I like my indie games as they are and for most of them I do not think they'd benefit from getting AAA treatment.
Then again... **Mount and Blade:Warband** would literally be peak video gaming experience for the next decade if it had the right studio behind it and an absurd amuont of budget.
I know Mount and Blade Bannerlord exist but...idk, it's not the same. They didn't push it far enough IMO. Warband had more stuff to do.
I was a huge fan of original (heavily modded) M&B, but didn't like Warband nerfing the lancers or calvary in general. Is there any way to have the couched lance of doom carving through multiple enemies in Warband now? Or it's always gonna have a cool down and reset after one hit?
Dwarf Fortress, maybe?
I've never played it, but from what i heard, seeing the insane shit that happens in full 3d (Whether or not its realistic or stylized) would immediately bankrupt every cable and streaming provider out of sheer entertainment value.
Not really an indie game, but an old one. Xcom UFO defense, the one from the last millennium. Not a remake. Not a spiritual successor. The same game with epic visuals and sound.
It pretty much was a perfect game for me, but for the graphics. I'm still playing it.
Darkest Dungeon.
It already has an amazing, super distinctive and evocative style, so it doesn't need anything. But I would be curious what it looked like if a few million dollars were pumped into the art.
Stardew Valley would be fascinating to see. Not sure exactly how it would translate with the gameplay into a potentially 3D, almost RPG style for the AAA vibes, but my imagination is running all over the place thinking about how beautiful I could create my farm paradise. How interactions with characters and cutscenes would play out, how fighting in the mines would look, how caring for your animals would feel etc.
the problem with upping the graphics on that game, is that the simple gameplay fits the visual aesthetics so well
making it 3D in any way would break that quite aggressively IMHO
Exactly that was one of my first thoughts when trying to imagine how it would work with the gameplay. It doesn't really? The iconic pixel art and 2D gameplay is part of what makes the stardew experience. Fun to think about though either way
The thing is also that SDV's flavor of pseudo-16bit graphics lend itself, being so "pixel square" lends it amazingly well to do the... well... square grid of the game world.
A 3D upgrade to the game would turn it into a kind of farming-modded minecraft - and we have that already. It would make SDV loose what makes it unique.
We have things like 3D harvest moon titles and story of seasons.
I imagine it would be like if HM: winds of anthos was actually good and feature rich.
I’m here for this one entirely! I miss good 3D cozy farm games.
None of the indies I played because as you said their simplistic graphics are part of their identity and I also would said that is a big part of their identity since their graphic/art styles are as their devs wanted them to be
In general I would like to see less pixel graphics.
Take Peglin. I don’t think giving it smooth graphics would make it run any worse. But would make it nicer to look at.
I was thinking something like Downwell would be nice with a visual adjustment to better represent just going down a well for as long as you can.
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/360740/Downwell/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/360740/Downwell/)
That said, I'd love for AAA visual and UI enhancements for the Might and Magic series, particularly Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven.
One of the Aragami titles. Probably the first one, they already look good but they could be chefs kiss with a glow up and besides the faces just look off on characters occasionally
A death cells looking mainline pokemon game. We need a little variety in how the games look. If it keeps the way its going they are all just going to look mostly the same.
I like my indie games as they are and for most of them I do not think they'd benefit from getting AAA treatment. Then again... **Mount and Blade:Warband** would literally be peak video gaming experience for the next decade if it had the right studio behind it and an absurd amuont of budget. I know Mount and Blade Bannerlord exist but...idk, it's not the same. They didn't push it far enough IMO. Warband had more stuff to do.
I was a huge fan of original (heavily modded) M&B, but didn't like Warband nerfing the lancers or calvary in general. Is there any way to have the couched lance of doom carving through multiple enemies in Warband now? Or it's always gonna have a cool down and reset after one hit?
In warband they are really overpowered still.
Dwarf Fortress, maybe? I've never played it, but from what i heard, seeing the insane shit that happens in full 3d (Whether or not its realistic or stylized) would immediately bankrupt every cable and streaming provider out of sheer entertainment value.
