See all responses to this article (1)

Home | List | PC | Buildings Have Feelings Too

By Caty McCarthy

Features Editor

03/25/2019

Another Game Developers Conference has come and gone, which means we played a staggering amount ofvideo games big and small all week long. For the time being, we'd like to focus on the smaller stuff. The games puton display on the expo floor, in behind-closed-doors demos, from developers' laptops and phones in Yerba BuenaPark. The great thing about GDC 2019 is that there's a lot of games basically everywhere you look, even when youdon't expect it.

GDC 2019 was no exception for cool, promising games. It was such a packed week that I even missed out on playinggames like the newly announced Rad from Double Fine that was on display at Day of the Devs in the latter half of theweek, and Void Bastards, which practically everyone I talked to was buzzing about. I suppose the problem with abusy week running around a conference playing games, attending talks, and chatting with developers means youcan't do everything.

Regardless, the following are the indies that stuck out in my mind long after I played them in the past week. Most areshooting for release in 2019, while others have yet to announce a date at all. Some may never even release! Still,these were the best indies I played at GDC 2019.

Buildings Have Feelings Too

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC Release Date: 2019

Buildings Have Feeling Feelings Too is a city management simulation with a bonus touch: the buildings themselvesare sentient and have their own emotions to reckon with. Rather than keeping your citizens happy, your job is tomake sure your buildings are pleased. Some buildings get along, others don't, and managing what buildings are closeto one another while theorizing the entire town is a complicated task.

The art style itself is cute too, with its Belfast-set town (which will vary to different locales too) bearing heavyinspiration. The Belfast-inspiration makes sense too, as it's where developers Blackstaff Games are from. Adeveloper on the project told me that inspiration for the game came from walking around cities and admiring thecharacter that's in architecture all around. It's easy to see in the happy (and unhappy) buildings that populate thecute management sim of Buildings Have Feelings Too.

Heaven's Vault

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC Release Date: Spring 2019

It's been five years since 80 Days shattered conventions for narrative driven games, taking players on a rousingjourney across the entire world. Since then, developer Inkle has released two more entries in the Sorcery!, a text-graphic adventure series that ended with its fourth part in 2016. Heaven's Vault is something different entirely: anarchaeological adventure game about deciphering ancient languages.

Visually, it's pretty unique too. While stitching together glyphs of a long-forgotten language, you may be distracted bythe hand-drawn 2D art, kind of reminiscent of comics, overlaid with the 3D environments you navigate as AliyaElasra. In true Inkle fashion, the story twists and turns according to the most minute decisions you make,whether it's in choosing to trust characters you make or the detours you make on your journey investigating ancientcivilizations.

Hellcouch: A Couch Co-Op Game

Platforms: A Couch Release Date: Touring

Okay, Hellcouch isn't something that will be coming to an Ikea near you, butit should. Constructed by Carol Mertz and Francesca Carletto-Leon,Hellcouch is a literal couch co-op game where yourself and two other peoplework together to release a demon who has haunted a couch. To do so, youuse your butt, standing up and down as an LED strip of lights in front of youbids you. When you successfully exorcise the demon, smoke emits from thecouch. Leading you on the journey is a Haunted Mansion-like narrator, whichmakes it feel almost like a Disneyland ride. At GDC 2019's Alt.Ctrl.GDC areathis year, Hellcouch was a sight to behold.

I'm off to mod my couch to freak out my roommates now!

Need 4 + E9 Speed

Platforms: PC Release Date: TBD

Need 4 + E9 Speed is simple when you think of it. It's for up to four players, and you drive around a shiny white space.Somehow, it captivated my friend and I for a solid 10 minutes, as we honked and drove our pristine cars off bigjumps, watching them glitch into the space of nothingness. It was originally made by developers Kalonica Quigley andJason Bakker for Arty After Party 2018, but was on display at this year's Mild Rumpus in the quiet third floor of theMoscone Center where GDC 2019 was partially held. Need 4 + E9 Speed proved to be a welcome respite, away fromthe crowds, soundtracked by my own joyous laughter.

Neo Cab

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC Release Date: 2019

My favorite part of taking Lyft and Uber rides is hearing my driver's stories; and I'm sure vice versa, for them it'shearing stories from the people they drive around. I remember these sort of confessional rides fondly. Neo Cab, agame about being a human cab driver in a future where taxis are automated, feels immediately familiar. Heck, in anera where I roll into a city like Las Vegas and immediately get notifications of self-driving car Lyft rides, it's might aswell be set in the present day.

Developed by Chance Agency and featuring writing from the likes of Leigh Alexander and Bruno Dias, in Neo Cab, notwo playthroughs are the same. Across the futuristic city of Los Ojos, you dictate which riders to pick up, makeconversational decisions in talking to them according to your mental health (if you're in a good or bad mood, you getdifferent conversation options). The developers even did immense research on mental health, the gig economy, andthe trials and tribulations of rideshares to get every detail right. Your playthrough in the hyper-stylized world will bedifferent for each route, with every sentence uttered.

