Top 5 Best Indie Games of September 2016

Event[0] (PC)

Event[0] is a game predominantly about developing and sustaining a relationship with the AI of your spaceship. You’re millions of miles away from Earth, and to get home you’ll need to befriend the lonely AI, explore the spaceship, and solve hacking puzzles. This AI, named Kaizen, is capable of procedurally generating over two million lines of dialog, and can react to situations differently depending on its mood.

Kaizen is witty, funny, angry, and fully aware of itself and the situation you’re in. If you’re looking for an experience that offers something a little different from the usual releases, Event[0] may be what you’re after. Throw yourself into building a functional, friendly relationship with Kaizen, and Event[0] will reward you with an engrossing, albeit short space adventure. You can check out our full review of Event[0] here.

Seasons after Fall

Seasons after Fall slows down the fast-paced and chaotic action that players are accustomed to and provides a tranquil, watercolored adventure to embark on. Players assume the role of a young Seed and their fox companion as they attempt to save the forest they inhabit by collecting fragments of each of the four seasons. Players are able to enjoy this beautiful hand-painted world, along with its equally beautiful soundtrack, at their own leisure.

What distinguishes Seasons after Fall is its unique Seasons mechanic. You’re able to control the seasons at will, which will allow you to explore different areas of the world dependent on which you pick. Mushrooms may only open up in Fall, for example, granting you a ledge to get to a formerly out of reach area.

Seasons after Fall is a joy to explore thanks to its captivating and beautiful world, and you owe it to yourself to at least check it out. You can check out our review of the game here.

Clustertruck (PC)

When you were a kid, you probably imagined that the floor was lava and leaped from couch to armchair to spare yourself from a molten demise. Indie developer Landfall Games takes your love for imaginary lava floors and puts the basic concept into a full-fledged game. Clustertruck tasks you with jumping from speeding truck to speeding truck as you desperately make your way to the end of each level. As you progress, more obstacles will be thrown at you in the form of swinging hammers, lasers, and other trucks flying about.

It’s a basic premise, but it has that “just one more go” feel perfected. You’ll never blame the game for a bad run, instead working out in your head how you’ll perfect it next time. With some incredibly tough levels toward the end, Clustertruck is a tricky and compelling reimagining of your favorite childhood memories. Check out our full review here.

Virginia (PC, Xbox One, PS4)

Indie title Virginia was met with a positive critical reception when it released toward the end of September. Players assume the role of a graduate FBI agent named Anne Tarver as she investigates a missing person case in a small town. With your partner, Maria Halperin, you’ll soon uncover that there’s something even more sinister going on than just this on disappearance. You’re not here to do much puzzle-solving yourself, but to simply drive the story along by maneuvering the character.

Though Virginia only clocks in at around two hours on your first playthrough, going through again rewards you with those light-bulb moments where you realize you completely overlooked something the first time around. As we noted in our review, it’s different, intriguing, and one heck of a journey.

Project Highrise (PC)

Fans of the management sim genre will be delighted to hear that Project Highrise is the latest indie title that you must own. Its goal is simple: build a tower and ensure that it’s successful and well thought out enough to turn a profit from the people living and working inside. In order to make it successful, though, you’ll need to consider where your services should go, all of the individual utilities that each space needs, and essentially take into account the entire mini ecosystem that comes with building a skyscraper.

As you build, your building’s population will become more demanding and require you to further improve and develop. It’s by no means an easy management sim game, but one that’s incredibly rewarding and deep considering its basic premise. It once sent us into a six hour binge during our review playtime, so it’s safe to say Project Highrise is pretty fun, too.