Nowadays, the gaming world is home to a wider array of quality titles than at any prior point in its history. From landmark triple-A productions, to the rise of indie art-house masterpieces, there has never been a better time to explore all the industry has to offer.
While major studios continue to crank out solid games on a tight turnaround – from the Assassin’s Creed franchise, to Call of Duty – certain developers are looking to make the most of advancements in game design and technology to push the limits of what can be achieved.
Below we’re going to take a look at some key games that, in their bold design, innovative mechanics and captivating storylines, continue to redefine the way critics and gamers alike think of this burgeoning art-form.
Underworld Escapades
There’s no escaping the fact that there has been a consistent trend towards ever larger game productions in the industry over the past decade. By and large, mid-budget games are a thing of the past, with most new titles either occupying the ‘triple-A’ blockbuster category, or being the product of small indie ventures.
Of late, games like Red Dead Redemption II and Cyberpunk 2077 have broken records and set new standards in terms of production time, budgets and scale – with admittedly impressive results. But in this world of Goliaths, a David seldom comes along to topple these major titles.
Yet that is precisely what Supergiant Games achieved with their 2020 break-out hit, Hades. This small San Francisco-based developer has been churning out a series of impressive and highly rated indie games in recent years including Bastion and Transistor, yet the success they enjoyed with Hades took everyone by surprise.
This innovative rogue-like title made a deep impression, and beat out major titles like The Last of Us II to win awards and accolades – a testament to its compelling gameplay and innovative design.
Digital Slot Delicatessen
Slots games are one of the longest lived genres still popular today, with their roots tracing all the way back to mechanical fruit machines of the late 19th century. Yet modern online slots have gone far beyond what even the best brick-and-mortar counterparts have achieved thanks to the unlimited facility to creativity and design afforded by their digital format.
To see the very best of what these games can achieve today, one need look no further than developer Pragmatic Play’s modern genre icon, Sweet Bonanza – a solid saccharine thriller of a one armed-bandit.
Whereas some digital slots adopt a ‘kitchen sink’ approach of shipping with a plethora of unique features and bonus modes, Sweet Bonanza instead successfully sets itself apart by nailing the fundamentals with aplomb.
Its 6 reel, 5 payline configuration creates a range of strategic options for players to pursue, all further backed up by a well integrated free spin bonus round that combines accessibility with replay value in such a way that it has emerged as one of the leading lights of the modern slot revolution.
Open Worlds and Hard Knocks
FromSoftware Inc. have attained semi-legendary status in the modern gaming scene thanks to their slew of brutally challenging and gritty fantasy themed third person combat games, with their beloved Dark Souls franchise even lending its name to the micro-genre they helped forge. Now you can find a number of studios churning out ‘Souls-likes’, though few can hold a candle to the Japanese group’s output.
Accordingly, when FromSoftware Inc. announced they had begun working on a true open world fantasy game of the ilk of Skyrim – and that Game of Thrones’ author George R R Martin had been brought on board as ‘worldbuilding advisor’, expectations were naturally sky high.
That what would eventually come to be known as Elden Ring successfully lived up to this hype is nothing less than extraordinary. Not only did it stand on its own feet as a solid open world RPG, but it managed to successfully translate the ‘Souls-like’ ethos – which traditionally relied on rather formulaic and directed level design to this new context – is remarkable.
Alongside God of War Ragnarök, Elden Ring absolutely swept 2022’s various industry awards ceremonies, picking up numerous Game of the Year accolades, and even fittingly winning the The Steam Awards’ ‘Best Game You Suck At’ prize.
