20 of the best indies to put on your radar in 2024 | Steam Next Fest Highlights

[@SkillUp]

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[@grayfox8904]

Please have the title of each game constantly on the screen or at least have timestamps with its name. It is hard to track down so many games in the video!

[@D0NU75]

some links to those games would have been useful you know? i always love me some ryona and guro but when the game is named "hashtag" Blood it is barely impossible to find it buried under tons of random results

[@GabrielKnightz]

You guys forgot to cover Venba last year. Just a belated FYI.

[@robertclaussen4483]

A9a WA p9 p

[@danielcalabrese5769]

I'm 44 and have loved games since the 80's and these days it really is the indie games and games made by smaller passionate teams that have kept my passion for this hobbies burning strong so thank you for shining the light on them so more and more people can be introduced to the true joy of gaming.

[@xdmoney11]

The NullPTR pronunciation was hilarious but for future reference it's Null Pointer. It's a code thing that refers to a pointer that points to nothing

[@mechanicalmonk2020]

I've been programming for forever and still pronounce ptr as it's written 😅

[@tomazzaman]

Came here for this comment. Was not disappointed.

[@Ashtarte3D]

Glad someone beat me to this. Got a laugh at Edmond trying to figure that one out.

[@KeremyJato]

Literally the moment I heard Edmond say that I scrolled down to find a comment or make a comment saying the same thing

[@jhank0cean]

"a code thing that refers to a pointer that points to nothing" Ah the classic programmer problem of a programmer not being able to convey what they do in terms that make sense for everyone.

[@HeadwareGames]

Thanks so much for featuring Hollowbody! Made my day.

[@Rhayze]

Your game looks sick bro. Great job and good luck. I wishlisted it too!

[@williamedwards4151]

It looks so good! Brings me back to the old school Resident Evil/Silent Hill days. Keep up the good work!

[@aarongarcia5667]

Yo mama How bout that ?

[@mechadiego2006]

Holy shit. This is one of (if not THE) best lists from SNF I've seen so far. Only complaint I have is you guys should keep the name of the name on screen at least a little bit longer. It feels like I'm not allowed to blink or I'll miss the name card

[@Keithustus]

Put the name also at the end of each game’s segment, so we don’t have to scrub back to see it if we’ve been convinced by watching to check it out.

[@MrWhygodwhy]

@@Keithustus Also, put the names of the games down in the dooblidoo.

[@joshhudson7413]

Or just pause the video and write it down

[@buttpaste]

also they should have the names for other games, like they had a few in the beginning without names on screen

[@_Chris390]

It's not a good list, at all. They just chose games they knew about before Next Fest - they didn't bother to actually explore all the demo categories and find new games they didn't already have on their Wishlists. Super lazy. No effort.

[@Mugthief]

The SkillUP team is killing it. Loved hearing from all 4, and you guys are so close to the million subs! Keep it up, and thank you for everything!

[@Spellbreakz]

I hope you keep this format for future Steam Next Fests. After the first round of games i started trying to predict who will present the game after the first few seconds of gameplay. I failed at Mullet Mad Jack. I thought for sure that will be a Skill Up segment.

[@TheRealUcanUwill]

I like these videos, but I can tell my taste is completely different than theirs. I just not interested in action games of whatever from Indies. If you are talking about tactics RPG or city builder from INDIE studio, or smth like that, than I am listening. When he did first video on Indies, I thought that featured games for all tastes, I picked Timberborn, that beaver city builder because of that video. From this one, I think only that deck building rogue is somewhat interesting to me, but thats my opinion, need more variety.

[@JustNumberVII]

NOT ARMORED CHORE!?!?!? Can't believe such an opportunity was missed!

[@jadedj5385]

Good one!!!

[@BlissBatch]

They're also missing Balatro, the greatest poker game ever made by far.

[@r3dsnow757]

​@@BlissBatchBalatro is a hard drug not a game.

[@chrisrothstein6157]

I love the format of this video. Please do this for every Next Fest

[@dogauthier]

This is now a petition to replace IGN with Skill Up

[@StarPlatinumAr]

Do

[@henrygagne8255]

“Papa, what was your favorite games journalism outfit during the early ‘20s?” -Every kids favorite question

[@maskoncr00ked]

Papa tell us of the before times. Tell us of the. Eye gee em that was unreliable as a source of videogame news

[@brandon_jens6620]

fUnNy bEcaUse IGN bAd

[@chockingninja7676]

Best fucking comment of 2024❤

[@MultiToto07]

Thank you very muuuuuch for highlighting the next fest and indie developers ! Indie games deserve love and exposition, and thanks to you it reaches another audience

[@wuurlii]

The evolution from just Ralph to this ensemble cast of beautifully spoken individuals is amazing to witness.

[@taylormonnett1370]

Love to hear the full crew working together on one video!

