As countless games have proven over the years, indie developers aren’t at any disadvantage due to their smaller size whatsoever when it comes to game design and quality. In fact, if anything, it can be an advantage and lead to the kind of creativity and freshness that the AAA space doesn’t have a great deal of. One area where smaller teams and fewer finances and resources do have an undeniable advantage, however, is the visuals- more specifically, the technical side of things. Even so, every so often a smaller independent team comes along and creates something that surprises people, something that looks so good, so technically proficient that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t created by a much, much larger and better funded team. Here, we’ll take a look at ten such games.
A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE
A Plague Tale: Innocence was just a huge surprise hit in every sense of the word, turning out much better than most would have guessed. That stands true for its visuals as well. Environments are excellently crafted and richly detailed, and everything from the lighting to the character models to, of course, the rat swarms looks sharp and crisp. Honestly, the game looks so good that it almost feels like an indie equivalent of a Naughty Dog game. It’s hard not to be excited about what its upcoming sequel could end up achieving.
