Welcome to another Indie Invasion! This week, like many others before it, the VICE Games squad has collected only the best of our current indie obsessions. I’m warning y’all now: they’re mostly roguelikes. We’re addicted to them, apparently. One day, we’ll have to sit down and explain what it is about that particular genre that hooks us so deeply. But until then, let’s see which indie games are on the menu!let the indie invasion commence!dwayne jenkins — managing editorScreenshot: Big Fan GamesAs a Slay the Spire geek, it’s time to finally dive into the demo for Monster Train 2. I watched so much of the first game online, and honestly? I admit to being thoroughly intimidated by it. There are multiple rows of enemies to deal with and plan for, synergies left and right — it was a lot to take in. Now, I can effectively have a fresh start!Yeah, it’s another roguelike deckbuilder of the many we play. Look, there’s something intrinsically satisfying about nuanced card games and unpredictable procedural generation in games that require on-the-fly thinking. I’m sure some study will emerge one day that suggests roguelikes are good for developing critical thinking skills. Or, at least, that’s what I hope…matt vatankhah — contributorScreenshot: Team D-13I’m in a roguelite mood this week (okay, let’s be honest, I’m always in a roguelite mood). That’s why I’ll finally be checking out Star of Providence, the roguelite bullet-hell twin-stick shooter by Team D-13. Apparently, it’s been around since 2017. But, I hadn’t realized until I saw its recent Switch release with the help of BigMode publishing.All I can say is, yeah, this is my jam. It’s like they took Super R-Type, mixed it with some Binding of Isaac roguelite elements, and turned the insanity up to 11. You travel from room to room, picking up powerups and battling through bullet hell chaos. And then? Face-melting boss battle time. I don’t even understand how they packed this much juice into one game, but they’ve done it.anthony franklin II — contributorScreenshot: GameDev.istOne word, three syllables. Sodaman. I have no idea what to expect as far as my enjoyment of it, but it checks all the boxes for me. So, I’m excited to get into it and see what it’s all about. Beyond that, I’ll use this space for my impressions on Border Pioneer, which is a deckbuilding tower defense-style game.Published by Yogscast Games and developed by Yahzj Games, I’ve found that I’m actually enjoying it more than I did at the start. There are some weird visual glitches I’ve encountered while playing. But, once I was able to look past that, the game itself ended up being pretty good. There are some light city-building elements as well. I do hope that the game picks up in difficulty a bit as I feel like it’s a little too easy. Overall, it’s a solid tower defense game.shaun cichacki — contributorScreenshot: Frozen DistrictHouse Flipper 2 has had me and my wife in a chokehold ever since the release of its co-op Beta, and I still haven’t been able to put it down. It is mildly hilarious going back and looking at our earliest designs and seeing how much we’ve advanced in such a short time. But getting at least two hours of House Flipper 2 per night seems to be the best way to spend time with each other lately. And I’m not going to complain about that at all.When I’m not flipping houses, though? I’ve been diving into a bunch of Steam Next Fest demos. I love being up to speed on the newest indie releases, and it feels like an all-you-can-eat buffet right now. There are so many fantastic new games on the horizon, and I’m hoping I can somehow clear up enough time to get through them all. That is, if House Flipper 2 finally falls out of the rotation. But, I don’t foresee that happening any time soon.and with that, indie invasion reaches its endAh, the smell of fresh indie games in the [whatever time of day you ultimately read this]! Whether a roguelike or peaceful home renovation, the VICE Games crew always supports the indie arts. With that said, Steam Next Fest is just around the corner! Starting on February 24, Steam will be a veritable gold mine of indie goodness, allowing everyone to look at (and potentially play) many of indie gaming’s best and brightest! Until then, always remember: “A friend in need is a friend indie’d!”The post Indie Invasion V9: At Some Point, We’re Going To Get Sick of Roguelikes (Not Likely) appeared first on VICE.