11 Scandinavian games to look forward to in 2021

Bright Star Studios is a team of game industry veterans, former pro players and MMO fanatics. Founded in 2018 the studio is now working on Ember Sword, a game that utilises blockchain technology in what they call ‘our love letter to MMORPG gamers across the world’. It promises a radical new business model that favors players and rewards them with real life (crypro) currency. 

Ember Sword has the fast paced combat of ARPGs, combined with the isometric view and skill-based abilities of MOBAs, set in a persistent MMORPG fantasy universe. The game pioneers a new ecosystem for ownership of in-game items and player-to-player trading. Currently set for a 2022 release, interest is already high with a virtual land sale managing to sell out completely within 5 hours.

Kong Orange is formed by a colourful collective of friends, partners and colleagues united under a business and production umbrella. At the heart of the collective sits Esben Kjær Ravn, CEO & Founder of Kong Orange. He is the glue that holds everything and everyone together, acting as creative director, designer and producer. Vokabulantis is the latest game to take the spotlight.

Vokabulantis is a puppet animation game about language and love, in which real stop motion, handcrafted puppets and game design blend seamlessly. The game is created in a partnership between game studio Kong Orange, puppet animation studio Wired Fly Animation and acclaimed poet/artist Morten Søndergaard. A truly unique game with a spectacular visual style.

Digital Devotion Games is an indie studio based in Aarhus, Denmark. The team’s mission is to give friends new ways to hang out through innovative social games. And trying to have a positive impact on the culture in and around multiplayer games at the same time. With a strong passion for innovation and quality Digital Devotion Games builds friendship-strengthening experiences.

Project Tumble is Digital Devotion’s first game project. It’s a new kind of party game, where social interactive gaming is key. As a unique take on the multiplayer experience Project Tumble is an engaging adventure-party mashup, where you go on fantasy-fueled co-op adventures with your friends. It’s an ambitious mix of both adventure and party games that offers something fresh.

Galdra Studios is a Danish video game company founded by three friends; Mette, Jesper, and Daniel. They share a passion for story-driven games and after having worked together on many smaller game projects, they are now developing their debut title Arcadia Fallen. By combining narrative and interaction they aim to create an impressive interactive experience. Successfully Kickstarted last year and aiming for release in 2021.  

Arcadia Fallen is a Modern Fantasy Visual Novel, where player choices shape the personality of the characters. A young alchemist apprentice who is unwillingly bound to an illegal spirit, suddenly gets drawn into a war between humanity and magic. By joining a group of unlikely heroes they must try to escape their own doom and hopefully save the world along the way. The game is completely inclusive and has a strong fan base.

Soupmaster Games is currently a two man operation consisting of Martin Calander and Ludvig Thelberg. For the development of their comical game Big Boy Boxing the team is looking to grow the graphics department. The ambition is to create a video game all about funny, humoristic characters, just because -in the words of Martin Calander: “A video game with humoristic characters is funny for us to make!”

Big Boy Boxing is the all action, slapstick, boss-rush game where every fight comes with a punchline. Challenge all the former boxing champions and reignite the glory days of boxing. Taking inspiration from old and new games like  Punch-Out!! and Cuphead, the player punches and dodges their way through over a dozen characters with distinct personalities and unique gameplay concepts. Fun game with cool graphics.

Ink To Pixels was born from a love of retro games and pixel art. Right now the studio is busy developing a cyberpunk pixel art game set to come out this year. Originality is key for Ink To Pixels. They always aim to be new and innovative and like to subvert tropes and expectations that are commonplace in video games.

System Under Surveillance (SUS) is a stealth indie game with adventure and puzzle elements that is heavily focused on storytelling. In SUS you play as Adam and Turbo as they try to escape a dystopian city full of drones and evil robots. The game has no combat system so players have to evade and sneak around enemies. 

Warcry Interactive is a game studio based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It develops strategy games with a historical focus. The company was founded in 2019 and has released one title so far, Texas Drop’Em. The next game is currently under development and deals with the early game industry in the 80’s and 90’s.

Game Dev Legend is a strategy game currently in development to be released in 2021. It’s about leading a game studio in the early eras of the industry. Players run a game studio and control a factory that makes arcade cabinets. The game depicts the 1980’s and 1990’s, showing the most dynamic and exciting times in the industry.

Flamebait Games is an independent game-development studio founded in late 2016 by five university students, with the primary goal of delivering ‘strange games to the masses’. And that’s exactly what they have been doing ever since. After releasing four games since 2017, the team currently focuses on developing Passpartout 2.

A burnt-out artist must reclaim their lost glory by taking a place in the draconian curator’s Museum of the Masters, or forever be remembered as a failed artist. In Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist players draw and sell their own slapdash masterpieces on the go as they explore this beautiful handmade puppet world full of crazy characters.

The Forest Quartet is a 3D narrative puzzler by Danish indie developer Bedtime Digital Games about a gone, but not forgotten, lead singer. Travel through 3 acts unique to the band members for a final farewell concert. Solve puzzles and fight the corruption plaguing their souls.

Figment 2: Creed Valley is an action-adventure game by Bedtime Digital Games, set in the human mind. As Dusty, the Mind’s Courage, the player makes their way through puzzles, musical boss fights and unique environments. A journey filled with musical showdowns and mind-bending puzzles awaits.

Pathos Interactive is a game development studio based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Founded in 2015 the studio focuses on strategy and management games for PC and console. It released the RTS game Bannermen in 2019, and is currently developing the tycoon/management game Hotel Architect.

Hotel Architect is a colourful management game in the style of Two-Point Hospital in which you build and manage a wide variety of hotels all over the world. Players solve crazy problems and spoil their guests to impress even the harshest critic. The game comes out this year.