Why you NEED to play these new Indie Games in 2024

I have played a few indie games recently in 2024 that have just absolutely blown me away! Sanabi came out last year, Bo Path of the teal lotus releases next month and Nine Sons released last week and I have not stopped thinking about these games. In this video I go over why all of these should be on your MUST PLAY list
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:13 Bo Path of the Teal Lotus
2:53 Sanabi
5:36 Nine Sols
#indiegames #ninesols #metroidvania

[@adiveler]

Just a 2 corrections regardless Nine Sols: - imperfect parry doesn't damage you directly, rather give you an internal damage, a temporary red line that if you manage not to get hit (or get more imperfect parries), will get filled over time. But if you get hit, your health would get subtract from that internal damage + the original damage you've got. - further in the game, you actually unlock the ability to fast travel from the main hub to any point, and not just the last one.

[@dodgy4518]

Yeah Nine Sols is getting totally slept on, honestly deserves just as much praise as Hollow Knight got back in its day

[@unoviverseyt]

yes i am waiting on the fan animations and the lady ethereal r34 cus thats inevitable with the amount of jiggle physics they ave her

[@Caketurtle7]

@@unoviverseyt☹️

[@unoviverseyt]

@@Caketurtle7 it has to happen man.

[@Maplefoxx-vl2ew]

how is nine sols on the gpu? Bo ran pretty hot on mine and i play tons of games that do not , i found that very odd , maybe bo's backgrounds are not optimized well

[@l284l]

​@@Maplefoxx-vl2ewi mean it's 2D game so it should run on pretty much any system?

[@ryuji2877]

Nine Sols just hit me ! The game is so good with a lot of different mechanique and a variety of situation. Just finish the fight against Jiequan and it was just fantastic.

[@josephallen3978]

Sanabi is so slept on, it's amazing. And I just finished Nine Sols also, really great boss fights!

[@nisiwilli]

Great review! Nine Sols is my indie goty so far, its so good wish it gets more attention.

[@jacobmstevens]

Literally it is SO good man 🔥🔥 Glad to see people are enjoying it 😁

[@LEGOpizzaguyjoe]

Its my goty

[@jurtheorc8117]

Not my game of the year, but i do hope alongside you that it will get more known. Alongside stuff like Blud, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, Soulstice, No Straight Roads, Immortal and the Death that Follows, Loco Motive, The Mermaid Mask, and some others. Also Cookie Cutter! Really awesomely 2D hand animated Metroidvania from late 2023. It's got a tone that has pushed people away, which it did for me initially as well, but i got more intrigued by it as time went on. It's the lead dev's baby so to speak, and to that end he is very quick with feedback and wanting to fix and improve stuff as soon as possible. Recently got the news that they're confirmed to work on new content for the game and the dev has teased stuff like new characters, enemies, areas, weapons, a battle arena, story beats and more. Won't be as phenomenal as Nine Sols but it's a solid game. Not many settings consisting of a sci-fi planet where the likes of mystically attuned androids, chunky toad mutants, an angry waitress with a chainsaw, an amorous skeleton robot with an afro and a big Hindu demon with a belly mouth exist alongside each other.

[@michaelhalterman8144]

I thought it was better than Hollow Knight to be honest

[@Th3MrHaCe]

Played sanabi past few days thanks to you And holy f dude, wish this game get some adaptation

[@DoctorWasabi96]

Sannabi is truly a gem. I know a lot of people just want solid gameplay and think of the story as an afterthought or secondary, but I'm not in that same boat. Story is paramount for a videogame to reach legendary status for me. A game can have the best combat ever ( ie stuff like Hollow Knight, and Sekiro ) however when they have a mediocre narrative experience, they will only ever be good games, not stellar games. Sannabi is one of the few games where it had me crying my eyes out, and I deeply value it for being able to get that emotion out of me.

[@purevessel8934]

Hollow knight has a great story

[@DoctorWasabi96]

@@purevessel8934 I'm aware Hollow Knight has layers to its story, but just like Dark Souls, it basically requires you to go beyond the scope of just playing the game, and to watch lore videos and such. IMO that's not how you do a good story within a videogame. It should present most of the information to the audience clearly while also having a degree of ambiguity /mystery/symbolism to it.

