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- #05 | Indievelopment
#05 | Indievelopment
Discover magic, rebuild worlds, and race to victory—get the latest on must-play indie games that blend nostalgia with fresh twists.
Indieformer
August 18, 2024
Issue #05
For the best experience, enjoy this newsletter on a desktop with a warm cup of coffee ☕️.
A few minor tweaks
The last edition was great, but long. For this month’s bulletins, we’ll limit each section to 8 games. After all, what’s curation about if everything is in there?!
We’ll only be including a list of games that have released as of this issue’s publishing. The next will cover the in-between period.
Click the thumbnails in our main section to visit the developer’s website.
All price references below are in USD.
Let’s dive in.
Crowdfunding
From the acclaimed team behind Planetary Annihilation (PA), fusing the epic RTS action of PA with intricate factory-building, they’re creating a genre-blending experience like no other. Industrial Annihilation
“For the 670 million Underserved Gamers of Color” We have an afrofuturistic RPG where a former soldier's quest for peace spirals into a conflict between ruthless corporations, governments, and criminals. Unyverse
Infiltrate a dark fantasy world, gather resources, slay foes in turn-based combat, and lead your cult to glory by reviving the Dead Gods. Smashed it’s goal by over 500%. Whispers of the Eyeless
Survive a haunted island as a ronin in this first-person souls-like horror, where dark secrets and deadly dangers lurk around every corner. Great idea from two young, ambitious developers. Cursed Ronin
Early 2000s nostalgia. Hand-drawn. Platforming. Bombs. Consider this one to be a blast. BOOM! Buster
Pokémon made the creature-evolving genre a thing. Here’s one to scratch that itch. Step into a cursed world where you build a team, restore a settlement, and battle epic bosses in a dark, 2D RPG-strategy inspired by classic Pokémon gameplay. Voidsayer
Explore a utopian future in your customisable camper van, crafting, building, and adapting to changing landscapes in this open-world adventure. 100% funded in 2 hours. Outbound
Embark on a GBA-era inspired quest, playing as six characters battling shadow monsters with the help of magical octopuses in real-time combat and puzzles. That was a mouthful. Funded in 3 days. Tako no Himitsu
 5th August 2024 | Pixel Art Academy is an educational game that teaches you how to draw through interactive tutorials. Start in Learn Mode for a quick dive into the fundamentals of pixel art, then test your skills with fan art and get creative by designing your own pinball machine. A great piece of work that blends game and education. If you’ve wanted to learn pixel art in a gaming environment—it’s here! |
 6th August 2024 | Aero GPX is an anti-gravity racer where high velocity, aerial combat, and precise controls take center stage. Each race is a chaotic battle for survival, where only the fastest and fiercest pilots make it to the finish line. “This truly is the F-Zero GX spiritual successor we've been waiting for for god knows how long.” |
 6th August 2024 | In Mistria, a quaint village by the sea, you’re tasked with restoring an overgrown homestead and rebuilding the town after an earthquake. Uncover the secrets of new magic in this spiritual successor to classic Farm-Sim RPGs. With already an Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, one review said “I like it more than Stardew Valley”. If you played SV, this is a must. |
 8th August 2024 | Preserve is a puzzle nature-building game where you create and sustain a balanced ecosystem. Strategically place plants and animals to foster diverse biomes, ensuring every element coexists in harmony. Use your skills to craft an environment that thrives under your careful guidance. Although only Early Access, already feels like a full game of content. A standout amongst other in-development titles. |
 15th August 2024 | In Shapez 2, you’re the architect of intricate factories in a world of abstract geometry. Extract, process, and combine shapes as you build, automate, and optimize production lines to meet increasingly complex challenges. This game has no “rescoures”, so you can infinitely build how you please to meet the demands of production. |
 16th August 2024 | Step into the sandals of the Defier, a once-weak soldier caught in a mythic struggle across crumbling Greek isles. In this survival craft game inspired by ancient legends, you’ll build grand structures, forge and upgrade powerful gear, and face the wrath of the Gods. Gather up to three friends and ascend from mortal to god-like anti-hero as you defy fate itself. |
 17th August 2024 | Welcome to your own pawn planet! Transform this place into a bustling business, where you'll trade alien artifacts and Earthly treasures with visitors from every corner of the galaxy. We featured their free game last month to lots of success. Now you can jump in early as the development continues! An extra note on this one though—it’s very “Early Access”. It has a great foundation, but a long way to go. Try the free version first! |
Our Mates
A small section for our internet neighbours.
Over in YouTube land, danomak released a great video covering 5 Short Indie Games that you’ll love.
Remember last month’s game about being a frog? Climbing mountains in an open world? No? Well, Tiny Gaming reviewed Valley Peaks, “a superb little game about climbing”.
The Wholesome Games Steam Celebration is happening right now, and The IndiEXP’s Which Way Up: Galaxy Games Demo is featuring! “Perform graceful gravity gymnastics, outrun the relentless pull of a black hole and launch your friends into space as you compete across multiple events in the Galaxy Games!”
Happy gaming!
The Indieformer Team
P.S. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and favourite discoveries with us via the comments, X, Threads, or reach us at [email protected]
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