Welcome to Indie Watch, a regular feature here at P2 where our Editorial team take it in turns to highlight 2 or 3 Indie titles that have them excited. It is our chance to show off some games that you may have missed and a way to help boost the things we love most about the industry. Join us each week for a new edition.
Indie Watch - Schrodinger's Cat Burglar and Fading Echo
Schrodinger's Cat Burglar
Personally, I struggle to go past a good pun name, especially when it has to do with a philosophical concept and also cats (it’s niche, I get it, but thanks to this game, applicable at least once). Plus there’s the whole crime element to it… anyway, let’s just say that Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar pulled me in from the get-go. Described by the devs as a “quantum puzzle adventure” (also an incredible collection of words), this game is about stepping into the paws of a criminal kitten called “Mittens” who wanders into the wrong (or right?) place at the right time, and gains the ability to split herself in two. Not in a horrifying physical way, but in the “two places at once” kind of way that makes for more lateral thinking and less eldritch abomination.
Make no mistake – this game is adorable. These cats, it’s important to note, can wear hats. Or headphones, or crowns, or whatever you want to put on their little heads to make them look dapper. They can also jump onto desks or shelves and cause absolute chaos for no reason, as is their right. This, mixed with the fact that Mittens’ guide – an adorable hedgehog wearing glasses – has some genuinely clever lines, makes the game a lot of fun, whether you’re playing on your own or (excitingly) with a friend. I get excited any time there’s a game that allows for couch co-op, particularly when there’s puzzle-solving involved, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It was also developed here in Australia, so there’s really no reason not to get behind it, unless you hate cats and/or fun, or I guess… science? But don’t worry, this game only features the fun kind of animal testing, where the cat is very much the one in charge – if anything, it feels like the animal is testing you.
Fading Echo
How much do you too wish that you could, at times, turn into an amorphous water blob? Honestly, some days I wish it was an option. In Fading Echo, you are One, a cool protagonist who seemingly has a greater destiny, which may or may not be connected to the fact that she seems to have fallen through a void and into a place where alternate realities are very real, and suddenly being a regular human woman cannot be taken for granted. BUT, with the ability to turn into an amorphous blob comes the ability to harness and store elemental powers, which in turn give One the ability to fight against threats by using their inherent abilities against them. You can chain together cool elemental combos by taking on multiple elements, or use those elements to solve puzzles and unlock new areas or progress the story.
I’ve only played the first hour of Fading Echo (and you can too, on Steam), but already I’m hooked. It feels kinda like playing something from the Jak and Daxter era of 3D platforming, but with extra elemental powers thrown into the mix. The little blob version of One feels smooth to control, and can easily bounce around to new areas with a little bit of (basically radioactive) help. I could glide around as that thing for ages, and having a story on top of it that raises so many more questions than it gives answers in that first hour means playing the full version of this game will be a no-brainer. Plus it has an absolutely stacked voice cast, with One being voiced by Samantha Beart (who also voices the love of my life, Karlach), and others like Laura Bailey, Matt Mercer, and Jasmine Bhullar also showing up in supporting roles. There’s so much to be excited about here, so I can’t wait to play more of this one when it releases later this year.
