
Last year, we previewed 25 games that would make 2016 an excellent one for the PlayStation 4, including huge blockbusters like Final Fantasy XV, Mass Effect Andromeda, and The Last Guardian as well as a couple of smaller titles such as Firewatch and The Witness. While it gives a great picture of just how good this year is going to be for PlayStation, there are plenty of games that have flown under the radar that could become sleeper hits, much like Rocket League last year. And, of course, we're here to talk about them.

Darkest Dungeon
There haven't been many true dungeon crawlers releasing lately, and Darkest Dungeon looks to break that duck. With a dark, gothic art style and a mix of turn-based battles and exploration sections, Red Hook Studios' first outing aims to focus on the psychology of the heroes that you control. As you explore and fight, your heroes can become stressed, scared, or scarred, decreasing or increasing their power and abilities. The worlds that you explore are procedurally generated, allowing for plenty of replays, and overall Darkest Dungeon looks to be a very interesting little roguelike.

Distance
Distance is the most outlandish racing title since the likes of the Burnout series – you're controlling a car that can flip, fly, boost, turn, and jump around distorted, dangerous tracks that twist, contort, and generally try to kill you, all while a thumping soundtrack plays. It's not like there are a limited amount of courses either – not only is there a single player campaign, there's also a random track generator, a level editor, and plenty of multiplayer modes to get your teeth into. Moreover, PlayStation VR support have been confirmed.

Hyper Light Drifter
Good God, this game is beautiful. A 2D roguelike in the vein of The Binding of Isaac, Hyper Light Drifter is all about blasting away as many enemies as possible. You'll probably feel guilty, since the sprites are so lovingly crafted, but that doesn't stop the combat from looking all the more satisfying. As well as rifles and pistols, there are plenty of gadgets at your disposal, from homing grenades to shields that reflect enemy projectiles, all powered by batteries scattered around the world. You'll also have a cute companion to manage your inventory and seek out hidden paths – because, after seeing The Force Awakens, we could all kill for our own BB-8.

Manifold Garden
Originally a prototype shown off at E3 2014, this surrealist puzzler looks very trippy, very cool, and, most importantly, very interesting. The basic concept is that the world in which you solve puzzles is one of repetition – it warps back into itself, essentially. For instance, jump off a platform and you'll find yourself falling onto the same platform that you just dived off of. This enables a very interesting dynamic for puzzles – for example, if you drop water off of a platform, it'll fall from above, creating a continuous stream. This, coupled with blocks that trigger switches, hold up blocks, and redirect water, could make for some mind-bendingly excellent brain teasers. Put on your philosophy caps for this one.

Night in the Woods
This is quite literally one of the most obscure game premises in a while – in Night In The Woods, you play as Mae, a college drop out who returns to her home town and is saddened by how everything has changed. She's also a cat, and is best characterised by a quote from her: "Everything sucks forever." As you can guess, this is a pretty quirky game, and it looks to be a melancholic little platformer with a very nice cartoon style. It's a wildcard, but judging from previews all over the Internet, it looks to be exceptional.

Push Me Pull You
Okay, actually this is way more obscure. Named after the conjoined llamas in Dr Doolittle, this local multiplayer title joins you and your teammate at the waists, and tasks you with wrestling with your nightmare-fuel opponent for control of the ball. Whether it's trying to dribble it into a goal or keeping it in your half of the arena for as long as possible, there'll definitely be laughter and shouting involved – as well as the odd "What the hell?" Push Me Pull You looks like it'll offer the same quirky fun as Sportsfriends, and we could always use more of that on PS4.

RIME
RIME has been on the down-low for quite a while since it was unveiled back in 2014, which is a huge shame considering how promising it is. An open world platformer with some puzzling elements, RIME has a bit of an ICO vibe to it, and that's always a good thing. The world in which you explore looks stunning, with bright colours popping everywhere, and there's plenty of ways to traverse it, from climbing towers and mountains to swimming in the cool blue waters. It'd be nice to get some more footage soon so we know more about what RIME actually is. And besides, Shawn Layden owes us one since the Crash Bandicoot incident at PSX. Tsk tsk.

Thumper
2016 looks to be a great year for rhythm games: Harmonix's Amplitude is coming out this month, and hopefully we should get more of a look at the new Rez at upcoming Sony events. Thumper is quite a different rhythm game, however, as it's a helluva lot more brutal than most. You're a space beetle racing towards a giant head at breakneck speed as the neon, cyberpunk visuals emphasise how fast you're really going. This is an insanely trippy game, and definitely not one for the faint-hearted, but it could be an excellent ride. Just don't question it.

Wattam
It's been far, far too long since Keita Takahashi has made a game. The creator of Katamari and Noby Noby Boy look to have done it again with Wattam, a very, very cute-looking game that is very, very strange. You play as an eclectic bunch of characters, including the top hat-toting Mayor, a teacup, and a tiny poo, and it's your goal to get to the top of the level. This can be done in a variety of ways, from stacking your friends and climbing on them to unleashing a rainbow-coloured propulsion fart from your character's…. undercarriage. Whatever Wattam turns out to be, it'll sure as hell be charismatic.

