July is upon us and with it comes not only the best indie games releasing in July, but also the oppressive heat and humidity that some weirdos claim to love. Not us though, you can find us in a dark room praying for rain and tweeting about how horrific it is to be too warm. You’ll also find us getting stuck into the best indie games in July because why wouldn’t we be? Seriously, have you seen what we’re getting this month?
Oh right, maybe you haven’t but that’s only because you’re still reading this intro (and bless you for that) instead of jumping into the list of the best July indie games below. We’ve gone ahead and picked out our seven favourites from the upcoming releases and made a good argument for all of them. So, let’s go ahead and get stuck in. Treat yourself to an ice cream while you’re reading too, you deserve it.
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals – 12th
Oxenfree is one of those indie games that sort of transcends the indie label to be way more popular than even some AAA games. It’s no surprise that Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a game worth looking forward to. This game takes place five years after the original game, and you have to return to Camena to investigate some strange radio signals, and we’re sure everything will be fine.
Battle Bows – 13th
Battle Bows is a virtual reality game where you and a few other friends can become the towers in a tower defence battle. You each get to choose an arrow type to command and then you get to loose your bow at every weird and wonderful enemy that comes at you. It’s got a solo mode too, but we reckon the co-op mode is where this one is going to shine.
Jagged Alliance 3 – 14th
If your idea of fun is hiring mercenaries and taking them out across a country where the president has gone missing, and a paramilitary group is staging a coup, then good news, Jagged Alliance 3 has you covered. You have to guide a group through battle after turn-based battle in order to try and save the country of Grand Chien, and you get to loot and salvage what you can after each battle to upgrade your troops. It looks like a huge amount of fun, and is sure to be a good shout for tactic-fiends.
Viewfinder – 18th
Viewfinder looks a lot like it could be the next Portal. That sounds really reductive and annoying, but seriously, it’s true. This game has you taking photos to solve puzzles, and then you can place those photos in the real world, and either create new paths using them, or pull boxes you may need out of them, and so much more. It’s a cool concept, and we’re excited to see how it all comes together.
From Madness With Love – 18th
Dating sims still get a bad rap as not being “real games,” and we’re sick of it. The genre has been evolving in fascinating ways in recent years, and From Madness With Love looks like an excellent example of that. This game has you playing as someone who’s just transferred to a new private school for rich kids, but only because your last school was blown up. You have to navigate the intricacies of social class to try and woo some of those at the academy. It sounds like a cool concept, but things get really interesting if you scroll down the Steam page a bit because it also warns that it contains a lot of stuff that most people wouldn’t expect from a dating sim.
Remnant II – 25th
Remnant II is pushing the limit of being an indie, we know, but also, shut up. Remnant II is the follow-up to the colossally underrated Remnant: From the Ashes, which was a third-person-shooter Soulslike with just a little bit of roguelike energy sprinkled in. It was also absolutely sublime in terms of gameplay, story, and the scale of the boss battles. Remnant II looks to build upon all of that with a more fully-formed class system, while still retaining the co-op gameplay and excellent gunplay that made the original so enticing.
Rightfully, Beary Arms – 27th
Rightfully, Beary Arms is a cute-looking game with a cute name, but it’s actually a bullet hell, so strap in. This roguelite has you collecting loot, choosing enemy upgrades as well as your own, and carefully working your way through dungeons seeking victory. Enemies have their own factions too, which makes them easier to categorise, but you’ll need a bit of luck as well as strong strategy and good reflexes to survive this game.
