Cheaper and cheerful
You don’t have to spend a fortune to get your new game fix as these independent titles prove
ANOTHER month, another increase in the cost of living.
People are facing the biggest squeeze on incomes in nearly 50 years, which means those with expensive hobbies – like gaming – can find it tough to justify their pastime. But indie games could be the answer to your prayers.
You don’t have to look far to find indie studios that are producing incredible work.
Here are five indie titles you should check out this month.
Source of Madness (PEGI 12)
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Switch, PC
Price: £15.99
This side-scrolling, dark action roguelite is set in the twisted, Lovecraftian-inspired world of the Loam Lands.
The player must journey through this nightmarish world as a new Acolyte to destroy the sources of madness.
Graphically this instantly gives off a ‘Dark Souls’ type vibe, with walls that feature eyes and limbs, and environments that seem so thick with rot and decay you can almost smell them.
Each level is procedurally generated, so you won’t encounter the same hellish monster twice, as you fight your way to the mysterious Citadel and attempt to stop ‘what is to come.’
Trek to Yomi (PEGI 18) PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PC Price: £15.99
One of the most visually stunning games I’ve seen in a while, this is a must for fans of Japanese cinema.
Dripping in clichés, this follows the story of Hiroki, a lone samurai who has vowed to protect his town and the people he loves.
This katana-swinging, sidescroller may start out as a standard tale of revenge, but it slowly morphs into something else – a narrative on the futility of vengeance.
I hate to sound superficial, but by far the best thing about this game is its looks. It feels like a love letter to the Japanese greats, playing out in stunning monochrome that somehow makes it feel all the more affecting.
Combat leaves a bit to be desired, but there were a few oddly challenging puzzles along the way that broke up scenes of gore.
Lost Nova (PEGI TBC) PC Price: £11.39
If you’ve ever wondered what No Man’s Sky would look like in a cutesy, alternative universe, then wonder no more.
Lost Nova tells the story of Mia, whose spaceship has crash landed on an alien planet and she has to repair it.
Your job is to help her explore and gather the resources she needs to get back home.
Quite apart from the cute cartoon graphics, this is an oddly relaxing way to spend some time.
You can wander around the planet at your own pace, harvesting resources and earning currency to buy upgrades and unlock new activities.
Mia meets some weird and wonderful characters on her travels too, and luckily for her, they’re all
friendly.
PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Price: Demo free until May 27 Certainly one of the odder games out this month, this action-adventure RPG is an epic about cows and milk.
Moo Lander sees you in control of your civilization’s last remaining spaceship, as you scour varied environments in search of the source of infinite amounts of milk.
While cows are known for being gentle souls, in this game you’ll find yourself battling some bovines who have had enough and aren’t willing to part with their dairy so easily.
If you can’t quite believe what you’re playing, then you can share the oddness with up to three other gamers in couch multiplayer.
We Were Here Forever (PEGI 12)
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PC Price: £14.99
The latest in the We Were Here series of puzzlers, you will need a fellow gamer for this one as it’s co-op only.
You both wake up trapped inside Castle Rock, and you’ll both need your wits to find out who put you there, and why, if you are to have any hopes of escaping.
Solving puzzles alone is fun, deciphering them together can be twice as satisfying... or a nightmare, depending on who you’re brave enough to attempt this one with.
Other games in the series have been surprisingly good, and if you’re on PC, check out the bundles available on Steam which is currently selling all four games as the ‘Chronicle of Castle Rock’ for £32.
BUNTING, street parties and punk rock. The Sex Pistols marked the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in 1977 with the release of their anti-authority hit God Save The Queen... and the BBC promptly banned it.
Their colourful manager Malcolm McLaren once advised: “Be childish. Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.”
Stores like WH Smith and Woolworths also refused to sell the single which shocked parents nationwide with singer Johnny “Rotten” Lydon screaming out the refrain “No future, no future, no future for you”.
The controversial record still reached number two in the UK singles chart despite the lack of airplay and it is the only time in chart history that a track was listed with a blank title to avoid offence.
The subversive take on the national anthem was kept from the top spot by Rod Stewart’s far more sedate – and in the circumstances somewhat ironic – I Don’t Want To Talk About It.
To combat the media blackout the band promoted the record on their own jubilee boat trip along the Thames which ended in their arrest when theyhey tried to play the track on thee River Thames outsideutside Westminster Palace.alace.
The promotionaltional stunt by Malcolmlcolm McLaren was described as an attempt to cir-ircumvent aa “ban” by play-ying on the riverver instead of settinging foot on ground,nd, but the perfor-formance never tooktook place as they were thwarted by the authorities.
The furore saw the group dropped by their record label A&M and the band released the single through Virgin after signing a new deal.
This prompted the destruction of 25,000 unreleased copies of the song. Only a handful of copies of the original A&M pressings remain, with one selling for £13,000 in 2019.
The punk rock anthem has now been re-issued 45 years later to mark the Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee with 4,000 copies being re-released through Virgin, and 1,977 copies of the rare A&M version also being made available. The band were described in newspapers as “the group you love to hate” after they swore live on TV during an interview with Bill Grundy. They also tried to pour a bottle of whisky over the headshe of newspaperper photographersph at a press conferencecon to sign a new recording contract outside
Buckingham Palace in 1977. Sid Vicious was present having replaced Glen Matlock. Sid died at the age of 21 in 1979.
John Lydon has said he is always surprised that people are shocked by what he does. “I just said it as I feel it and see it and understand it, and that is about it really,” he said. “I don’t involve any personal agendas so my motivation would never be to shock.”
When God Save The Queen was released, the monarch was 51. The year 1977 also saw Star Wars breaking cinema box office records, the death of Elvis Presley and Red Rum winning the Grand National for a record third time.
Queen Elizabeth’s first jubilee saw her travel 56,000 miles visiting 36 countries in more than 10 weeks to mark her 25 years on the throne. Street parties were held across the country and beacons were lit in her honour.
The Union Jacks flew, but the Sex Pistols T-shirt was also seen widely across the country as it was snapped up by young punks.
Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle’s new six-part TV series about the Sex Pistols also starts on Disney+ on May 31. Pistol is based on guitarist Steve Jones’ memoir, Lonely
Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol and features Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren and Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams as punk model Jordan.
Steve Jones is played by Toby Wallace, John Lydon by Anson Boon and Louis Partridge is bassist Sid Vicious. Talulah Riley, best known for roles in St Trinian’s and Westworld, portrays punk fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood.
Last year the members of the Sex Pistols were embroiled in a High Court legal battle over the punk band’s songs being used in the television series and ex-drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones successfully sued John Lydon to allow their music to be used in the TV drama.
Pistol will explore the rise of the punk band and Danny Boyle says: “Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent. This is the moment British society and culture changed forever.
“It is the detonation point for British street culture… where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion, and everyone had to watch and listen, and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols.”
Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.” Malcolm McLaren’s credo