Every Indie Shown at Limited Run Games’ Showcase

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Fashionably late to SummerGamesFest, Limited Run Games is a publisher that usually covers re-releases of smaller indie titles and gives them new life in a physical edition. They also sometimes publish quite a few games, ranging from smaller titles from the big guys to indies, that can get their time to shine.

Their showcases usually focus on the more prominent titles they publish, but they also don’t skimp on the surprisingly cool-looking indie titles that occasionally get overshadowed. This year is no different, and while they’ve shown more significant titles like Castlevania and Gex at this showcase, they’ve shown a bunch of indies you should get excited about.

The Presentation at a Glance

While I’m not going to go into detail on the triple-A or bigger budget titles and remakes shown at this presentation, I will give you a quick list of everything announced before I delve further into the indies. Here’s everything that this presentation had to offer:

  • Castlevania Advance Collection, a remake of the GBA Castlevania titles
  • Rise of the Triad Ludicrous Edition, a re-remake of a 90’s DOOM style shooter, in HD
  • Koumajou Remilia Scarlet Symphony, another Metroidvania in the Touhou series
  • Tiger Hell/Twin Cobra, a remake of an M2-developed Shoot-Em-Up
  • The Making of Karateka, a game(?) based on the making of an 80’s classic
  • Ninja Turtles Soundtracks on Vinyl, for some reason
  • Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, remade as a Nintendo Switch exclusive
  • El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron, a remake of an Xbox 360 and PS3 game from Ignition Tokyo
  • Dungeons of Aether is getting a physical edition on Nintendo Switch
  • Shantae Advance is getting released for the first time, a lost-to-time GBA Shantae game
  • Chicory A Colorful Tale is getting a physical release for Switch, PS5, and PS4
  • Odencat’s Paradise Collection is a collection of two games made by Odencat, Bear’s Restaurant and Fishing Paradise, releasing physically on Switch.
  • Arzette: the Jewel of Faramore is a spiritual successor to the Zelda CDi games, releasing on all platforms
  • Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties Definitive Edition is an enhanced version of a 3DO visual novel, releasing on all platforms.
  • This Way Madness Lies, a Sailor Moon-inspired RPG releasing on Switch and PS5 on July 25th
  • Midnight Fight Express, an isometric beat-em-up releasing on PS4 and Switch, physically
  • Colossal Cave is an adventure and exploration game, mostly underground, releasing physically on all platforms.
  • Another Crusade, a Super Mario RPG-inspired turn-based RPG, releasing on PS5, Xbox, and Switch in Fall 2023
  • Rose & Camellia Collection is similar to Punch Out but inspired by Jane Austen and in an Anime style, releasing on Switch in 2023
  • Disney Gargoyles Remastered is a digital version of a board game coming in 2023 to all consoles.
  • Double Shake is inspired by PS1-era mascot platformers and looks similar to Klonoa, coming in 2024 to PS4, PS5, and Switch.
  • Clock Tower is a 90’s point-and-click horror game being rereleased by WayForward outside of Japan for the first time on all platforms.
  • Jurrassic Park Classic Games Collection is a rerelease of all the NES and SNES-era Jurrassic Park games physically on all platforms.
  • Tomba! is a PS1 Metroidvania seeing its first rerelease on Steam, PS5, PS4 and Switch.
  • Gex Trilogy is an insane note to end it on, a remaster of the first 3 PS1 Gex games releasing on all modern platforms.

Indies from the Limited Run Games Presentation

While some of the more significant announcements have caught everyone’s attention, pretty much every indie project shown at this presentation had the potential to be a great title that is worth looking into. Here’s a quick dive into each indie shown in this presentation.

Dungeons of Aether

Image from Aether Studios

Dungeons of Aether is a spinoff of the fighting game Rivals of Aether, and it takes a dungeon-crawling, roguelike approach with a battle system similar to that of Dicey Dungeons. Its main reason for showing up at this presentation was to announce the Nintendo Switch physical edition.

This copy is only available at Limited Run Games and will have preorders open starting July 14th. We don’t know much about it besides being a Nintendo Switch exclusive.

Shantae Advance

WayForward is a super old indie developer, going back to the GameBoy days and remaining indie to this day, and the main series they’re known for is Shantae. Back in the day, after the original GameBoy game, they wanted to make a sequel for the GBA; it got a bunch of work done but never saw the light of day.

