Montreal Expo Gaming Arcade arrived on the weekend of November 18 to 19 at Marché Bonsecours in the Old Montreal area of the city. It brought together the Montreal Independent Gaming Festival and many events over the two days from mini concerts to gaming tournaments. It consisted of arcade areas as well. The dominant part of the show went to a huge hall full of independent games to test out and connect with the many developers.
Surprisingly, some of the bigger indie companies also made an appearance. They included Compulsion Games with their upcoming game We Happy Few and Red Barrel Games with their recently released horror game Outlast 2. Aside from the more renowned titles, we also had some upcoming indie games for all platforms. With over 35 games (at least from what we saw), here’s a look at some of the independent games that stood out to us.
The Inner Friend by Playmind
The Inner Friend is a psychological horror game where you play as a ghost child trying to gather up his memories to fill back up his room. The controls are simple to grasp however, there is an uneasy atmosphere with scary villains (at least the one from the demo stage was). This is a dark, no dialogue, environmentally narrated story. It will be released in March 2018.
N.U.T.Z. by Pandemonium Interactive
N.U.T.Z. is an action Metroidvania game where you play as space squirrels against space dinosaurs. The artwork is colorful and catchy and the challenge of a Metroidvania is still there despite its cute premise as it combines a shooter and platformer into one. It is a promising debut game for Pandemonium Interactive. It currently is in pre-alpha mode and you can test out their demo on their website HERE.
Primus Vita by Epsilon Games
Primus Vita is an upcoming episodic game that follows different characters in each chapter that aims to navigate between a narrative and puzzle experience in a sci-fi world. The first episode features one of their six characters called Austin and is set to be released in March 2018. They recently released their demo on Steam and launched their Kickstarter campaign.
Infini by Barnaque
Infini is a unique platformer without platforms where you play as Hope who is constantly dropping and needs to utilize the wraparound of the screens to navigate through the paths and puzzles filled with obstacles. Hope can slow down and accelerate to evade as well in order to reach their objective. It is aiming for release in 2018.
Somos by Alexis Lessard
Somos is a fast-paced abstract action game where you move a dot between a black and white screen as different types of dangerous pieces move in. It is a frantic test of reflex and observation of eliminating the dangers while shift the dots in a timely manner to make it through as long as possible.
Just Shapes and Beats by Berzerk Studio
Just Shapes and Beats is a rhythm battle game where you play in a coop setting in a string of battles to dash and swiftly move through obstacles in upbeat music world. The game design for the demo on the showfloor shows incredible fun times with friends especially when you can also save your friends. Minimalistic, upbeat and challenging gameplay make this a catchy title to look forward to.
Wolf Gang by Nylon Blonde
Wolf Gang is a cute turn-based tactical RPG where you play as a band of wolves trying to take over the mountain. It is a story-driven campaign with funny characters and an intriguing style. It currently has launched a Kickstarter campaign.
0000 by Alvaro Salvagno
0000 is an upcoming shooting platformer as it moves from one level to the next whether you pass or fail which started out as a game jam project. There is currently a total of 100 levels. The levels are short and simple (very reminiscent of Super Meat Boy style) and various types of enemies. It is looking to release in 2018.
Mercenary Kings by Tribute Games
Mercenary Kings is a 2014 2D shoot ‘em up game that can be played solo or coop which focuses on missions to beat down the forces of CLAW by crafting weapons and upgrading body armor. The game is available on Steam and Playstation.
King of the Hat by Hyroglyphik Games
King of the Hat is a 2 to 4 local and online game set in Hatlandia where you play as characters whose hats are their souls. The game centers around short rounds of each player trying to stomp on each other’s hats to eliminate their opponents. A simple and yet fun idea which was recently funded successfully on Kickstarter as well as winning the Audience award at Canadian Gaming Expo Montreal. You can find our podcast interview with the team in the video above.
Abyss Crew by Aquarealm Studio
https://youtu.be/sIX4oX7m7ew
Abyss Crew is a multiplayer game where you play as a part of the crew of a steampunk submarine. There are various roles that you can assume and relies heavily on communication from all members to work together to survive.
The Grand Block Odyssey by Reality Studio
The Grand Block Odyssey is a 3D adventure puzzle game where you play as an unnamed protagonist that has crash landed on a planet where to escape each area, he must solve a series of block-pushing puzzles.
The other indie titles present at Montreal Independent Games Festival were:
- Astral Traveler & Arelite Core by Dragon Slumber is a racing platformer and a JRPG respectively. Both games are currently available on Steam. Listen to our interview with Dragon Slumber HERE.
- Bulles Steriles by Max Romain is a game that is navigated only by the mouse in a runner.
- Castle Story by Sauropod Studio is a voxel-based strategy game where you build castles one brick at a time using little yellow creatures called Bricktron. It currently available on Windows, Mac and Linux
- Cefore by Pixelz Games is a physics-based puzzle game set in a simplistic abstract environment where you play as a contractor sent to destroy structures.
- Chiaro and the Elixir of Life by Martov Co is an upcoming first person VR adventure game where you play as Chiaro who is in search for the Fountain of Elixir that can bring machines alive.
- Children of Zodiarcs by Cardboard Utopia is a story-driven tactical RPG with a deck and dice combat system released in July 2017. Check out our interview with Cardboard Utopia HERE.
- Feudal Feud by Urubu Studio is a free to play mobile real-time diplomacy game currently in development. You can watch our interview with this one man team HERE.
- Floor Kids by Hololabs is a hand-drawn breakdance game which includes dance battles and energetic beats that will be heading to Nintendo Switch soon.
- Hammurabi by LabLabLab is a resource allocation management game where the focus is on allocating budget for territory, agriculture and welfare to make decisions and find the balance as the characters have their own mannerism as their power changes. The game is available in browser game.
- Salad Hunt by Salad Hunters Inc.is an indie mobile game that relies on fast action against vegetables. It recently won Best Mobile Game at Gameacon 2017.
- Shrouded Isle by Kitfox Games is a simulation game where you play as the high priests that need to search and purge the heretics before the awakening of their god. It is available on Steam as of August 2017.
- Spectrum Break by Jason Hein is a 2D physics platformer game using rainbow colors and zero gravity to hit blocks to win and will release in 2018.
- Sundered by Thunder Lotus Games is a hand-drawn Metroidvania adventure released this past July.
Montreal Expo Gaming Arcade and Montreal Independent Games Festival wraps up with their awards ceremony on Sunday. Check out their Facebook page to see the upcoming announcements of the winners.