[@elbruh9003]

Bro diceomancer looks fucking insane ngl

[@TheUberFez]

Holy hell the tonal shift at 25:14 was crazy hahaha

[@abramjohnson903]

Lol I felt the same 😂

[@cykeok3525]

Cranked the knob all the way from one end to the other lol

[@tiddlesmcnasty968]

It's crazy how well the entire Skill Up gang meshes with the original identity/style of content I've come to expect and love since the Division days

[@HuganTheUnknown]

The artstyle of the Synergy game that you rightfully compared to sable is based on a french comic artist's work : Moebius ! :)

[@XoXtheunseenXoX]

This game feels like a near 1:1 continuation of Scavenger's Reign, a moebius inspired sci-fi show about a bunch of survivors surviving on an alien planet that looks near identical to this game!

[@JimmyDaBrah5420]

This Week in Videogames is my favorite thing on KZbin but this video bouncing between all four of you was probably my favorite video you guys have done and probably the best one yet. Hope to see more content utilizing all of you at once or even riffing off each other more, great stuff!

[@AugustRx]

You obviously haven't seen Wrestling isn't wrestling This is a close second for that silly/loveable category tho

[@jaredcraig640]

You guys are nailing it. Such a phenomenal channel.

[@Smexican217]

My personal favorite is the poker roguelite Balatro! It’s so replayable and set up to be one of the best indie games of this year! I hope you guys have time to check it out before it launches on February 20th!

[@RodStremel]

It's always great to see big channels highlighting indie games. Lately, that's all I've been playing. From the Fest, Balatro has been consuming my time, and it's awesome.

[@oldmandavy4024]

Always good to hear from more members of the Skill Family, love you Mr Up and Co!

[@SenseiSeagal420]

I'm really loving the growth of the channel, it's honestly so nice to hear all of y'alls different tastes explored.

[@milramas]

13:35 incredidibly based recommendations, mint jams is god tier

[@acecel]

Amazing video and very good idea to allow everyone in your team to intervene and share theirs thoughts on demos they tried, and it's nice to finally here the voice of Stu and Edmond. If the FPS podcast would not exist i would have loved a podcast with you four, about that it would be cool to have Austin join the FPS podcast, his opinion and flow would fit very well with the rest of the group i think.

[@abrarrauf3801]

The quality of this channel just keeps getting better and better with every single video, which in and of itself is a feat given how high quality everything on this channel has always been! Keep up the great work!!

[@OptimusMuff]

I appreciate this video (and indie coverage) so much! This channel is how I got into Indie Games and I love seeing these videos pop up on my feed!!

[@Spremington]

Edmund listens to Casiopea. He’s officially the best Aussie on this channel now

[@Prinz_Kasper]

And masayoshi takanaka!

[@ExtraTrstl]

The amount of talent, creativity, and passion in indie games is a wonder to behold. Props to all devs, past, present, and future. You are truly appreciated.

[@MightyManotaur22]

Love that you guys did this video and also love all the different perspectives and tastes in games. So many bangers featured here.

[@dingus2k]

Indika, Balatro, Pacific Drive, and Never Grave were all really big standouts

[@firestorm26621]

I always look forward to these videos, I fill up my wishlist every time. And love to see this play out like a team effort, hearing from all the members!

[@MagosJCDentonus451]

While playing Cryptmaster I was surprised I haven't seen anyone talk about it before. Such a unique idea

[@romangazarek4734]

Hello CS student here, the game at 21:05 is supposed to be pronounced Null Pointer :)

[@randymagnum8178]

I wish they taught counter strike at university level back when i was a student 🤷‍♂️

[@kunimitsune177]

Should've spelled it like that then eh. Or at least added an n.

[@xdmoney11]

Hello fellow CS student 🔥🔥

[@internisus]

@@kunimitsune177This is how the keyword is spelled in computer science. There's writing in the game about the concept of a null pointer, so anyone playing should be clear on it.

[@gravious]

@@kunimitsune177 its a programming term, an abbreviation of pointer add more letters and there's no pnt in abbreviating it :D

[@inadover]

This is the video I always look forward to the most each year. Love what you always do with the Steam Next Fest. Helpful for us to find new interesting games that we probably would not have found othetwise, and great for those small indie studios to make a living out of their amazing work. Edit: Forgot to give some credit to Steam for creating the Next Fest as well.

[@michaelmac5317]

Great video. Could you maybe keep the name of the game on throughout the clip or maybe repeat it at the end. A few times then, wanted to search for a game but couldn’t remember what it was called by the end of the clip.

[@sykx7]

Best coverage in the games world. Thank you for all the work you do and the continued support for the indie scene.

[@Maverickx25]

Yo, Frost from Second Wind is playing the duck detective? That's sweet.

[@demon794]

I was wondering if it was him!