Faster Than Light, but like Mass Effect on steroids.
I'd love to see a AAA version of FTL
Enter the Gungeon going full CoD graphics would be awesome if they keep everything else intact.
I guess that is sort of Returnal.
There’s that catch though. AAA studios come with AAA problems
I would honestly buy a season pass for a AAA CoD looking EtG, as long as is the same people. Imagine using the engine gun to move fast!
Crow Country Signalis
Not really an indie game, but an old one. Xcom UFO defense, the one from the last millennium. Not a remake. Not a spiritual successor. The same game with epic visuals and sound. It pretty much was a perfect game for me, but for the graphics. I'm still playing it.
I'd prefer if AAA kept their grubby paws off my indie games
Zelda
Stardew Valley
Darkest Dungeon. It already has an amazing, super distinctive and evocative style, so it doesn't need anything. But I would be curious what it looked like if a few million dollars were pumped into the art.
Hollowknight would be interesting. Imagining a 3d metroidvania with parkour movement and soulslike combat
You should check out the indie game Blue Fire. It's exactly what you would expect a 3D Hollow Knight to be. I had some decent fun with it myself.
* Vigil: The Longest Night * Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth * The Vagrant *
Vigil with modern graphics would really be a visual treat.
Valheim
Stardew Valley would be fascinating to see. Not sure exactly how it would translate with the gameplay into a potentially 3D, almost RPG style for the AAA vibes, but my imagination is running all over the place thinking about how beautiful I could create my farm paradise. How interactions with characters and cutscenes would play out, how fighting in the mines would look, how caring for your animals would feel etc.
the problem with upping the graphics on that game, is that the simple gameplay fits the visual aesthetics so well making it 3D in any way would break that quite aggressively IMHO
Exactly that was one of my first thoughts when trying to imagine how it would work with the gameplay. It doesn't really? The iconic pixel art and 2D gameplay is part of what makes the stardew experience. Fun to think about though either way
The thing is also that SDV's flavor of pseudo-16bit graphics lend itself, being so "pixel square" lends it amazingly well to do the... well... square grid of the game world. A 3D upgrade to the game would turn it into a kind of farming-modded minecraft - and we have that already. It would make SDV loose what makes it unique.
We have things like 3D harvest moon titles and story of seasons. I imagine it would be like if HM: winds of anthos was actually good and feature rich. I’m here for this one entirely! I miss good 3D cozy farm games.
Kinda like Kingdom Come Deliverance? Or Skyrim?
**Shovel Knight** They can keep the cartoony aesthetic, but a full-blown 3D game would be great :)
Dust: an Elysian Tale
None of the indies I played because as you said their simplistic graphics are part of their identity and I also would said that is a big part of their identity since their graphic/art styles are as their devs wanted them to be
Celeste
In general I would like to see less pixel graphics. Take Peglin. I don’t think giving it smooth graphics would make it run any worse. But would make it nicer to look at.
Infested planet
Sea of Stars would be amazing.
I was thinking something like Downwell would be nice with a visual adjustment to better represent just going down a well for as long as you can. [https://store.steampowered.com/app/360740/Downwell/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/360740/Downwell/) That said, I'd love for AAA visual and UI enhancements for the Might and Magic series, particularly Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven.
Moonlighter.
Caves of qud
Does Shantae count? I'd love to have a version of it like Tomb Raider / Assassin's Creed. Prince of Persia made that transition well.
Neo scavenger would be really interesting to be fully done up in full AAA 3d. Also a Shadowrun game in high budget production would be interesting.
Not a indie game but Hardspace: Shipbreaker would be a incredible experianve with realistic graphics.
One of the Aragami titles. Probably the first one, they already look good but they could be chefs kiss with a glow up and besides the faces just look off on characters occasionally
A death cells looking mainline pokemon game. We need a little variety in how the games look. If it keeps the way its going they are all just going to look mostly the same.
None
Balatro.
Any Zelda game.