Palworld has taken 2024 by storm. And why not? The game features not-Pokemon creatures that you can catch
and train, tosses in guns, and an open world to fight bigger monsters.
The best part? It’s done by an indie developer and not your Blizzards or EAs of the gaming world. There’s a
certain understanding that indie developers have of gaming fans, and Palworld
certainly flaunts it.
If you are looking to get more of the same, look no further. Here are 3 new games, all developed by small
studios.
Helldivers
Helldivers 2 is everything you could ask for in an action game.
Fighting against aliens to defend the world? Check
Big guns and sci-fi weaponry? Check
Gigantic mechs to pilot and blast giant aliens? Triple check baby!
Published by Swedish-based Arrowhead Game Studios, Helldivers 2 is a follow-up to the first Helldivers game, but with massive changes. The first game was a topdown squad-based shooter that did okay in its run back in 2015.
But the 2024 version is a massive upgrade.
Critics have labelled the game as 2024’s best co-op shooter and its clear why: the graphics are gorgeous, the gameplay is intense, and the action is relentless.
Think Starship Troopers x Mechwarriors, with upgraded graphics. The plot is less than impressive but who cares when you can work with your friends to smash, crash, and bash critters into oblivion?
The Last Epoch
Look I love Diablo 2 but I absolutely hate Diablo 4. Blizzard has made a mess
of the world’s greatest AARPG and it shows: fans are fast walking away from the
game that had the biggest hype since…Diablo 3.
D4 starts off well but dips considerably into a button bashing arcade version of an AARPG. Button mashing
is great but depth and interactivity is even better.
Some have said Path of Exile is the worthy and rightful heir to Diablo 2. But while POE has is highly engaging and has much depth, the game is simply to complex.
You’d do better to memorise the periodic table than remember which talents go with what in PoE.
Enter The Last Epoch. Billed as the midpoint between Diablo 4 and POE, the Last Epoch is winning AARPG fans over this year.
The game is stylish and has massive quality of life upgrades compared with PoE and D4, with a focus on loot.
Has D2 found a worthy heir?
The Kingmakers
The trailer for Kingmakers starts off innocuous enough: a medieval fighting
game that brings in RTS elements with sword and shields.
Until a jeep appears out of nowhere, mowing knights, archers and swordsmen down.
The next few scenes start to show the character shooting, sniping and blasting halberdiers, macemen and axemen down with rifles, grenades and even helicopters.
It makes absolutely no sense, but we love it.
The game, developed by Redemption Road Games (Road Redemption) and published by tinyBuild, is expected to be released later
this year but the hypetrain has already built up, with many critics calling it the best take on medieval warfare ever.
