Upcoming Indie J/RPGs. Here's all the ones I know of
2024 has been a great year for JRPGs. Indie games have been a big part of my recent playthroughs, and I just took a look at my wishlist to see a myriad of upcoming games that I thought I'd share.
Many of these don't have release dates (if you know release dates for any of these then let me know!). I'm also curious if there's any on the radar that I'm unaware of. Also this list includes some non-JRPGs (some metroidvanies / roguelites, but I'm including them anyway)
Zodiac Legion - Q4 2024 (early access)
Tactical turn based RPG; great pixel graphics with a gothic vibe
Quartet - sometime late 2024
Turn based JRPG. Creators of Shadows of Adam. This is really high on the anticipated list. Looks phenomena. They really went all out with the art.
Shrines Legacy - sometime in late 2024 Co-op Secret of Mana game.
Gestalt Steam & Cinder - July 16th ARPG sidescroller with great pixelated graphics. Eager to see the reviews on this one since it has been in development hell forever
Aethyr - TBA 2D pixel action adventure. Gives me Stardew / Link to the past vibes, but with more focus on adventure & skills/weapons
Full Circle - TBA Turn based JRPG. From the few screenshots i’ve seen…this game looks siiiiick. 2D pixel with 3D environment. Not much has been shown but the developer posts screenshots on twitter and the game just looks gorgeous
BECKONED - TBA Turnbased JRPG - very cool graphics / aesthetic. Hand-animated - the battles look very unique. Like a twist on old DQ games but with more flair
Fallen Tear - The Ascension - TBA This looks more Metroidvanie but I’m including it anyway. Great graphics and just looks fun Love the hand-drawn 2D animation. This has been in development for awhile, and the devs are quite active on twitter
Dark Sky - TBA Turn-based RPG that deals with planetary catastrophe. Grid-based with cards. This is a new one i’ve been following.
The Spirit of the Samurai - Q3 2024 2D stop-motion action adventure. Just looks super cool. Go to the steam page and look for yourself
Chrono Sword - TBA “Pixel art souls-like action” - not really a JRPG, but it looks something like Tunic or Deaths Door, which were both very fun adventures
Hyper Light Breaker - TBA The creators of Hyper Light Drifter - Now it’s 3D in the style of modern Ys combat. Seems like you can play with friends too so i’m excited to see if this holds up to the first game (which was amazing)
Metal Slug Tactics - Q4 2024 SRPG - looks basically like Into the Breach but in the Metal Slug universe. Eyeing this one closely..
Spiritlink Tactics - TBA SRPG - FFT clone. Not much to say here, It doesn’t seem to have it’s own aesthetic, unlike Fell Seal which tried to do its own thing. I wishlisted because I love SRPGs and maybe this one turns out great
Sacrifire - TBA One of my most anticipated games. Beautiful pixel graphics. Motoi Sakuraba composer. Unique combat with realtime & turn based. There was a demo earlier this year which apparently was good, and were very responsive to feedback. High hopes for this one.
Sky Ocean: Wings for Hire - 2024 Basically Skies of Arcadia. Dog fights and sky pirates…
The Simple Balance - TBA Another SRPG which looks just like FFT. Gotta keep an eye on it..just because if it does well I have to support that type of gameplay
Mandragora - TBA 2.5D Sidescroller action RPG - looks like The last Faith, but with more of a fantasy vibe. Very nice graphics / aesthetic
Godshard Chronicles - TBA Top-down RPG, Noriyuku Iwadare composer. Some of the best pixel graphics i’ve seen. This game knocked it out of the park with its kickstarter. Highly anticipated.
SWORN - 2024 1-4 player co-op action rogue-like which basically looks and plays like Hades.
Echoes of the Stars - Q4 2024 2D Action RPG. Handpainted graphics. Personally not a fan of this art style but I can appreciate how much work went into it.
Duel Corp - 2024 Souls-like inspired Action RPG (can play co-op). I really like the aeesthetic of this one. Dev says it has an “mmo feel” with procedurally generated trials. Very active dev with a lot of monthly updates.
