The sheer number of incredible indie games on the horizon is staggering, to say the least. Yet, Lockie and Jack expect me to check into all of them and pick a few special titles to highlight as our Indies of the Week. It's a nigh-impossible task, but yet, it's something that I must find and do for the sake of my Hot Dog Overlords. If I don't do it, they'll flog me with flaccid mystery meat and drip hotdog water on my forehead until I mentally crack. Don't ask me how I know that they'll do this. I just know that they will. For legal reasons, this is a joke.

After scanning through social media and adding a tremendous number of games to my wishlist, I had to bring my choices down to three. That's where Rogue Night, SCAV, and Western Justice all spoke to me. They scream to my primal instincts, and have earned the coveted Indies of the Week, even though I wish I could list every single game that I've seen so far.

Rogue Night Feels Like Classic Zelda, but With a Survival Rogue-Lite Twist

Rogue Night is one of those games that I've had my eyes on for quite a while. The premise is simple: don't die, beat things up, and survive. But after diving into the demo and spending a few hours with the game, I've learned that there is a lot more than meets the eye. With three different classes, skills, and permadeath, the stakes are raised higher than I would have expected, and I needed to do much more than just hack-and-slash if I wanted to make it through the night. Exploration is encouraged, puzzles are tough, and my enemies are ready to rip me apart limb from limb. I'm ready and prepared to dive into the full release at this point.

Rather than making the survival-crafting elements the main focus here, Rogue Night focuses on the action, and it's better for it. I still need to gather up materials like wood, but I'm not going to be spending the majority of my time going through convoluted building menus to just get a basic house put together to survive through the night. Instead, I'll build fires, bash enemies, and venture through the surprisingly massive world to keep myself above ground. But if I die, I can power myself up with the heads of my enemies. For such a cute game, it can be surprisingly brutal at times, and that's just how I like it.

Don’t Let It’s Looks Fool You — Rogue Night Can Be a Difficult Little Game

First impressions are oftentimes misleading, especially in the world of indie games. Rogue Night is no different. Why? The game is utterly adorable, but it will also kick your teeth in when you're not expecting it. The blending of pixel-art with old-school difficulty is very much appreciated here, and the trial-and-error gameplay has me hooked. Rogue-lites and rogue-likes have slowly been creeping their way into my favorites, and Rogue Night is a great addition to the library.

If you're curious to try it out for yourself? There's a free demo available that has a ton of content. It does a fantastic job of introducing players to the gameplay loop, and this way, you can see if the more "action-oriented" vibe that it's going for is your cup of tea. Rather than facing off against endless hordes and selecting paths, this feels more like a living world. And that's something I've been searching for in this genre for quite some time.

I’m a Sucker for Car Combat Games, and SCAV Looks Just My Style

Get the goods and get the Hell outta there. That's the basic hook of games like Risk Of Rain 2, which has slowly crept its way up my favorites of all time list. But what if, instead of a slick futuristic robot or an astronaut, you were a truck? That's the vibe I'm getting from SCAV, an upcoming action-roguelike that is making my heart put the pedal to the metal. As someone who grew up with a PlayStation 1 and a copy of Twisted Metal 2, I'm always a sucker for vehicular combat games. But what makes SCAV interesting to me is that I'm not fighting other vehicles. Instead, it's a Helldivers situation, where I'm fighting big-ass bugs and other creepy crawlies. Twisted Metal meets Earth Defense Force? I'm all in.

The way I'm looking at it is like this — if I can drift through bugs, shooting them while laughing like a maniac while I'm doing it? It's going to be my new obsession when it finally releases. I love passion projects like this. Games that defy the laws of logic, and developers who just think, "well, why not?". It's such a silly premise that I can't help but love it. Let me customize my truck, and my soul (and wallet) will be yours.

Hacking and Whacking and Smacking

I've mentioned all of the above without even talking about what could potentially be the coolest feature of all. Having to organize all of your spoils in the back of your truck. While video game logic applies to nearly every other facet of SCAV, you'll need to be smart about what you're taking home. Anything that you can fit in the truck bed is free game. Anything else? You're going to have to sacrifice something that you've found, or leave it behind. No mystical, invisible pockets that let you bring home everything that you've found on a run.

Now the real question that I have at this point: when we find something new to add to our vehicle, is time going to stop so we can Tetris our truckbed into perfect shape, or are we going to have to manage swarms of bugs while trying to avoid getting smacked around? Maybe the option for either option will be there, but the masochistic side of me is hoping I'll need to go on a mad dash to try and rearrange before I get overrun by mountains of maggots.

Western Justice Will Let Me Live Out My Big Iron Fantasies, and There’s a Wild Twist

There's something so appealing about the idea of the Wild West in video games. Maybe it's because I can live my lifelong fantasies of not needing to take a shower daily, or because I can hog-tie someone and drag them behind a horse. I'm not sure what the real reason is, but if there's a good western-themed shooter available, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to be there. My next obsession, I can already tell, is going to be Western Justice. Not because it's a first-person shooter set in the Old West, but because of a different approach to it.

Games like Red Dead Redemption do a fantastic job of bringing this era to life, and even the more arcade-like GUN was a rootin' tootin' time. But Western Justice is going to let me bring law and order to a new town... and also do some House Flipper-esque building and town building? Yes, it's like the developers at Bearstrike Games reached into my head and found two of my favorite things, then decided that it would be a great idea to mash them together. Take out some bad guys, and then build houses and refinish their interiors? Say less, I'm sold.

Gonna Paint Your Wagon, Gonna Paint It Fine… Gotta Use Oil-Based Paint, Cuz the Wood Is Pine

Am I suggesting that the developers behind Western Justice are taking a joke from The Simpsons and running with it? I don't think so. But I absolutely love the idea of a hard-grit Western game that lets you build up the town and paint it up however you'd like. All I'm saying? All of the paint better be oil-based, or it may not be historically accurate. And there better be a Lee Marvin impersonation in the game somewhere, or I'll RIOT. He actually sounds like that, just so you know. Ah, but now I'm just getting distracted from the meat and potatoes of the whole thing.

The idea of hand-to-hand combat, intense shootouts, all baked into the glorious chaos of the Wild West, sounds like a dream come true. Let me be the Sheriff I know that I could be, and I'll have this place whipped up in no time. Building a town, running it, and keeping a big iron on my hip sounds like a dreamy situation. I just need to make sure that I'm up to task... by painting a few wagons first.

The World of Indie Games Just Keeps Expanding and Burning Brighter

Doing these types of roundups is always a blast. Not only do I get to discover a ton of great new indies, but I find plenty of fantastic developers that I can follow on social media. I love watching a project come to life, something that I've been personally doing with Rogue Night for quite a little while now. And at this point? I've got plenty of other projects to watch and keep my eyes on.

It doesn't matter if I'm going to be the Paintin' Sheriff or if I'm putting on my best Mad Max impression. All of the games here, and every person who has responded to Lockie for Indie Game of the Week, has an immense talent and more creativity than the AAA landscape could ever ask for. If you need your next indie fix? Keep your eyes peeled on social media. You'll find games you could have never even imagined you'd see in your life. And that's exactly why I love the indie scene the way that I do.