Proximity Alert: Pyre

Pyre is the latest game from Supergiant Games, the studio behind Bastion and Transistor (our 2014 Game of the Year). Their third game is a party-based RPG focusing on a group of individuals who have been exiled from the Commonwealth, but they learn of a secret competition that may allow them to return home with their transgressions forgiven. Each of the exiled characters has different abilities which aid them in the competition, and players must learn to use the strengths of each character cooperatively, as only one can be controlled at a time. Each team has a pyre on their end of the arena that they must defend, while also attempting to carry a glowing orb into the pyre of their opponents, which temporarily removes that player from the playfield. Players must take advantage of speed to get the orb to the other side of the arena, strategy to avoid attacks from competitors, and weapons to disable their foes and remove the orb from their possession.

Pyre is now available to preorder on PC via Steam and PS4 via PSN, and will be arriving on July 25.

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Target Acquired: A Hole New World

A Hole New World, from Mad Gear Games, is a retro-styled action game where dropping down through holes reverses gravity and turns the world on its head. The player takes on the role of an alchemist who tosses potions at his enemies, which adds a bit of extra challenge - especially in upside-down areas - since he tosses them in an arc. Different kinds of potions have different effects on enemies, with red potions igniting them in flames, and white potions bouncing and freezing them. The player also gains a charge attack that allow for a more direct assault on his enemies by firing off energy blasts that penetrate multiple foes in a row.

The game is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam. It is also coming to PS4 this summer and is planned for release on Xbox One as well. Check our coverage here.

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New Blip: Anew: The Distant Light

Anew: The Distant Light, from Resonator Games (game site), is an open world action adventure title featuring a child on an alien moon. The world is dangerous, and you must battle your way past enemies, solve environmental puzzles, complete platforming challenges, and explore some gorgeous landscapes to discover new items and upgrades to help you on your journey. Though young, the boy is not shy about using heavy firepower as he runs down aliens with saws, blasts them with homing missiles, and lays down heavy machine gun fire with independent movement and aiming.

The game is headed for PC, and possibly consoles, but does not yet have an official release date.




To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.

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New Blip: The Siege and the Sandfox

Developers Chucklefish (Starbound, Stardew Valley) and Cardboard Sword have teamed up to create an atmospheric stealth-based metroidvania entitled The Siege and the Sandfox (that's "Sandfox" not "Sandbox"). You take on the role of a thief who witnesses the murder of the king and finds himself accused of this crime and tossed into the dungeon. By mastering stealth and acrobatic abilities, you must evade guards, escape your prison, and expose the true villain in order to save the city.

The game is headed to PC but does not yet have an announced release date.




To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.

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Target Acquired: Plasma Puncher

Plasma Puncher, from Tomatotrap (game site) is a single-pane brawler starring a white blood cell on a mission to stop a gigantic germ and a horde of nasty baddies from infecting its host. Gameplay takes place on the back of the Mother-Microbe, which stares at you as you run around on its circular surface smashing colorful creatures with your fists and grabbing the occasional random powerup. Powerups let you unleash heavy damage for a limited time, with a heavy hammer, swarming spikes, and even a missile launcher, while a shop system lets you upgrade your abilities to extend your combo and add some new moves.

The game is now available for PC via Steam. Check our coverage here.

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New Blip: Demon Peak

In Demon Peak, you take on the role of an armored warrior who enters a mountain and heads toward its eponymous peak. Combat is melee-based, with the player slashing his weapon and blocking retaliatory strikes, and different strategies are required depending on the enemy he is facing. The game is a metroidvania, so you will slowly earn new abilities that aid in combat and allow you to more fully explore the mountain, such as a downward strike that allows you to break through sections of the floor and strike enemies from above. The game also features a number of large-scale boss encounters to put your fighting skills to the test.

The game is headed to PC via Steam sometime this year. A demo is available on Itch.io.




To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.

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News: Seasons After Fall Comes to Consoles

Seasons After Fall, from France-based indie studio Swing Swing Submarine - developers of Blocks That Matter - features a wild fox that is traveling across the landscape, exploring, platforming, and interacting with the guardians of the seasons. The key to progressing is the player’s ability to change between any of the 4 seasons at will, and doing so may have dramatic effects on the environment. For instance, if your path is blocked by water, you may change the season to winter, causing it to freeze and allowing you to pass. If you cannot reach a high ledge, you may water a seedling, which will sprout into a full-sized tree before your eyes as you change to the proper season, allowing you to climb up.

The long-in-development game came out for computers last year and is now available on Xbox One and PS4. Check our coverage here.