[@kubominero7939]

SANABI MENTIONED !!!! Just finished the game earlier and would definitely recommend 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@fyrebirdmc5302]

You will be glad to find out that later in nine sols u will be able to teleport. I love how nine sols gives enough time to get annoyed abt something but then gives a solution

[@raulperdomodominguez2078]

Nine sols is soooo good. I just finished it last night (I learned of it in one of your videos). Just please make sure to do absolutely all side content so you can get the real ending. Thanks for this kind of videos, i would have missed this gem of a game without them.

[@jacobmstevens]

Oh man thats awesome!! And absolutely will do thank you for the recommendation 😁 I appreciate the kind words!!

[@PorValis]

I've heard a bit about Nine Sols prior but haven't had the chance to play it. Im definitely going to check this one and Sanabi out. Thank you for bringing these indie games to light! We need more creators talking about smaller games that dont get advertised nearly as much but deserve so much more support!

[@jacobmstevens]

Thank you so much for the kind words!! 😁 But absolutely enjoy Nine Sols!! I love talking about smaller games and sharing it with people!!

[@falcon9213]

For your point about fast travelling to any save point in Nine Sols, you do get this ability later on in progression which makes clearing out maps for 100% much nicer at least. Just in case this was a point of issue for anyone who saw this, don't worry and definitely try the game, you won't regret it

[@jacobmstevens]

Oh awesome!! SO glad to hear this!!

[@DrEcho]

Sanabi fucking slaps. It was a surprise late goty 23 for me

[@jacobmstevens]

It is SO good man!! 🔥🔥

[@jurtheorc8117]

Can heartily recommend Clash: Artifacts of Chaos as well. From early 2023 rather than late 2023, but it would definitely have been a good contender-- or at *least* a solid one.

[@user-sw6ys9fy9g]

Sanabi!!!!!!! YES

[@KWandles]

Will be checking out 2 of these for sure. Nine sols looks mega cool, and bo looks like a ton of fun as well

[@jacobmstevens]

Awesome!! I really hope you enjoy!! 😁

[@FaisLittleWhiteRaven]

As someone already interested in Nine Sols and very much a fan of story, adding Sanabi to my wishlist right away. Thanks for the suggestion (Bo I've been looking at but might wait a little longer still. High hopes for it though) And er, I don't go here normally so I've got no clue if you have any interest in games outside of platformers but as a fellow indie fan feel the need to rec two of my recent favs: Slay The Princess: an oddly romantic horror visual novel one can find themselves playing over and over and over looking for more endings. and In Stars and Time: a psychologically (and dialogue) heavy RPG about a rogue named Siffrin finding themself stuck in a timeloop the day before his adventure party are meant to take down the King, the final boss of their adventure Both have great stories though not to everyone's tastes and er, idk if their gameplay is your thing but would highly recommend looking up their advertisements if nothing else and... *waves the GO INDIE GAMES flag proudly before running away again* XD

[@mic01851165]

You can fast travel at mid point of story in Nine Sols. Keep playing.

[@crunchyoghurt]

YESS sanabi is so good

[@SichillisR6]

your game suggestions are always crazy good

[@jacobmstevens]

Thank you so much man that means a ton!! 😁

[@ashxarya4294]

Great video! For Nine Sols - fast travel is something you'll unlock eventually!

[@jacobmstevens]

Thank you man! And oh amazing I am glad to hear that!

[@walnut9066]

You got to keep this series up! I would love to keep seeing your recommendations. I'll definitely check out Sanabi and Nine Sols whenever I get the chance. I'm also excited to see your overall top ten list

[@jacobmstevens]

Thank you so much man I really appreciate that a lot!! 😁 I will absolutely keep these up, I love indie games it's just so easy to talk about! And let me know how you like them when you try it!!

[@jusstadude]

Nine sols on toppp!

[@SierenH]

😊wanna play Bo the path of the Teal Lotus ! BEAUTIFUL!! Sanami and 9 sols too! I useally dont like side scrollers but these look great

[@wardengriffin6509]

totally agree but, dont forget too : DEVIATOR /AKATORI / MINISHOOT' ADVENTURES /OBLIVION OVERRIDE / BIOGUN / kraino rebirth / savior / getsufumaden : undying moon highly recommended all of them

[@jacobmstevens]

I'm gonna make a video playing all the indie games recommended here so I will add these for sure!!

