New Blip: Emuurom

Emuurom, from Borbware, is a nonviolent metroidvania with a focus on scanning the eponymous Emuurom... which is not a website for downloading illicit retro games. Emuurom are living flora and fauna, and their lives are being threatened due to an incoming comet called The Red Interloper. You take on the role of a red-haired "retrobiologist" named Maire as she explores a large interconnected world and uncovers its mysteries. Unlike many actioners, your goal is not to kill the various creatures and gain more power, but rather to use your scanner to understand them and their part in the ecosystem. This allows you to learn their abilities, use their abilities to make your way through the world, and discover hidden areas.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux in 2022. A demo is available on Steam and there's an older demo on Itch.

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

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New Blip: Afterimage

Afterimage, from Aurogon Shanghai (game site), is an action-RPG set in an open fantasy world known as Engardin. You explore this beautiful hand-drawn landscape as an adventurer who faces off against hostile creatures, dangerous traps, and environmental challenges. You are able to equip a variety of weapons with their own attack styles, make use of magic spells, and upgrade your abilities along a skill tree to change the way you fight enemies. Per metroidvania conventions, unlocking new movement abilities allows you to see more of the world and uncover its secrets, and venture into more dangerous areas to face terrifying boss creatures.

The game is coming to PC and consoles in late 2022.

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

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Target Acquired: Below the Ocean

Below the Ocean, from Ismael Rodriguez, is a puzzle-platformer set in the ocean depths and centering around the search for four ancient relics. You take on the role of a nameless explorer who is drawn to the deep by tales of the strange things that lie beneath the ocean, including stories of a place that exists below the water itself. In order to explore, the diver must tether himself to oxygen tanks, which limits his range, but it also allows him to use the pull of the tether to reach higher platforms, swing around ledges, and activate switches. As his adventure continues, the diver encounters sea life, air bubbles that grant him new abilities, and even areas where he must disconnect from the safety of his tether for a few seconds to make his way forward... or meet a watery end.

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

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New Blip: Haiku, the Robot

Haiku, the Robot, from Mister Morris Games is a charming action-adventure set in a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust. You take on the role of the eponymous Haiku, a robot on a mission to save what's left of a broken world that is now filled with corrupted machinery. While most robots are out to destroy you, you will make some friends along the way, and discover new abilities that allow you to further explore the large open wasteland. Haiku must run, jump, roll, dash, wall jump, and grapple through the world while using his ground slide quick sword swipes to take down mechanized enemies and bosses.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Switch "soon". A demo is available on Itch.

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

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Test Flight: Loot River

Loot River, from straka.studio, is a dungeon-shifting hack-and-slash roguelike actioner with intense bloody combat set in a dark world filled with sexy grotesque pixels. You have the power of an ancient relic that allows you to shift platforms beneath your feet and slide them around to solve spatial puzzles, traverse the environment, and aid you in combat. Rearrange platforms to lure enemies to your position, dodge attacks, and perform hit-and-run strikes. Along the way, you pick up new items and equipment, gain new abilities, and spend points to level up your stats. Turn baddies and bosses into blood sausage with an array of weapons, spells, and huge smashy blocks.

The game is coming to PC, Xbox One, and Xbox X/S, but it does not yet have an announced release date. If you'd like to give it a spin, a PC demo is now available via Steam.

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

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Target Acquired: Mission in Snowdriftland

Mission in Snowdriftland | PC | December 1, 2021
In 2006, to celebrate the games coming to their newly-launched Nintendo DS and Wii platforms, Nintendo offered a playable advent calendar entitled UPIXO in Action: Mission in Snowdriftland, developed by extra toxic (game site). The game was a platformer starring a snowman named Chubby Snow who wore red shoes and a bellboy cap as he journeyed across four themed areas. The game included 24 levels, with new levels unlocking every day between December 1-24 to count down the days to Christmas. However, the game was only meant to be available for a limited time, and it was taken offline in January of the following year, only to reappear briefly for another event in 2010. Unfortunately, the Flash-based game was almost lost to time as it remained unplayable for many years - and now Flash is no longer supported by any of the major browsers - so it seemed likely that Chubby's adventures were doomed to be forgotten. But thanks to some passionate fans, especially documentarian Nick Robinson, the game is getting a second life in the form of Mission in Snowdriftland, created under extra toxic's development label tons of bits. The remastered game includes the original 24 levels and final boss battle, presented in widescreen HD at 60fps.

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

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New Blip: Belle Boomerang

You know what? There just aren't enough boomerangs in video games. Sure, we get plenty of boomeranging bad guys, but what about us adventurers? Where's our boomerangageddon!? Well, Narwhalnut is here to shore up our boomerang deficit with Belle Boomerang, starring a young lady (named Belle) who can 'rang with the best of 'em. The game is a retro-style platformer done up in the classic 8-bit style with chunky chunks and blippy blips. In a tale as old as the games that inspired it, the people of the land have been transformed into cute monsters, with the monarchs becoming boss beasts. Belle is able to learn the abilities of her enemies, making use of eight different powerups that aid her in combat and environmental navigation.

The game is coming to PC in Spring of 2022, and a playable demo is available on Steam and Jolt.

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

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