[@beady0081]

I thought that - is it actually him?

[@Fachewachewa]

For those wondering the credits are in the demo, Duck Detective is played by someone named Sean Chiplock, so not Frost.

[@thehoginator1827]

Love these indie focused vids team! My wishlist has just expanded...

[@abstractcowboy]

Awesome would love more videos like this. Great to get a sense of what's out there.

[@bennymeyz3306]

Great video. Wish they'd make this two weeks long. I only get around to a couple of hours to try out.

[@CMoll89]

Loved the format, you guys nailed it!

[@danatkinson1517]

Love the detective making deducktions.

[@Maikel.A]

You had the chance to say Armored "Chore" and wasted it, such a shame. 😆

[@thenute4087]

Thank you guys for making this. It was a truly fantastic video! One small recommendation I would have for the future, could you put a small overlay on the screen with the game title while it’s been shown. *edit- it shows up briefly I just mean keep it up for the duration of the section

[@BasementMinions]

Absolutely loved this! It's always so daunting to try and find exciting games during the next fest with limited time, can't wait to dive into these games. :)

[@ryo-kai8587]

Okay, Helskate looks really cool. Definitely keeping an eye on that one! Nice compilation; It was great hearing from more of the team this time around.

[@ingloriousbaxter]

Could I make a request for these sorts of videos? Would you be able to add time codes or reiterate the name of the game at the end of the blurb before moving on to the next one? It would be a huge help to those of us that are complete space cases and end up having to rewind in order to get the name of a game. Thanks for this video! I’ve added a lot of games to my list

[@StefanRees]

This is exactly what I needed. Theres so many amazing games at NextFest.

[@001sander2]

Thank you very much for including chapters cheers ♥️

[@mzcookies134]

Loved this format with everyone chiming in with what they liked. Added a lot to my wishlist!

[@Viper6332]

Great video from the entire team thxs for keeping this up as giving the small guy a shoutout really helps them out

[@Serafiniert]

Love Steam Next Fest recommendation videos. So many gems there. One I'd add to the list is Balatro. This is a really nice twist on Poker meets Rogue-Like.

[@taglor]

Thanks Ralph. Great to have you back. I keep your videos for days yhat aren't so great for me. Always makes me smile, gives me things I'm interested in to look into further and feel part of something too. Cheers from Ireland 🇮🇪✋

[@vitsavicky]

Love videos like these. Minireviews of upcoming indie titles. Keep this up!

[@sleepyturttle]

Thank you so much to you and your team for such a bad ass job. Most importantly thank you so much for putting chapters on the video , that means so much to us who want to find specific games without having to look through the whole video , you guys are amazing .

[@user-kc9rs8ew4x]

Nice work. The multiple voices work well for this type of feature and it's enjoyable to hear from the whole team. ei

[@jessechuff]

One that is definitely getting some coverage but I still feel compelled to bring even more attention to is Indika. One of the most bizarre but incredibly interesting games I’ve seen in a long time that immediately just floored me. Aside from that, I also second Dungeonborne and Lightyear Frontier.

[@jefsilva]

Wow! I never thought I would see one of my games being featured in one of your lists among so many great games! Thank you so much for this, there are so many people playing the game now and sharing their impressions and feedbacks!

[@dinothegonzo]

If it's just Ralph, then it's Shill Up. But with everyone else, it's now finally Skill Up. But really, it's nice to hear more from the team.

[@hugomifune]

Love seeing you guys creating step by step your media! Great voices, nice writing, awful humour! You’re the best! 🎉

[@johnnypopstar]

5 more games added to my wish list (which was already 220 strong, mostly thanks to y'all), thank you guys!

[@GuiiBrazil]

Nice! Last time you did this kind of video, I played so many good games. Cheers for your service for those who deserves it. Respect.

[@GameGentleman]

Awesome to hear Edmond Tran on the channel!

[@jgraho2]

Great to hear all of you talk about these games!

[@alejandromoravelado3734]

"get ready for armoured corn". You are simply genius, gentleman 😂

[@tryout3420]

You've dobe tremendous work building this channel to its current glory. Good job, Austin!

[@paparoxo3606]

"Emberbane", it's an amazing and challenging 2d Metroidvania, with really tight controls, platform a very good combat and level design, please take a look, the art is also incredible.

[@asgads]

The Indika demo is one of the best horror games I have played in years

[@LunarisLacrima]

I love these Next Fest showcases, thank you for showing them off since I don't always have the time to browse through as much of these as I'd like. Around half of these I'm very excited for! :)

[@mskfactory1]

Was glad to see Midnight Fight Express in that intro...I really hope a second one comes at some point, brilliant game

[@VerakumGamer]

Loved this type of Video, Please do more like this! I added a lot to my wishlist.

[@themat42]

Love to see the whole SkillUp crew jumping in and contributing! Good for you folks!