What Remains of Edith Finch
The next game from the creators of The Unfinished Swan, What Remains of Edith Finch spans many generations of the Finch family, a cursed bunch who have their only member left in the titular Edith. She's trying to explore the history of her family and find out why they're all dead by playing through their lives and finding out how they died. It looks to be an interesting adventure that's sure to be shocking yet charming, as per The Unfinished Swan. Let's hope this game is finished by the end of the year.
Have any of these smaller games captured your interest, or is AAA where it's at this year? Be an indie apologist in the comments below.
Comments 52
I can't wait for Distance, Edith Finch, RIME, and Thumper. Good article @Anchorsam_9, I hadn't heard of all of these.
@get2sammyb Thanks! I tried to dig up some really obscure ones.
Some nice games in there to keep an eye!
But my most wanted indie this year, is Severed for the Vita.
I like to mention Salt and Sanctuary which is a 2D Souls type game which seems to have promise.
Some interesting games on this list, can't wait until we give half of them 9s and 10s before the community riots.
Also this technically means that @Anchorsam_9 is indie apologist #1 at this point in time. Well, until @k_andersen gives another bag of brightly coloured pixels a 9/10.
I want Rime badly. I am looking forward to Hyper Light Drifter, but there is that horrible term: "rogue like". I can never shake the experience that most rogue-likes just aren't that good in terms of player achievement. I hope it manages to be different!
@iDangerMouse_ I really hope RIME is going well considering Sony have been hush about it for a while. I'm really looking forward to What Remains of Edith Finch because I loved The Unfinished Swan. Wasn't a huge fan of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture though, although the two are made my different developers.
@adf86 I'll take a look at that soon, haven't heard about that one!
@ShogunRok I put Grow Home on my Game of the Year list, I've deserved this title for a while.
@Churchy Same here with RIME. Hyper Light Drifter looks better than most roguelikes in my opinion, it could be as good as the Binding of Isaac if everything goes well.
@adf86 Very excited for that myself, think it was due out last year actually but it's gone quite the last few months. If you haven't already take a look at Death's Gambit, another indie game with heavy Dark Souls and Castlevania influences Also Eitr (Norse theme game with Dark Souls influences) which is being published by Devolver Digital, and they have a great knack for picking cool indies to publish
@Anchorsam_9 Nice list, interested in Darkest Dungeon, Hyper Light Drifter and Edith Finch myself I'm calling it now, 2016 will be the year of the indies
Rime and Hyper Light are probably my most anticipated Indy darlings, especially since I don't consider NMS an Indy anymore as I am sure Sony has stepped up to help in a big way.
@Anchorsam_9 That's why I'm a little more optimistic with it. Even with Binding of Issac, I just felt the random elements were too sporadic to have that feeling of player achievement even though the creative aspects are brilliant. To me the best roguelike is Dungeon of the Endless due to the strategic elements and choices, but it's only on PC!
I will say, though - and I know it's not under the radar at all - Firewatch is probably my most anticipated game out of all of these.
@get2sammyb That games gonna be ace, and it's out in Feb too so won't have to wait too long either! Are ye folks planning on reviewing This War of Mine: Little Ones? Heard great things about the PC version, want to know what you guys think before I pick it up
Do we believe RIME will be out in 2016... or are we just looking out for information on when it will be out? >_> 2016 would be nice.
@Hego It could well be the year of the indies. Indies have definitely improved over the years.
@Sonyinfinity What is and isn't "indie" is a very grey area. Most people say that indies never have publishers, but Devolver Digital, Double Fine, Sony and Microsoft all publish indies. Some say it's the size of the studio, but the team working on Elite Dangerous (a game without a publisher) have employees in the hundreds. It's weird.
@get2sammyb @Hego Firewatch looks amazing. I watched some gameplay and I couldn't believe how good the voice acting and sound design was.
Firewatch looks excellent, the rest I rate somewhere between indifference (Edith Finch, RIME) and sheer revulsion (Push Me Pull You, any more puzzle platformers).
I've played the demo for Thumper, and it's GREAT, but the one I'm looking forward to most is Hyper Light Drifter. Ever since the first trailer for that dropped and I saw the art...oh man.
@Hego Yes I've heard of those too. It tends to be the way of indie games, they get announced but go dark for a long time until they are close to releasing.
It might be cool to do an article on top ten games coming to Vita this year too.
That Hyper Light Drifter screenshot looks like it came straight out of the anime FLCL. That and Rime are high on my list.
Distance and Rime look right up my alley.
Excited for the majority of these! Been waiting for Distance, Rime, and Wattam for what feels like ages!
I'm looking forward to Distance, Thumper and Hyper Light Drifter. Also looking promising: Dead Star and Myriad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVrgtjIOS_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A2U7tQCIG0
Forgot about Distance
