This week, a group of independent studios dubbed the Triple-i Initiative teamed up to host their own showcase of upcoming indie games. Over 30 games were featured in the event, but these are the five that I’m most excited to play in the coming months.
The Rogue Prince of Persia
Evil Empire is best known for working with Motion Twin to create DLC for Dead Cells, but next month, we finally get to play the studio’s first original game. Like Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia is another action-platformer roguelite in which players unlock new skills, weapons, and areas to explore with each new run. You’ll start from the beginning when you die, but you’ll have more tools to help you get further in your next run. One of the key differences from Dead Cells is that the Prince of Persia looks much more acrobatic than The Beheaded.
RKGK
I’m a sucker for 3D platformers and colorful worlds, so RKGK had to be on this list. You play as Valah, a graffiti artist living in Cap City and fighting back against the evil, controlling B Corp. You can jump, dash, glide, and grind your way through the city to collect treasure, find secret paths, fight bad guys, and — quite literally — paint the town red.
Slay the Spire 2
Roguelike deck-building games have taken over game stores in recent years, but Slay the Spire helped put the genre on the map in 2019. Five years later, developer Mega Crit finally confirmed a sequel is now in the works, but we won’t get to play it until it launches in early access in 2025. According to the Steam page, Slay the Spire 2 takes place 1000 years after the first game and features new cards, mechanics, enemies, events, and treasures.
KILL KNIGHT
As much as I love Vampire Survivors and other top-down roguelike shooters, sometimes I would rather play something that requires more active input from the player. The isometric shooter KILL KNIGHT from the Triple-i Initiative showcase appears to be exactly that. As you descend through layers of the Abyss, you’ll acquire new pistols, heavy weapons, swords, and armor to combat the hordes of demons sent to eviscerate you. There are three difficulty settings, a global leaderboard to ascend, and a Master Mode that combines all five layers into a single arena.
Laysara: Summit Kingdom
This gorgeous city-builder was announced prior to the Triple-i Initiative showcase, but the game was surprise-launched on Wednesday during the event. Laysara: Summit Kingdom tasks players with building a home for their people on the side of a mountain. Each mountain comes with its own set of challenges that you’ll have to overcome to build a city, including avalanches and storms. Rather than battling other societies for dominance, your only goals are to build up the economy, manage resources, and ensure the survival of your people.