TOP 6 Best Upcoming 2D Action Platformer Indie Games of 2022

by Nitemare / Lists, Articles / 21 Jan 2022

At this rate, indie games are going to be taking over the gaming industry. With so many small developers releasing games themselves, usually through Steam, the indie scene feels a bit saturated. So many games are released, and a lot of them aren’t good. They are mostly copies of other games trying to make a quick buck. Sometimes it is hard to pick out the indie games that are worth your time. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the following list should help you a bit.

Not only will this list focus on upcoming indie games, but it will focus on the action-platforming genre. This genre has been on the comeback, and we have the indie scene to thank for that. So, let’s get the ball rolling with the first game on the list.

Have a Nice Death

Have a Nice Death is a fast-paced 2D action-platformer rogue-like game. That’s a mouthful. Anyway, you play as the Grim Reaper himself trying to regain control of his employees, who have run rampant and messing up his plans. If this plot sounds weird and goofy to you, then you would be correct. Have a Nice Death is set in a whimsical world. The top-notch art style helps emphasize this cartoon-like and stylized world. This game will surely interest you if are a fan of Hades or the Ori series. With the gameplay also showing hints of Shovel Knight, this game is shaping up to be something familiar but beautiful and entertaining.

You can expect to play as Death in Have a Nice Death in March when it enters early access on Steam. So far, Steam is the only platform it seems to be coming out for.

Hammer Kid

Hammer Kid is a 16-bit pixel-art action-platformer adventure game. You play as a kid, armed with only a hammer. Hence, the name Hammer Kid. The game looks to pull at the nostalgia strings and bring back the fondest memories of pixel art-based games from the 80s and 90s. Based on the gameplay shown, it looks to be a mixture of multiple games old-school games. Games like Mario, Contra, Mega Man, and Earthworm Jim. With 40 handcrafted levels and a nostalgic soundtrack, there is a lot to look forward to.

Hammer Kid has a release date of January 22, 2022, for Nintendo Switch and March 1, 2022, for Steam.

Cogen: Sword of Rewind

What happens when you replace Mega Man with a sword-wielding chick with the ability to rewind time? You get Cogen: Sword of Rewind. In this fast-paced 2D action-platformer, players play as Kohaku. The main mechanic is the ability to rewind up to 3 seconds before. When death is but one strike away, this ability will be proven useful. Cogen: Sword of Rewind is all about trial and error. Figuring out how to get past traps and learning enemies’ attacks is what makes the game unique.

Cogen: Sword of Rewind is coming out for all major platforms on January 26, 2022.

Planet of Lana

First shown during The Game Awards 2021, Planet of Lana is a 2D hand-painted puzzle adventure game. Planet of Lana looks to be very similar to Limbo and Inside. However, the art style is much more vibrant and colorful. While Limbo and Inside featured mostly black and gray environments, Planet of Lana has a visually stunning color palette. The story stretches centuries as you work to outwit robots and giant monsters and solve puzzles in a sci-fi setting.

Currently, it has a planned release sometime this year on Xbox systems and PC.

Berserk Boy

If you are looking for a game that is a love letter to Mega Man and Sonic. Then look no further. Berserk Boy seems to have it covered, from the speed to the stance switching. The game is set in the distant future in a place called New Hope City, which resembles the opening city in Mega Man X. Kei, the main character, also has the ability to go into different Berserk forms: Lightning, Fire, Earth, Air, and Ice. Much like Mega Man, using these different forms will create a fun and dynamic combat system.

Berserk Boy comes out sometime this year on all major platforms. However, there is a PC demo available if you want to give it a try.

Brave Earth: Prologue

Brave Earth: Prologue is a challenging 8-bit 2D action-platformer. Being heavily influenced by Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden, Brave Earth: Prologue, there are a lot of similarities. That’s not a bad thing because the game takes the best of those games while creating its own challenges and unique take on the genre. Brave Earth: Prologue has three playable characters with their own diverse abilities. While the developer had started this game out as a side project, it turned into a full game that took years to make.

Brave Earth: Prologue currently has no release date and is releasing only on PC at the moment.

Conclusion

There you have the top 6 best upcoming action-platformer indie games. With so many indie action and platforming games releasing, they are bound to be a few gems. I hope this list has given you those gems. There’s no need to go looking for the needles in the haystack; I found them for you. With most of the games releasing sometime this year, it is looking good for indie games and fans of them.

Nitemare

I am a gamer by day and by night. I started out writing game reviews for small online forums as a hobby way back in 2005. Since then, I have grown my knowledge for writing and gaming to continue my journey into something more.
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