Can we stop using the moniker of Indy yet? If we are allowed to call walking simulators games why do we call games from smaller Devs Indys? It comes across as insinuating a lesser product, or expecting some lesser form of a game. Just group them by price(when they release)and that should sufficiently let you know what type of "game" you are getting.
@adf86
"It might be cool to do an article on the ten games coming to Vita this year too."
Fixed that for you!
Salt and Sanctuary is my most anticipated indie title for far over a year now, such a shame we don't have a release date. What's even worse is that it'll supposedly launch on the PS4 before it'll come to the Vita, while its obvious that it'll be the perfect Vita game. Dunno if I can wait any longer when it comes to PS4, it's been a while since its initial announcement.
I'm excited for all of these, but Wattam, Distance, and Hyper Light Drifter are my top picks. Can't wait for all of these to release though - Darkest Dungeon comes out this month, if I'm not mistaken
@Anchorsam_9 Might be a good year for Indies, but I'd say it's not the "year of the Indies" as much as it is "the year all those freaking games finally come out." The division, Final fantasy 15, Persona 5, Uncharted 4, Naruto UNS 4 (NUNS 4 in my group of friends), dark souls 3, just about any other title that made it on Pushsquare's other lists: nearly all these games were releases pushed back to 2016. Glad some are finally being finished.
Either that or "year of the Japanese games." Indies will largely fall by the wayside for me this year with all those games coming out.
Some great picks here, Sam.
Darkest Dungeon and Hyper Light Drifter also happen to be two of my most anticipated Vita games for the year ahead. Sticking with Vita, I'm really looking forward to Severed, too.
As for PS4, my personal picks include Enter the Gungeon, Invisible Inc, Kerbal Space Program, Monsters and Monocles, and Read Only Memories.
@Boerewors Great shout, man! Salt and Sanctuary looks all kinds of awesome! If the devs were going for a moody 2D Dark Souls, they hit it out the park.
I'd also like to see a Vita list, by the way. It's one thing Sony ignoring my favourite console of all time, but Push Square, too? Say it ain't so!
Distance looks pretty good,not that interested in the other games on this list.
@xxAcesHighxx Invisible Inc. is a great shout too! Forgot that's coming to ps4
@adf86 Yeah, come on, @Anchorsam_9. Where's the Vita love?
@SkanetWasTaken @SonyInfinity yea an also look at no mans sky that's indie and look at how amazing that looks
@Churchy Man, I do love me some roguelikes! Dungeon of the Endless is also available on iPad, by the way. It's a pretty great port, too!
An add-on that my kids have been screaming for will be out for PS4 this year too . Don't Starve Together . I am looking forward to it as well .
WATTAM. So ready. Rime looks interesting as well!
I had never heard of Night In The Woods. I'll have to look it up!
Between these and that Teacup game on XB1 I'm rather looking forward to indies this year.
For me it's going to be all about Overwatch.
Looking forward to RIME, but I don't if we'll get it this year. Little Devil Inside is another indie game that may or may not release this year, look the game up, it's definitely worth your time.
Manifold Garden and Wattam have me intrigued, but at the moment it's all about The Witness and Firewatch for me!
@SkanetWasTaken I know what it means and fully understand the labeling. My point was that many use it as a derogatory term and I'm not sure labeling it as such does anything to actually help the game.
I would add Death's Gambit to that list!
Wow, hardly heard of any of these - honestly pretty much all of those look brilliant. Not sure about Darkest Dungeon though - the art style doesn't do much for me and the gameplay I've seen doesn't seem all that exciting. Cool concept though.
I'll be on the lookout for some of these for sure. Not a big fan of roguelikes, but some games here look too interesting to pass up.
@ShogunRok @Anchorsam_9 🎵 Don't yooou forget about me. 🎵 ✊
@TheMightyPunram I can see this escalating to you, me, and @k_andersen giving indie games higher and higher ratings until the site crashes because one of us tried to give a 2D sidescroller 8000000000/10
@Anchorsam_9 Hahaha, sounds about right. Either that, or someone gives Gone Home a higher rating than Uncharted 4 and the site becomes a post-apocalyptic nightmare-desert akin to Fallout or Mad Max.
@TheMightyPunram Then @ShogunRok and his JRPG revolution begins....
Nice article @Anchorsam_9. Never heard of all the games here apart from RiME and What Remains of Edith Finch before today. Watched the trailers of all the 10 games on Youtube and right now I'm kinda interested in both Hyper light Drifter and Wattam. Manifold Garden kinda reminds me of Echochrome but more pretty.
Distance looks like a game I could put a lot of time into. Seems perfect for a late-June, early-July release to get us through the slow summer months.
RIME and HLD for me. Also keeping a very close eye on Cosmic Star Heroine for Vita (and PS4??). Looks very promising.
A great feature and its nice to live in a time where games like The Witness and Firewatch don't need publicity .
Thank you for this article, a good few games I hadn't heard of but a lot that look right up my street. Great stuff. What an exciting year ahead.
This is a great list--I hadn't actually heard of all of these, and a I now have a few more games on my radar.
The smaller game I'm most looking forward to this year is Ray's the Dead. Not only is the art design fun and inviting, but I think the level design has a chance to be truly great. It seems like that's largely been the holdup in the game's release, which I'm fine with.
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