Indie Game of the Month Awards June 2021

King of Indies

Written by A.J. Maciejewski for Indie GOTM Awards on July 1, 2021 🏅

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2021 is half over but it feels like we've already had 10 years worth of great indie games this year so here are June's best in 12 categories.

Eagle Island Twist 2D Platformer of the Month

Eagle Island Twist is a brand new version of a 2D action roguelike platformer where you use an eagle to attack enemies and it provides much more structure with its clever stage-based campaign. It's challenging, beautiful, and I highly recommend giving it a go.

Mighty Goose Action Game of the Month

I love classic 2D action games and Mighty Goose is a wonderful adaptation of the Metal Slug formula with its hilarious visual gags, action-packed levels, and pixel-perfect visuals. Throw in awesome power-ups, a permanent upgrade system that's very rewarding, mind-blowing boss fights, oodles of tricky scenarios, enjoyable weapons, and adorable animal helpers and you're left with an action game that's chock-full of variety of good times. Needless to say, if you love these kinds of games as much as I do then you need this in your collection.

Lego Builder's Journey Adventure Game of the Month

Lego Builder's Journey is not like what you'd expect from a Lego video game as it takes an open-ended approach to its gameplay where you build paths for characters while watching a minimally-presented story unfold. It's truly a unique experience from start to finish.

Skellboy Refractured Action-Adventure Game of the Month

I'm always delighted when indie game developers care about their games so much that they continuously improve them and Skellboy Refractured is a perfectly fine-tuned game where swapping body parts and weapons is a treat as you progress in its upbeat campaign.

LiEat RPG of the Month

Although it features traditional RPG combat, LiEat is a distinct experience as you complete 3 mini-tales while uncovering the truth about your character; a little girl who's also a powerful lie-eating dragon. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds!

King of Seas Action RPG of the Month

Having a laidback time navigating the high seas while taking on a variety of missions only to enhance your capabilities sounds like a good time and thankfully, King of Seas offers an open-ended swashbuckling adventure that's worth its weight in rum.

Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale Casual Game of the Month

Rolling a ball around a grid-based map while trying to collect everything on it in as few moves as possible can be challenging yet Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale's clever mechanics and storytelling make it an impressively immersive and enjoyable journey.

Tiger Trio's Tasty Travels Puzzle Game of the Month

There have been many games that teach the fundamentals of programming in interesting ways yet few have accomplished that feat as well as Tiger Trio's Tasty Travels with its downright adorable graphics and intuitive gameplay that'll easily appeal to anyone.

Metal Unit Roguelike of the Month

Roguelikes are far more enjoyable when you can customize your character with strategic loadouts so thankfully, Metal Unit and its massive arsenal of weapons, abilities, and equipment is a rewarding and challenging game that's hard to put down.

Mushihimesama Shoot 'em Up of the Month

CAVE are masters of creating intense shoot 'em ups and as one of their older titles, Mushihimesama has held up beautifully with its immersive insect-blasting premise and large variety of modes that change up the mechanics in ways that'll keep you coming back.

Astalon: Tears Of The Earth Retro-Inspired Game of the Month

In my opinion, the best retro-inspired games are ones that feel like they could have been released back in the day so imagine my surprise when I played Astalon: Tears Of The Earth which has you control 3 unique characters as they travel through a super-challenging tower that's filled with dastardly foes and tricky traps. The fact that its graphics and sound are spot-on is just the icing on the cake.

Stonefly Indie Game of the Month

Although it received a lukewarm reception at launch, there's no doubt in my mind that Stonefly is a special game. From its beautiful visual style to its outstanding soundtrack and its challenging unconventional gameplay to its super-rewarding upgrade system; Stonefly has all the elements of an excellent indie game. It may take some patience to get used to how to play it but let me tell you; it's worth it!