5 Extraterrestrial Oddities for you to explore this UFO day

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s a UFO! Today is UFO day and we wanted to look at the best indie games that have you looking up to the skies and discovering extraterrestrial life. These aren’t games where you fly spaceships around or fight back against Reapers in Mass Effect, these games have humans facing off against things no person has encountered before…

Moons of Madness

‘A mysterious signal has been recorded coming from the red planet. Orochi scientists broke it down and determined it was of intelligent origin. You are Shane Newehart, an engineer stationed at Trailblazer Alpha and your security clearance means you are completely unaware of the existence of the mysterious signal. Your job is simply to keep the lights on until the transport ship Cyrano arrives, bringing with it a new team to take over your duties. However; Things are starting to fall apart. You begin seeing and hearing things that aren’t there.’

Moons of Madness is a first-person survival horror game where you encounter beings that are beyond description and perception. Making your way through visions, hallucinations and paranoia, you can trust nothing, but you can trust that this is a super high-quality title that takes place in the same universe as The Secret World, the once-popular MMO.

This title is available now on Steam, but be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart…

Outer Wilds

‘Winner of Best Game at the 2020 BAFTA Games Awards and named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop. What lurks in the heart of the ominous Dark Bramble? Who built the alien ruins on the Moon? Can the endless time loop be stopped? Answers await you in the most dangerous reaches of space.’

If you’ve ever read one of my articles for this website before, you know that Outer Wilds is one of my favourite games of all time. This game has you playing as a young creature exploring the solar system you live in, but over the course of the game you’ll discover and decipher messages hidden by ancient aliens that predate the existence of your entire race. You’ll discover things only comparable to the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey and I can guarantee that this experience will leave you forever changed.

This title is one of the best games of the last few years, and maybe one of the best ever made, and you can get it now on every system, but here it is on Steam.

The Peterson Case

‘Once Upon A Time In Roswell is a first-person psychological horror game. Delve deep into the strange world of Roswell, New Mexico as you embark on an investigation to find a family who have been missing for more than a week. Uncover horrific flashbacks of war, and beings not of this earth. Realise the terrible truth that has consumed the Peterson Family, whilst you walk through their ever-changing home and memories, battling your own identity and purpose.’

Previously titled ‘Once Upon a Time in Roswell’, this is the only title on the list that has yet to release, but this PT inspired detective horror game looks like it’s got a lot to offer, and we can’t wait to see what otherworldly horrors are waiting in the town where the idea of the UFO was born…

We can’t wait for this title to release, and you can wishlist it now on Steam.

Iron Lung

‘Decades ago, every known star and habitable planet mysteriously vanished, along with whatever and whoever happened to be on them, leaving behind an empty universe of asteroids and lifeless moons where the only remnants of humanity are those who were on space stations or starships at the time. With supplies gradually dwindling and infrastructure falling into disrepair, the survivors have spent the subsequent years frantically searching for any trace of remaining natural resources. Up until now they have been unsuccessful…

Then, a mysterious anomaly known as a Blood Ocean (which is exactly what it sounds like) was discovered on an otherwise barren moon. It’s not the first Blood Ocean found since the vanishing, but initial scans show a collection of potentially useful anomalous locations in a deep undersea (underblood?) trench that requires further investigation.’

So, this one is a bit different, Iron Lung doesn’t have you looking into space, it has you go down. This short experience is one of the most unique game experiences I’ve had this year, and I can’t say anymore without spoiling it. Featuring minimalist gameplay, enhancing the fear though only seeing grainy stills of your surroundings, a great original soundtrack and perfect pacing, this is well worth the short time it takes to complete.

You can play this game right now, it doesn’t cost much, doesn’t take much to run, and doesn’t take much time, if you have a Windows PC you already have all you need, pick it up on Steam.

They Are Here

‘Unexplained phenomena occurred at Grayswood Farm. On the night of August 7th, the Sherman family witnessed bright lights in the sky that moved at a breakneck speed over the cornfield. The lights moved in a random direction and at different speeds, after a while they vanished. This strange behaviour in the sky was observed at night, at the same time, for 5 days.’

They Are Here is a first-person horror title about a journalist trying to prove an extraterrestrial abduction happened on Grayswood Farm in his town. You are armed with a torch and a camera, and you can’t leave until you get what you need, and maybe learn a horrifying truth…

You can play the extended demo for this game right now in time for the release of the final portions of the game later this year, pick it up on Steam.

And that’s all for UFO day, we hope you want to believe, and hope you don’t feel too much of the cosmic horror from these titles, have a great time and remember to keep an eye on the sky! For more news, reviews and coverage of the latest indie games be sure to see what else we have on offer here at Indie Game Fans.

Liked this list? Why not try Josh’s List of 5 Indies that Belong in a Museum or Jamie’s List of 5 Relaxing Indies to Chill With.