These are Strong, Independent Games

Welcome to the first of our shiny new weekly feature: the Indie News Roundup. Each and every week, we’re bringing you the latest news about indie games old and new.

This week we’re focusing on a couple of new releases, a new update, and a game to watch out for. So, get your Steam wishlist prepped and ready to add to – and let’s get to it.

New Release: Coffee Crisis

What if aliens invaded Earth? What if it was up to two coffee baristas to quash said invasion? And what these two – rather jacked up – baristas were, not fond, but full-blown heavy metal… enthusiasts?

Well, that’s that rather unnerving set of questions put forward and answered by developers Mega Cat Studios, with the PC release of their arcade-inspired brawler Coffee Crisis.

Coffee Crisis will have you and either another friend, or a soulless, cold-hearted AI partner putting the beat down on these alien invaders called the Smurglians. You’ll be punching and kicking your way through ten alien infested levels, all whilst being treated to a soundtrack angrily injected with some heavy metal… and presumably whilst you’re all jumped up on coffee.

Mega Cat’s Coffee Crisis is out now on Steam, and coming soon to Xbox One and Switch.

New Release: SOLO

If caving an alien’s head in to the sound of power chords being thrashed out isn’t quite your thing, then the methodical platform puzzler SOLO offers a far more relaxed slice of game.

Touting itself as a game that offers the chance for some introspection about love, SOLO takes you on a tour of a surreal archipelago as you tackle some rather poignant questions about what you’d do for love. You can also take a selfie with a dog.

Offering up a vibrant colour design, some astoundingly chilled out music, and a topic that’s sure to hit home in one way or another, SOLO certainly looks like the 500 Days Of Summer for games – and you can take a selfie with a dog.

Solo, developed by Team Gotham, is out now on Steam, but the developers haven’t made any promises of it coming to console anytime soon.

Are we there yet? Stardew Valley Multiplayer arrives on PC

Well not quite, the beta of the multiplayer has arrived on PC, and is coming to GOG this week. This will be the first hands-on players will get of the smash-hit farming sim’s multiplayer. The beta will allow players to invite friends to help them out around the farm and go dungeon crawling together. I know what you’re thinking “That’s all well and good, but can I marry them!?” The answer – calm down – is yes, yes you can.

The marrying feature is, rather strangely, one that fans have been crying out for since the topic of the impending multiplayer came about. Now, let’s see just how many videos on YouTube of real marriage proposals being done on Stardew Valley pop-up… ergh, I hate love.

Whilst the update is coming soon for PC players, there’s no word yet of when the multiplayer will arrive on console editions.

One to Watch: Lake Ridden Arrives next week

Spooky forest? A story of betrayal and intrigue? Puzzles!? Well, we’re either talking about a Cold War thriller, or – more likely, the upcoming release of Midnight Hub’s Lake Ridden.

We actually covered Lake Ridden briefly in our Rezzed roundup, suggesting the game could look to rival the like of Virginia and Firewatch. Add to that a set of puzzles that do test you at times, and the gnawing need to find out what’s happened to your sister, and Lake Ridden looks to be a must-have for Steam and GOG players.

Lake Ridden arrives on May 10 for Steam and GOG, there’s no word yet as to whether it’ll make the jump to consoles later this year.

Have an indie game you’d like us to cover? Drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do