12 New Indie games heading to PS4

This week, Sony held a media event in California showcasing their commitment to bringing the best of Indie games to the PlayStation family. This was a chance to catch up with announced games that haven't landed on our consoles yet. Titles like Jonathan Blow's The Witness, Futurlab's Velocity 2x and Transistor, the next game from the team that did Bastion. These games are some of the most anticipated titles on my PS4 watch list and it's good to know that development on these games is almost finished.

If these games weren't enough, Sony announced the next wave of Indie games coming to PlayStation. 12 new titles including the creme of the last 12 months indie darlings and some new takes on old ideas. So let's start with a look at all of them and what is know so far.


Nidhogg: Yes, it looks like a Acorn Electron game, but don't be fooled by its basic retro visuals. Nidhogg maybe one of the most compelling sword fighting game ever made. With the addition of both local & multilayer tournaments. It is time to bring the finest of fencing to the PS4.



Spelunky: Derek Yu’s beloved procedurally generated platformer comes to PS4 in full 1080p with new social features. What more is there say than that. Oh, there is the whole Cross-buy thing, so if you already own the game on Vita or PS3 you will be able to get the PS4 version at no extra cost when it is released.



Chasm: It's another procedurally generated adventure next, in the form of Chasm from Discord Games. Chasm looks gorgeous with its retro art style and metroidvania gameplay.  You can read how Discord have created their procedurally generated worlds in more depth, over at the PlayStation blog. For me, all I need to know is the game looks awesome and is set to take me back to the age of SNES adventures, which is always a good thing.



Skulls of the Shogun: The Bone-a-Fide Edition: Another game that missed me on my transition from Xbox to PlayStation, Skulls of the Shogun 's coming to  The acclaimed strategy/brawler hybrid arrives on PlayStation platforms with expanded features. Skulls is developers 17-bit, homage to Nintendo classic, Advance Wars. If that isnt enough to sell it to you, then this trailer should seal the deal!



Source: Fenix Fire Games are bringing their take on the Metroidvania game with Source. Set in a 3d world that looks like a organic version of Tron, which is absolutely stunning. You play as a creature that resembles a sci-fi hummingbird. The story follows you attempting to stop the ultimate destruction from destroying everything of the world. With plenty of exploration and puzzles, Source is definately one adventure game to keep an eye on.



Axiom Verge: This game is a pub funded title from Tom Happ, the sole developer creating Axiom Verge, an ambitious retro platformer. Unfortunately, the game isn't actually being funded in a actual pub, but from Sony's Pub Fund program, which looks to encourage independent developers to self-publish their games on the PlayStation Network. Axiom Verge is another Metroidvania game and this one has its roots firmly planted in the games of the past. It looks amazing and as a big fan of these type of games, I am really excited to be able to play this in 2015



Drifter: Imagine having Elite in palm of your hand, wouldn't that be awesome? Well this could be a reality as new open world space exploration game, Drifter is coming to PS Vita and PS4. The game features a procedurally-generated (there's that word again!) galaxy 100,000 light years across made up of tens of thousands of star systems. Its down to you to decide how you play the game and how you choose to survive in space. Whether that be as a trader, a bounty hunter, a miner or my personal favorite from the Elite days... a space pirate.



Jamestown Plus: The much loved PC 4 player co-op shooter comes to PS4 and introduces lots of new content and features. Jamestown is a top down "Bullet Hell" shooter that is set on British Colonial Mars. I have played many shooters in my gaming life, but I have never played a 4 player co-op one. This is going to be huge!



Starwhal: Just the Tip: Erm, this is a game about space flying star whales that fight to the death by piercing each others hearts. Yeah I don't know either! Luckily the trailer will explain things better... I think?



Escape Goat 2: What better way to help get your Indie game noticed than with an endorsement from Tim Schafer of Double Fine. The guy behind Psychonauts, Full Throttle, Brutal Legend and more recently, Broken Age. Escape Goat 2 is an ingenious platformer that focuses on transformation. As you manipulate hidden machinery, walls move around and blocks settle into new places. It looks like a goat version of Manic Miner, which is no bad thing.



Ironclad Tactics: Zachtronics bring their turn-based card strategy game, based around the American Civil War... with robots? With a full campaign and a storyline told in the form of a full graphic novel, Ironclad Tactics looks set to fill the gap that a not having a console version of Hearthstone has left.



Apotheon: A beautiful action platformer set in Ancient Greece from the talented AlienTrap team. The game looks beautiful. It takes the idea of using the traditional art style from a countries historical art, as with Okami and turning it into a living painting. Taking the route of the action side scroller, Apotheon looks to me like a God of War 2D. Take a look at the trailer for a look at the games combat in action.



So that's the lot, a pretty impressive list of Indie games coming to the PlayStation family. Bear in mind that this list doesn't take into account Indie games that haven't quite made it out yet. This list includes Minecraft for PS4 and Vita, Rogue Legacy, Starbound, Rime, Hotline Miami 2, HoHokum and Everybodys gone to the Rapture. Now I just need the time to play them all.