I haven’t done an indie spotlight in a long time. In fact, the last one I did was well over a year ago. It’s not because I couldn’t find an indie worth talking about – one look at itch.io proves there will forever be indie games worth discussing. Rather, I found myself unable to connect emotionally with the indie games I was trying. That was until I spotted RollerGirl, a game I found so immersive and so innovative that I quite literally spent upwards of an hour skating around its gorgeous world listening to tunes.
“Each and every mechanic present within RollerGirl feels immaculately polished and invitingly engrossing.”
RollerGirl is a rather simple game at the moment. It sees you skate around a sleepy suburb listening to music, speaking to locals and immersing yourself within its vibrantly colourful world. However, despite its current simplicity, I found there to be a sense of sublimely serene satisfaction as I slowly made my way down the lavishly detailed streets listening to a variety of surprisingly catchy songs.
This was, in large part, due to the fact that each and every mechanic present within RollerGirl feels immaculately polished and invitingly engrossing. Skating feels smooth and responsive, the dialogue is quippy and full of character and the game’s central mechanic surrounding music is simply perfect. It is hard to fault a game that masters its core mechanics so expertly.
Furthermore, I found RollerGirl to be awe-inspiringly innovative too. For example, its aforementioned mechanic of tying the mood of the world with the music you listen to is nothing short of brilliant. It perfectly encapsulates the power that music has over us, and its immensely poignant ability to shape our very perception of the world. Simply skating down a street and watching as the colour drains when you switch to a sad song is hauntingly beautiful. The once blindingly bright blue sky and verdant streets suddenly feel solemn and the atmosphere becomes palpably sorrowful.
“RollerGirl’s current state is the perfect foundation from which a beautiful indie game can be built.”
RollerGirl very much has the potential to become the next Lake. Its gorgeous recreation of a sleepy suburb in Ontario feels warm and inviting; the colourful cast of characters are interesting and full of charm and untold stories; its protagonist has the potential to be both fiercely independent and relatable. Suffice to say, RollerGirl’s current state is the perfect foundation from which a beautiful indie game can be built. And I have the utmost faith that developer IndigoDoyle can absolutely pull it off.
You can check out RollerGirl on itch.io here. Consider following IndigoDoyle there too and downloading the game’s free demo.