50 Indie Games that Changed the World Review

 

We’ve been covering Bitmap book releases for a fair while now. Most of them compile genres or specific games systems but every now and then you get something a little different. We’ve seen this before with the ‘Secret History of Mac Gaming’ and ‘A Gremlin in the Works’, 50 Indie games that changed the world may not be as far from the usual output as that, but it certainly takes a different view of the industry.

In terms of content, it’s a fairly straight forward set up. There’s a short preface explaining the goal of the book and what it’s featuring, a foreword by Thomas Was Alone developer Mike Bithell who adds some context to the indie scene and how development works and then an introduction which talks about what indie games are as a wider genre and concept. After that it’s a straight list of the 50 games with a few honourable mentions at the end. Surprisingly, there aren’t any more interviews are other features but then the book is pretty laser focused on what it’s trying to do and as it tops out at an impressive four-hundred and fifty plus pages so we aren’t really complaining.

Each of the fifty games is looked at with a considerable amount of depth. Generally, the games in these books get one of two pages maximum. A few special ones might justify four but here most of the games get around eight pages, split across text, screenshots and art work. Each also has a breakdown of why the game should be considered as a game that changed the world. It’s an impressive amount of focus to put on each title and if you aren’t sat there making a list of games to buy as you go then we would be amazed.

The games included are wide reaching. There are obvious inclusions such as Fez and and Axion Verge but also more modern games such as Vampire Survivors and some you may not be expecting like Among Us and 80 Days. It means there’s a wide range of titles covered from different years and spanning multiple genres. There will of course be a personal favourite left out somewhere but it’s hard to argue with any of the inclusions. The fact that Futurlab’s Velocity is here makes us particularly happy as the game and the studio are vastly underrated and you should probably all be out there downloading it right now. It even means we will overlook the fact none of the Pixeljunk or Bit Trip games are in here.

Despite the mass of pages and games included it would have been nice to have a few features in here. Something on key indie genres would have been welcome – even if it was only a few pages. That might have taken some focus away from the key theme of the book though and it’s not like there is a lack of content here. There is some mention of genres within some of the games covered as well. The piece on Dead Cells in particular highlights how Metroidvania and Rogue games dot the landscape.

Overall, 50 Indie Games That Changed the World works beautifully as a love letter to some of the most creative and innovative games the industry has to offer. Chances are you may well be aware of most of them but there are always those one or two that you will have overlooked. It also acts as a perfect place to start if you want to move away from AAA video gaming or even if you want to jump from retro gaming back into something more modern but which channels that old school aesthetic. We loved it.

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*image from Bitmap Books website