Can you believe it’s already April? March flew by, and it brought with it a treasure trove of incredible indie games. This month’s releases were so plentiful that a proper overview would stretch into hours. However, we’ve curated a selection of our favorites, spanning a variety of genres, all of which are available to play right now. So, without further ado, let’s delve into some of March’s standout indie titles.
Grimoire Groves
If you’re looking for a nice cozy roguelike game, then Grimoire Groves is definitely one worth checking out.
This one is a cozier take on a dungeon crawler that sees you play as an apprentice witch, and you will essentially be trying to restore this magical garden. To do so, you need to venture out into the forest and collect seeds to be able to regrow the garden. Now, in this game, it doesn’t really have enemies per se, but instead you have these highly lovable plants that will literally suffocate you with kindness.
This one does have quite a learning curve, so definitely be prepared to kind of suck at the beginning, but it is definitely a great cozier take on a dungeon crawler game.
Grimoire Groves is available on Steam
wanderstop
If you’re looking for a heartfelt adventure game, then you cannot go past Wanderstop.
You play as the main character, Alta, who is a fighter who used to be like one of the best fighters and has lost her touch, so she’s seeking to kind of reconnect and find herself again.
You somehow wind up managing a tea shop where you grow and harvest ingredients needed for tea, and then mix them together in this really cool tea, making contraption.
This one has a really beautiful, wholesome story that we’re not going to spoil, but is definitely worth a play.
Wanderstop is available on Steam, Xbox, & PlayStation
Wyrmhall: brush and banter
If you’d like a nice visual novel that’s got a bit of a comedy aspect to it, then Wyrmhall: Brush and Banter is definitely one worth playing.
This one sees you manage a shop where you clean magical artifacts, and it’s got a host of really quirky characters that come to your shop and you need to clean their objects for them. This one is a short and sweet game that is packed full of just really hilarious, well-written dialog.
You’ve got a lot of choices that you can make in how you interact with things too, which is really cool. There is also a really cool overarching storyline that’s got some sinister conspiracy type vibes in there, so this is definitely worth checking out.
Wyrmhall: Brush and Banter is available on Steam
The Deadly Path
The Deadly Path is a real-time strategy roguelike game where you are essentially a custodian and you are trapped with some pretty fearsome gods in this pantheon.
You need to keep these dread deities happy. So you need to construct unique buildings, a boneyard and fabricators to be able to build up your resources and defend the dread domain from attackers and other unseen threats.
This one has an easy to pick up, hard to master style game loop, and a really cool art style, and is definitely one to pick up if you like a good strategy pick.
The Deadly Path is available on Steam
Nekograms
Nekograms is an adorable cat puzzle, a game where you essentially need to get all of the cats to sleep.
This one finally made its Steam release in March, and now you can pair up cats with cushions to make them the comfiest cats round on your PC. This one has some pretty simple gameplay: you pretty much just have to match up cats with cushions so that they can get comfy.
Cats only move left and right and your cushions are they move up and down, So it can be quite deceiving because it’s actually harder than it looks. This one is definitely an adorable puzzle game perfect for cat lovers.
Spilled!
In this cozy game, you will take on the disgusting, oil producing ships floating around the sea and clean up after them.
Spilled sees you play as a cute little boat cleaning up the ocean, so you’ll need to suck up oil spills, collect plastic, pick up oil barrels and more to be able to clean up the ocean. You’re able to recycle all the things you collect for coins and upgrade your ship, and of course, there’s some adorable animals to rescue in each level too.
This one was made by a solo dev who is actually living on a boat, so it’s got an incredible story, and $0.10 from each sale actually goes to Whale and Dolphin Conservation too.
Definitely give this one a crack if you love a nice cozy game.
Spilled is available on Steam
Which Way Up: Galaxy Games
Which Way Up Galaxy games is the ultimate party game and is perfect for all ages.
There are 12 mini games for you to choose from to play, and there are a ton of adorable little characters that you can play us to. Each of the games is set in a really vibrant and adorable space environment, and there is a ton of different style games for you to play.
You might find yourself trying to get a hole in one. You might find yourself racing and trying to bounce other players off the racetrack, or you might find yourself racing against gravity itself as you try and make it the furthest. Whatever game you choose.
This one is absolutely stacked with so much fun and is a perfect choice to play with the whole family.
Space Sprouts
If you’re looking for a nice space themed roguelite, then Space Sprouts is an absolutely amazing choice.
This one sees you play as a grandma retelling your epic space journey to your grandchild, but your memory isn’t what it once used to be and through telling this story, you’ll actually remember more. You’ll relive this epic space journey starting off in the spaceship, and you’ll have a limited amount of time in each run to explore, rediscover your memories and relive them.
Each memory that you relive will add extra time to your run, so as you progress, you will get more and more time to be able to explore. There is a really large and quirky puzzle filled spaceship for you to uncover. It’s not easy going in this game and there’s definitely a lot of learning curves. It’s quite physics based in a lot of the gameplay, but it is a lot of fun to try and figure out how to get to each different part, what each different gadget does and what each different memory is.
