Best Indie Games From Day of the Devs 2019

For the past seven years, the Day of the Devs event has been finding its way to gamer’s lives. The free event hosted in San Fransisco opens up its doors to gamers for a chance to get their hands on some notable indie games that they may have never heard about. This is also a great chance for us to share with you some games that might have fallen under your radar and turn you on to some great projects by small teams of developers.

Saturnalia
Developer: Santa Ragione

Saturnalia is a survival horror where players assume the roles of various characters as they explore a strange village. Through gameplay, players will take control of a group of characters who must explore a town that changes each time they play. If a character dies, the player will take control of a different character who has the option to save the other character or travel deeper into the labyrinth-like village. The game’s visual appeal is what caught our eye, but solving the mystery is what will keep us playing.

Praey for the Gods
Developer: No Matter Studios

Praey for the Gods is a game that we’ve played multiple times in the past, and each time we get our hands on it, we see improvements in its core systems. Throughout the game, players will meet enormous bosses that they must climb to bring them to their knees. During moments of survival in a dangerous world, we can’t wait to see this game receive an official release date.

Shovel Knight Dig
Developer: Nitrome

Shovel Knight Dig borrows elements from games like Downwell and brings it to the Shovel Knight universe. Players will use split-second decision making as the race to the bottom of wherever this pit leads. Many dangers lurk the further down you get, but there is also a whole lot of treasure that kept us scooping dirt.

El Hijo
Developer: Honig Studios

El Hijo takes the stealth genre and adds the unique twist of having the player play through the adventure as a 6-year-old boy. During the game, players will assist the boy as he searches for his mother. Many elements of this game caught our eye, but the environments and set pieces provide a great playground for a unique stealth gameplay experience that we are looking forward to playing more of in the future.

Panzer Paladin
Developer: Tribute Games

Panzer Paladin is a combination of some of our favorite gameplay elements, 2D action and mechs. Players jump inside a mech known as Paladin, which grants them access to powerful skills and defensive abilities against enemies. However, during the game, players can exit the protection provided by the Paladin and adventure as the pilot to places that the armor can’t go. Its charm borrows a lot from some of our favorite 16-bit games, so it’s safe to say it has our attention.

Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash!
Developer: Grounding Inc.

You trying to dance? Space Channel 5 is back and bringing with it all of its impressive moves and groves that fans remember. This time, players can jump into the game via virtual reality and genuinely commit to the steps by following along with Ulala. We are obviously looking forward to it.

Spiritfarer
Developer: Thunder Lotus

Spiritfarer tells an emotional story of loss as the player assumes the role of Stella, a ferry master to the deceased. During the game, players will explore the world and lead spirits to the afterlife as they commit to the job duties of being the ferry master, but also learning more about the souls who end up requesting their services. The game also has many other sim gameplay features such as farming and gathering material that we can see ourselves committing to for hours of gameplay as we discover the story that these developers are trying to tell.

Rainy Season
Developer: Inasa Fujio

Quick and unforgettable. Rainy Season can be completed in under an hour but offers many ways to approach its unique style of storytelling. During the story, a family’s plans for visiting an amusement part are foiled, and so they must stay home. Players are then able to interact with the objects in the hours as they speak with the family and explore. The game is meant to be a calming experience, and we are excited to see this narrative play out.

Arise
Developer: Piccolo

From the first time we saw Arise, we knew that the world the game created was one that we wanted to explore. After seeing first hand how the mechanics affect the gameplay of journeying through beautifully designed levels, this is an adventure we’d like to see through until the end. The story is of love and loss, and that is something we can see ourselves investing lots of time into.

Cloudpunk
Developer: Ion Lands

Let’s be serious; cyberpunk is always going to be considered cool. Cloudpunk put players in the role of a delivery driver named Rania, who doesn’t know it yet, but she is about to experience one night she’ll not soon forget. Throughout the story, a mystery of a corporate conspiracy and hackers unfolds, and Rania is in the middle of it. During the dialogue, players must make choices that directly impact the game’s narrative and their place in this world. Sure, this game looks cool as hell, but we are also looking forward to figuring out some of its secrets as well.

Eastward
Developer: Pixpil
Publisher: Chucklefish

One look at Eastward, and we knew this was a game that we are going to keep on our radar until its release. It’s charming visuals, and design only scratches the surface of beautiful things we are learning about this game. Players play through the game as John and Sam, two characters who they will need to switch between to get through some of the areas in the game, so expect some teamwork mechanics. Furthermore, the game features an action battle system with a few unique weapons, such as a frying pan or a flamethrower.

The Drifter
Developer: Powerhoof

This point-and-click adventure puts players in the role of Mick Carter, a man who witnessed some terrible events and is now being pursued by armed men. Sadly, Mick ends up being killed but somehow manages to retain his consciousness. Throughout the game, players must figure out the reasons why this all happened, which requires some puzzle-solving and investigative gameplay mechanics. The game presents some unique mechanics and narrative features that we would like to see more of.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Developer: Greg Labanov & Friends

Okay, so one look at Chicory, and we were hooked. During gameplay, players assume the role of a dog who is on an adventure. To get through various levels, players will need to use a magical brush that allows them to paint the world and help multiple animal friends. There is just something so charming about this game that we can’t help but want to continue paying attention to it until its release.

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With over 70 games to choose from, we might have missed some, but we’ll be sure to continue to share these great titles coming to console and PC soon.