[@koko_1989]

That robot one must have been inspired by that Love Death Robots episode!!! Awesome!!!

[@alexlowe2054]

21:05 As a programmer, that's probably pronounced "null pointer", after, you know, null pointers in software development. I'll also throw out a huge recommendation for hacknet, especially the DLC. It's one of the most unique and best experiences I've had in a game. You don't actually need to know programming. It's probably closer to a text adventure game than actual programming. Try any Zacktronics game or just play Factorio if you want something that's essentially programming.

[@marlowencna]

Excellent coverage

[@patellis8904]

Sincerely, thanks for the indie nods in this and in all your videos. Indies are the primary type of game I play, and AAA's are the very very rare exception.

[@r3m1]

Nice format and awesome you guys give more exposure to smaller dev teams

[@petermobius]

Loved hearing the growing Skill Up family on this one! Keep it up boys!

[@gewurzgurke4964]

Great video, love those indie spotlights, one small addition would be to have the name that is being showcased on screen at all times, very heklpful for non native speaker like me that might not get it exactly right on a listen

[@rokktober-personal]

Austin earning his keep with that Armored Corn pun 😂

[@BladefullySwift]

These are some of the best videos you (collectively and getting bigger!) put out on the regular. I just came back to write this comment from being absorbed in Diceomancer for the past hour. It's mostly thanks to ShillUp that my wishlist is 220 games strong!

[@Novagats]

I absolutely LOVE the presentation of this video. You got all the boys in on this one and it made me smile at how far this channel has come since I started following it a few years ago.

[@NightBiscut]

Mullet mad jack seems very much inspired by Post Void, which was a great game.

[@nysiy5360]

Really liked the 4 person preview of the games. Having more people with different tastes was great for a wider overview of different games.

[@lukejones8365]

I loved the music for that skateboarding game! Tommy Tallaricos mother must be very proud.

[@music_YT2023]

I'm super excited about demo weekend! This was a wonderful highlight for a ton of games that also caught my eye.

[@Sieghiro]

I checked out many demos, but Indika, Zet Zillions, Constance, and Pacific Drive were my favorite.

[@reedysk8rboy]

Loved this video, just the gang chatting about games they enjoyed playing. More please

[@BigBoss-kk4sr]

Awesome video, some great picks. Would love it if you could either keep the name of the game on screen or have timestamps with the name as I watch/listen while I work and end up having to scroll through the video to find the name of the one I like the look/sound of to add to my wishlist.

[@anthonyd1682]

+1 to Austin for talking about Rotwood! Was so much fun with friends! Klei never seems to miss

[@PeterWand-rp5vm]

Skill up. Love where you’ve taken your passion from the days of you and Sam sat on a couch and shit canned the industry. Such a great blend of that Australianism and professionalism

[@Paladinbaroque]

Always a joy seeing what indies are cooking up Thanks for giving them some spotlight, was fun to have multiple folks inputting their picks from the team Much love to you all, stay safe and take care folks x

[@AetherKosmos]

Great video, as always guys! I decided to delve into Steam Next Fest as well this year, and make a video about my favorites. Unsuprisingly there's a lot of overlap :D It's good to see so many great games coming out soon. The indie game industry seems to be thriving and that makes me excited for the rest of the year! Also, holy hell, Ultros ...

[@williamedwards4151]

Lightyear Frontier is top of my list. Never realized how much I wanted a mech farming sim.

[@gothicsuperhero]

This video was gold. Good jobs guys loved it

[@Awesm0e]

The Diceomancer art looks amazing

[@electricmiragemedia]

Thank you so much for doing these videos Shill Up, I would never know about these games otherwise.

[@wavypavy4059]

Some of the demos I liked: Kamaeru: a frog refuge. I got the feeling the devs had also been addicted to the mobile game pocket frogs a decade ago, because this had all the frog collecting appeal with a really nice sticker book aesthetic, an idle game eco restoration element, and decorating sim. Dungeon Inn. Really nice visual style and entertaining premise, I found the charisma of this game amazing. The puzzle gameplay was also pretty fun. Aeruta. The english translation on this game was pretty rough, and it definitely didn't have a super high level of polish, but once I got a hang of the combat it was very satisfying to mow through enemies micro optimising for combos and fast kills on each roguelike run to farm materials, then use them to operate the bakery half of the game. Made me feel nostalgic for reasons I couldn't place. If the combat gets more depth than the demo has with eventual weapon choices and extra skills I'll be really excited to play it.

[@johnotron604]

Great video, hard to parse all the games. Wasn't going to try Rotwood but I did cause of this video and it's quite good. Cheers

[@crazy-acid-trip9765]

In an era of live service and half baked games i been loving indie games for years now and these videos are my favorites. You shown too many gems @skill up . Keep them coming and showing some light on some amazing games