The Source Gaming Roundtable is back and in this edition we were asked by our Ultimate Patron, Mr. JBRPG, about our favourite indie multiplayer games. A nice and simple topic, let’s see what the SG team had to say!
Co-op PC gaming with a group of my close friends has been a core part of my gaming experience for as far back as I can remember. I can vividly recall so many middle school, high school, and college memories of Terraria and Minecraft sessions that never really lasted longer than a month before we inevitably got bored and moved onto the next thing. Even still, we’ve kept coming back to them. Every year, it feels like we get at least a solid month of one or the other, with Stardew Valley recently being added to that feedback loop as of last year as well. And not just those three, too. It’s The Forest, it’s Valheim, so many independently published survival sandbox titles by relatively small developers self-publishing to Steam.
Of course, my friends and I are all adults now, mostly adults fresh out of college. I have a full-time job, as do they, and those schedules don’t always overlap. With limited time to play video games, and so many video games to play, it’s a sure quantity that most of these play sessions were never going to reach the end of their games’ stories or progression systems. It’s just fun and rewarding to work on a game that feels like a “group project” with people whose company you enjoy. And given that most of these games are incredibly affordable, the money you spend often ends up feeling worth the time you get out of these titles, regardless.
In the same sense of wallet-friendly co-op titles with addictive feedback loops, I’d also like to highlight last year’s incredible Lethal Company. Suspense always makes for an incredibly engaging group activity – just look at the success of Among Us and Phasmophobia, for example – but Lethal Company strikes a specific chord as a co-op “extraction horror” title. Going in as a new player, you have precious little information about the game’s systems, or what strategies or equipment are most effective. Even when you get your bearings, the game’s core design is inherently intended to leave you at a deficit for information. Did your friend drop their walkie-talkie to pick up a valuable piece of loot, or did a monster find them before you did? Your flashlight and radio have limited batteries, and the game’s tiny inventory and punishing carry-weight mechanics mean that every single object you carry is an important decision you have to make moment-by-moment. Even hiding out in the dropship to play the role of the “guy in the chair” isn’t safe, with outdoor monsters and weather conditions that will leave you scrambling between camera monitors to check your surroundings, a minimap monitor to check the status of your crewmates, and a faulty hydraulic door being the only thing that protects you from whatever may be outside.
If that last bit sounds like it echoes the first Five Nights At Freddy’s, which became a popular brand thanks to how entertaining it was to watch YouTubers struggle with resource management in a scenario where they were in constant danger, you’ve found a lot of the core appeal of Lethal Company. In Lethal Company, YOUR FRIENDS are the ones you get to watch bumble their way through slapstick horror scenarios while being attacked by something they aren’t well-equipped to fight off, and you’re right in the thick of it with them.
But you likely didn’t need me to tell you all that, it was probably all over your social media feed five months ago. The game is still being updated, and it’s ten bucks, so give it a try if it sounds appealing.
Smash Bros. aside, all my favorite games are single-player only. Most of the indie titles I’ve played reflect that, but there are a few major exceptions. Up first, there’s Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, a game I love and have sunk countless hours into, but completely forgot about when given this prompt. Granted, I haven’t touched Fall Guys in a long time, and I don’t think it even counts as indie anymore, but I don’t see myself getting into a battle royale-esque game like I did with it ever again. I didn’t play it with people I actually knew often enough, but when I did, it was a great time. Oh, and its crossover skins were tons of fun, somehow managing to meet my wildest hopes multiple times over. Some of my favorites have gotta be Bugsnax’s Filbo, Street Fighter’s Cammy, SpongeBob’s Patrick and Mr. Krabs, Godzilla, and Shovel Knight.
Speaking of Shovel Knight, I’ve also got some fond memories of playing its co-op mode around the Switch’s launch. It’s how I managed to actually make use of the Joycons’ whole “give one of them to a friend for multiplayer” thing before they started drifting on me. Trauma dumping aside, co-op Shovel Knight made a very strong case for the Switch’s pick-up-and-play appeal. Honestly, I wish more campaigns than just the titular character’s got multiplayer, but the developers more than made up for that with the free platform fighter mode they added to Treasure Trove. Of course, Fall Guys and Shovel Knight aren’t the only multiplayer indies I’ve played, Among Us and some Jackbox packs come to mind, but they’re the ones I’d consider among my most important games in recent years.
