KitGuru Games: Seven promising indie games to look out for in 2024

Many gamers are burnt out on Triple A gaming at the moment, in no small part thanks to increasing costs and monetisation schemes, not to mention the industry's obsession with ‘live service'. Fortunately, there are many fantastic games coming out all the time from independent developers, but with thousands of games releasing on Steam each year, finding those gems can be a bit of a task. We've rounded up seven of our favourite upcoming indie titles, all of which received new trailers during the Triple-i showcase.

1. Kill Knight

Kill Knight invites us all to master the demon within. This is a Bullet Hell game, putting players in a map with large swarms of enemies. Your job is simple – wipe out the swarms of otherworldly horrors. The game itself takes place in a realm below Hell, so a Super Hell if you will. If you're like me and have grown a bit of an obsession with this style of game after playing Vampire Survivors, then this should be worth picking up. However, it is not an autobattler, so you'll need to implement some extra skill beyond just picking up the right weapons/abilities and managing the horde with movement.

Developed by PlaySide Studios in Australia, The game is due to release in 2024 on Steam. The studio has previous credits on titles like Warcraft 3: Reforged, Archangel: Hellfire, Age of Darkness and a range of licensed mobile titles.

2. Hyper Light Breaker

A sequel to an older beloved indie game, Hyper Light Drifter, the developers at Heart Machine return with a new adventure set in the world of Hyper Light. This time, players will enter the Overgrowth, a forgotten land with a large open-world map to explore. Players will take on brutal bosses, unlock new gear and level up to take on the Abyss King. Better yet, the game will be playable alone, or in co-op with friends.

It is a very unique game with its own dark yet colourful style, mixing elements of of sci-fi with dark fantasy. The game is launching into Early Access on Steam later this year.

3. Cataclismo

From the studio behind Moonlighter and The Mageseeker comes  Cataclismo. This game blends real-time strategy elements with tower defence, offering a unique take on a strategy game, with players designing huge fortresses with enough defences and firepower to defend against huge swarms of enemies. It is very different to the studio's previous two games, both of which I very much enjoyed.

This game is dropping on the 16th of July, but on Steam, you can already find a free demo available, so if you're looking to try out something new this weekend, give the demo an install.

4. Slay the Spire 2

Slay the Spire is a game that I routinely go back to for another run. It is a deck builder, but not in the traditional sense. It isn't really a card game and more of a rogue-lite, with turn-based battles where you utilise the cards you've collected in your run so far. It is a formula that can provide hours upon hours of entertainment.

Now, the team at Mega Crit has officially announced Slay the Spire 2. The graphics and art have all been updated with more detail and new playable characters are confirmed, but we still don't know the full scope of the improvements in the sequel. We will find out in early 2025, when Slay the Spire 2 hits Steam Early Access.

5. The Rogue Prince of Persia

Following on from a number of leaks, The Rogue Prince of Persia has now been officially announced. As someone who grew up with Ubisoft's Prince of Persia trilogy, I was initially put off by the art-style chosen here. However, the platforming and movement mechanics look so slick and the combat looks like it packs a bit of a punch, so I'm willing to put that aside to give this a real shot.

The game is being developed by Evil Empire, the indie studio that worked on much of the post-launch content for Dead Cells, which is also one of the best rogue-like games released in the modern era. With that in mind, I am expecting this game to be very fun to play and offer plenty of build options for players as they go on each run.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is launching on Steam Early Access on the 14th of May.

6. 33 Immortals

This is for all of you who miss the old days of large-scale MMO raids. 33 Immortals puts 33 players together on a map to raid, cooperate and take on hordes of dangerous enemies, before going in to take down a massive boss. Players will need to work together to synergise tactics to stand a chance against the major bosses. You won't have to worry about getting 33 friends together either – there is matchmaking and the developers at Thunder Lotus are looking to make the matchmaking experience instantaneous.

There is a closed beta for this game taking place from the 24th of May until the 2nd of June, so if you're interested, you can sign up to participate.

7. RKGK / Rakugaki

RKGK is an anime-inspired 3D plattformer. In this game, we'll be raging against the machine of capitalism, looking to take down the evil B Corp and bring freedom back to the citizens of Cap City. Visually, it is a very eye-catching title, with slick movement, a Cyberpunk-infused anime aesthetic and lots of graffiti.

This is the debut title for Wabisabi Games, founded by a group of Latin American developers, and was funded by Riot Games as part of the company's Underrepresented Founders program. The game is due to release in Q2, so it should be with us by the end of June.

8. Honourable Mentions

Aside from all of these new games, a bunch of popular indie titles are also getting DLC updates that are worth mentioning. At the top of the list, we have Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns, a crossover DLC with the classic arcade shooter, Contra. Vampire Survivors is perhaps the best bang for buck in gaming right now. This DLC drops on the 9th of May, and you'll even get to play as Contra soldier, Brad Fang.

Darkest Dungeons 2, the sequel to the highly acclaimed Darkest Dungeon, is getting a new mode. Kingdoms mode will see players taking on three new monster factions in a race against the clock. The DLC is now available as a free update for all owners of the game.

V Rising is back with another crossover DLC too. Following on from its previous Dead Cells crossover, V Rising is now getting Castlevania content baked in. Naturally, Castlevania's Simon Belmont will make an appearance to challenge players.

Finally we have Palworld, which is being updated with a new Arena mode. The Pokémon-style open world survival game will now invite you to enter the arena to take on other players with each side having access to three Pals to battle with.

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KitGuru Says: Are there any indie games you are currently keeping on your wishlist? Will you be picking up any of the games on this list when they eventually release? 

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