Indiescovery Episode 2: Our most anticipated indie games for 2023

Proving that our ability to organise recording a podcast episode wasn't some sort of one-off fluke, the Indiescovery crew are back again! Going forward, this is going to be a fortnightly podcast, but we just couldn't wait to share our thoughts on this year's best upcoming indie games, so we decided to release Episode 2 a week early, as a treat (the treat is for us, really, but we hope you enjoy it too!).

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Episode notes

We begin with a nice little chat about what we've all been playing since we got back from our Christmas hols. I'm eager to extol the virtues of Tiny Life, a pixel art spiritual successor to classic The Sims that's just hit early access. Liam likes similarly retro-styled Nightmare Of Decay because it's like Resident Evil, but somehow even gorier, and also puts in a good word for upcoming open-world parkour-precision-platformer Ballistic Zen, which in a happy coincidence is due out the very day this episode releases! Rachel, meanwhile, has lately been all about magical coming-of-age '90s nostalgia trip A Space For The Unbound.

After that little catch-up, we take a whistle-stop tour of our most anticipated indie games expected to release in 2023. I kick things off with Anemoiapolis: Chapter 1 and Inescapable — neither of which I know a lot about, except that they are both shaping up to be exactly my jam. I'm also eager for another look at Romancelvania, the side-scrolling horror date-'em-up that couldn't be more my thing if it tried.

Liam's beloved Hypnospace Outlaw is getting both a sequel and a spinoff in Dreamsettler and Slayers X respectively, if you can believe it! He also can't wait for reverse citybuilder Terra Nil, which looks so peaceful it makes us all want to have a little cry.

Rachel also submits Mary Poppins-esque Metroid-like Gunbrella from the makers of Gato Roboto. She follows this up with Thirsty Suitors, an action-plaftormer-RPG about learning to forgive your flaws and get over your exes through skateboard battles and homestyle cooking.

We conclude the discussion with a big love-fest for Demonschool because, as it turns out, we're all very stoked for Demonschool.

In our latest collection of hyperfixations, I have a full-blown case of the post-game blues after finishing the whole Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection. Liam has been reading Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, a novel beloved in the industry right now for its compelling insights into game development and the rarely-spoken-of love that exists between true collaborators. And Rachel unboxes her copy of the Frostpunk board game live on air, accompanied by excited audio description.

We also get sidetracked onto a few incidentals, like a quick (spoiler-free!) chat on The Banshees Of Inisherin; a brief, friendly disagreement over which Sims game is the best; and the revelation that my rarely-seen mean streak is apparently activated when I drink a second cup of coffee.