In a short couple years Annapurna Interactive has gone from announcing their presence, to being one of, if not the premier publisher for creative and resonate independent games. These were not easy years to stand out in either, 2017-18 were some of the most packed years of this gen. Annapurna managed this through consistent, back to back releases of intensely creative games, ones that told personal stories and made long lasting impacts on their players. I've personally loved all of their output that I've touched and I can't even imagine the gaming space without their presence now.
*(Must be noted that the individual devs on these projects deserve the credit for their art, though this thread is largely focused on Annapurna the publisher)
On the day they revealed their establishment, Annapurna made a huge splash by announcing that they would be publishing, What Remains of Edith Finch, Gorogoa, Wattam and Florence. These would go on to be huge games (outside of Wattam, we're still waiting on that one).
I loved my experience with Edith Finch, some of those vignettes will stay with me forever, especially the fish factory one which was a brilliant combination of gameplay and narrative. Florence became my favorite phone game of all time. I still haven't played Gorogoa, but I saw that made its way high on many people's GOTY lists.
Since then they've continued to pump out absolutely stellar games. Ashen was a lovely combination of Dark Souls and Tarrey Town.
Donut County was a stellar phone game that felt like a creative twist on Katamari and came bundled with a lovely sound track.
In 2019 Annapurna Interactive published the Outer Wilds. For me, this game appealed to Wind Waker's sense of exploration, endless possibilities and discovery, while also engaging with a level of detective work that felt reminiscent of Return of the Obra Dinn. The Outer Wilds caught me off guard and blew me away, it's my current top game of 2019.
Now looking towards the future they've got a tremendous lineup waiting for us. There's Sam Barlow's Telling Lies, the follow up to Her Story. Sayonara Wild Hearts, 12 Minutes, The Artful Escape, Keita Takahashi's Wattam, and more.
I felt a brutal twinge initially upon reading that thread early this week, but I'm just glad to see they seem to be perfectly fine.
When I look at the generations after PS1, a lot of the games that really stand out as cherished games for me are creative titles like, Katamari, Ico, Journey and Her Story. It feels like Annapurna is helping to keep the legacy of these kind of experimental games alive and I'm ecstatic about it.
Now, I'd like to know if you've enjoyed Annapurna's output? If any of these games have impacted you? Or if they've let you down or challenged you in any way?
Or do you have any thoughts on their upcoming titles?
Here's a little reminder of what they've put out and what's to come:
Now, I'd like to know if you've enjoyed Annapurna's output? If any of these games have impacted you? Or if they've let you down or challenged you in any way?
Or do you have any thoughts on their upcoming titles?
*(Must be noted that the individual devs on these projects deserve the credit for their art, though this thread is largely focused on Annapurna the publisher)
On the day they revealed their establishment, Annapurna made a huge splash by announcing that they would be publishing, What Remains of Edith Finch, Gorogoa, Wattam and Florence. These would go on to be huge games (outside of Wattam, we're still waiting on that one).
I loved my experience with Edith Finch, some of those vignettes will stay with me forever, especially the fish factory one which was a brilliant combination of gameplay and narrative. Florence became my favorite phone game of all time. I still haven't played Gorogoa, but I saw that made its way high on many people's GOTY lists.
Since then they've continued to pump out absolutely stellar games. Ashen was a lovely combination of Dark Souls and Tarrey Town.
Donut County was a stellar phone game that felt like a creative twist on Katamari and came bundled with a lovely sound track.
In 2019 Annapurna Interactive published the Outer Wilds. For me, this game appealed to Wind Waker's sense of exploration, endless possibilities and discovery, while also engaging with a level of detective work that felt reminiscent of Return of the Obra Dinn. The Outer Wilds caught me off guard and blew me away, it's my current top game of 2019.
Now looking towards the future they've got a tremendous lineup waiting for us. There's Sam Barlow's Telling Lies, the follow up to Her Story. Sayonara Wild Hearts, 12 Minutes, The Artful Escape, Keita Takahashi's Wattam, and more.
I felt a brutal twinge initially upon reading that thread early this week, but I'm just glad to see they seem to be perfectly fine.
When I look at the generations after PS1, a lot of the games that really stand out as cherished games for me are creative titles like, Katamari, Ico, Journey and Her Story. It feels like Annapurna is helping to keep the legacy of these kind of experimental games alive and I'm ecstatic about it.
Now, I'd like to know if you've enjoyed Annapurna's output? If any of these games have impacted you? Or if they've let you down or challenged you in any way?
Or do you have any thoughts on their upcoming titles?
Here's a little reminder of what they've put out and what's to come:
What Remains of Edith Finch - Giant Sparrow (April 25, 2017)
Gorogoa - Jason Roberts (December 14, 2017)
Florence - Mountains (February 14, 2018)
Donut County - Ben Esposito (August 28, 2018)
Ashen - A44 (December 7, 2018)
Outer Wilds - Mobius Digital (May 29, 2019)
Upcoming titles:
Sayonara Wild Hearts - Simogo (TBA 2019)
Telling Lies - Sam Barlow (TBA 2019)
The Pathless - Giant Squid (TBA 2019)
The Artful Escape - Beethoven & Dinosaur (TBA 2019)
Wattam - Keita Takahashi (TBA 20XX)
12 Minutes - Luis Antonio (TBA 2020)
Solar Ash Kingdom - Heart Machine (TBA)
Due Process - Giant Enemy Crab (TBA)
Kentucky Route Zero TV Edition - Cardboard Computer (TBA 2019)
Gorogoa - Jason Roberts (December 14, 2017)
Florence - Mountains (February 14, 2018)
Donut County - Ben Esposito (August 28, 2018)
Ashen - A44 (December 7, 2018)
Outer Wilds - Mobius Digital (May 29, 2019)
Upcoming titles:
Sayonara Wild Hearts - Simogo (TBA 2019)
Telling Lies - Sam Barlow (TBA 2019)
The Pathless - Giant Squid (TBA 2019)
The Artful Escape - Beethoven & Dinosaur (TBA 2019)
Wattam - Keita Takahashi (TBA 20XX)
12 Minutes - Luis Antonio (TBA 2020)
Solar Ash Kingdom - Heart Machine (TBA)
Due Process - Giant Enemy Crab (TBA)
Kentucky Route Zero TV Edition - Cardboard Computer (TBA 2019)
Now, I'd like to know if you've enjoyed Annapurna's output? If any of these games have impacted you? Or if they've let you down or challenged you in any way?
Or do you have any thoughts on their upcoming titles?
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