[@Khalil-Ibrahim21]

You've killed it with this video! Nice job..my backlog is growing and growing

[@jacobmstevens]

Thank you so much man 😁

[@Divinithrea]

Can't wait for bo path of the teal lotus

[@guimi7336]

Damn I've never heard of any of theses games it's crazy. It's not really my type of games but i'm happy you share them, they just look awesome. I can't believe those are indies developed by a small team wow

[@jairdinh7563]

Nine sols easily puts itself close to hollow knights calibre of game and currently my favorite combat system in any metroidvania period.

[@sebastianzarek7056]

Didn't watch anything about Nine Sols as it's on my radar currently, but a guy I know first said it's a worse hollow knight clone, and now after finishing the game he said: "I'm putting it as high as hollow knight, or even higher". Didn't play the game (Yet) but that's some VERY brave words to say.

[@theresnothinghere1745]

Honestly I would refrain from comparing it to hollow knight because while they are in the same genre they play very very differently. HK is built from a rather simplistic combat system that works well with the exploration and plataforming aspects of the game. Nine Sols is much more focused on the combat aspect with the plataforming and exploration (and the world in general) being less developed than HK's. While they share some similarities I feel that they scratch very different itches to the point I can see how someone that might enjoy one would dislike the other. I wouldn't recommend Nine Sols if someone was looking for a pure metroidvania those aspects are on its weaker end compared to its strengths.

[@etano_luna]

Nine Sols is my personal best of this year, playing it on my channel now as well It’s just very very good

[@jacobmstevens]

Oh fantastic!! Just checked out your video and glad you're enjoying it!! 😊 Literally is my favorite game I played this year for sure!

[@etano_luna]

@@jacobmstevens glad to meet a fellow appreciator 🫶

[@abdimusa2177]

Nine sons is crazy

[@michaelchen2]

Nine sols❤

[@juleksz.5785]

I remember how months (years?) ago i was thrilled at Nine Sols showcase, and it kinda stang me when I noticed I missed it's premiere, game's definetly 11/10 for me so far :P

[@fw_gamer2777]

gonna check out Nine Sols sometime definitely, its probably the next game I get.

[@insidejoke2483]

Nine sols was absolutely amazing. Its right up there with Hollow Knight for me

[@thedarethnator2216]

I am so excited for Bo and the path of the teal lotus but I’ll have to wait for it to come to Xbox or playstation

[@Soooooooooooonicable]

Yeah, this game is grossly underrated. It deserves way more recognition. (Nine Sols)

[@Tophymaster]

Tiny Spoiler of Nine Sols: At some point you can fast travel from your base to any safepoint.

[@floweyxd2744]

Nine sols is definitely a greate game.

[@Maplefoxx-vl2ew]

Bo was kinda hard on my gpu while streaming using OBS, but is a fun game. I tried the demo yesterday. took my gpu temp up to 65C.. normally games only bring me into the 40s for temperature.. what is up with that? it's just a 2d game, maybe the backgrounds? or animations fx? i can't tell. i'm still learning game dev but i'm only doing pixel art so yea. different world

[@brlin]

Regarding the Stean Deck(Steam Play/Proton) compatibility as I beta tester player I'm proud to say there should be no issues running on this platform throughout the game. AFAICT the devs are also looking into making it Steam-certified.

[@codythekid1151]

I feel bad for people that love dark souls games, but have no idea how good a boss battle in a really good 2-D game can be. I played all the megaMan X games when I was younger, and when hollow Knight came out, I was in heaven. Of these three only played Sanabi so far but I will definitely check the other two out. Honestly, there are so many good games coming out all the time. I don’t even know where to start. People that think there are no good games these days have no idea what’s really going on

[@jabbawookeez01]

havent gotten nine sol, but i already know im getting bo cause i backed it on kickstarter. 🤔

[@iamkurogane]

Hi Jacob question for you. Would you say Nine Sols is platforming heavy? I loved Hollow Knight’s combat but I’m terrible at platforming

[@jacobmstevens]

Hey man!! I wouldn't say it's crazy platform heavy! There is one section which may be a little harder but nothing crazy 😁 Mainly combat focused!

