Vote now for November 2023's TA Playlist game Voting is open for November 2023's TA Playlist game! This month, we’re putting the microscope on some of the best games made by small development teams.The TA Playlist Team Published 16 Oct 2023 FollowtopicsTA PlaylistCommunity eventThe TA Playlist Team We hope you’ve been enjoying the October TA Playlist Game of the Month, SUPERHOT, but it’s time to take a quick break from blasting away all those Red Dudes and cast your vote for November 2023’s featured game.This week, Microsoft wrapped up the biggest deal in video game history, officially acquiring Activision-Blizzard-King for a record $68.7 billion and bringing some of the biggest IPs in the world under the Xbox umbrella. Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and ABK’s other properties are developed by teams of hundreds of programmers, artists, and other talented professionals, and we’re excited to see what these AAA-caliber studios can bring to the Xbox ecosystem in the coming years.For this month’s TA Playlist poll, however, we wanted to look at the opposite end of the spectrum. Just because a AAA game has a large team behind it doesn’t guarantee it will be great, and on the reverse side, there are many examples of excellent games produced by very small teams or even individual programmers. For this month’s vote, we’ve selected four highly-rated “solo” projects that have come to Xbox over the years. A quick note: With very rare exceptions, no game is actually created by only one person. Even the most talented solo devs might have to collaborate or hire some freelancers to help with certain aspects of programming, art design, music, or what have you, so we didn’t limit the selection to games with literally only one person developing them. But these four games are all famous for having one person driving the development and vision as the 'author' of the game. Which will you choose for the November Game of the Month? Axiom VergeUp first is Axiom Verge, a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania title developed and published by List of games developed by Thomas Happ Games. Of all the games on this month’s list, this is probably the solo-est, with Happ himself credited as the developer, publisher, and composer for the title. It was first released on the Playstation 4 in 2015, with ports to Xbox and other platforms over the following year.After a lab accident, a scientist awakens in a mysterious, alien world. Is this a distant planet? The far future? Or a complex virtual-reality computer simulation? Plumb the recesses of a large, labyrinthine world in order to learn its secrets and uncover your role within it. Discover tons of weapons, items, and abilities, each with their own unique behaviors and usage. You’ll need your wits to find them all. Combat bizarre biomechanoid constructs, the deadly fallout of an ancient war, and the demons of your own psyche. And finally, break the game itself by using glitches to corrupt foes and solve puzzles in the environment.Axiom Verge was nominated for Best Independent Game at the 2015 Game Awards, and the Xbox version has a Metacritic score of 85/100. It currently holds a TA community rating of 4.24/5.00, with nearly 6,500 tracked gamers having started the game and around 3% (just under 200 tracked gamers) completing it. No walkthrough currently exists on site, but there are guides for most of the game’s 29 achievements, which include a speedrun and several missables. The community estimates a full completion will take 20-25 hours.BraidOur second nominee this month is by far the oldest, the 2008 puzzle platformer Braid. The developer is listed as Number None, a company formed by solo programmer and designer Jonathan Blow specifically for the game’s release. Xbox Game Studios published the game, which quickly became a huge hit, becoming the second-largest-selling Xbox Live Arcade game of 2008 and serving as a watershed moment for proving the profitability of indie game development.Manipulate the flow of time. Rescue the Princess. Contemplate the world; save yourself. Journey through a series of different worlds as you learn new powers and concepts, solve puzzles, and search for answers. Perhaps you will find the Princess and rescue her.The deliberately vague and enigmatic store description is representative of the game’s overall design philosophy, choosing to let the player learn the concepts and uncover the deeper meaning of the themes for themselves rather than presenting them overtly. Braid is considered a masterpiece for its painterly art style, intricate puzzles, and profound storytelling.Over 70,000 tracked gamers have started Braid, with just over 2,000 (3%) completing all 12 of the game’s achievements. The TA community rating is 4.10/5.00, with a Metacritic score of 93/100 and a slew of awards testifying to Braid’s special place in video game history. The TA community estimates it should take 6-8 hours to complete all the achievements, a task that could be made easier with the on-site walkthrough by xDaff (although Jonathan Blow himself would urge you not to use it, at least on your first playthrough).Return of the Obra DinnThe third nominee is the second commercial game from developer and publisher Lucas Pope, Return of the Obra Dinn. Released for console in 2018 and billed as “An Insurance Adventure with Minimal Color,” Pope manages to turn monochrome 1-bit graphics into a surprisingly stunning mystery/logic puzzle game. In 1802, the merchant ship Obra Dinn set out from London for the Orient with over 200 tons of trade goods. Six months later, it hadn't met its rendezvous point at the Cape of Good Hope and was declared lost at sea.Early this morning of October 14th, 1807, the Obra Dinn drifted into port at Falmouth with damaged sails and no visible crew. As insurance investigator for the East India Company's London Office, dispatch immediately to Falmouth, find means to board the ship, and prepare an assessment of damages.With a Metacritic rating of 89/100, Return of the Obra Dinn won several awards for both narrative and art design, including the Seaumus McNally Grand Prize from the 2019 Independent Games Festival. While fewer than 3,000 tracked TA gamers have boarded the Obra Dinn so far, over 1,000 (37%) have completed the game, with a TA user score of 4.48/5.00, making it the highest-rated game this month, according to the TA community. It’s estimated that it will take 8-10 hours to complete the game’s 16 achievements, with a walkthrough by CoopRaccoon available to help you solve the mystery.A Short HikeOur fourth and final nomination for November is A Short Hike. Developed by List of games developed by Adam Robinson-Yu and published by Whippoorwill, A Short Hike was released in 2019 for PC, Mac, and Linux, but made the jump to console in 2021, earning accolades as a relaxing and charming adventure game.Hike, climb, and soar through the peaceful mountainside landscapes of Hawk Peak Provincial Park. Follow the marked trails or explore the backcountry as you make your way to the summit. Along the way, meet other hikers, discover hidden treasures, and take in the world around you.Another Seumas McNally Award winner (2020), A Short Hike has a Metacritic score of 88/100 (for the Nintendo Switch version) and a TA community rating of 3.93/5.00. Around 15,000 tracked gamers have started the game, with just over 4,000 (27%) completing all 12 achievements. There’s no walkthrough as of yet, but this is still considered a short and easy completion, at just 4-5 hours, and it is available on Xbox Game Pass.So, what do you think of this month’s selections? Place your vote and let us know your thoughts in the comments! These are generally smaller titles with lower player counts, so look at this as an opportunity to try something new, or if you’re a fan of one of these games, feel free to talk it up in the comments and see if your favorite wins the day! Also, let us know if there are any other “solo”-dev games we missed.Some of the most famous examples, such as Stardew Valley and Undertale, were ineligible since they’ve already been featured in previous months of the Playlist, but if you have any other suggestions, be sure to drop them in the TA Playlist Game Suggestion Thread for possible inclusion in a future poll!Which game should the community play for November 2023's TA Playlist? Axiom Verge Braid Return of the Obra Dinn A Short Hike Log in or Register to vote TA Playlist Written by The TA Playlist TeamThe TA Playlist is a monthly community event. Everyone votes on which of four games to play, and then we all play through it in the following month. There's a dedicated hub to discuss everything about the game, from story beats to gameplay tips – and of course, you can track your achievement progress during the month as well. TA Playlist was created by Mark Delaney and is now run by Miles, Nici and Chewie.