There’s a lot of beloved genres out there. From high fantasy and superheroes to more gritty, realistic settings. But one genre that holds a special place for many gamers is dystopian and cyberpunk settings.It’s easy to get lost in these futuristic worlds. They typically feature grand stories, interesting worlds, and often even make you think about your own world and what the future may hold.
Speaking of the future, we’re starting to see glimpses of futuristic things now, like virtual events that are being hosted all over the world, and how they continue to become more commonplace.
With the virtual gaming convention at Gamescom underway, GOG.COM is part of the
Indie Arena Booth Online, so we thought it would be a great time to look at some futuristic and dystopian indie games!
Star Renegades
If you like to work your brain out and love toppling galactic empires, look no further than
Star Renegades.
Using a turn-based fighting system and a variety of party members, you’ll battle a plethora of AI-driven adversaries. Use a variety of skills, combos, and interrupts to make sure your party stays healthy while you explore an awesome sci-fi world and story.
The game has a unique art style and is a roguelite which means each playthrough will be different than the one before it.
VirtuaVerse
If classic point-and-click is more your style,
VirtuaVerse has a lot to offer. This title from Theta Division offers an engaging story and challenging puzzles for your character, a smuggler, who is rebelling against an AI-controlled society.
You’ll meet hacker gangs, technomancers, virtual shamans, and more as you explore both the “real” world and the virtual world. If you love cyberpunk themes and art, the pixelated world presented in VirtuaVerse is sure to be right up your alley.
FAR: Lone Sails
If you prefer your dystopian games a little more...bare,
FAR: Lone Sails is worth checking out. This game has you exploring a vast, dried-up seabed in search for answers about your people. You’ll spend your time in your unique landship, making repairs, exploring ruins, and navigating a variety of obstacles.
As you come across more of these ruins, you’ll learn more about your people, their civilization, and what led them to flee. This title, with its low-impact, highly stylish game, is one that you can easily get lost in for hours at a time.
LOST EMBER
So, we’ve already explored a variety of interesting worlds through the eyes of a human, but what if you want a more unique take on experiencing a futuristic world in peril? That’s where LOST EMBER comes in.
In
LOST EMBER, you’ll take on the role of a variety of animals in an adventure game that explores what happens when mankind falls and nature starts to reclaim the world. You play as a wolf, but unlike the wolves you are familiar with, this wolf can possess other animals and experience what they experience. This means you could fly high as a bird or explore the depths of the ocean, the world is yours to explore.
Get lost in a beautiful, thought-out world and spend some time contemplating your own existence in this surreal title.
Orwell series
The final games on our list completely flip the script on “typical” dystopian future games. In
the first Orwell and
Orwell: Ignorance is Strength, you actually play as Big Brother. Are you up for the challenge?
In this series, your choices are everything and you’ll find yourself having to make difficult decisions as you assist a nation in helping them discover who is behind a series of terrorist attacks. You’ll be equipped with all the tools needed to spy on citizens as you learn more about them and decide their fate.
If you want games that make you think about our current world, and how to properly balance freedom and liberty, the Orwell series will grab and hold your attention throughout the entire game.
There you have it, five awesome titles that explore a variety of cyberpunk and dystopian worlds. Whether you like games that focus on choice, story, or exploration, there’s a title here that you’re sure to love.
What do you think? What are some of your favorite dystopian indie titles? Let us know down in the comments! 