The Best Indie Games of January 2017

2064: Read Only Memories

Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to have a robot companion? Well, 2064: Read Only Memories lets you see exactly how that’d pan out through a Relationship and Organizational Manager (a fancy name for a robot) named Turing.

Assuming the role of a struggling journalist in Neo-San Francisco in 2064, players must work with their robot buddy to solve environmental puzzles and talk with NPCs to help you in your in search for your missing friend. However, as you’d expect, things get creepier the further you investigate.

If you’re looking for an all-out action game, you’re better off going elsewhere. 2064 is a point-and-click adventure game that’s driven forward by its intriguing story of the dark side of technology. This, combined with the relationship between yourself and Turing, the environmental storytelling, and the diverse cast of characters, makes for a world you’ll find hard to pull yourself away from.

It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but for those who can enjoy a good point-and-click adventure title, 2064: Read Only Memories is one of the best indie titles of January that you can buy.

Detention

If Resident Evil 7 didn’t quite scratch that survival horror itch, then we suggest you try out Detention. This PC indie point-and-click title might not have you frequently battling it out with tough and nightmarish monsters (though they’re not completely absent), but it’ll still leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable.

This, in part, comes down to Detention’s striking visual art style that brings the setting of 1960s martial-law Taiwan to life. Over its two-hour entirety, Detention manages to deliver a striking and emotionally stirring experience with a story that has its roots firmly placed in Taiwanese history and lore.

While Detention’s short length is disappointing, coming in at about two hours, it’s definitely worth checking it out. You won’t remember it for its incredible combat system or challenging puzzles, but its chilling story will certainly linger in your mind for a while after the credits roll.

You can check out our full review of indie game Detention, here.

Epic Manager: Create Your Own Adventure Agency!

If you take sports-management simulation, tycoon strategy, roguelike elements, roster management, combat, and character progression, mix it all together, and throw it all into a light-hearted fantasy setting, you get Epic Manager.

It’s a rather complex mix of gameplay mechanics, but one that works surprisingly well. To give you a quick run down, you’re in control of an adventuring agency. You’ll need to recruit heroes and defend the realm, all while competing against rival agencies.

This means you’ll have to complete quests, watch the competition’s moves, and manage your agency’s funds to ensure you can bankroll the whole thing. Every 12 weeks, the two worst-performing agency’s are eliminated, and its up to you to ensure you come out on top.

Epic Manager is a great title for those who want to manage a ton of different things at the same time. Unfortunately, if you’re not a hardened expert at tycoon strategy and sim games, you may find this a little tricky to jump into. Epic Manager’s tutorial only goes over the basics, but can still feel overwhelming due to the sheer number of different components.

Still, for a light-hearted and unique experience, Epic Manager is well worth your time and is one of the best indies of January. You can read our full review here.

What was your favorite indie title to release in January? Feel free to let us know down in the comments below.