The best trailers from the Triple-i indie game showcase

There’s a new video game showcase on the block. The Triple-i initiative — a play on the term AAA, referring to blockbuster games — is a Nintendo Direct-style event focused entirely on indie releases from studios like Mega Crit, Red Hook Studios, and Evil Empire. “We felt a need for a showcase that highlights wildly different indie games but that have one thing in common; they resonate with millions of players around the world,” Evil Empire’s Bérenger Dupré said when the event was announced.

The first showcase took place earlier today, and it was 45 minutes packed with announcements. There were big names like Prince of Persia and Palworld, as well as titles ranging from medieval strategy games (with dinosaurs) to futuristic action games with a dose of Tony Hawk to a handful of big sequels. If you missed it, here are some of the best reveals and trailers.

The next game from Dead Cells studio Evil Empire, this Prince of Persia spinoff looks to be yet another slick action game, only this time with a gorgeous, flowing visual style. It’s certainly looking like a great year for the franchise.

Things kicked off with the reveal of a major sequel. While there aren’t a lot of details on the roguelike just yet aside from a brief teaser trailer, developer Mega Crit says that there’s “more info coming later this year.”

The year’s biggest viral hit is getting a major update soon with an arena mode where players can battle other trailers. Details are pretty slim, but it looks like a significant addition to the Palworld experience.

PlaySide Studios’ next release is described as an “ultra-responsive arcade-inspired isometric action shooter,” and based on the first trailer, it looks intense as hell. I mostly love the very straightforward title. You play as a knight who kills. What else do you need to know?

An impressive-looking metroidvania with role-playing elements, but what’s even more impressive is the fact that this is the first game from studio Metamorphosis Games. Here’s the official premise:

A seemingly routine job catapults Aletheia into a whirlwind journey to uncover long-buried secrets lying at the heart of Canaan and fight for mankind’s survival as the Steam City teeters on the brink of war.

We already knew a successor to Hyper Light Drifter was in the works, but that doesn’t make this new gameplay trailer for the open-world game any less exciting. Unfortunately, it’s only a minute long, but it packs a lot of energy into that brief runtime.

We got a double dose of news for the beloved Vampire Survivors. First: its brand of mayhem is coming to the PlayStation later this summer. Second: a new Contra-themed expansion, called Operation Guns, is launching on May 9th for all platforms.

The engrossing puzzle platformer is getting a sequel, though it seems like it’s still pretty early: there’s no word yet on when the game will launch or on what platforms.

Another sequel, this time to the roguelike dungeon crawler UnderMine. The developers at Thorium say that the follow-up will include new elements like “co-op gameplay, playable character classes, and branching paths” whenever it does launch.

The first game from Wabisabi Games (and published by Gearbox), RKGK just looks incredibly slick. It’s a 3D platformer with movement and action that look almost like skateboarding, and players are asked to “fight the oppressive B Corp and its evil CEO that seeks to drain color and life from the Neo-Brutalist world of Cap City.”

While most of the games at the showcase are coming out in the future, you can actually play this post-apocalyptic CRPG right now. It might be just the thing if you just so happen to be in a Fallout mood.

The team at Digital Sun — the studio behind Moonlighter and the League of Legends spinoff The Mageseeker — wants you to think of its new experience as an RTS crossed with Lego. The story trailer above gives you a good sense of the dark fantasy world it takes place, and you can check out this gameplay video for a nice, long look at how it plays. It also sounds like there will be a lot to the game: a story campaign, creative mode, survival mode, and skirmish mode.

Here’s a city builder that has a unique twist: you’re building kingdoms in the mountains. According to the developers at Quite OK Games, that means dealing with “production chains, trade networks, and avalanche survival strategies.” As if keeping your citizens happy and safe wasn’t hard enough without worrying about avalanches.

At first blush, this doesn’t look all that different from other medieval-themed strategies. But then there are the dinosaurs. The game takes place in a world where the King of Denmark “launches the first dinosaur-powered conflict with his invasion of England.” Players will have to defend English land from these dinos, though it sounds like you’ll also get some beasts of your own to fight with.

The name really says it all: it’s a school management game where you, well, manage a school. The game is already out on PC but will be hitting consoles this year.

The first Streets of Rogue was notable for its extremely open-ended sandbox gameplay, and it looks like the sequel will take things even further. You can play as a werewolf or an investment banker during your quest to overthrow a corrupt president — the possibilities are endless.

Move over, Cuphead — another classic cartoon-inspired game is on the way. This time, though, it’s an FPS in which you not only have to shoot but also eat plentiful cans of spinach.