Every once in a while, one of us here at Reticule Towers takes the decision to take a look at some games coming out in the year ahead. Sometimes we might talk about, AAA, others indie. This time, I’ve picked a few indies that are on the horizon. Hit the break to read more…

I have, of course, previously talked about Dead Cells way back in October, Since I took a look at this exhilarating rogue-like the team at Motion Twin have released two big updates, The Brutal Update introduced two new biomes, new bosses and other goodies while The Foundry Update introduced Mutations and a new end-game difficulty and weapon upgrade system. While a final release date hasn’t been confirmed, The Foundry Update was Motion Twin’s last planned major overhaul of systems in the game. If you haven’t already, this one is worth keeping your eyes on. Check it out on Steam here.

Shame on me! I saw Attack of the Earthlings at EGX last year, and gave them a very quick shout out, and even had so many good intentions of writing some more about the game. Sadly, I didn’t get to write any more about it, but soon I will aim to rectify my mistake. Attack of the Earthlings will be released on the 8th February and will give you the chance to take control of the delightful Swarmers as they seek to defend their home from the human invaders. My time with the game at EGX showed a game confident in its approach to turn-based combat with a devilishly dark sense of humour. Roll on February, who needs Xcom when Attack of the Earthlings puts you in the boots of the good guys. Check out the Steam page for more details.

Have you ever wanted to build an insanely powerful PC, filled with liquid-cooling and other extravagant components, but just haven’t been able to afford it? Soon you will be able to fulfil your dreams with PC Building Simulator. Along with a free-build mode and ‘How to build a PC’ guide, there will also be a career mode covering multiple jobs to meet various customer types. A host of real world manufacturers have come on board, most recent being EVGA. You will also be able to benchmark your PC creation with Futuremark! It all sounds quite serious, but probably fun. Look out for this to hit Early Access in March.

Frozen Synapse 2 was always going to make an appearance at some point on the site this year, so why not get it on here now? The world map and faction system is looking pretty good, and the combat in the game has always been something special. Paul from developers, Mode 7 Games, has told me that right now they are “just working on gameplay stuff still at the moment – lots of moving parts!” which sounds alright to me. This one might be somewhat later in the year compared to the other games I’ve talked about, but by no means does that mean it is any less worthy of keeping an eye out for. It’s always worth following Paul on Twitter @Mode7Games for some insights into the development process.

Maia is certainly a game to keep tabs on, and is one that I keep thinking about when I see sole developer, Simon Roth, popping up on Twitter talking about his progress with the game. It’s been on Early Access for a while, since 2013, but Simon has been diligently working away, constantly working to improve the game and take on board feedback from the community. Version 0.65 launched shortly before Christmas, and Simon has been releasing regular updates to the developers branch of the game on Steam. It’s a work of love, and even if it doesn’t see a full 1.0 release this year, I am looking forward to seeing where it goes next. You can expect to see more about Maia on the site soon. For now, though, check out the game on Early Access if space colony management is your cup of tea.