Overland

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS Release Date: Fall 2019

I've heard about Overland for a long time. From people I know all-in on its early access on itch.io, or just in seeing itsentrancing GIFs on Twitter. It's been described a lot as XCOM meets The Road, and after playing its newlyannounced Nintendo Switch version at this year's GDC, I'd say that's pretty apt.

Within little dioramas, you direct a party of characters (most of whom you recruit after rescuing them from varioussituations) as they scavenge for supplies, fuel up their vehicle, and avoid scary monsters. It even has a photo mode,which is excellent for its picturesque aesthetic. During my demo, I even stumbled upon something special for itsNintendo Switch release: in one of the randomly generated character bios for a comrade, it listed that his uncleworked at Nintendo. We'll see if more Nintendo-related surprises await when Overland leaves early access, andlaunches officially on pretty much everywhere later this year.

Sloppy Forgeries

Platforms: PC Release Date: TBD

Sloppy Forgeries from developer Jonah Warren feels destined to be a big party game. In it, you and another playermust plagiarize a great artistic work, like Edvard Munch's "The Scream," or Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night." Butthere's a complication: your artistic tools amount to a few sizes of paint brushes and colors, and you have a limitedamount of time to create your masterpiece. You're judged on your work of art by an unknown metric, withpercentages tallying up how accurate you are to the classic artwork you're seeking to emulate. It's a lot of fun, and Ican't wait to see what other works of art pop up in it.

Table44

Platforms: A Table Release Date: Touring

I wish every barcade I've ever gone too had Table44. Another unique gameposted up at the Alt.Ctrl.GDC area, Table44 is a small round table with atouchscreen tabletop and LED lights that shoot around its corners. Oh yeah,and a big pole in the middle of it. A bunch of players stand all around it, andtapping a button will reveal what color they are. Then once everyone has adesignated color, they start the game.

Here's where it gets fun: the LED lights shine the designated colors on everycorner, and players are left slapping their own color on the table to getpoints. Each slapped color gets on the big pole in the middle, and the winneris whoever can reach the top first. Like I said before: this is the perfectbarcade game. Can you imagine a bunch of drunk people in a circle slappingeach other on accident? It's perfect.

Totem Teller

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC Release Date: TBD

I've never seen anything quite like Totem Teller. It's an adventure game built of fractured worlds; like a glitch soaccidentally beautiful you can't look away from it. Mechanically, it's very simple with characters to meet and beautifulworlds to explore. I was transfixed during my demo of its Xbox One version.

The Wild At Heart

Platforms: Xbox One, PC Release Date: TBD

The art style of The Wild at Heart isn't really for me, but as a big fan of Pikmin, I fell in love with how it used a similaridea of collecting little critters and sending them on specific tasks like cracking rocks to reveal paths or fighting giantfrogs. These little creatures are called spritelings, a developer with Moonlight Kids tells me, and the world my youngprotagonist has found himself in is called the "Land of Forgotten Things," giving me slight Forgotton Anne vibes inseeing abandoned televisions and other domestic items.

Edit, 3/26/2019:Edit, 3/26/2019: We have amended the platforms and release window for The Wild at Heart, which is only confirmedfor Xbox One and PC.

Tagged with Action, Action Adventure, Adventure, Co-op, Indie, List, Microsoft, Nintendo,PC, Platformer, PlayStation 4, Racing, Simulations, Sony, Story Driven, Switch, Xbox One.

Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small

commission. See our terms & conditions.

← →

Games mentioned in this article

Buildings Have FeelingsTooLong Reads

Heaven's VaultLong Reads

HellcouchLong Reads

Need 4 + E9 SpLong Reads

Subscribe to our weekly newsletters

Get the best of USG in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters.

The USG Weekly Newsletter

Axe of the Blood God Newsletter

Enter your email address

Read this next

Streets of Rage 4 is Looking Hot in theFirst Gameplay TrailerThese are dangerous streets.

By |

Sony Patents What Sounds Like Its OwnVersion of Amiibo

Elder Scrolls: Morrowind is Free toDownload Until the Weekend AfterSuffering Server Troubles

"I Thought V Would Be Much MoreDivisive:" Hideaki Itsuno on the Makingof Devil May Cry 5 and Its Success

What to Read, Play, and Watch BeforePlaying Control

More

Fortnite Skins Ranked - The 35Best Fortnite Skins

If you want to know what the best

Fortnite skins are, we've got them. Now

with Season 8 skins!

By |

The Best Indie Games of PAXSouth 2019

Katana Zero, Tunic, and more showcase

some of the best indies at PAX South

2019!

By |

The Games That Are ProbablyNot Coming Out in 2019

Sorry to be an agent of reality checks.

By |

25 Most Anticipated Games of2019

From Devil May Cry 5 to Wargroove, these

are the games we're most looking

forward to next year.

By |

More on PC

Streets of Rage 4 is Looking Hot in theFirst Gameplay TrailerThese are dangerous streets.

