This year’s big video game announcements are already underway. Ahead of the official E3 programming, several game companies are coming out with their own news, including an indie showcase called Day of the Devs, co-produced by Double Fine and creative events company iam8bit.

On Thursday, the Day of the Devs event highlighted 16 indie games, plus three titles from asobu, a Japanese accelerator program that helps indie developers produce games. While these games have already been announced separately online, the event provided a closer look at trailers. Of the 16 new titles, we’ve highlighted a few that caught our attention.

While all the games have already been announced before, the event is the first time we’re getting a release date announcement for “Garden Story” (2021), as well as a launch trailer for “Garden Story” and “Last Stop” plus new gameplay footage for “Axiom Verge 2.”

'Axiom Verge 2′

This is a Metroidvania game — an action adventure game in the style of Metroid and Castlevania — from Thomas Happ Games. It’s a sequel to the popular indie hit “Axiom Verge.” It has completely new characters, including Indra, a billionaire who has discovered a new world, new enemies and powers. It doesn’t require players to first try the original as the story can stand alone. It’s coming in 2021 on the Nintendo Switch and on the Epic Games Store.

‘Behind the Frame’

This anime-style story is supposed to be quite the tear-jerker. From Silver Lining Studio, which is based in Taiwan, “Behind the Frame” is about a painter who is following her lifelong dream to become a professional artist. The gameplay involves solving puzzles, brewing coffee and exploring an apartment. The game is slated to come out later this year.

‘Death’s Door’

This is a fantasy game from Acid Nerve with plenty of gorgeous action. You play a crow who works at an office, but your main task is to venture into the outside world and reap souls from the dead. The crow is highly skilled at dodging, rolling and slashing with a sword. Some of the enemies you’ll encounter resemble characters from Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away.” It’s coming later this summer.

‘Garden Story’

“Garden Story” is a cutesy adventure role-playing game from Picogram and Rose City Games where you play a grape aptly named Concord. The island Concord lives on is rotting, but with the help of friends like Elderberry and Fuji, it can be restored. It’s slated for later this year.

'Last Stop’

From Annapurna Interactive and Variable State, “Last Stop” is one of the more hyped indie games coming this July. It’s a single-player narrative adventure game about three separate characters with their own stories, whose worlds collide during a supernatural emergency. You get to make dialogue choices that will change the game. It’ll be out on PlayStation 4, 5, Xbox One and Series X, Nintendo Switch and PC.

‘Phantom Abyss’

One of the first games shown during the event, “Phantom Abyss,” features a very Indiana Jones-like setting and is coming to Steam this month in early access. The player is a glowing phantom who can swing across traps and bosses using a grappling whip, to capture the temple faster than other players. The game is multiplayer but people don’t play simultaneously, so they’ll run across things other players left behind during their temple runs. During a media preview demonstration, the game’s developers, Team WIBY, said that each player gets one attempt at each temple and if they die, they can never try it again. Each temple can only be captured by one player in the world before it is shut down. Right off the bat, the game sounds immensely challenging and like it has a lot of potential for live-streaming.

‘Unbeatable’

This anime-style, music game with rhythm mechanics feels like it could grow really popular. It’s a narrative adventure game from D-CELL GAMES about a world where music has been outlawed. The characters, a ragtag band of musicians who still want to perform, have their hands full defeating monsters during rock concerts, throwing underground events and writing songs. Featuring funny dialogue and action-packed gameplay, the game aims to tell a story about nostalgia. A free demo has been available on Steam since May.

‘Vokabulantis’

This is a stop-motion game with a unique look. From developers Wired Fly Stop Motion, Kong Orange and Morten Søndergaard, the game is built with handmade sets and by taking photos of characters in different lighting. The characters look nimble and realistic as they navigate a dilapidated building. But they don’t have mouths and don’t speak, which is presumably an important plot point in the game. There’s still no release date and we hear the game is a few years out from launch.

‘The Wandering Village’

In this game, the player controls villagers who work on farms. Sounds normal enough, right? They’re actually farming on top of a giant, mythical beast that walks across the land. And the beast isn’t impervious. While wandering in swamplands, it gets fungal infections that spawn on the villagers’ farms. To combat the fungus, the villagers must set them on fire. As the villagers build a bond with the massive animal, they’re able to summon a horn to communicate with it and ask it to lay down to rest, or keep walking. It’s up to the beast if it wants to listen. While farming simulators and resource management games are a dime a dozen, the setting of working on top of a giant creature is definitely head-turning. This Gulliver’s Tales-like setup is made by Stray Fawn Studio and doesn’t have a set release date yet.

See the full list of games:

“A Musical Story” by Glee-Cheese Studio

“Axiom Verge 2″ by Thomas Happ Games

“Behind the Frame” by Silver Lining Studio

“Death’s Door” by Acid Nerve

“Despelote” by Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena

“Garden Story” by Picogram and Rose City Games

“Last Stop” by Annapurna Interactive and Variable State

“Loot River” by straka.studio

“Moonglow Bay” by Bunnyhug and Coatsink

“Phantom Abyss” by Team WIBY

“Road 96” by DigixArt

“Soup Pot” by Chikon Club

“The Wandering Village” by Stray Fawn Studio

“TOEM” by Something We Made

“Unbeatable” by D-CELL GAMES

“Vokabulantis” by Wired Fly Stop Motion and Kong Orange and Morten Søndergaard

Games from asobu:

“Demolition Robots K.K.” by Takaaki Ichijo, Throw the warped code out

“Elec Head” by NamaTakahashi

“Walk” by Kazumi Games