5 Day of the Devs 2023 indies that you should take note of

Day of the Devs 2023 took place yesterday, and with it came a wealth of amazing indie games. No matter what genre you’re interested in, from cozy, feel-good games and video games that will invoke terror and discomfort to fun, quirky role-playing games, there is undoubtedly something for you. After the stream ended, I found it was much too difficult to make an immediate call on what I thought the most impactful, interesting games were.

After all, all the games on Day of the Devs 2023 were, for one reason or another, incredible. I looked at games from various genres and picked the ones that I thought might be the most interesting or that gamers should watch. Here are some great indie games that will hopefully be coming out in 2024.

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Which Day of the Devs 2023 indie games should you keep an eye out for?

1) Hermit and Pig

Hermit and Pig is one of my absolute favorite games from Day of the Devs 2023. This adorable turn-based RPG features a recluse and his truffle-hunting pig. The two of them will hunt for a wide variety of mushrooms and get into some wild battles. It even features attack inputs you might find in a fighting game.

There are so many interesting details to this game. Having the ability to respond to people without being awkward can get you out of sticky situations, and it also clearly has comedy roots that were inspired by one of the greatest RPGs of all time: EarthBound. This game will be a must-play.

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2) Home Safety Hotline

Home Safety Hotline certainly impressed me. (Image via Night Signal Entertainment)

Home Safety Hotline is a horror game, unlike anything I’ve seen before. Set in the 1990s, the player works at an online call center. You take people’s complaints about their homes being potentially in danger and try to keep them safe. Even the sound effects, the clacking of keys, and the mouse clicks sound exactly like my late teenage years.

The presentation of this Day of the Devs indie game is perfect. Players are going to have to solve these people’s problems, whether it’s something minor wrong with their home or perhaps something more ethereal or otherworldly. It’s a majestic, unsettling video game.

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3) Drag Her!

Drag Her! might be the most interesting fighting game to come out in 2024. (Image via Fighting Chance Games)

While I don’t have any real first-hand experience or knowledge of Drag Culture other than Dimension 20’s “Dungeons and Drag Queens”, it was clear this team knows their stuff. Fighting Chance Games has put together a Drag Queen fighting game that not only looks to be accurate to the lifestyle, but also looks to be an incredible fighting game.

It has rollback netcode - a feature that even some modern games lack at launch, assists, a round-robin tournament mode, unique story modes, and some truly awesome attacks.

It’s camp, over-the-top, and the combat looks intense. It was giving me real Skullgirls vibes, and that’s truly a compliment. Day of the Devs had a wide assortment of indie games, and I’m definitely adding Drag Her! to my list of fighting games to play in 2024.

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4) Kind Words 2

I had never heard of Kind Words as a game until the Day of the Devs stream. However, I think it’s a remarkable concept when it comes to chill indie games. Kind Words 2 (lofi city pop) is a game about “being kind to real people”. The first game was a huge success, and Popcannibal expanded the concept by giving it a sort of Animal Crossing feel.

You can explore a larger world, dress up in cool outfits, visit with other citizens, and take part in a wholesome, helpful community. We all go through struggles, and while the world around us isn’t always kind, an outlet like this is something more people could definitely use. I’m looking forward to exploring Kind Words 2 when it finally drops.

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5) RESISTOR

During the Day of the Devs stream, RESISTOR was described as a CAR-PG, and that immediately got my attention. It has a sharp, vibrant art style and a huge Open-World filled with awesome cars and sick stunts. It is all the best things about Burnout but in an RPG! The story looks fun, and the gameplay appears to be sharp.

I also really like the fact that it seems that timing your stunts to the rhythm of the music is a boon in RESISTOR. It reminded me a lot of Hi-Fi Rush, which, again, is an amazing game. I’m always keen to see new ways to present RPGs, and I feel like Long Way Home is really going to knock this CAR-PG out of the park.

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This is just a sample of what took place during the Day of the Devs livestream. It was a fun event, filled with adorable, eye-catching games for gamers of any genre. It is worth going back to watch the stream on YouTube.