By |

Elder Scrolls: Morrowind is Free toDownload Until the Weekend AfterSuffering Server Troubles

"I Thought V Would Be Much MoreDivisive:" Hideaki Itsuno on the Makingof Devil May Cry 5 and Its Success

What to Read, Play, and Watch BeforePlaying Control

Sekiro Tips - Essential Tips for Sekiro:Shadows Die Twice

See more

More Action Games

"I Thought V Would Be MuchMore Divisive:" Hideaki Itsunoon the Making of Devil May Cry 5and Its Success

We catch up with the director of Devil May

Cry 5 to talk about its sales success, the

positive reception afforded V, and more.

By |

The Original Star WarsBattlefront 2 Headlines April'sXbox Games With Gold

A new month of free games for Xbox Live

Gold.

By |

Sekiro Tips - Essential Tips forSekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Here's all the essential tips and tricks that

you need to make it through Sekiro:

Shadows Die Twice.

By |

Xbox Announces Killer QueenBlack, Outer Wilds, and BlazingChrome for Day One Release onGame Pass

ID@Xbox announced three new indies for

Game Pass.

By |

Popular Games

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro Tips - Essential Tips for

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The Division 2

The Division 2 Tips - Controls,

Which Skills to Choose First,

Setting

Anthem

Anthem is February 2019's

Best-Selling Game and

BioWare's Second Best

Launch Ever

Apex Legends

Apex Legends Season 1 - Wild

Frontier Update, New Weapon

Skins - Everything we Know

Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go Legendary Lunch

Hour - Start Date and Time,

Increased Raids

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2

Hunting Guide - How to Easily

Track Animals in Red Dead 2

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Email address

Overland Feels Right at Home on Switch, and NineOther Indie Games We Loved at GDC 2019Another GDC, another year of great indies.

I wonder if buildings get sad when dogs pee on them. | Blackstaff Games/Merge Games

There's a touch of sci-fi in this archaeological tale. | Inkle

Hellcouch! A Couch Co-op GameHellcouch! A Couch Co-op GameHellcouch! A Couch Co-op Game

Later bekijken Delen

I love small scale games like Need 4 + E9 Speed. | Kalonica Quigley, Jason Bakker

Neo Cab is a visual novel with high production values. | Chance Agency/Fellow Traveler

Overland already feels like a perfect fit for Switch. | Finji

Don't sweat the details in Sloppy Forgeries. | Jonah Warren

Table44Game By Alon AddaTable44Game By Alon AddaTable44Game By Alon Adda

Later bekijken Delen

Totem Teller was easily the most beautiful game I saw last week. | Grinning Pickle

The Wild At Heart is a rare Pikmin-like. | Moonlight Kids

Subscribe

Matt Kim

1

4

Caty McCarthy 4 Mike Williams 3 Caty McCarthy 15 USgamer Team 29

Matt Kim

4

Kat Bailey 4 Matt Kim Hirun Cryer Matt Kim

Covering the best in videogaming. News, Reviews, andGuides for Switch, PS4, XboxOne, PC, and more!

This site © 2019 GamerNetwork.

All Rights Reserved. No part ofthis site or its content may bereproduced without thepermission of the copyrightholder.

� � Œ ¢

NewsReviewsGuidesLong ReadsBest GamesRetroPodcastSwitchPlayStation 4Xbox OnePCTopics index

Explore

Sekiro: Shadows DieTwiceThe Division 2AnthemApex LegendsPokemon GoRed Dead Redemption2Games index

Popular games

CareersCode of conductContact usHow we workLatest commentsPrivacy policyReview policyStaff & contributorsTerms & Conditions

Helpful links

EurogamerGamer's EditionGamesIndustryGamesIndustry JapanJelly DealsMetabombNintendoLifePush SquareRock Paper ShotgunVG247

Gamer Network

EGXEGX BerlinEGX RezzedMCM Comic-ConPAXStar Wars Celebration

Events

You may also like

Dead Cells Has Sold MoreThan One Million Units, WithSwitch the Top ConsoleDuring a Dead Cells postmortem at

GDC 2019, Motion Twin unveils how

well Dead Cells has sold.

You may also like

"It's A Surprise to Us Too:"Studio MDHR Co-Founder OnBringing Cuphead to Switch,Fixing Load Times, and MoreCuphead defeats the boss of Microsoft

exclusivity, and lives to tell the tale.

Don't miss: Sekiro Tips - Essential Tips for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice  |  Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Review  |  The Division 2 Exotic Weapons  |  The Division 2 Dark Zone Explained

News Reviews Guides Long Reads Best Games Retro Podcast

Switch PlayStation 4 Xbox One PC Deals Starting Screen The Division 2 Apex Legends

Sign in

Enter a search term�

More from USG

"I Thought V Would Be MuchMore Divisive:" Hideaki Itsunoon the Making of Devil MayCry 5 and Its SuccessWe catch up with the director of Devil

May Cry 5 to talk about its sales

success, the positive reception

afforded V, and more.

What to Read, Play, andWatch Before Playing ControlA syllabus for what to try before

jumping into Remedy's Control.

Sekiro: Shadows Die TwiceReviewThe finest cut is the one that comes at the

right time.