7 worthy games of recent years
Russian developers have long since destroyed the stereotypes that domestic game development is only War Thunder and mobile farming simulators.
Anna Mavrina, the author of Skillfactory, has prepared a short review of seven video games that have been released in the last few years. She told how these projects were created and why they deserve attention.
Anna Mavrina
Skillfactory author with an engineering background who loves RPGs and video games.
Pathfinder Series (2018, 2021)
The developer of the series is the Russian studio Owlcat Games. The first game, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, was released in 2018, and in 2021 the studio released a sequel, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. The series is based on the board game of the same name, which in turn is based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing system.
Pathfinder is an isometric fantasy RPG where the hero fights demons that came from a magical rift. First of all, it is interesting for its scale (the player has access to 25 character classes, 15 races, 1000+ spells and attacks) and huge potential for pumping the hero. The game was especially to the taste of fans of classic multi-variant RPGs: you can create any character and choose one of the many paths for him.
The game is often compared to Baldur's Gate. Despite the completely different gameplay, both are based on the famous role-playing system Dungeons & Dragons.
Facts about the game's production:
The studio used some of its parent company's funding to create both Pathfinder games, and also launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.
Wrath of the Righteous continues to receive expansions to this day. The last major DLC for the second game was released in 2024, and sales of the game exceeded 1 million copies in early 2023.
Pathfinder creators in interview recognizedthat the first game turned out to be even bigger than they had planned and caused a lot of difficulties. In developing the second game, past mistakes took into account and paid more attention to planning.
Sites: Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store.
Deadside (2020)
The game was created by independent studio Bad Pixel and released in early access in 2020. Deadside is still in this state, but not all is lost – new content, mechanics and patches are gradually being released for the game.
The developers commented on the decision on early access as follows:
“Deadside is quite an ambitious project for our team, and working on it before release would take at least several years. We, as developers, are interested in players from our community being able to enjoy the game as soon as possible, and we get feedback. This will significantly improve the quality of the final product – after all, it will be created together with the players, and will also speed up the search and correction of errors in early builds.”
— Bad Pixel, Steam
This multiplayer game combines the shooter and survival genres: players can fight each other on PvP servers or with bots in PvE mode. The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic world reminiscent of the Russian outback of the 2000s – with an abundance of rivers, forests and villages, but almost no people and modern technology.
The game character's task is to survive and complete missions, build bases and think through every step tactically. There are no zombies or mutants here, but there are wild animals, aggressive gangs and an unfriendly world.
Deadside is praised for its atmosphere: the game uses models of real equipment and weapons, and the locations really do resemble landscapes of Russian villages and cities. But the game is still in early access – many of the mechanics that were originally planned are not yet in it.
Facts about the game's production:
Long early access is nothing new for the genre. Deadside is often compared to DayZ, another survival shooter that spent many years in alpha, as well as Scum and Rust. Discussions of similarities and differences can be found even on foreign platforms. However, DayZ places more emphasis on survival, while Deadside focuses on combat.
The studio has not conducted any crowdfunding campaigns, and does not disclose information about the budget and financing. It is known that Bad Pixel does not have a publisher – they release the game on their own.
Sites: Steam.
Black Book (2021)
Russian studio Morteshka creates games based on the mythology of peoples of different regions. Their debut work was dedicated to a character from Komi-Permyak myths – the human-elk. But the real breakthrough was “The Black Book” – an adventure in the spirit of Russian folk tales.
This is a dark and attractive game that mixes adventure and card RPG. The main character, the sorceress Vasilisa, tries to bring her dead lover back to life with the help of the mysterious “Black Book”. During her adventure, she travels through villages and towns, drives out evil spirits, helps residents and immerses herself in the world of northern Russian mythology full of secrets.
The game has also achieved success in the foreign market, but foreign users often encountered a cultural barrier – they said that the game has many incomprehensible moments that are not explained in any way. But for users from Russia, these details are obvious.
Facts about the game's production:
Developers they toldthat when creating the game, they consulted with experts in mythology and even contacted ethnographic museums to collect information and make the game more authentic.
The budget for the game's development was raised on Kickstarter – during the campaign, the studio managed to raise a little more than 160 thousand dollars. Initially, the developers were counting on a smaller amount, and such a success of the campaign helped them release new mechanics.
Despite the fact that the game is quite large-scale, the Morteshka team has only five people. This affected the development time – the idea of ”The Black Book” appeared back in 2017, and the game saw the world only in 2021.
Sites: Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo Store.
Voidtrain (2021)
The game was created and published by HypeTrain Digital, the same company that published The Black Book. The company is currently based in Cyprus, but has Russian roots. Although HypeTrain is primarily involved in publishing, Voidtrain is its own development.
The game's protagonist is an engineer who finds himself in an unfamiliar world called Void and must drive an interdimensional express train through it. The hero builds the train himself on the basis of a simple handcar, and during the journey he encounters various creatures, fights enemies, and discovers new locations.
The gameplay includes arena battles, survival, and lots of crafting – the train and equipment can be upgraded and customized to suit your needs. The plot also includes steampunk and a space shark.
Facts about the game's production:
The game was originally released in 2021 on the Epic Games Store, and only appeared on Steam in 2023. The developers do not disclose information about the budget, but they have not launched any crowdfunding campaigns.
