Summary
Indies games go through more phases than big titles. While countless triple-A games apedBreath of the Wildafter its hugely successful release, mammoth development times mean that only a few such games have been released since Zelda reinvented the open world in 2017.
Indie games are normally much quicker to develop (quick, someone tell Team Cherry), and as such can follow emerging trends. Think of how manyVampire Survivors-likeswe saw in the months after its release.Palworldhas plentiful clones thanks to its massive success, and was arguably a clone in itself. I haven’t seen anyBalatro-likesyet, but surely it’s just a matter of time…
Even when you ignore the blatant rip-offs,indie gamesare influenced by each other all the time. As such, trends appear. If one indie game has immense success with a certain style or genre, you can bet others will iterate on it. This year, I wager we’re in for a slew of religious games.
I’m not talking about the gaming equivalent of Christian rock, where some long-haired bloke wearing a loose white shirt will preach at you in the guise of a 3D platformer. I’m talking about games with strong narratives and themes, games that interrogate the role of religion in our society and our personhood.
Death of a Wish
You should already know aboutDeath of a Wish, becauseI told you to play it ages ago. But I didn’t go into much depth about its religious themes. On the surface, it’s a game about queer acceptance, but dig a little deeper and you see the whole story is underpinned by religion.
The foes you slaughter on your journey to scribbled salvation may seem satanic, but their names are ripped straight from the Catholic church. Death of a Wish bastardises and reappropriates these titles for its own ends, weaving them into its tapestry of self-discovery as you dive further into the roguelike.
1000xResist
1000xResistis a narrative game that uses Titanfall 2’s time-jump mechanic to return from the future to the present day and solve a mystery about summoning enormous gods in a high school. If that sentence doesn’t make you want to play this game, I don’t know what will.
This is less an interrogation of organised religion, and more a world in which gods are very real, and kids are summoning them. From what I’ve played, it sits somewhere between chthonic and folk horror, with a hint of kaiju scale and a science-fiction aesthetic.
If you’re less interested in Catholicism and more interested in almighty gods that actually appear before you, this is the game for you. In fact, if you’re into sci-fi games with PS2 aesthetics and great dialogue perfectly performed, this is the game for you. Actually, just play it, it’s great.
México, 1921: A Deep Slumber
México, 1921: A Deep Slumberis a beautiful debut game from Mácula Interactive, in which you are a photojournalist trying to find out who murdered the President. The illustrated art style is stunning and unmistakably Mexican, while the mechanics of solving a mystery through photography are some of the best since Umurangi Generation.
The religious aspect of the game isn’t too strong in the demo that you may play duringLudoNarraCon, but it’s definitely there. This is a historical game, there’s no fantastical or sci-fi elements (at least so far), but if you want to see the role of religion during a revolution, look no further.
These three games are vastly different in style, presentation, genre, and almost every possible way. But there’s a strong link between them, too, the thread of religion that weaves them together. None are the Christian grifter giving you a sermon, and none depict religion in the same way. Whether you’re interested in religious history, schoolkid-recruiting cults, or a fantasy take on diving into hell, 2024 is the year of the religious indie game. Amen.
