Alternatives to play on Steam when GTA 6 releases
Marketing an indie game is hard, game devs are competing against enormous AAA marketing budgets and trying to find a place within a saturated indie market. Add in the long anticipated release of GTA VI and you have yourself… well, a challenging time on your hands.
Players may have noticed a significant decrease in games releasing in the month of November, even more so around the 19th. So we’ve decided to put together a little list of games releasing on the same date as the industry giant, in case you’re already feeling the GTA VI-media-fatigue.
Really – “who’d be crazy enough to release a game on the same day as GTA VI?”. Turns out, a fair few indie devs! So, get your wishlists ready (we’ve linked them in the game headings), here’s our top 10 SERIOUSLY BOLD games launching on November 19th on Steam (according to Steambd).
10: Sokobomb
A sokoban pixel-art style puzzle game where players have to blow up things to progress! Sounds simple enough but the game boasts challenging hand-crafted puzzles over 6 biomes. Looks fun!
9: Blyte
We don’t know if the award-winning part of the gameplay trailer is true, but it is true that this game does look insane - the graphics are clean and the environments are immense. If the devs are reading this, we’d like you to know you forgot to add the Steam link to your gameplay trailer. But we got you fam, we’ve added it here in case our readers want to wishlist.
8: Iona’s Island
Create your own sandbox sanctuary on the back of a giant turtle, Heimsskjald. Says it all really… But saying a little more: this cozy game looks sick and is supported by a chill lo-fi soundtrack!
7: Dig! Dig! Dino!
A casual adventure game all about digging for dinosaur bones and other treasure! Interestingly, the game is completely black and white and is promoted as a title to play while watching tv as it doesn’t have any time-pressure mechanics.
6: Shrike
This Roguelike deckbuilding game has a lot of birds! And you’re also one, pickpocketing rival birds to build your deck. The art style features retro pixel elements and backgrounds and there’s a whopping 18 procedurally generated biomes to explore. Strategists will love it.
5: Astro Industry Wars
Real Time Strategy with a side of retro-futurism, players will love how colourful this game is with its stylized environments and unique graphic interfaces. Promoted as a light-hearted take on the genre, could be a fun one for players seeking a casual, low-pressure intro to RTS games.
4: Flame, Forest & Flood
Surprisingly bold with their release date announcement, this beautiful cozy strategy game for up to 3 players has a lot of charm and depth. Players can also grow and tend to their own garden in between matches, providing a vibey-low-pressure sanctuary they can get creative with. They also have 3 very cute frenemy Elemental mascots!
3: Flick
Have you ever made a mad dash to the next light switch as you turn them off on the way back to your room at night? (IYKYK). This first-person body-cam horror uses light switches as a mechanic where each flick can manifest untold horrors. Definitely one to play with the lights on…
2: Cute Country
This super cute, Anime simulation city-builder allows players to create their own Royal capital, with 100+ buildings and a variety of home decorations. Another casual strategy game for those looking for low-pressure gameplay.
1: Lord of Undead
This game looks a bit like Valheim, but plays more like Terraria in terms of crafting and exploration. Lord of Undead is a grim RPG where you collect the souls of your enemies, craft items, build bases and summon armies to annihilate entire undead establishments. Sounds like a good time.
There you have it — Our top ten games releasing on November 19th! Go give them a wishlist so you can stay up to date with their launches. Let us know what you'd play!