This is definitely a great choice for those looking for a good space exploration game.
Space Sprouts is available on Steam
River Towns
If you’re looking for a good puzzle game with the city building twists, then River towns is a great one to check out.
In this game the world has been destroyed by droughts, and so you will be revitalizing the land with every city that you build. You start off with a well that grants you a couple of spaces worth of hydrated, good to build, territory, and then you need to build your city off of that.
You have different districts that are represented by different colors and have different tile shapes, and you need to try and build the biggest districts that you can. the bigger the district the more points, which is what you need to be able to complete the level and progress.
This game is definitely more of a casual game that you can pick up at your own pace and progress through each different level, with a bit of an overarching story to tie it all together. The gameplay is really satisfying, especially when all of the block pieces line up and you get to create the perfect districts.
River Towns is available on Steam
KARMA: The Dark World
Karma: The Dark World is a dark, first-person psychological thriller set in a dystopian alternate world in 1984.
You play as a night crawler, investigating crime scenes, interviewing suspects, and reporting your findings. You also use advanced technology to enter the minds of the accused.
This is a game packed with a story that unfolds as you play. Expect themes of espionage, betrayal, and deep, dark secrets. It’s an excellent psychological horror choice.
KARMA: The Dark World is available on Steam, & PlayStation
Urban Jungle
If you’re a fan of games like unpacking or a little to the left, then Urban Jungle is definitely worth checking out.
This one sees you play as a girl, following her from a young childhood right through to adulthood as she wrestles with following her passion versus following a safe corporate job path.
Each level is a different location in this game, and you’ll need to unpack any of your objects that you have and then decorate the space with plants. You’re able to choose from a variety of different types of plants to place around the space, and each plant needs different things – so it might need sun, it might need humidity, and it will have certain preferences for plants that it likes to be around.
Each plant you place will give you some points, and you need a set number of points to complete each level, and there’s also some little side quests that you can do to earn coins to buy the rarer plants too.
This is definitely a great cozy decorating pick and is one of my favorite games I’ve played so far this year.
Urban Jungle is available on Steam
Merchants of Rosewall
Merchants of Rosewall is a hybrid visual novel and shop-keeping game where you play a new merchant arriving in the city of Rosewall.
The story involves encountering magical memory moments that, upon contact, play back saved memories. You uncover these memories, which are foreign to the town, adding to the mystery. You’ll interact with a variety of characters to unravel the truth.
On the shop-keeping side, you hire craftspeople, each with different specialties. You then visit the market to buy ingredients, which they use to craft items for you to sell.
This game is a great choice for those seeking a high fantasy experience that blends management with a compelling storyline.
Merchants of Rosewall is available on Steam
Squirreled Away
If you love a good exploration game, then Squirreled Away is a great cozy choice.
You play as a squirrel, living your best squirrel life, exploring, gathering, crafting, and building impressive tree houses in a beautiful parkland.
This is primarily a cozy, friendly crafting game where you can meet other characters, unlock various crafting recipes, and even play co-op with friends. It’s a truly cozy and adorable adventure.
Squirreled Away is available on Steam
Mudborne
If you like frogs, then Mudborne is definitely one worth checking out.
You play as a frog who wakes from hibernation to find that his entire pond, his whole species, has been destroyed. It’s up to you to figure out how to bring life back to the pond.
This game definitely has some weird, psychedelic elements. You can enter a dreamlike land where everything is a bit out of whack and find different recipes and items.
You can collect various things in this game, like insects, different mushrooms, and, of course, different frogs. The frogs you collect can be bred, and you can grind up mushrooms and combine them with the frog spawn to create different breeds.
This game is by the creators of APICO, so if you enjoyed that style of gameplay, you’ll definitely like this. It’s a great frog game choice.
Mudborne is available on Steam
So to Speak
In this puzzle exploration game, you wander around a recreated Japanese town and learn Japanese along the way.
So to Speak is a game that teaches you Japanese in a way that doesn’t feel like you’re learning a language. You explore different town environments and match up words on signs or words you overhear with different English words. Along the way, you learn what those words mean in Japanese, how to say them, and how they look written down.
There are over 650 different words to learn in this game, and the process of learning them is actually really fun. If you’re looking for a good puzzle game with a side of Japanese, this is a great pick.
So to Speak is available on Steam
Schedule I
In this management sim game, you take on the role of a supplier of certain substances.
Schedule I sees you manufacture illicit substances and then distribute them. You can grow different plants and combine them with other ingredients to create special types of illicit substances, and you’re essentially trying to work your way up to being the best business in town.
This game is pretty simplistic on the graphics side, but it has shot to the top of the charts for good reason. It has a really great game loop, and you can play co-op too.
Definitely check this one out if you’re in for a kind of dodgy management game.
Schedule I is available on Steam
That is a wrap on some of the best indie games that made their way to our screens in March.
Until next time, Stay Caffeinated!
