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While 2023 is no doubt going to feature a ton of amazing releases, let’s not overlook the indie games. These smaller-budget offerings have the same capacity to amaze fans the world over, and there are some coming in 2023 that show promise with innovation, or simply amazing concepts.
We’re going to look at some indie games that are currently confirmed to be released in 2023. Some of these were originally slated to come out this year, but were then pushed back to 2023. That’s understandable, because as Shigeru Miyamoto once said, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.”
But what indie games are on the way out in 2023?
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.
What are some indie games to look forward to in 2023?
1) Sea of Stars
Out of all the indie games coming next year, Sea of Stars is the one I’m most excited about. This indie RPG is a prequel to Sabotage Studio’s The Messenger, which was also an incredible title. It is gorgeous and has a pixel-art style, and even features music from Chrono Trigger’s Yasunori Mitsuda. The game itself reminds me of Chrono Trigger anyway, so it’s fitting the master is working on the music.
Sea of Stars, I feel, is going to be an incredible RPG, and one of the most-anticipated indie games to come out in 2023. Sadly, it has no release date as of this writing, but I’m always excited for a clever turn-based RPG.
2) Broken Roads
Another offering that was originally scheduled for a 2022 release, this is another one of the indie games I’m genuinely excited for. Drop Bear Bytes’ Broken Roads very much looks like one of the classic Fallout games - I don’t mean 3, New Vegas, or 4, but the classic, isometric RPGs of the days of old.
A turn-based RPG, Broken Roads is a post-apocalyptic game with real-world locations, similar to how Fallout was presented. While we’ll probably never get another classic Fallout title, this is the next best thing, and it has a beautiful visual design.
It also asks the player moral-themed questions when creating their character, like the classic Ultima games. I cannot wait for this to be one of the big indie games hits of 2022.
3) Manor Lords
Manor Lords was revealed during the 2022 Next Fest on Steam and brought the city-building genre together with tactical combat. If that’s not enough to whet your appetite for a game that makes you think, it also has major socio-political systems to contend with. What a great idea to hit the indie games genre!
City-building in a medieval setting sounds quite promising, and the level of detail in the videos that have been released is exquisite. It should be an incredibly challenging and fun game when it finally releases in 2023.
4) Valheim
Valheim hit Early Access on Steam in 2021, and its full release is on the way in 2023. It’s one of the few games on this list with a remote release date, as it's scheduled to come out in Q1 2023.
This Norse Mythology-based survival sandbox game has been a hit on Steam and Twitch alike. Fans have been gathering in droves to create servers and work together to survive in the harsh wilderness.
One of the most-enjoyed indie games of the past few years, it’s finally going to release next year! With procedurally generated maps, plenty of monsters and challenges to overcome, and great visuals, it’s surely going to be successful.
5) Pixelshire
One of 2023’s indie games scheduled out in Q1 2023, Kappa Bits’ Pixelshire is also a city-building affair. It promises fun exploration, city-building, and combat, so it combines features from several titles on this list already.
It has an adorable art style and has players exploring the world of Arcadia in this upcoming RPG. It reminds me a great deal of offerings like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, and that’s to this game’s benefit. The latter was incredibly successful. The trailers have me very excited for Pixelshire.
There are plenty more titles coming out in 2023, of course, but this is just a sampling of potentially fun games that are on the way out next year.