Voidtrain is still in Early Access, but the developers write on their Steam page that they hope to release the full version in 2024.
The game is compared to Rafta survival simulator on a raft in the ocean. But the atmosphere is completely different – not water and islands, but the mysterious Void.
Sites: Epic Games Store, Steam.
Atomic Heart (2023)
This selection could not do without the most sensational Russian project in recent years. The Mundfish studio is from Russia, but is now registered in Cyprus, so the game is also sold on the world market.
Atomic Heart was a real long-term project: it was announced back in 2018, and by 2023 many no longer believed in its release. Nevertheless, the game was released – and immediately caused a stir. The controversy around it became one of the main gaming news items of 2023, at least in the post-Soviet space.
Atomic Heart is an action shooter set in an alternative USSR. The plot begins with the main character, an intelligence agent, arriving at a robot manufacturing facility. It was the robots that became the game's main symbol: metal ballerinas with a star on their foreheads were discussed far beyond Russia.
As the game progresses, the plot reveals more and more information about what is happening – about how the idea of building a future world turns into a disaster. And the final plot twist evokes even more associations with the first part of Bioshock.
Facts about the game's production:
Supposedthat the game's creation cost slightly less than 2 billion rubles, although the developers were initially targeting much more modest amounts. It is believed that the main money was invested by a foreign publisher, as well as investors – among them there are other game studios and investment companies.
The game quickly became a top game and took first place on Steam in terms of downloads. In the first days after its release, it even surpassed projects from market giants like Hogwarts Legacy. Total sales are not disclosed, but in 2023, the game's publisher earned more than 194 million euros — and emphasized that Atomic Heart made a great contribution.
Mundfish is developing a third DLC for Atomic Heart — it will be dedicated to the underwater world. The first add-on told about the continuation of the main story after one of the endings, and in the second, the player traveled through the surreal world of Limbo.
Sites: Steam, VK Play, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store.
Torn Away (2023)
This is another project from last year, not as well-known as Atomic Heart, but an award-winning title in its genre. The game was created by independent studio perelesoq, and was published by Chinese publisher Hawthorn Games.
Torn Away is an interactive movie with elements of a classic quest that tells about the Great Patriotic War through the eyes of a child. The main character, a girl named Asya, is trying to return home from German captivity, and along the way she faces various challenges. Simple but pleasant graphics and a touching main character are combined with a deep and sad plot.
Facts about the game's production:
The game won the Game Connection Europe Grand Award in the indie segment and received the award for best storytelling at WN Conference Belgrade 2023. It is compared to Limbo — a dark indie puzzle game about a boy in a world full of monsters, which also won many awards.
The game took four years to make. The studio initially planned to release the game in early 2022, but then had to find a new publisher and the release was delayed by more than a year.
The game was financed by a private investor. The creators do not disclose how much was spent on development. Information about 50 million rubles leaked onto the Internet, but studio representatives denied it – they said that in fact much less money was spent on the game.
The sad news is that despite the awards and high praise from critics, Torn Away did not achieve commercial success. Most likely, it was due to the unfortunate timing of its release: in the fall of 2023, many games were released, and Torn Away simply got lost among them. Nevertheless, the game continues to be nominated for awards – in June, it was shortlisted for the Games for Change award. So the “Russian Limbo about the Great Patriotic War” definitely deserves attention.
Sites: Steam, VK Play, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo Store.
INDIKA (2024)
Among the new releases of this year, the indie horror INDIKA stands out, which was released in May 2024 and has already earned many positive reviews. The game was created by Odd Meter studio, and published by 11 bit Studios, which released Frostpunk And This War of Mine.
Indika is a young nun possessed by the devil who embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Set in an alternate 19th-century Russia, the game combines surrealism, horror, puzzles, and dark humor.
The plot is compared to the works of Russian classics. There is tragicomedy and profound questions that are not so easy to answer. The main character fights her inner demons, questions the world around her and moves towards her goal – to understand herself.
Facts about the game's production:
INDIKA was created over five years, but its idea, according to the developers, appeared much earlier. The script alone took several years – it was rewritten many times. And it took almost a year to negotiate with the publisher.
The developers say that the game was created with their own funds – they used part of the money they earned from the previous project – VR games Sacralith: The Archer's Tale.
Although it is too early to sum up the results, the publisher already calls the game a success – according to his calculations, it will pay for itself by the end of the year. The developers are not so confident in success, but they look to the future with optimism – INDIKA has already attracted everyone's attention.
Sites: Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store.
We have not written about all the worthy projects. What is only “Pathologic” worth, which has already become a kind of legend (despite the fact that optimization problems did not allow the author of the article to play the second part). And in 2024, the release of the long-awaited Broken Veil, work on which was suspended since 2022, and the dark folklore “One-Eyed Evil” from the creators of “The Black Book” is expected. So Russian gamedev is alive and continues to surprise users.
We would be glad to know which domestic projects you remember the most.
We believe that the market needs more interesting projects in game development, so together with Innopolis University we launched the first in Russia Online Master's Degree in Game Production. The program will teach students who want to manage the production, promotion and support of games or, even more ambitiously, to found their own game development startup.
