The best July indie games will help you escape from the Summer heat into worlds of fantasy, vampires, and big old bugs. That’s right, the year keeps rolling on accompanied by even more game releases and this time it’s the turn of July for the spotlight. As ever, the month is stacked with releases so we’ve tried to narrow it down to the most intriguing and exciting-looking games the month has to offer.
There’s a good mix of art styles and genres in the list this month, so whether you’re a strategy buff with a love of modular toys that rhyme with Shlego, or you’re someone who just appreciates a good digital gun, you’ll be able to find something to enjoy here. Let’s get to the list.
Ark of Charon – 9th July
Whilst Ark of Charon doesn’t seem to have anything in particular to do with the boatman of the River Styx, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t look fun. This game is all about building a powerful mobile fortress that can fend off all manner of invaders. Your fort will sit atop a walking tree, and you’ll need to manage your resources, build turrets and more to protect it. It’s a really cool concept, and there’s a demo for this one available if you want to check it out.
Cataclismo – 16th July
While we’re on a strategy roll, let’s talk about Cataclismo. Cataclismo is an incredibly cool-looking strategy game where you build up your castle brick-by-brick – it was inspired by LEGO® – to defend the last remnant of humanity from horrifying monsters. You’ll need to not only build your defences but also create production lines, set up training for your troops and pick where to deploy them. If you want a game that kills you when you slip up and rewards you when you’re super-smart, then it looks like this one could be it.
EvilVEvil – 16th July
Our next game couldn’t be more different – an FPS all about vampires. We all love vampires, right? EvilVEvil has you playing as a vampire hunter as you try and overcome a cult full of fanged menaces with an array of weapons that look and feel awesome. Each vampire has their own strengths and powers, and you’ll have to try and overcome them by modding your weapons with supernatural buffs. Oh, and it’s also co-op, and we love a good co-op experience.
Gestalt: Steam & Cinder – 16th July
The 16th of July is a busy day for awesome indies, with Gestalt: Steam & Cinder our third entry in the list to pick that day to release. You play as Aletheia – aided by a cast of colourful characters – as she platforms and fights her way through a handcrafted Steampunk world filled with clockwork golems and associated horrors. Inspired by both 16 and 32-bit classics, Gestalt – as we will refer to it – is a gorgeous 2D metroidvania that looks to be ticking all the right boxes for fans of the genre.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus – 17th July
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is a stunning hand-drawn action platformer with Japanese folklore at its core. In this 2.5D action platformer, you fight through multiple mythical enemies – upgrading your powers as you go – as you try and fulfil an ancient prophecy. Whilst the action and platforming both look very slick, we’d be lying if we said that the main draw, at least ahead of release, wasn’t its gorgeous visual style.
Dungeons of Hinterberg – 18th July
Next on the list is Dungeons of Hinterberg, which may need no introduction given that it already has a lot of hype around it. Another game with an abundance of style, Dungeons of Hinterberg has you tackling dungeons that are filled with different mechanics, puzzles, platforming challenges, and monsters. Alongside all that, you’ll also be able to chat with locals in order to learn more about the game world, gain new skills, or just simply vibe with someone for a bit. This is another stunning-looking game, and we’re expecting big things from it.
Exophobia – 23rd July
Nostalgia is a fun thing because it reminds of us a time when we didn’t have quite so many responsibilities. Exophobia is an incredibly old-school-looking FPS game that looks older than even the original Doom. Actually, it looks as though someone created an FPS on the original Game Boy, which is an impressive accomplishment in every sense. You get to pew-pew your way through a beautiful blue and red world unlock new abilities, evolve your cool alien gun, and eventually escape alive… hopefully.
Earth Defense Force 6 – 25th July
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE is the single greatest game series to exist and no we won’t take any questions on this matter, nor will we discuss World Brothers and its interesting vibe. The main series has been stellar, however, and as of the fourth entry actually runs pretty well too. With five being the pinnacle so far, we’re extraordinarily excited to shoot at giant frogmen using mech suits and space bombardments in EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6, and if no other games were to release in July, we don’t think we would be complaining.