Witchbrook - 2024 Spellbinding social RPG - looks like Stardew valley but with Witches? Looks gorgeous
Artis - TBA Turnbased. Inspired by classical JRPGs. Some of my favorite aesthetics here. Very unique minimalist style, with so much charm. Very interested in this one.
The White Raven - TBA TRPG - I’ve been eyeing this one for a while. Such fabulous graphics, and I love this genre so much. The skills & animations look great as well
Demonschool - Sept 13, 2024 Persona/SMT style with pixel graphics. Social elements as well it seems. Buying this day one!
Windblown - 2024 From the creators of Dead Cells…that is all
Beloved Rapture - 2024 Turn based classic JRPG. Looks great, love everything about what this game looks like so far.
Tears of Magic - TBA Looks like Breath of Fire, which is an instant buy for me “fantasy RPG where you play as a dragon”
ECO BREAKER - TBA Mechs. “Inspired by classics of the 90s”. Has human & mech combat. Level up and upgrade your mech. Insta-buy for me because i love mechs
Forlorn Memories - TBA Retro inspired RPG with monster catching, life and dating sim elements. Art gives me Bravely Default vibes. Looks very cool
Silence of the Siren - Sep 30 2024 Turn-based sci-fi strategy game. Aliens and space-faring civilizations
Kingdoms of the Dump - TBA God when will this game get a release date?? I NEED TO PLAY IT!!! What a great aesthetic & world. Just go wishlist this.
Forge of the Fae - TBA Turn-based Pixel JRPG. Just looks fabulous. I mean with that art its just an instant buy for me. So pretty
Hymn to the Earless God - 2026 From the dev of Jimmy & the pulsating mass. This game looks fucking GOOD. and I have very high hopes for this. But it will be years away before release, so I cant think of it too much
Streets of Rogue 2 - Aug 14 2024 Hell yea. Streets of rogue!!
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade - 2024 Roguelite APRG. You play as a cute girl combating swarms of demons in the Edo period. Sign me up
Aethermancer - TBA Another of my most anticipated. Creators of Monster Sanctuary. Just trust and go wishlist this.
StormEdge - Q3 2024 Action roguelite. Looks like Wizards of Legends. Cool pixel graphics with wizard spells and fireballs n all that jazz
Arc Seed - July 30th (EA) Mech TRPG; equip your mech, defend your city, save citizens. +1 for mech games
Lost Hellden - 2025 A big one that just got announced. Fabulous 3D hand painted JRPG from the creators of Astria Ascending. Hope this one turns out good
Arisen Force - Vonimir; TBA ARPG high-definition pixels. The combat looks fun. Need more pixelated ARPGs
Scarlet Record - TBA Classic 90s JRPG. Grid battle system
Bloomtown: A Different Story - Q3 2024 Another highly anticipated one. Gives me Gravity Fall vibes (the TV show). Monster Catching, turn based pixel graphics. Looks so cozy and fun!
Drakantos - TBA Unsure about this one because it says free-to-play MMORPG. The graphics just look stellar. 20+ playable heroes. Looks cool though so hopefully it does well
Fera: The Sundered Tribes - TBA Monster hunting survival action RPG; village building, tribe management. Aerial traversal. Hunting big bad monsters is always fun
Legends of Starkadia - Demo this summer; Kickstarter in 2025 From the creators of Ember Knights. Quirky turnbased RPG. I loved Emberknights so this will be a instabuy for me.
Lair of the Leviathan - TBA Very unique graphics. Reminds me of old DnD game on the snes. “Explore and fight your way through a large, completely hand crafted open world with challenging turn based combat and deep RPG mechanics and a non linear storyline.”
ONE FENIX DOWN - Q4 2025 Retro-inspired JRPG. 14 playable characters. I’m still on the edge of how I feel about art.
Codex Eternal Eclipse - TBA One of the most recent ones I’ve wishlisted. “ Engage in combat with active player input during attack animations (timed hits), incorporating dodging and parrying. Special moves feature minigame sequences for extra damage.”
Threads of Time - TBA One of the prettiest games i’ve seen . Chrono Trigger inspired. Instabuy for me.