Cheap Indie games thread

ríomhaire

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So Steam has introduced me to the world of really cheap indie games that it tempts me to buy. I've mostly stayed away from them because I'm broke and already have more games than I have time to play, but I have been tempted by some of them. So here's a thread for games that are €/$/£10 or less.


One I actually have tried out (because it's free) is TrackMania Nations Forever. It's a really nice racing game but not like normal ones. You join a server and then try to set the best lap time you can on a track. You can restart from the beginning as many times as you like. There is no "crash once and you have no chance of winning" scenario (unless the server has a really small round timer). You just try to get the fastest lap you can. When the server changes levels it displays the top racers for that level and what country they're from (your car also has your country's flag on it). This game is all about the custom tracks. Here's an example (it's actually just a "hold forward" map so there's no skill involved for the driver, but it shows nicely what levels can be like).

Hold forward track (unusually long)

More normal gameplay (apparently there's a commentary but I watched it muted so I have no idea if the guy is helpful or annoying):
Random youtube gameplay vid


And because you're not directly interacting with the other racers you can play with people from all over the globe and ping isn't an issue! Steam store link.






Something that's caught my eye recently is Plain Sight. You play a little robot ninja who has to kill other ninjas to steal their energy. But to use energy you have stored you have to suicide and blow yourself up and respawn. There's always a decision of should I blow myself up now or try to get a other kill to get more energy before I do? If you manage to take someone with you when you blow up you get extra points. You then spend the points on things like upgrading your jump. There are multiple modes including deathmatch, CTF and fighting a giant godzilla robot. Looks like a blast but I have no free time and too many games. If you have the time I suggest giving it a look (I know I want to):
Official Trailer

Deathmatch Gameplay

Steam store link.






Last game I'm going to talk about is one I've played the demo of and was sorely tempted to buy the full version, but instead just opted to put it in the "will buy in the future" pile. It's called Zombie Driver and it's as simple as it sounds. It's a top-down driving game (think original GTA) where you have to drive through hoards of zombies to save people and complete objectives. There are different cars you can unlock (taxi, ambulance, sports car etc.) and you can get upgrades for your car like machineguns and turbo boosters. There's a story mode and an arena mode and they both seemed like a blast in the demo. Typical zombie variants included (dogs, giant ones, exploding ones, etc.)

Official trailer:
Zombie Driver Trailer

Steam store link.
 
I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1 for XBLA has one of the best multiplayers of this generation. I am serious when I say that the only bad thing about this game is no Live (known to some as the Halo:CE effect).
 
Zombie Driver is pretty good, but runs out of replayability pretty quickly. Apparently they've added multiplayer since I last played it though so maybe it has a bit more staying power now.

TrackMania United Forever (the pay version of Trackmania Nations Forever) is awesome. I've been playing Trackmania for many years (I started when TM Nations was first released free) and it's one of my absolute favorite racing games. It's easy to figure out, hard to master, and there's a skill curve the length of a football field that reminds me more of Starcraft than a racing game. Pretty much all of the maps you will end up playing are custom, and some of them are so ungodly difficult that you'll be completely floored when people on the server breeze through them. Also, TM United and TM Nations can play together, so even if you don't want to spend money you get pretty much the full experience (United just adds a bunch of graphical goodies for the most part).
 
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