That being said, there are tons of indie games that can be witnessed with other games in the already swamped gaming space doing things that you never would have photographed. They aren’t special in 2024. They aren’t special sitting there in the crowd waiting to let the indie games bring people in with great gameplay and pretty art style. That said though, let’s get to the prettier pretties of pretties in some of the better Indie games we sampled in 2024.
1. Hollow Sky
It’s after these trees/ plants/ islands, it’s hollow sky — an atmospheric adventure where the players wander through a forest of trees: or trees with light or floating plants, big trees or floating plants, big trees with light or tree light or floating plants or island, big tree with light or tree light island floating plants or island big tree with light or tree light island floating plants, big windows with light or floating plants or island big trees with light or tree light island or floating plants or island big tree light or tree light island floating plants, big trees with light or tree light. The game actually does have a delicate color palette (with each color bleeding into loose hand painted texturing helping to illustrate a dreamworld at once eerie, but also enchanting) without taking quite so much aesthetic cues from pieces of art that look like your traditional old time movie poster, each piece standing tall as their own self contained art show. It is this, and how environmental design is dealt with in the game feels like the game is its own, from smell the sparkling water, to see the rising clouds.
Someone who must be lost traveller, because he must know this place, this place he used to know. Compost scenery, 1 theme, packed animations. This then turns into a game and experience.
Why It Stands Out:
dreamy woldy feel hand painted textures.
What is it like? Aside from that, environments would be environments that would, for the most part, tell you a visual story of what it’s like to actually be there once you were there yourself.
Mystic creepy atmosphere.
2. The Garden’s Whisper
The Garden’s Whisper is a short light puzzle game about leading a young girl to revive a dying garden. It does draw it’s hand and pastel toned tone, making the art design a little softer; more of a art design theme to the game. Each level design for a game, and in fact, every area, is also nature representation. The changing seasons alone have got to be half the emotional depth of the game.
This or this soft ambient soundtrack (or this astonishing, calm) makes it one of the most calming, jaw-droppingly pretty game of the year.
Why It Stands Out:
Hand drawn soft pastel tones illustrations.
Things changed and over time.
And it’s nice, it looks good as well (visually styled).
3. Frostfall: The Tides of Change
Set in a snow-covered world where the forces of nature are on the brink of collapse, Frostfall: Luckily, and aptly, The Tides of Change is gorgeous output. I will also admit, since this is a creeping atmosphere kind of game, that the landscape aspect in the game is absolutely beautiful because the landscape part of the game is 3D model, it’s kind of stylized lighting, it’s particle effects … that’s the landscape part of the game. The wind blown snow, sparkly ice, an eerie feeling, wonderful sight, sparkling ice, ice blue world, ice blue world, dangerous world around me, dangerous, dangerous, dangerous.
Really, the character designs are the indie game thing, massive amount of detail in the breadth of art work, the right down to some of the best animations ever in an indie game.
Why It Stands Out:
Real fantastic 3D design lighting.
Beautiful haunting mysteries in a strange world.
Conclusion: Visual Future Of Indie Gaming
2024 has been a remarkable year for indie games, with titles like Hollow Sky, The Garden’s Whisper, Frostfall: Modern examples would be Echoes of the Forgotten, and The Tides of Change and Luminara, of things that don’t really move the visuals of the medium forward, don’t show what you can do, and don’t go and do something fresh and new. I think it’s a good example of how far the indie games think now that you can really do outrageous art, you can create an emotional, pull with gaming experience.
These are no doubt something you will want to get your hands on if you hate pretty but it takes you somewhere strange. But it’s also shining bright light into what indie game design’s future has the potential to be: 2024.