Now WayForward and Limited Run Games are working to restore this lost Shantae game on an actual GBA cartridge with link cable support. Definitely, one to check out for any Indie platforming fans or people who already really like Shantae from her previous outings.

Chicory A Colorful Tale

Image from Finji

Like Dungeons of Aether, this trailer announced a physical version of Chicory: A Colorful Tale. This is a chill adventure game where you paint the world around you to solve puzzles or just for the fun of painting things, and it’s getting a physical release on Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PS4.

Odencat’s Paradise Collection

Both games featured in this collection are from Odencat, a small indie developer mainly making mobile games. Bear’s Restaurant is a game about managing a restaurant in the afterlife, and Fishing Paradise is a cutesy fishing simulator on a deserted island. This collection is getting a physical edition on Switch.

Arzette: the Jewel of Faramore

This one is a doozy. So if you’ve been on the internet for long enough, you’ve probably seen memes or edits of the terrible cutscenes from the Zelda games on the Phillips CDi, namely Link the Faces of Evil and Zelda the Wand of Gamelon. These games are regarded as terrible, but some passionate people have brought them to life in this spiritual successor.

They’ve entirely nailed these games’ aesthetic, music, and cutscenes, getting some of the original voice cast and talent from the Zelda games to help add an extra layer of authenticity. It’s coming this year, with a release on Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox, and Steam, presumably a physical release.

Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties Definitive Edition

This project has been previously announced a few times, but it does bear repeating. Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties was the first American-made visual novel and is regarded as one of the worst video games of all time. This edition explores the development history and features James Rolfe, the Angry Video Game Nerd.

You could try and say this isn’t technically an indie title, but considering only about ten people ever worked on the original, I think it still counts. This Definitive Edition with extra content and revamped cinematics releases September 2023 on Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox, and Steam.

This Way Madness Lies

This game reminds me of older Final Fantasy titles but with a layer of extra authenticity and polish that isn’t found in an RPGMaker game. It’s wearing its Sailor Moon inspiration on its sleeve and seems to be half RPG and half Visual Novel, with magical girl transformations and giant monsters to fight.

This game is launching on July 25th for the digital Switch version. A physical edition and a PS5 version are also promised in this trailer, with no concrete date set for either.

Midnight Fight Express

Image from Humble Games

Like Chicory and Dungeons of Aether, this isn’t a trailer for any major content updates for this game but just an announcement of a physical release for Midnight Fight Express, a top-down beat-em-up inspired by John Wick films. The Physical edition is planned to release for PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Colossal Cave

Image from Cygnus Entertainment

Another announcement of a physical release for a game, Colossal Cave is a point-and-click adventure and exploration game that’s been out on most platforms for a while now and is getting physical copies on all platforms it’s released on, namely PS5, PS4, Switch, Steam, and Xbox.

Another Crusade

Another Crusade sets out to be a spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG, much less cool now that there’s an official remake on the horizon, but still very cool to see this party building, isometric style with visuals that look plucked straight out of an adorable diorama that’s sure to satisfy any fans of the original.

This title shows a ton of promise with its medieval setting and very similar gameplay to Super Mario RPG, as well as some great character designs and neat overworld puzzles. It’s releasing for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox in Fall 2023, which is not that far away.

Rose & Camellia Collection

This is described by the presenter as “Punch-Out, but inspired by the works of Jane Austen rather than Mike Tyson,” and while I don’t think that’s the best description, I also don’t have words to describe what this game is. It looks like it’s half anime visual novel and half slap fest with timing like Punch-Out.

It’s a remake of a 2007 flash game set in an old-timey household where you must assert dominance over your opponents by slapping them, becoming queen of the house. This is getting released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2023.

Double Shake

Inspired by a bunch of the late ’90s and early 2000s 2.5D platformers that dominated the PS1, Double Shake is a spiritual successor to Klonoa that brings in much of its unique style and flair. I might be biased, but the quick gameplay and homing attacks remind me of Sonic Rush, which is good.

In this trailer, we see a lot of moving around the 3D environment while still on a 2D plane, including interacting with things in the background by being able to throw objects at them and a ton of other neat little touches that make this my favorite of the presentation. It’s set to release in 2024 on PS5, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Further Reading

If you enjoyed this and want more content on the latest and greatest indies, feel free to check out some of our other articles:

DANGEN Entertainment Announces Three Games Ahead of BitSummit 2023

Cult of the Lamb Interview: A Chat with Massive Monster

Dordogne Review: A Quaint Trip Through the French Landscape

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