The ‘indie’ term covers a broad spectrum of games that are usually made by small teams, either going it alone or with backing from some of the smaller publishers out there. Quite literally, these are independent developers, and over the last few years this indie scene has grown as more individuals and teams create games covering everything from sports to RPGs, adventure titles and platformers all covered by this umbrella.
Each year sees a few of these games get a lot more attention than others. Be it the mystery thriller known as Her Story, the colourful platformer Ori and the Blind Forest, the emotionally draining SOMA or the fascinating role playing of Undertale, every single one has caught the eye of many a player. But none of these quite came close to a winner that has already bagged several awards.
The successor to Psyonix’s Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars, Rocket League bringing car football to a new generation. Psyonix’s latest received a massive influx of players from its month on PlayStation Plus, as it launched on both PC and PS4, and things have just grown from there. In fact, from July to the end of November Psyonix confirmed that over 8 million people had played the game, and the game has generated $50 million in revenue! Both numbers will likely increase in February when Rocket League launches on Xbox One.
With the constant updates that add new items and events Rocket League is bound to be popular for a good few years. It is a fun and frantic title that doesn’t require players to be serious. You can get a group of friends together to just create chaos on the pitch while trying to get the ball into the net or, if you want to be more serious, learn the intricate skills it takes to soar through the sky and score the most improbable seeming of goals with ease.
Rocket League may not have an engaging storyline and characters you can bond with, but it is one of the most fun games to have released in recent years. It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are on the pitch in Rocket League, making it accessible to anybody. Psyonix has created a game that everyone can enjoy, and that is a feat in itself.
Runners up in alphabetical order:
- Her Story
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- SOMA
- Undertale
Jim Hargreaves
Although there have been plenty of amazing indie games this year, Rocket League comes out on top again. I know some people have expressed issues with the game but for me it’s been a constant winner and one that will continue to grow in 2016.
MrYd
As it’s basically football with cars, my comments yesterday about football apply. It needs multiball, releasing of wild tigers, and more nudity.
Otherwise, a couple of games and it gets boring. Even your yearly First Person S******* have more variety (mostly of the “well, that’s a new and interesting place to hide and be a sniping wanker”)
Gareth Chadwick
There wasn’t really any doubt this’d win really, it’s great, particularly with friends in the same room. And I had been waiting for it for years, I loved SARPBC too.