The latest ID@Xbox had something for indie lovers of all stripes, including samurai swords, pixelated pro wrestlers, and cute little foxes…with swords. Basically, if you love the unique characters and locales of indie games, you’re in for a treat this year. Even better, we’ve saved you the trouble of scrubbing back through the whole show and rounded up everything we saw during the ID@Xbox event livestream.
Immortality: An Interactive Movie Trilogy
From the mind of Sam Barlow (creator of the critically acclaimed Her Story and Telling Lies) comes a new interactive mystery. You’ll trawl through lost home movies to figure out what exactly happened to a woman named Marissa Marcel.
Release date: Summer 2022
Platform: X/S
Xbox Game Pass: Yes
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
From the studio behind 2018’s Ashen comes a new open-world action RPG. You’ll play as a pistol-wielding woman named Nor and her fox-like companion Enki on a journey of “vengeance, gunpowder, and magic in humanity’s last stand.”
Release date: 2022
Platform: X/S, Xbox One
Xbox Game Pass: Yes
Cursed to Golf
The “What if golf, but weird” genre has had something of a renaissance the last few years. This game looks to promise a more spooky take on the tee, featuring a journey to escape “golf purgatory” with power-ups, ghostly hazards, and an emphasis on replayability.
Release date: TBD
Platform: PC
Game Pass: TBD
Escape Academy
Everyone knows high school can be hell, but at least you never had classes that turned into escape rooms. That’s exactly what Escape Academy offers prospective students, featuring over a dozen escape rooms, and can be played solo or co-op with pals. The game is being published by iam8bit (purveyors of fine video game merch) and features music from Doseone, composer for Enter the Gungeon, Gang Beast, and Sludge Life.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Console
Xbox Game Pass: TBD
Whalefall
Described as a combination SRPG/JRPG influenced by the likes of Lord of the Rings, Suikoden, and Final Fantasy. The world of Osfeld is a tumultous one. Giant whales float through the sky, and whenever one of them dies, it plummets to the earth and dramatically changes the political and economic powers that be, and stirs up a huge battle for the resources its body leaves behind. Players will command an army in an effort to stop a plot to kill one of these majestic (and deadly) creatures, averting global chaos.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Console
Xbox Game Pass: TBD
Wrestle Quest
OH YEAH! Pro wrestlers like the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, and a ton of others help you on a quest to become a wrestling legend, all in a pixelated art style.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Console
Xbox Game Pass: TBD
Tunic
Take control of an adorable fox with a sword in this Zelda-like isometric action adventure game. This one has been in development for a while, so you can check out five reasons why Tunic should be on your radar.
Release date: Available right now.
Platform: X/S, Xbox One
Xbox Game Pass: Yes
One of IGN’s highest-rated strategy games ever finally makes the trek from PC to Xbox Game Pass.
Release date: March 29
Platform: Console
Xbox Game Pass: Yes
Trek to Yomi
We previously saw Trek to Yomi during last week’s State of Play, but we’re not complaining about another look at this gorgeous black and white samurai action adventure that evokes memories of Kurosawa films and Old Boy’s iconic hallway fight.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Console
Xbox Game Pass: TBD
There is No Light
Voidtrain
Chinatown Detective Agency
Other games
- Rolling Thunder (Roblox Game Fund/Splitting Point Studios)
- Beacon Pines (Fellow Traveller)
- Release date: TBD
- Kraken Academy!! (Fellow Traveller)
- Release date: March 22, 2022
- Shredders (FoamPunch BV)
- Lost Eidolons (Ocean Drive Studios)
- Paradise Killer (Xbox version, already on PC) (Fellow Traveller)
- Release date: Available now on Xbox
- Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (Nacon)
- Floppy Knights (Rose City Games) – coming to Xbox Game Pass
- Citizen Sleeper (Fellow Traveller)
- Release date: TBD
So what was your favorite indie game of the showcase? Was it Tunic’s adorable foxy adventure, Wrestle Quest’s bodyslamming RPG goodness, or something else entirely? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.