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News: Butcher Arrives on Consoles

Butcher, from Transhuman Design, is a gritty low-rez sidescrolling actioner inspired by 90's era corridor crawlers with a strong focus on loud blasts of gunfire, huge sprays of blood, and the pained screams of fallen enemies... with a deep thudding guitar hammering away beneath it all. The game world consists of open industrial environments with spinning saw blades and pits of acid, and the walls become soaked with blood as enemies are taken apart by shotgun blasts, machine gun fire, flamethrowers, and RPG's.

Players are able to move and aim independently with keyboard and mouse controls, similar to Abuse and a number of modern day twin-stick sidescrollers. Oh, and you can kick enemies around - and they scream when you do it - allowing you to knock them back into acid, toss them upward for some midair shotty action, or just kick their corpses around. As the game states, "Meating people has never been so fun."

Butcher was released last year for computers and is now available for PS4 and Xbox One. Check our coverage here.

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News: Elliot Quest Arrives on Consoles

Elliot Quest is an action adventure game from developer Luis Zuno, under the Ansimuz Games label. Here, the player travels across Urule Island, exploring its cliffs, forests, caves, and deserts, defeating enemies and searching for treasure. Our hero is armed with a bow and arrow, but may also use various spells to destroy creatures and solve puzzles, although some enemies and bosses are resistant to certain attacks. The main character may be leveled up and customized to fit your play style, and the game features multiple endings based on your actions. On your journey, you will speak with NPC’s, buy items, fight numerous boss creatures, solve puzzles, and explore a nonlinear world filled with secrets and hidden passages.

Elliot Quest was originally released in 2014 on PC, Mac, Linux and Ouya (remember the Ouya?), and a 2015 release on Wii U. This week, the game extends its reach with ports on PS4, Xbox One, and 3DS. Check our coverage here.

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Early Arrival: Dead Cells

Dead Cells, from Motion Twin, is a roguelike action-adventure inspired by the Castlevania series. Per genre conventions, the game features procedural generation and no checkpoints, so death returns you to the start of the game. However, it also features the open design of modern-day metroidvania titles, allowing multiple routes through the environment, along with a Souls-esque dodge roll. Gameplay takes place in and around a huge castle, with players facing off against various creatures and humanoid enemies - and their elite variants - plus some tougher boss encounters. Players make use of a variety of melee weapons, including spears, swords, and whips, as well as magic and projectile-based attacks.

Dead Cells is now available for PC via Steam Early Access.

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Target Acquired: Blaster Master Zero

Inti Creates, the developer behind Azure Striker Gunvolt and the bulk of the latter-day Mega Man games, has created a remake/reboot of the NES classic Blaster Master. Blaster Master Zero is an 8-bit-style experience with retro 2D visuals but with some modern hardware improvements. The game features a number of areas from the original Blaster Master, but also adds several new areas and bosses, as well as new weapon types. The player once again assumes the role of Jason Frudnick, star of the original game (although the name "Frudnick" only appeared in the Worlds of Power Blaster Master novella), and once again features Jason chasing Fred and falling into a subterranean world where he finds SOPHIA 3rd conveniently parked nearby. In some added backstory, it appears that humanity once inhabited the underworld after the planet entered an ice age... during which time a strange comet struck Earth, and the story picks up hundreds of years later.

Blaster Master Zero is now available for Switch and 3DS via eShop, which now includes a downloadable demo. Check our coverage here.

The studio also released a Version 1.2 update that adds a Hard mode (the main game is kinda easy), as well as DLC playable characters in the form of Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt (available now), and Ekoro from Gal*Gun (coming next month). These characters are free for a limited time and will later become paid downloads.

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New Blip: Nykra

Nykra, from Endesga, stars a young woman named Keu who is exploring the universe's first galaxy, Nykra. Keu is accompanied by a hovering drone called Eo, which helps to defend her and open new paths as she uncovers the mysteries of this galaxy, starting with a strange black cube on a pastoral planet, reminiscent of the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Her adventure takes her across seven planets and several small moons and offers nonlinear gameplay, puzzle solving, hacking, a loot and crafting system, and a customizable and upgradeable weapon system.

The game is planned for PC, Mac, Linux via Steam at the end of this year, and is also planned for release on PS4 via PSN.




To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.

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New Blip: Okinawa Rush

Okinawa Rush is a single-plane beat 'em up from David Miller, Steve Miller and Gary Angelone. The game stars ninja master Hiro Yashima, who finds his wife murdered and his children kidnapped, and a note of challenge from a warrior of the Black Mantis clan. The Black Mantis clan have murdered and pillaged their way through Okinawa, looking for Yashima's training scroll that has granted him mystical powers in addition to martial arts prowess. Now, he must fight his way through hordes of martial arts baddies and some ferocious beasts in order to rescue his son and daughter. Along the way, he can train in dojos to learn new arts and buy equipment from merchants to boost his stats.

The game is headed to PC at the end of 2017. A playable demo is available on the developer's website.




To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.

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