New Release: Cannon Dancer - Osman

An enhanced edition of a bombastic arcade actioner, from Mitchell Corporation and ININ Games

New Release: Hazard Saviour

An open world platformer inspired by Crazy Taxi, from Sinclair Strange

New Release: Ginsha

An open world action-adventure that takes place across multiple planets, from PolarityFlow

New Release: Haunted Lands: Burial Grounds

A tough and bloody DOS-style shooter, from Alexey Goryachev

New Release: Curse of the Sea Rats

An open world action-adventure featuring 2D animation and 3D environments, from Petoons Studio

April 29, 2018

Target Acquired: Streets of Red: Devil's Dare Deluxe

In 2014, Secret Base released Devil's Dare on home computers, and now they've returned with an updated version of that game entitled Streets of Red: Devil's Dare Deluxe. The game is a neo-retro beat 'em up with loads of references to movies, television, and video games. Some of the references have been updated with the new release, such as the Golden Axe-themed character tossing his axe in favor of a shovel to sport Shovel Knight-esque look, and the replacement of a xenomorph boss in favor of a demigorgon. The game features four geeky warriors (with two more unlockable) going up against hordes of the undead in 1P-4P co-op, with a roguelike death system that requires payment to stay in the game. Each character has a basic melee combo, but players are encouraged to use special moves to defeat enemies, and string together kills for bigger rewards... and bloodier kills.

Streets of Red: Devil's Dare Deluxe is now available for Switch via eShop and PS4 via PSN. Check our coverage here.




April 26, 2018

Target Acquired: To Leave

Freaky Creations has crafted a game about leaving the painful world behind. To Leave stars a fellow named Harm who has grown tired of the world and attempts to make his escape by means of a flying door, which he clings to for dear life. As the player navigates challenging obstacle-filled environments, he runs the danger of damaging the door, at which point it will absorb him, and he will have to restart from a checkpoint. The player flies his door around collecting blue spirits while avoiding the often face-packed obstacles that rise up to destroy him. This one is probably best suited toward those gamers willing to accept a bit of metaphor in their gaming experience.

The game is now available on PS4 via PSN.



April 19, 2018

New Blip: Unworthy

Aleksandar Kuzmanovic enters into the fray of soulslike metroidvanias with Unworthy, starring a warrior who has risen from his grave ("Wise fwom your gwave!") to battle his way through dark creatures and bosses. The game sets itself apart from its indie contemporaries with a focus on technical combat, defense, and evasion as the player deals with hordes of enemies and powerful bosses. The player starts out with a sword and shield and is able to swap out weapons on the fly to deal with various challenges, such as using a heavy hammer to break a large enemy's shield before diving in with a faster damage-dealing weapon, or using a bow and arrows to pick away at an enemy's health from a distance. The game itself is presented entirely in shades of grey with surprisingly detailed silhouetted animations.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam sometime soon.




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

April 15, 2018

Target Acquired: Minit

Minit was developed by several known factors among the peeps of gaming: Kitty Calis (Action Henk, Horizon Zero Dawn), Vlambeer-ian Jan Willem Nijman, musician Jukio/Kuabee (Luftrausers, Nuclear Throne, Bleed 2), and Dominik Johann (Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald), and it was published by Devolver Digital, a studio with a pretty solid track record when it comes to choosing indie games for publication. The game is an action-adventure with limited visuals (I'm counting about 2 colors here) starring a vaguely ducklike fellow who begins his adventure after finding a sword on the beach. Unfortunately, the sword is cursed, and picking it up gives our hero only 60 seconds to live. However, upon death, he wakes up back at home, but he still has the sword and only a minute to live. The entire game takes place in 60-second intervals with the player making a bit more progress each time, earning new abilities along the way as he speaks with NPC's, slashes critters, and uncovers a nefarious plot.

Minit is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, GOG, and Itch.io, PS4 via PSN, and Xbox One via Microsoft Store. Check our coverage here.




