Indie Game of the Month Awards February 2021

12 more indie Heroes

Written by A.J. Maciejewski for Indie GOTM Awards on March 9, 2021

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Another excellent month for indie games is behind us so allow me to share a dozen stand-out titles that we reviewed in February 2021.

Glyph 3D Platformer of the Month

Whether it's Kororinpa or Marble Madness, I love rolling balls to their goals and Glyph provides satisfying gameplay that brilliantly blends in 3D platforming elements and a lovely Egyptian environment. Plus, there are oodles of content to unlock and fun secrets to find!

Cathedral Metroidvania of the Month

Although Metroidvanias have come a long way over the decades, Cathedral brings the genre back to its roots with a pixel-perfect retro presentation, tight gameplay, and a vast world to explore. Considering many similar games overcomplicate things while trying to offer something unique, this adventure really captured my imagination with its intuitive formula that makes exploring every nook and cranny a treat. Overall, I'm very happy that Cathedral did things in such a simple way while managing to feel like a fresh experience of its own.

Blue Fire Action Game of the Month

Speaking of memorable adventures, Blue Fire is a 3D action game where you explore eerie ruins while defeating hordes of monstrous enemies. Its fast-paced combat makes toppling tricky foes and massive bosses a rewarding endeavour and exploration is a joy, too.

TOHU Adventure Game of the Month

Some adventure games take place in strange and quirky worlds and TOHU is one of the oddest. That being said, its charm is unmatched so solving the tricky puzzles within while observing the lovely animations and environments is sure to put a smile on your face.

RoboPhobik Dungeon Crawler of the Month

Another genre that I love is games inspired by Mystery Dungeon. I haven't played many that are as challenging and strategic as RoboPhobik so its stage-based campaign is one that I thoroughly enjoyed working through. I'm sure you'll love it, too!

Summer Catchers Casual Game of the Month

Sometimes, all you want to do is watch a silly scooter-riding hero traverse dangerous environments as you deploy power-ups in the hopes of not biting the dust. Thankfully, Summer Catchers offers just that and it's one of the cutest games that I've played all year.

SOLAS 128 Puzzle Game of the Month

Mirror puzzles have been around for a long time and SOLAS 128 takes that premise and expands it to a huge interconnected world. Solving each room is a satisfying challenge and seeing how it all comes together is the icing on the cake.

SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium Fighting Game of the Month

Although I've played every single Neo Geo Pocket Color fighting game released on Switch so far, SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium is definitely the best with its large cast of familiar characters, cool mini-games, and tight and intuitive gameplay.

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos Roguelike of the Month

The concept of a Zelda-style adventure with procedurally-generated dungeons sounds fantastic and thankfully, Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is and it features quite charming graphics and gratifying progression systems to boot.

PUSS! Arcade-Style Game of the Month

Once in a while, a game releases that's nothing short of a trippy psychedelic experience. PUSS! has you navigate through tough moving maze-like stages while trying not to touch anything and it has an impressively enjoyable campaign with great boss fights, too.

Missile Dancer Retro-Inspired Game of the Month

Every month, I particularly love giving out this award as well-done retro-inspired games deserve a lot of recognition. This month, Missile Dancer wins with its brilliant take on classic RayStorm-style vertical shoot 'em up gameplay. Congratulations!

Natsuki Chronicles Indie Game of the Month

Finally, the overall indie game of the month is another shoot 'em up and it just so happens to be one of the best examples of the genre that I've ever played. Natsuki Chronicles features absolutely incredible core gameplay and you can show off your skills in a story-based campaign complete with permanent unlockables as well as an arcade mode that alters the gameplay in clever ways. It's great stuff!