It may be a little hard to swallow, but for as massive of a property as it is, Among Us is an independent video game. Among Us is a game where you have to suss out who is The Impostor(s) among a group of Crewmates. It’s generally unplayable with less than 6 people because the rounds end too fast. Where the magic really begins is when you have a sizable group of at least 10.
I don’t think I’ve ever played Among Us correctly. Often the group I play with devolves into complete chaos. Crewmates start gaslighting each other into proclaiming that they are The Impostor. A ton of games I’ve played have ended with a Crewmate throwing because they thought it would be funny.
And y’know, it is funny. Among Us remains a simple, enjoyable group activity and I’m kinda against efforts to take it seriously. I played like two games with the proximity chat mod and it just devolved into people playing songs on their phone through the microphone. I’ve never entered a public lobby where someone wasn’t just clowning around. It’s a beautiful thing, the sheer and utter cacophony of different play styles that go together as well as oil and water.
Looking back, the past few years have been great for multiplayer indie games. This year, Lethal Company has gained a lot of fame not just for its intense, paranoia-inducing cooperative gameplay to collect scrap, but also thanks to the large modding scene available for the title. I’ve spent a few hours watching other people play and playing with my high school bros. Additionally, although it hasn’t been discussed as much, Among Us was a very fun title to play across my several friend groups. While I also haven’t played in a while, the feelings of deceiving my friends, attending to my tasks, and the simple imagery of a crewmate have never left my brain.
I think both titles work very well at putting a group of players in high-stress situations that can either be caused by other players or the contextual lack/searching of information. While I have played other multiplayer indie titles like Rivals of Aether, Skullgirls, or Golf With Your Friends, each of those titles is inherently competitive. While Among Us can become quite intense, I take the games quite seriously within some groups, I think they work best at its core when you view yourself as an amateur Mystery Gang that either happens to be very skilled or is clearly in over their heads.
I originally thought I had no examples to share for this roundtable until it was pointed out to me that the Jackbox Party Pack games are independent. A series of social party minigame collections that happens to be celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, which like Among Us is best enjoyed with a large group to accommodate the humour and gameplay offered by each game.
If you asked which Pack was my favourite…I don’t think I’d have an answer since my favourite individual games have been spread across different packs. That being said, my personal favourites are Survive the Internet, Quiplash, Trivia Murder Party and Tee KO. The fact that these packs have made themselves very easily accessible over a lot of platforms is a good thing for emergency entertainment at a party if needed, and it’s very accommodating to hop in via most personal devices.
I wanted to end of this roundtable talking about some potentially lesser known multiplayer indie titles that my friends and I really enjoy, some on Steam, some on Switch and some on both. First off, I am a big fan of Golf with your Friends except that is not an indie title. Do you know what is though? Golf It! by Perfuse Entertainment. The two games are very similar and both allow for Steam Workshop support, meaning infinite holes are at our disposal. The thing that makes Golf It! stand-out is the freedom players have over the game rules. Sure, regular mini-golf is fun but what about Super Mario Bros. remade with golf balls? Or a co-operative escape room complete with a boss battle at the end? All of this and more can be yours if you and some friends play Golf It!
Next up we have a short but sweet example of an indie multiplayer game, available on Nintendo Switch: Party Party Time and Party Party Time 2. Both games are essentially a collection of Mario Party-style mini-games that can be played with up to six people and the quality is often on-par with what NDCube can offer. It’s fun and best yet, it’s cheap. In the UK, each game is less than £3 and then if you are willing to pay a little extra, they released DLC packs with even more mini-games to enjoy. With the ability to play both locally and online, Party Party Time is a great time with friends.
Lastly, if you don’t like Mario Party mini-games but you do like Mario Party boards (or cute anime girls) then 100% Orange Juice is the party game for you. 100% OJ has been around for a long time and so there is an insane amount of content to playthrough with several board types and characters to use, as well as a story mode in addition to the local and online play on offer. The objective of the game is to reach ‘Norma’ five times, either by earning a lot of money or by winning a certain number of combat encounters – either against other players or CPU controlled mobs. Every character has unique abilities that can affect the board state or the players stats, and the use of equipment and ability cards that can be collected throughout the game can turn any match around if used correctly. It is a lot of fun and I’m always up for a game or two when asked.
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