Top 5 Best Indie Games of August 2016

The Turing Test

The Turing Test tells the story of Ava Turing, an engineer for the International Space Agency. Players will assume the role of Turin as they are sent out to find out what’s behind the disappearance of a ground crew stationed on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. The Turing Test is a first-person puzzle game with intelligent puzzle design that blends in well with the game’s narrative. The puzzle element of the game revolves around unlocking doors as you traverse through the station. You’ll need to distribute power to certain doors, using your special gun and utilizing switches to direct the power to go where you want it to.

The Turing Test, developed by indie studio, Bulkhead Interactive, currently has a Metacritic score of 79 from six reviews. In our review, we described the game as “an absolute marvel of intelligent puzzle design that makes you feel amazing for conquering it.” You can check out our full review, here.

No Man’s Sky

When No Man’s Sky was revealed back in 2013, PlayStation fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing from indie studio, Hello Games. A huge universe made up of quintillions of planets all unique and ready for the player to explore. No Man’s Sky tasks players with reaching the center of the universe, exploring planets they come across on their way to acquire more resources, discover new species of animals, and craft upgrades for their equipment to help move themselves further toward their end goal.

While the game and the indie studio has recently come under a little criticism, with some fans feeling that the game wasn’t what they were promised, No Man’s Sky is nonetheless an achievement and a milestone in the history of video games. The game currently sits on a score of 71 on Metacritic based on 85 reviews. You can check out our review of No Man’s Sky here.

Abzu

Abzu is the latest game from some of the minds behind the critically acclaimed smash-hit, Journey. Providing a somewhat similar experience to its predecessor, Abzu sees the player embark on a lonely venture, however, this time you’ll descend into the depths of the sea where you’ll beautiful and serene environments filled with aquatic wildlife. Unfortunately, some of that wildlife is in desperate need of your help and that’s where you’ll come in. Though we’re not going to say much more to avoid spoiling what is essentially a story-driven game, Abzu is a touching tale of nature and humanity.

The game was largely well received by critics, with Abzu currently sitting on a score on Metacritic of 77 based on 62 reviews. We quite liked Abzu, particularly it’s aquatic world that was teeming with life and its soothing gameplay. You can check out our full review here.

This Is the Police

This Is the Police sees players thrown into a story of corruption and crime (as you may have guessed from the title). You’re Jack Boyd, a Police Chief who comes face to face with the criminal underbelly of Freeburg. In order to pull the city out of the gutter, you’ll have to successfully manage your staff, respond to emergencies, and investigate all of the crimes that pop up across the city. All of this plays into your ultimate goal of making $500,00 in 180 days before you reach retirement.

This Is the Police has received very positive reviews on Steam from 1284 ratings. Though the indie has received more of a mixed reception from critics, we personally were big fans of the game. It handles difficult and sensitive adult themes well, and blends a fantastic well-told story into a demanding simulator game. If you’ve been looking for a gritty story and need something to scratch that management simulator itch, you may want to give This Is the Police a chance.

Overcooked

If you’ve been looking for a chaotic couch co-op game to play with your friends and family, then Overcooked is quite possibly the game to scratch that itch. Working as a team, you’re all thrown in a kitchen where you must work together to prepare and serve a variety of orders in a quick and timely fashion. With extremely easy controls and a charming aesthetic, Overcooked is easily accessible but still manages to offer an enjoyable challenge to seasoned players.

Overcooked released right at the beginning of August on PC, PS4, and Xbox One to a positive reception from players and critics alike. Though the game does occasionally suffer from a few performance issues and blips in the presentation, Overcooked is currently sitting on an average score of 78 on Metacritic across all three platforms. While it’s great fun in multiplayer, we do strongly warn against playing it as a single-player experience as some of the fun is sapped from having to do the work of two players. You can read more of our thoughts on Overcooked here.