Last time, I highlighted some of the horror games releasing in 2021. If you missed them, you can also find similar articles on action-adventure games, roguelites, platformers and Metroidvanias, city builders and management sims, strategy games, RPGs, and shooters.
Today, I’ll be showcasing a small sampling of the adventure video games coming our way this year. As always, I’ll be taking special care to feature predominately niche, indie, or middleware games that you might not have heard of yet.
What sets today’s article apart from the previous action-adventure one is that the games in today’s list tend to lack or otherwise deemphasize combat. This includes more traditional point and click adventures, nonviolent exploration-focused games, and puzzle games.
Here is Niche Gamer’s selection of 15 of the most promising adventure video games releasing in 2021:
Nairi: Rising Tide
Developer: HomeBearStudio
Publisher: Hound Picked Games
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: TBA 2021
Nairi: Rising Tide is the sequel to 2018’s Nairi: Tower of Shirin. Set right after the first game, players will once again guide Nairi on her journey to save her parents in a whimsical world full of anthropomorphic animals. Explore Shirin’s Middle District as you interact with a new cast of companions and solve brainteasers and puzzles.
TOHU
Developer: Fireart Games
Publisher: The Irregular Corporation
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, iOS, Android
Release Date: January 28th, 2021
Another upcoming adventure game set in a whimsical fantasy world is TOHU. Guide a young girl and her mechanical alter ego as they explore fish planets on their quest to repair the mysterious Sacred Engine. Swap between the girl and her mechanical companion on the fly to use their unique sets of abilities to solve puzzles and navigate each planet.
Cyanide & Happiness – Freakpocalypse
Developers: Explosm, Skeleton Crew Studios
Publisher: Serenity Forge
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: Early 2021
Cyanide & Happiness – Freakpocalypse is a point and click adventure game based on the popular web series known for its absurdist and dark humor.
You play as Coop “Go Away, Weirdo” McCarthy, the most unpopular and bullied kid at your high school. All of that will (hopefully) change the day everything goes crazy, and you must save the world. Interact with your favorite characters from the series as you experience a new storyline in the Cyanide & Happiness universe.
HuniePop 2: Double Date
Developer: HuniePot
Platform: Windows PC
Release Date: February 8th, 2021
Now for an adult orientated game of a different type. HuniePop 2: Double Date is the highly anticipated sequel to the hit match-3 dating sim from 2015. In addition to new girls (along with some returning favorites), this sequel also adds new mechanics.
These include a Baggage system that can make your attempts to woo the girls more challenging, and the titular double dates where you have to split your attention between two girls. The developer did confirm the game would be censored on Steam, but an uncensoring patch could happen.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne
Developer: Chime Corporation
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft Co.
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
Release Date: January 27th, 2021
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne is a visual novel adventure game based on the popular light novel and anime series. This all new adventure was made under the supervision of series creator Tappei Nagatsuki, and features new characters created by Shinichirou Otsuka.
The game is set about a month into Subaru’s new life, and involves a conspiracy around the election of the next leader of the Kingdom of Lugunica. One of the candidates is an imposter, and it’s up to Subaru and his companions to figure out who it is and what their motives are.
Mineko’s Night Market
Developer: Meowza Games
Publisher: Humble Games
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: TBA 2021
Mineko’s Night Market is an adventure game set on a colorful island inspired by Japanese culture at the base of Mount Fugu. The villagers worship the Sun Cat Abe, an old myth that suddenly seems to have become a reality.
Explore the island as a young girl named Mineko, completing odd jobs and crafting items to sell at your stall in the island’s weekly Night Market. Help restore the island to its former glory as you discover the secrets surrounding the myth of Abe.
Wytchwood
Developer: Alientrap
Platform: Windows PC
Release Date: TBA 2021
Wytchwood is a crafting-based adventure game inspired by classical fairytales and fables where you play as the old witch of an enchanted forest. Gather strange ingredients to craft sorcerous concoctions, and pass karmic justice upon wicked and greedy villagers.
Weaving Tides
Developer: Follow the Feathers
Publisher: Crytivo
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: Q1 2021
Weaving Tides is a puzzle adventure game set in a unique and colorful world of woven landscapes. Ride on a carpet dragon as Tass, a young boy trying to find his parents and unlock the forgotten secrets of the world. Solve puzzles by weaving patterns in the tapestry landscape of your surroundings with various unique items and abilities.
Papetura
Developer: Petums
Platform: Windows PC
Release Date: May 7th, 2021
Papetura is a point and click adventure game that features a stunning, handcrafted world made entirely out of paper. You play as Pape, a lonely paper creature that finds Tura, a magical being that he promises to care for. Together, the duo must face dark beings that threaten to burn their beloved paper world to ashes.
Genesis Noir
Developer: Feral Cat Den
Publisher: Fellow Traveller
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox One
Release Date: TBA 2021
Another adventure game with a rather striking aesthetic is Genesis Noir. This unconventional adventure game involves a love triangle between three cosmic beings that results in the Big Bang and the birth of the universe and everything in it. Travel through an expanding universe as No Man on your journey to save your love Miss Mass, and destroy all of creation.
Children of Silentown
Developers: Elf Games, Luna2 Studio
Platform: Windows PC
Release Date: TBA 2021
Children of Silentown is a dark and surreal adventure game set in a remote village deep within a forest inhabited by monsters.
You play as Lucy, and like all children in Silentown, you are terrified of the roars and growls that echo through the forest at night. Disappearances aren’t uncommon in Silentown, but after the latest one Lucy decides to investigate to learn the truth of the monsters and why people disappear into the night.
Exo One
Developer: Exbleative
Publisher: Future Friends Games
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox Series X
Release Date: TBA 2021
Exo One is a gravity defying trip through the cosmos in an alien craft with otherworldly abilities. After humanity discovers a mysterious transmission containing the blueprints for an alien craft, they decide to build it and send it on a voyage into deep space to find the source of the signal. Use gravity and momentum to reach insane speeds and heights as you speed across alien landscapes.
Sable
Developer: Shedworks
Publisher: Raw Fury
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox Series X
Release Date: TBA 2021
Sable is an open world exploration game set on a vast desert planet littered with the ruins of lost civilizations and crashed starships. Guide Sable on her rite of passage as she traverses across the harsh landscape in her customizable hoverbike. Explore ancient ruins, meet fellow nomads, solve puzzles, and scale rocky outcrops.
Scarf
Developer: Uprising Studios
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platform: Windows PC
Release Date: TBA 2021
Scarf is another upcoming exploration-focused adventure game with cute and colorful characters. Explore three different regions as a young boy with a magical scarf. Gain new movement abilities for your scarf as you jump, climb, and glide through each world.
Stray
Developer: BlueTwelve Studio
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 5
Release Date: TBA 2021
Finally, we come to Stray, a rather unique take on the cyberpunk genre. You play as a stray cat lost and alone in a decaying metropolis populated by robots. Explore the city through the perspective of a cat as you try to find a way out.
That’s all for our latest batch of articles highlighting some of the promising games coming our way in 2021. Next time, we’ll be taking a look at some of the co-op games releasing this year.
Until then, which of these games are you looking forward to? Are there any other adventure games you are excited for in 2021? Let us know in the comments below!
