• Krafty Kactus@sopuli.xyz
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    8 months ago

    That’s like saying that indie art is creatively bankrupt because you go on DeviantArt and randomly look through the stuff on there. When people make a lot of stuff, a lot of it is bound to be iffy.

  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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    8 months ago

    Indie games can be awesome, you just need to find a good way to avoid the crap. For example:

    • deck builders - Slay the Spire is the GOAT here, pretty much everything else is a knockoff (though I’ve heard good things about Monster Train); if you want a really unique experience, try Inscryption
    • Metroidvanias - not sure what “loops” are, sounds like OP is talking about rogue-like; Hollow Knight is the GOAT, I’ve heard Hyper Light Drifter (currently playing and good so far) and Tunic are great as well
    • 3D platform - I’ve heard A Hat in Time is the GOAT here, though there’s certainly a lot of crap; if you broaden the definition of “indie” a bit, Psychonauts is great

    There are a ton of crappy indie games, but that’s just because there’s so many games total. I think there are more good indie games than good AAA games, they’re just a bit harder to find among all the crap.

    • shneancy@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      OP could be talking about gameplay loops, those are present in every game. Eg Hollow Knight’s loop: explore, stab bugs, find charms/upgrades, beat boss, repeat until there is nothing else to do. If a gameplay loop is boring and has no variety it becomes obvious it’s a loop, the same way bad films make it obvious you’re watching a film with characters of specific archetypes, and a story with an intro, mid point, climax, and a resolution. And by bad I mean bland, there’s still a certain joy in comically not well crafted media

    • narwhalperson
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      8 months ago

      In terms of deck builders I’ve been really enjoying Fights in Tight Spaces. You use cards to build James-Bond-esque fight scenes. Also, for platformers, shovel knight remains excellent.

    • jkozaka@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      A Hat in time Is absolutely the GOAT, I spent 9 hours straight playing it on the day I bought it and with all the mod support, replayablility, and dlc, it’s a must-play.

  • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Indie games are so numerous it’s basically impossible for most of them to not be shit. The thing is I’ll take a great indy game over a great triple a title 9 times out of 10.

    Like far cry 6 was pretty damn good. Great customization, decent crafting, excellent graphics and an engaging story. But the weekly shit and end game grinding wore on me. Maybe 120 hours spent. Meanwhile 7 days to die looks janky, has shitty minecraft building, no actual story beyond survival, and I’m pushing 600 hours.

    Starfield held me for about 100 hours. Again, graphics, story, crafting, all good enough. But I’d rather play valheim again. Hell, even stalcraft held my attention for longer.

  • 0ops@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    I used to hang out on game dev reddits and I saw this a lot. “Today I’m releasing a new game…a breath of the wild clone!”

  • shani66@ani.social
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    8 months ago

    The only thing I’ll give them is the tide of shitty card based roguelikes. It really just ruins my entire day when i find something that looks cool at first glance and goes on about their interesting world only for it to be a shitty spire-like. At least survivor likes feel low budget from the get go.

  • Rosco@sh.itjust.works
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    8 months ago

    I just want a Sims or Spore indie clone that is not managed by the greediest assholes on the planet, is that too much to ask?

    • VonCesaw@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Thankfully there is 2 on the way, but somehow they both have ripped the concept of the Sims 4 entirely in half

      Life By You is pretty raw/hard simulation, with more emphasis on the gameplay of the simulated people, more reminiscent of the Sims 2 graphically Paralives is soft simulation with more emphasis on building and design, extremely reminiscent of the Sims 4 graphically

  • qooqie@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    The weird part is how much people suck indie game devs dicks. Even when the game had mechanics that if it was in an AAA game the reviews would be bombed.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      Indie games are usually focused around a handful of mechanics, whereas AAA games often throw in the kitchen sink. When it comes to games, less is often more.

      In AAA game, I’ll get open world, crafting, dodge and parry combat, RPG mechanics, exploration, etc, and they’ll all individually be decent, whereas a good indie game will do one or two of those really well. So my choice is, do I want a wide range of mechanics in one game, or a wide range of games with really well done mechanics?

      Some people prefer variety, I prefer focused games. AAA games appeal to a large audience, indies appeal to a niche. If you can find a good niche, indies are hard to beat.