Last month, we announced the Indie Selects program, through which the ID@Xbox team highlights recent indie faves with our weekly “Featured Indies,” along with great older titles showcased via rotating themes.
The program culminates in our monthly “Indie Selects,” where we choose six games from the month’s featured indies to be the team’s picks for the month. We don’t like to say “best,” as there are undoubtedly going to be some amazing games that don’t end up getting chosen, but these are the ones that the whole team has voted on and that come out on top. With Indie Selects, we want to shine a spotlight on games you might not otherwise see – and you’ll get an incredible selection of new, revolutionary, or just downright strange games to play every month.
The criteria is relatively simple: we look at games we consider to be Indies that have recently launched on Xbox, and the whole team votes. The top six vote-winners are our Indie Selects for the month. (Note that we are not including Game Pass games in this program, as they get tons of exposure through the Game Pass channels).
With that explained, I’m incredibly excited to announce the Indie Selects for February, which include everything from a spirited lil gator, to an incredibly deep puzzle game, to a wizard whose chosen weapon is a firearm. These are all games that the team feels confident you’re going to love. Here they are, in our own words (and in no particular order):
Lil Guardsman
Timbre says: The delightfully quirky Lil Guardsman had me equal parts giggling like a maniac and critically thinking about my choices. Playing as a 12 year old who’s taken over her dad’s shift at the guard house, you need to use your deduction and puzzle solving skills to decide the fates of elves, goblins and other fantasy creatures – and your choices determine the outcome for the whole Kingdom. After getting killed by a singing princess and inadvertently inviting capitalism into the city, let’s just say I had a lot to consider. What I know for sure is I highly recommend this wonderful, funny and literal gatekeeping game.
Lil' Guardsman
Versus Evil, LLC
Lil Gator Game
Glenn says: From the moment you first meet Lil Gator, this cozy, narrative-based exploration adventure game oozes with charm. It feels playful and simple at first, as you complete tasks to draw your distracted older sister into the amazing game you’re creating, but beneath the surface there’s an incredible amount of heart to uncover. This would be a great game for kids, but you definitely don’t have to be a kid to fall in love with it.
Lil Gator Game
Playtonic Friends
Laika: Aged Through Blood
Deron says: After dying… a lot, I found an experience that’s hard to put down. Laika: Aged Through Blood is an innovative twist on the metroidvania genre that’s bound to draw you in. Who would’ve known that combining shooting and motorbike riding in a 2D plane would work so well! On top of that, the immersive storytelling elevates the game to a whole new level. Coyote made me cry. 10/10.
Laika: Aged Through Blood
Headup Publishing
El Paso, Elsewhere
James says: El Paso, Elsewhere is described as a “third-person love letter to classic shooters,” but it’s much more than that, adding in slow-mo gunplay, the stylistic elements of classic Film Noir, and a heavy dose of the supernatural. You tell yourself that slaying vampires and werewolves in slow-mo is not the key to happiness. Then you play El Paso, Elsewhere, and now your every thought is a beautiful neo-noir internal monologue. In the words of James Savage “Here’s to believing.”
El Paso, Elsewhere
Strange Scaffold
Wizard With a Gun
Tao says: You’ve got five minutes before the apocalypse. That’s it. Sounds stressful, right? But don’t worry. You’re a wizard. And you have a gun! Cool. The fun premise plays out as a roguelite with deep crafting mechanics that lets you evolve your gun in all kinds of magical ways, making each run to gather upgrade materials increasingly rewarding. And the best part? You can do it all with a friend in co-op.
Wizard with a Gun
Devolver Digital
The Talos Principle II
Glenn says: The first Talos Principle really sucked me in with its deep, evolving puzzle system some ten years ago, so I was delighted when I learned a sequel was forthcoming. And I was not disappointed! The Talos Principle II takes the “puzzle on top of a puzzle on top of a puzzle” mechanism of the first game to an entirely new level. The challenge of creating any great puzzle game is making the player feel smart and accomplished when they solve things, without making them feel frustrated for very long, and the Talos Principle II is masterful at finding that balance.
The Talos Principle 2
Devolver Digital