E3 is wrapping up for another year, but its influx of announcements has left us a lot to think about.
While the show was dominated by announcements from major companies like Xbox, Bethesda and Square, it’s the trailers for some smaller games that have really stuck with us. Thanks to the likes of PC Gamer Show, Guerrilla Collective and Wholesome Direct, we got more access to upcoming indie games than ever.
Keeping up with all of the shows was quite a task, though. So to help you out, we’ve rounded up six indie games shown off during E3 2021 that really stood out to us. Check ’em out below.
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View
There’s something about a good, old-fashioned mystery that we can’t resist, and so Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View instantly stood out to us. Set in the 1950s, you play as a retired detective who ends up in the middle of a case: a young girl has vanished from right across his street. By watching out of his window and paying attention to his neighbours, he’s got a lot of suspicions – and it seems it’ll be your job to work them out and piece together the case.
It’s from White Paper Games, a development team that has previously brought us Ether One and The Occupation. Needless to say, the company is no stranger to exploration, story-telling and mystery solving.
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is set to release later this year on PC and consoles.
Read more about Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View here
Lemnis Gate
You won’t have played anything like Lemnis Gate before. It’s a multiplayer game that blends first-person shooting and turn-based strategy in an incredibly unusual way: a time loop. Essentially, you and your opponent will complete a series of actions, but they’ll be layered up one-by-one. Your opponent’s action may affect your previous action, but a new action of yours might change the tide for both of you. You need to have your wits about you, anticipate how your opponent is going to act and try your best to come out on top.
It requires a lot more thought than most multiplayer shooter games, and that’s what we like about Lemnis Gate. With several different game modes, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into here, and we can’t wait to play more.
It’s releasing on 3rd August on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Read our hands-on preview of Lemnis Gate for more information
Tinykin
Imagine Pikmin, but with a cartoony art style. That’s basically our first impressions of Tinykin, based on a trailer shown off during E3 2021. It looks adorable – in the game you play as Milo, a tiny boy who, with the help of a horde of titular Tinykin, has a giant house to explore.
You can command your Tinykin to complete activities for you and help you reach new areas, whether it be opening doors or working together to form a ladder. We love the look of it, and while it’s still a way off, we’re excited to find out more.
Tinykin is scheduled for a 2022 release.
Immortality
A new game from Sam Barlow, creator of Her Story and Telling Lies? Yes please. That’s what Immortality is – and if you’ve played any of Barlow’s previous games, we probably don’t have to tell you much more to get you excited.
The trailer for Immortality, which was revealed during Future Games Show, was brief and rather abstract, but it was enough to get us interested. Both Her Story and Telling Lies revolved around full-motion video, so we’re assuming that Immortality will be similar, but we’re not 100% sure. But its writing team features talent who has previously worked on The Queen’s Gambit and Mr Robot, so there’s clearly something to look forward to here.
Immortality is scheduled for a 2022 release.
Trek to Yomi
A joint effort from Leonard Menchiari (The Eternal Castle) and Flying Wild Hog (Shadow Warrior), Trek to Yomi looks like something worth getting excited about. Presented in black and white, at first glance it looks like an actual samurai movie from the 1950s. It’s an incredible striking art style, and it its gameplay matches its presentation, we’ve got something very special on our hands indeed.
You’ll take on the role of Hiroki, a young swordsman who has sworn to his dying master that he’ll protect his town from all threats. It turns out to be a promise that carries a lot of weight, as Hiroki soon finds himself fighting against the forces of evil.
Trek to Yomi is a way off yet, with a release date scheduled for 2022, but we’re completely invested in what we’ve seen so far.
Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo
Rather than being a game of Hitchcock’s classic movie, Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo is instead an original tale simply inspired by the works of Hitchcock. And those inspirations are clear to see, from the music, settings and overall suspense-filled ambience surrounding the game.
In it, you play as Ed Miller, a writer who has survived what should have been a deadly car crash. He was found unscathed and alone – but Ed is adamant that his wife and daughter were in the car with him. As Ed, you’ll attend therapy to unravel what’s going on in your mind, and it seems the truth you’ll have to face might not be all too pleasant.
The trailer was only short, but we’re already invested, and can’t wait to see where this twisting narrative is going to lead. There’s no release date for Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo yet, but it’s “coming soon”.
You can see all of our coverage from E3 2021 by clicking here.