[@iamkurogane]

Sounds awesome thank you for responding! I really do enjoy the combat so far and it’s good to it’s not too platforming heavy

[@jacobmstevens]

@@iamkurogane Awesome man! No problem dude really hope you enjoy!!

[@trassage]

What I find odd about the reviews of Bo is that everyone compared the game to Hollow Knight. And in my opinion that's not true at all. What Bo borrows from HK is the UI and the healing mechanic. Well, maybe some visual similarity. But the gameplay borrows heavily from Ori. The WIll of the Wisps to be more precise. Having a staff for fighting - check. The gameplay that allows you to stay in the air for long - check. Catching and redirecting projectiles - that is one of the key mechanics of Ori. Giant enemies in the background? I know where I've seen that before. Correct - Ori) Give Ori some credit, people, the game totally deserves to be mentioned and replayed

[@mrgriboman371]

Nah, I played the demo and it feels nothing like Ori. It's a Hollow Knight's rip-off from top to bottom. The only differences I've noticed were: 1. As you pointed out, being able to stay mid-air while hitting enemies (can't say its Ori's thing, it's pretty common in this genre). 2. As you also pointed out, reflecting projectiles. Maybe they drew inspiration from Ori but it's different and much less satisfying, since it doesn't move the protagonist. 3. Hitting something in the air recharges your jump. Just a cloud step from the Messenger, honestly. That's all. But the amount of things that ARE like Hollow Knight are crazy. The attack, although we use a staff, it doesn't matter, it feels like a Hollow Knight's nail and it even has similar animation. Healing is just an absolute copy of HK, the magic (don't remember what they called it in Bō) is literally a spirit from HK with different sprite. The dash feels exactly like the one from HK, and again has a very similar animation. The amulets' system is from HK. (Yes, Ori had shards, but they worked differently. The amulets in Bō work exactly like in HK).

[@George-sn3bt]

Wow this games are pretty cool 😎 ,but you spent 10 minutes recommending a bunch of indie games so now im gonna do the same, you NEED to play gravity circuit its a game like mega man but instead of shooting guys you get up close and personal and punch them you also have a grapple hook that you can use to grab enemies and throw them at other enemies doing so will insta kill most enemies and then you can grab the enemy you just killed and the cycle continues also there are special moves that you can buy at a shop theres like 20 of em and you can assign them to a directional input also you can buy booster chips that are basically hollow knight charms if you still arent sold i dont know what to tell you

[@flippystudios7933]

I'm so unbelievably tired of souls combat mechanics. I really want to enjoy nine sols but it's just so depressing.

[@retiredshubh]

Nine Sols had me hyped for some solid Metroidvania action, but man, it just didn't click for me. The map design felt convoluted, the levels lacked that sense of discovery and intrigue, and the enemy variety? Meh. It's like they took the 'vania' out of Metroidvania. Sure, the combat was a blast, but when everything else feels lackluster, it's hard to fully enjoy it. Props to the artstyle and animations though, they were spot on. Overall, Nine Sols didn't live up to my expectations. It's a decent game, but as far as Metroidvanias go, it falls short.

[@jacobmstevens]

Dang dude I hate to hear that! I have been having a blast. The Bosses and combat are definitely the highlight

[@banuner_]

I just think Nine Sols is a bit overpriced. I mean naturally its going to be compared to Hollow Knight and that game is only $15 and goes on sale often and also has a ton of content. Edit: Hollow Knight was underpriced though imo so do with that what you will.

[@Homophonic]

I've been pushing through it and I can confirm the story and gameplay definitely goes places by the 4th and 5th sols lol

[@wisemanj2934]

​@@banuner_ hollow knight was far from being this big when it first.came.out.

[@banuner_]

@@wisemanj2934 i mean yeah? The game is still only $15 compared to the $25 they are asking for here.

[@ArtyomVoinov]

Let's hope Bo is better than Sanabi and Nine Sols.

[@ibdoomed]

Nine Sols has unskippable cutscenes. Obviously boycotting.

[@LemonadeSoft]

Hi! We want to invite you to discover "Enkhirydion", our new indie metroidvania. We would love a review from you.