April 12, 2018

Target Acquired: #Breakforcist Battle

Developer Lucid Sheep Games delivers #Breakforcist Battle... and yes, the hashtag is part of the title. The game is a cute Arkanoidlike that mixes your two favorite things: breakfast and exorcism, as you attempt to save breakfast from the forces of evil. In typical genre fashion, you control a paddle that moves along the bottom of the screen and you must break the bricks above, which occasionally dispense powerups. In addition to single-player bacon lasers and waffle busting, you can in bring a friend for co-op, or go up against other players in 4P competitive mode. If that all seems a bit difficult to digest (see what we did there?), then check out the full-on zaniness in the trailer below:

The game is now available on Switch via eShop.




April 10, 2018

Proximity Alert: Moonlighter

Moonlighter from Digital Sun Games will be arriving on PC via Steam and GOG, Xbox One via Microsoft Store, and PS4 via PSN on May 29, 2018. A Switch version is still coming but will arrive later.

Moonlighter is a roguelike action-RPG starring a shopkeeper named Will who dreams of becoming a hero. By venturing into the nearby dungeons, Will is able to acquire rare items for sale in his shop, which in turn further funds his adventures, allowing him to upgrade his shop, purchase better weapons and equipment, and craft new items. Of course, he also has to manage his shop and make determinations as to whether he should keep or sell valuable artifacts, and how much he should sell items for. He can also fulfill requests for customers who request specific items... and try to prevent customers from stealing his hard-fought goods! The game offers randomly-generated dungeons and loot drops with loads of tough enemies to face, leading to greater rewards for players who make it further in, with dungeon bosses offering rare items when defeated.




April 8, 2018

Proximity Alert: Pig Eat Ball

After years in development, Pig Eat Ball from Mommy’s Best Games is just a few months away. To gear up for the launch, a playable demo has just been released Mommy's Best Games' Itch page, and there's a crowdfunding campaign on Fig, with reward tiers granting you access to the Steam, PS4, or Xbox One versions of the game, a digital art book, the game's soundtrack, and even a pill bug statue and the ability to design your own character in the game. To find out more, check our full coverage of the game here.

The game features a young pig princess named Bow living on a space station filled with clam people. Her father, King Cake, has decided to host a competition to win his daughter’s hand in marriage. But Bow has a different idea… she dons a disguise and enters the contest herself. The game features a number of different level types, most of which center around eating tennis balls. However, if you eat too many tennis balls, you get too fat to fit through narrow corridors, so you have to barf them up, slip through, and then re-eat the barfed up balls… called “barfies” for short. The game also features a number of competitive multiplayer modes for up to four players where players race each other, fight over tennis balls, and even build sandwiches. The game also includes a level editor.




April 3, 2018

Target Acquired: Penny-Punching Princess

Penny-Punching Princess, from Nippon Ichi Software / NIS America, celebrates capitalism with a princess who literally throws money at her problems. The game features overhead beat 'em up action with cutesy sprites for characters and enemies starring a determined princess and her pals pulverizing baddies at great personal cost. Ultimately, she hopes to defeat a family of dragons via fisticuffs, the purchasing of special attacks, and outright bribery.

The game is available now for Switch via eShop and as a physical version at retail, and Vita via PSN.




April 1, 2018

Target Acquired: Spectrum Break

Spectrum Break, from Jason Hein (game site), is a physics-based platformer where the player must activate all of the blocks in a level in order to move forward. Blocks are not affected by gravity, but the player is, and he can activate blocks by touching them or by smashing other blocks into them, allowing for some spectacular chain reactions that result in sprays of sound and particles. Later levels feature blocks with arrows in them that go shooting off in the indicated directions, multi-arrow blocks that move even faster, and blocks with circles that expand quickly after being touched. In many levels things quickly become unpredictable, leading to moments where the player has no choice but to toss out his plans and just react to the tumbling chaos around him.

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