Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2022 took a somewhat different approach to the video game publishers’ summer showcase format. Instead of a firehose of trailers, wraps, and video games, Annapurna slowed it down a bit, doing all of the above while also taking the time to showcase the people who are making some of the best indie games in the industry.
Here are the highlights of this year’s show.
Eager Plaintiffs
Eager Plaintiffs by Outerloop Games features a skateboarding South Asian woman named Jala who, after leaving a trail of broken hearts, must now battle the owners of those hearts while trying and failing to live up to her parents’ expectations hers. We get our first in-depth look at the game, highlighting all the ways Jala will fight, cook and railroad her way to self-love. Eager Plaintiffs launches on Game Pass, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch in 2023.
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW from Shred it Solo dev Joel McDonald coming soon. This mystery narrative game is evocative He went home and there are players who examine a woman’s life through her memories and how the story of those memories changes when you look at things from a different perspective. OVERVIEW releases August 4th on Nintendo Switch, Steam and iOS.
Cardboard computer
Cardboard Computer, the three-person development team based in Chicago, took a moment to talk about how the team met, its creative process, and how it came to make the narrative masterpiece Kentucky Route Zero. The team also revealed that they are working on a new game that aims to be more lively, fun and faster than KRZ.
The star of generosity
The star of generosity combines peaceful farming and base building with nasty mech warfare. Dinogod’s freshman title (which has the weirdest tagline I’ve seen from a developer in a while), The star of generositycoming soon to Xbox, Game Pass, PlayStation and Steam.
Yarn owl
The story of Yarn Owl’s – a two-person team spread across Texas and Georgia – begins with Fabian Willis’ father giving him a copy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past shortly before he passed away. After Willis finally beats the game when he’s older, he decides he wants to recreate that experience for others. After slowly teaching himself the tools of game development, he teams up with Chris Hofmann and together, the two are working to create their first game inspired by A link to the past. It’s just awesome to see regular people with little to no formal video game experience making a game. Yarn Owl’s story is inspiring and it’s great that Annapurna Interactive chose to highlight it.
Wild outdoors
Mobius Digital, the manufacturer of Wild outdoors, has an announcement to make. yes, Wild outdoors is still coming to Switch, but due to technical difficulties up to and including a self-admitted misunderstanding of the Gregorian calendar, it hasn’t arrived yet. However, the team announced that the game would receive a free, next-gen update for Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 on September 15.
Pathless, Maquette, Solar Ash
Wild outdoors it’s not the only game getting cross-platform love. The poor, originally a PlayStation 5 exclusive, is coming to Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Architectural puzzle game pattern is coming to Game Pass and Nintendo Switch. And finally, great but not interesting Solar grace it’s also going cross-platform, arriving on Steam on December 6th.
What Remains of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch it’s a narrative experience that sticks like a splinter and never goes away. After playing the game when it was released in 2017, I think it’s one of the best games I’ve played in the last decade. If you lost lIMITED, great news, is getting a 4K 60FPS port on Xbox Series S / X and PlayStation 5 available now and free for anyone with the Xbox One or PS4 versions. Play it – you owe it to yourself.
The third shift
Third Shift is a two-person developer based in Germany working on its first game, Forever ago. It tells the story of Alfred, an elderly #vanlife photographer making his way across the United States. No release date or platforms yet, but keep your lens caps closed.
clutch
clutch is a new game from I am dead creator Richard Hogg in collaboration with Hollow Ponds. It’s a co-op multiplayer game that lets players fly around, traversing colorful, alien landscapes on incredibly cute bird-like creatures that players must catch and collect as Pokémon. clutch soon to be available on Xbox, Game Pass, PlayStation and Steam.
Hokum
Colorful exploration game Hokum, originally available on PlayStations 3 and 4 and Vita, is finally coming to PC. Described by thresholdAndrew Webster as a “playable record”, Hokum is available today on Steam.
Uvula
Keita Takahashi, best known for creating Katamari Damacy, there is a new game coming soon called Uvula. That’s it, that’s the announcement. *gets lost inside Katamari Damacy*
Dreamfeel
Immediately after the success of If foundDreamfeel is working on her next title. Based in Ireland, the developers at Dreamfeel shared insights into its creative philosophy and showed that sometimes making games isn’t about being chained to a computer 24/7, but about joining, making, experiencing and collaborate in art. The developers shared some information on the new game, which seems to follow Annapurna’s recent trend of “putting a cat in it.”
Wild Lost
To close the exhibition, UK-based Great Ape Games showed off a teaser of its first game. Wild Lost — a name that comes dangerously close to clashing with Michael Crichton’s lawyers — is a survival horror game that pits you against a world run by dinosaurs. Players explore a lush forest populated by all kinds of terrifying lizards with nothing but your wits and a mysterious voice to guide them. It’s giving Resident Evil but with dinosaurs instead of zombies, and since Capcom won’t release another one The Dino Crisisthis will have to do. Wild Lost will launch on Steam with consoles to be announced later.