Every year there’s always a major hit indie gam that becomes the must-play title of the year. We spend most of the year talking about the major AAA titles, because those have all the money and power behind them to grab our attention. These are of course still great games, and many of them are among our most anticipated games of 2022, but to experience gaming in full we need to always be on the lookout for the next big out of nowhere title.
While there is no real way to predict how a game is going to be received until everyone starts playing it, there are ways to keep a lookout for indie games that have the potential to be a breakout hit. Then, when everyone else starts talking about it, you can be one of the lucky ones that played it early. While we think we have a pretty good idea of how to keep a pulse on what games have a chance to be big, we do acknowledge that with hundreds of games releasing every year, it can be easy for some to fall through the cracks.
Sometimes the best way to find an indie hit is to go straight to the source and play it yourself. That means you’ll need a good place to find indie games and, as of right now, there are two places better than anywhere else to play upcoming indie games. Steam and the Nintendo Switch eShop are two easy go-to’s for anyone that wants to find the next huge indie game with both platforms completely embracing small developers. Nintendo has frequently made indies a huge selling point for the Switch, and they even give indie games their own showcases throughout the year. Steam is one of the largest platforms for PC games and has been traditionally friendly to giving new developers a place to show their games.
Another fantastic way to keep an eye on upcoming indie games is to browse places like Twitch and YouTube. The great thing about video games today is everyone is always playing something somewhere, and that means someone, somewhere, is playing a game you’ve probably never heard of and you can watch them run through it. As games start gaining more traction, they start showing up on places like Twitch and YouTube because they want to share their own playthroughs of these games. A good way to look out for new indie games is to pay attention to what is showing up on Twitch or YouTube. Notice a particular game that you haven’t heard of, or seen much coverage of, getting a lot of attention lately? That could be the beginnings of the biggest game of the year.
In the same spirit of Twitch and YouTube, word of mouth is a powerful tool for the rise of any indie game. As more people play a game they start to tell their friends about that game, or post about it on social media. People love to share what they’re playing with others and as a game starts to gain traction it eventually becomes a talking point. A great way to keep up with new games, before they reach the talking point phase, is to go check out the games people are talking bout. When someone tweets about a new indie game they played, try it out for yourself. See if this is a game that has the potential to be a Game Of The Year contender. The worst that can happen is it doesn’t click and you find a new game to play.
2022 has the chance to be one of the biggest years in a long time for gaming. There are so many massive AAA titles that are expected to come out and we can expect a handful of indies to pop up here and there. We know that out of nowhere title is currently in development somewhere, but we aren’t going to know what it is until we play it. The best way to be ready for it is to play as many games as possible, keep an ear to the ground, and keep an open mind. Do that, and the surprise indie hit of 2022 won’t be a surprise at all for you.