Some of the Games You Might’ve Missed in 2018

With the abundance of AAA games that were released in 2018, it’s very easy to ignore some of the indie games that weren’t given as much press as the larger releases. 2018 was an especially good year for unique indie games as they were able to create a cavalcade of unique gaming experiences. As the year comes to a close, there were some exemplary games that showcased the distinct qualities of smaller, more creative titles. Here are a few of them:

       Return of the Obra Dinn

From Lucas Pope, the creator of Papers Please, comes a game where you play as an insurance agent who is investigating the wreckage of a pirate ship called the Obra Dinn. The goal is to properly identify all the people who passed away on the ship and how they meet their demise. This is done using a mystical stop watch that allows the player to go back in time to see the events surrounding a person’s death. This is made more difficult by the game’s unique monochromatic art style which serves to obscure just the right amount of information to keep you searching for more clues. For anyone interested in an old fashioned mystery story with a modern twist, this game is perfect for you.

             Lethal League Blaze

Amongst other fighters like Street Fighter and Tekken, Lethal League Blaze stands alone as its own strange entity. As opposed to normal fighting games, the only method of dealing damage is slamming a high speed ball into your opponent. Though it may sound simplistic, the game’s complexity shines through with each character having unique abilities that alter how they interact with the ball and how they traverse around the game’s confined stages. Though the roster is small with only 10 playable fighters, each one has such a unique appearance and playstyle that it quickly becomes irrelevant. Lethal League Blaze is ideal for all the people who crave a more zany fighting game experience.

              The World Ends With You: Final Remix

Despite releasing on the DS 10 years ago, The World Ends With You: Final Remix is still one of the most original RPGs ever made. The game revolves around Neku and a band of teenagers who are forced to participate in the Reapers Game.The remastered version on the Nintendo Switch improves on the stylized visuals of the original and has additional story content that makes the game a safe buy for both newcomers and people who played the original. The game’s story serves to make every character memorable with them evolving as the events of the game transpire. The Switch’s unique features make the controls for combat a bit cumbersome but they’re worth persevering through for one of the best RPGs you can play this decade.

                     Dandara

There is no gravity in the world of Dandara. Instead of jumping, the titular character Dandara dashes from platforms labelled with the game’s signature “salt”. This special method of traversal allows the game to concoct dozens of different ways to traverse environments while fighting enemies and discovering treasure. The game’s peculiar pixel art and exploration make it one of the most captivating Metroidvania-style experiences one can have.