Target Acquired: Source of Madness

Source of Madness, from Carry Castle, is a roguelike actioner set in a dark Lovecraftian world... but not Lovecraftian in the typical video game sense of over-tentaculated monsters looming in the distance, but rather true eldritch horrors that are made up of amalgamations of flesh that twitch and scurry and slither and sometimes break into gibby bits as you furiously cast spells to blast them into oblivion. As an acolyte, you set out across a dangerous landscape overrun by ancient horrors as you attempt to open a pathway to the moon. Your odds of survival are quite low, but fortunately there are many other recruits who will unwillingly follow in your footsteps when you fall. Permanent upgrades unlock as you make progress, including new character classes with different spells and abilities, and you can pick up or purchase useful items on each run. Do you have what it takes to die many horrible deaths in service to the cult of the Tower of Knowledge? Yes you do. But can you learn from your deaths and fight your way through the lurking terrors?

The game is now availalbe for PC via Steam, Switch via eShop, PS4 and PS5 via PSN, and Xbox One and Xbox X/S via Microsoft Store. Check our coverage here.

Read More

Target Acquired: Salt and Sacrifice

Salt and Sacrifice is the follow-up to Salt and Sanctuary, a soulslike developed by Ska Studios, which has been cranking out indie hits for more than a decade, starting during the era of Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Live Indie Games with such titles as Charlie Murder, The Dishwasher duology, and yes, even I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1NIT!!!1. The game is being developed in cooperation with Devoured Studios. In Salt and Sacrifice, you take on the role of a Marked Inquisitor who is tasked with hunting down the world's mages and putting them to the sword... or a variety of other weapons that you can forge by way of an extensive crafting system, and you literally create and modify weapons using the body parts of the mages you kill. Per genre standards, enemies are tough, and bosses are tougher, so you'll have to polish your skills if you hope to live for more than a few minutes in this harsh and unforgiving world, but you can bring in some help via local or online 2P co-op.

The game is now availalbe for PC via Epic Games Store, and PS4 and PS5 via PSN.

Read More

Target Acquired: 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 now available for PC via Steam, and Xbox One and X/S via Microsoft Store.

Read More

New Blip: Moonscars

Moonscars, from Black Mermaid (game tweets), is a soulslike slasher set in a dark and unforgiving world. You take on the role of a clayborne warrior known as Grey Irma who is on a mission to find the Sculptor and learn more about her existence. Per genre conventions, the challenge level is high, and the only way to make your way forward is to die, learn, and die again. The game offers nonlinear exploration in a lovely (mostly grey) world, along with slick and brutal combat animations as you use magic and cleave your way through creatures of the night and grotesque bosses.

The game is coming to PC this summer.

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

Read More

New Blip: The Knight Witch

Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team, the (super awesome hyper dimensional mega) team behind Rise & Shine, returns with The Knight Witch, a metroidvania with shmup-style gameplay set in a lovely hand-drawn world. You take on the role of a Knight Witch who wields melee weapons and card-based spells to fight against the War Golem invasion. Build your deck with dozens of spell cards to alter your combat strategies, and grow your strength to fight more powerful enemies and hulking boss monsters. Being a witch, you are capable of flight, so you'll be exploring in every direction - and fighting enemies in every direction - as you traverse a large open world.

The game is headed to PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox X/S later this year.

Read More