The calendar has flipped over to May–though who really flips calendar pages anymore–and it’s getting closer to E3 2014, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 10 to 12. The expo, home to big announcements and even larger hype, is sure to be a showcase for some big unannounced games for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and maybe even the PlayStation 3, hopefully of the AAA variety. But last year Sony made some noise when they spent several minutes highlighting great indie titles that would be coming to the PS4, spearheaded by PlayStation VP of Third Party Development Adam Boyes. Since last June, it seems like a new independent developer is announcing that they will be coming to PlayStation devices every week — and this week, twelve of them made it public at the same time.
At Sony Computer Entertainment America’s headquarters in Foster City, CA on Wednesday, Boyes and the developer relations team unveiled a dozen indie titles that will be making their console debut on the PS4, PS3, or PS Vita, and each developer had a little something to say over on the official PlayStation Blog. You can find a wrap up showcasing each of the titles right here, but after the break check out some trailers and screenshots for these big little games, as well as some info straight from the devs themselves.
First up, a game that’s already out on PS3 and PS Vita, Spelunky:
From Mossmouth’s Derek Yu:
If you already bought Spelunky on PS3 and Vita, thank you so much! You’ll also own the game on PS4 when it comes out, since we’re including it as part of cross buy.
Next, a game that actually debuted on the Xbox 360, Games for Windows Live, Surface, and Windows Phone, Skulls of the Shogun – Bone-a-Fide Edition:
Raj Joshi, senior producer at 17-BIT, talked a bit about what this updated version of Skulls of the Shogun will be bringing to the PS4:
We’re proud to say that The Bone-a-Fide Edition takes the original game and jacks it up to eleven, adding a brand-new single-player episode (bringing the total number of missions to 24), where you play as a new visitor to the Shores of the Dead who’s determined to take down General Akamoto. This new episode also features persistent units, allowing players to build their army and bring them into each new level.
Apotheon is a side-scrolling adventure game in the style of ancient Greek pottery. Yep, give it a look:
Alien Trap Games’ Jesse McGibney told the PlayStation Blog the following:
While the combat is definitely the heart of what makes Apotheon a fighter, the world and contents therein are what make it an adventure. This is the bronze age here, and none of this equipment is all that durable (we tend to treat all our weapons the same way one treats ammo in an FPS, to retread our influences). Swords break, spears snap, and shields shatter. You’ve got a big mountain to climb to take on the Gods of Olympus, and keeping yourself in tip-top fighting condition requires a bit of exploring, looting, shopping, and crafting.
If you’re looking for more local multiplayer to go along with Towerfall: Ascension and next week’s Sportsfriends, one of this year’s most acclaimed indies, Nidhogg, might be the way to go:
In addition to multiplayer action, Messhof co-founder Kristy Norindr told the PS Blog about the game’s single-player training modes, as well as online multiplayer:
When you’re not hosting an awesome Nidhogg tournament at home, you can get some practice in by playing through the single-player training mode, which has a variety of AI personalities you can practice against. Of course, sometimes you want to play against a real human, so playing with your friends via PSN is going to be super sweet.
Escape Goat 2 brings side-scrolling goat platforming to the PS4:
‘Metroidvania’-style Axiom Verge is coming to both PS4 and PS Vita, and allows you to exploit those unique glitches that made older games so crazy:
Jamestown+ is a bullet-hell shooter on Mars, coming to PS4:
Originally planned as a Wii U indie title, Starwhal: Just the Tip will be coming to both PS4 and PS3 as well:
If you’re sad that Hearthstone and Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalker 2014 haven’t been announced for PlayStation platforms, then maybe you’ll enjoy Ironclad Tactics from Zachtronics:
Chasm, from Discord Games, attempts to bring ‘Metroidvania’-style RPG platforming to the ‘Rogue’-like procedurally-generated gaming crowd:
The last new game announced is Drifter from Celsius Game Studios, an open-world space exploration game for PS4 and PS Vita:
And finally, one of our favorite games at SonyRumors, Don’t Starve from Klei Entertainment, will be bringing their recent expansion, Don’t Starve: Reign of Giants, to consoles down the road:
For more on all of these games, check out the coverage from the PlayStation indie showcase on the PlayStation Blog that we’ve linked with each trailer. Expect even more indie content to be announced as we draw closer to E3, as Adam Boyes also announced that over 1000 developers are now PlayStation Certified devs, and over 100 indie titles are in production on PS4, PS3, and PS Vita currently. Stick with SonyRumors for all the latest and greatest content from this new wave of independent development.
Discuss:
Are you a fan of indie games? What other titles would you like to see come to PlayStation?
[Via PlayStation Blog]