Indies for the weekend

Coil

While the year is coming to an end and the days are getting darker, we thought it might be nice to present something a bit more colorful and wholesome. Hopefully, some of these games might just brighten up your day as this part of the year, just before Christmas. Then to be dark and dreary.

In Coil, you take the role of a small masked creature who finds itself lost in a strange realm that feels both idyllic and enigmatic. Filled with aged statues, unusual monoliths, and cairn structures, the world of Coil is also packed with absurd and eccentric characters. Your goal in the game will be to explore this unusual land, analyze clues to scavenge items, and help its inhabitants; “everyone in this place has lost something” is the message that you will be greeted with. Coil is a game that truly surprised me. It manages to successfully implement so many positive elements without ever steering away from its minimal design philosophy. First of all, the art style, environmental design, and overall atmosphere are absolutely brilliant. From the many indie games that have taken inspiration from the PS1 era, only a few have genuinely made me feel like taking a stroll down memory lane, and Coil is definitely one of them. That map itself is also very unique and memorable which is surprising in the context of Coil being a short experience. There is a ton of personality and charisma in both the world itself and the alluring characters and themes found within it. At the same time, Coil is both lighthearted and emotional and even manages to evoke a strange feeling of nostalgia through its writing and atmosphere. As you advance through the game you will find this otherworldly realm increasingly empty as you unfold an enjoyable but also bittersweet tale. It is obvious from start to finish that a great amount of love and consideration were poured into creating this game, from a team that is visibly both passionate and talented. Coil is a game I would absolutely recommend to anyone who loves indie games as I do not believe it has received the attention it deserves.
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Tadpole Tales

Tadpole Tales is an awesome and unconventional Shoot ‘em up packed with delightful and colorful visuals. But unlike the more common Shoot ‘em ups with the usual planes and spaceships, in Tadpole Tales you instead take control of a cute newly hatched tadpole tasked with saving the river it calls home from deadly pollution. This is why the developers refer to their game as a “Clean ‘em up” rather than a Shoot ‘em up, as you are never actually shooting and killing anything but you are instead purifying the river’s animals from the harmful toxins that had transformed them into hostile and aggressive enemies. In Tadpoles Tales you will have to face off not only against countless grunts but also against three bosses all with their own unique mechanics and attack patterns. To aid you in your fight are heart pick-ups that you will encounter throughout the level that not only restore your HP but also give you the ability to evolve from a tadpole to a frog.

The gameplay of Tadpole Tales feels action-packed, clever, and most importantly smooth and fluid. It is also worth pointing out that the game is also pretty challenging but certainly fair. From the quite numerous times I failed during my playthrough, I always felt that it was caused by a personal mistake rather than by any sort of mechanical inconsistency, technical issue, or a general lack of polish. Beyond gameplay, the visual presentation is of course one of Tadpole Tales’ major highlights; with beautiful hand- drawn environments, awesome character designs, fluent animations, and a lot of attention to detail. Tadpole Tales is a wholesome, stunning, difficult, and fluid challenge that incorporates both retro and modern characteristics to forge a very fun experience. It also appears that after the positive reception of this small but awesome project, the developers are planning to expand their work with a new larger game in the future which is something that I will be very much looking forward to.
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A Red Boat

A Red Boat is a relaxing, short, charming, story-based adventure where you play as the captain of a tiny ship as you find yourself absorbed by the exploration of an aquatic world that embraces both beauty and mystery. Using your adorable little boat, you will have to ride across the waves, dodge the rocks that bounce you around, and pinpoint scattered wreckages and parcels. These small landmarks contain notes that will reveal fragments of the greater story and the themes that you will have to piece together in a mostly non-linear fashion. It goes without saying that the art style and overall aesthetic are some of the game’s strongest suits and are also aided by great sound design that helps enhance the feeling of exploration and sea navigation. The central role of color is another big highlight of the experience as A Red Boat utilizes a wonderful palette that is visually coherent and fits with the game’s themes and overall setting.

At some point, in one of the notes, there is even a quote from a shipyard construction worker who reveals that the most important thing that one needs to consider when building a beautiful boat is the “choice of color”. I am unsure if this is an indirect comment by the developer regarding his design philosophy but it is absolutely apparent that color harmony is a very conscious and carefully thought-out element of the game that makes the overall aesthetic more distinct and visually enjoyable. Beyond aesthetics, what greatly surprised me was how fun and dynamic it felt to control the boat through this mini-adventure. Momentum, physics, the current of the ocean, waves, acceleration; these are all elements that are not only part of the experience but are also polished enough to make navigation feel fluid and enjoyable. And while the adventure that the game offers may initially appear as a purely relaxing and delicate one, it quickly becomes apparent to the player that its story is much darker. This is a game that invokes neither joy nor sadness but instead feels interestingly perplexing and oddly melancholic. It is certainly worth a try even though it, unfortunately, ends quite abruptly.
Game Link