences your character’s dialogue options and quest decisions depending on your philosophical leaning.
All of this culminates in a robust character customisation with a large degree of openness to your playthrough whether it’s through combat or the multi-branching narrative decisions. Broken Roads will release on PlayStation 5 & 4 Xbox Series X|S & One and PC.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy by Baby Robot Games – 10th April 2024
Play as the last descendant of a forgotten race, Ayana, in the fast-paced stealth platformer, Ereban: Shadow Legacy. Harnessing mystical shadow powers and high-tech gadgets you can avoid or kill your way through levels, uncovering the truth about your past and save the dying, morally grey world.
Taking control of the Shadow Merge ability, you can dive into shadows and move freely in them to climb walls, reach hard-to-access areas and attack from cover. Play your way by either becoming a deadly shadow or an unseen ghost as you traverse through sci-fi-inspired ruins. Ereban: Shadow Legacy will release on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.
Europa by Novadust Entertainment – 16th April 2024
Europa is a moon, terraformed by Jupiter’s shadow. You play as Zee, an android searching for answers, exploring the ruins of a lost utopia – ultimately uncovering the story of the last human alive. The game looks lush and is one of the closest ways to freely explore a world you could easily compare to a Studio Ghibli film.
The main gameplay loop is just to simply explore openly with your Zephyr jetpack, uncovering puzzles and upgrading your jetpack so you can reach the further edges of Europa. The game looks to be incredibly meditative, telling a story of growing up and humanity’s relationship to nature. Europa will release on PlayStation 5 & 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.
Harold Halibut by Slow Bros. – 16th April 2024
The art of stop motion has really developed over the past couple of decades. Aardman and LAIKA studios have been making incredible movies aimed at a younger audience; Kaufman’s Anomolisa, animated by Starburn Studio, proved that you can tell a more nuanced and mature story within the medium. And now, the Slow Bros are looking to take it a step further with a whole game using the medium in Harold Halibut.
The game is a narrative adventure set in a city-sized spaceship at the bottom of an alien ocean. You play as the titular Harold, a lab assistant who embarks on an inner journey to discover what home really means to him. Harold Halibut looks to be one of the most cinematic outputs on this list, as it has a full-voice cast across an ensemble of characters, on top of the fully hand-animated art style. Harold Halibut will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Rauniot by Act Normal Games – 17th April 2024
In the year 1975, a huge natural disaster pushed civilisation over the edge, causing riots, conflicts and even wars. With the main continents drowned by the seas and pollution killing off the majority of the population. Rauniot is an isometric point-and-click adventure that takes place in Northern Finland, after the said events.
You play as a surviving member of a group not lost to the awful elements of the apocalypse. Providing each other with clean water, food, electricity and knowledge of a better life. Trying to survive, you’ll be solving a huge variety of puzzles across 70 individual detailed scenes and using an informative notebook to keep note of your sprawling adventure. Rauniot will release on PC.
No Rest for the Wicked by Moon Studios – 18th April 2024
No Rest for the Wicked almost needs no introduction as the preview period has kicked up a storm of hype and for good reason. From Moon Studios, developer of the Ori series, brings a whole new dark action RPG adventure. In the year 841, the world of Isola Sacra is thrown into turmoil as the king is dead and a plague that sends people mad is infesting the town.
You play as a Cerim, a member of a group of holy warriors with powerful abilities to stop the Pestilence at any cost. From an isometric perspective, you’ll be taking on a whole manner of creatures in what is described as soulslike style combat. You won’t have to go it alone either, as you and three other co-op partners will share their worlds and progression. No Rest for the Wicked will release on Steam Early Access for PC.
Another Crab’s Treasure by Aggro Crab – 25th April 2024
It’s almost as if it was the goal from the start for developer Aggro Crab to create a game where you play as a crab, taking out their aggression on the pollution of the sea. Another Crab’s Treasure is a deep sea soulslike that puts you on a journey to buy your repossessed shell back, with the help of hidden treasure. You play as Kril, a hermit crab who uses various junk polluting the sea to protect himself from incoming attacks.
Whilst this junk can help Kril – as well as be a valuable resource in the world – the presence of it produces an unknown entity called Gunk, threatening the end of the ocean. The game will of course have that signature Aggro Crab comedy that they exploded onto the scene with in Going Under, as well as a full skips worth of garbage to have on your back. Another Crab’s Treasure will release on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One on Game Pass, Nintendo Switch and PC.
I’ve been waiting a good while for some of these titles to release so I can’t wait to get stuck in. What indie games are you planning to pick up this month? Release dates are subject to change but as always, you can reach out to us at hello@fingerguns.net, or on our socials if you have indie games to showcase for May. Until next month!
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