New Blip: Boneraiser Minions

Boneraiser Minions is the latest in a long line of chunky neo-retro actioners from Caiysware, the studio behind Spirits Abyss, Skelly Selest, and Straimium Immortaly. This is a wave-based auto-battling roguelike where you take on the role of a boneraiser who must (literally) raise an army of the undead to fight against the do-gooder heroes... and then use their bodies and souls to increase your power even further. But it's not all just minion management; you'll need to actively evade enemy attacks and collect the bones of your victims to unlock upgrades. Make use of big smashy skellies, bomb-tossers, and magicians to keep the king's crusaders from ravaging your crypt... but the tougher your enemy, the greater your army can become! And per this developer's tradition, there's a Clashful Cards collectible card game in there too.

The game is now available for PC via Steam Early Access.

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

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Target Acquired: HAAK

HAAK, from Blingame, is a dark post-apocalyptic metroidvania. The game features a focus on fast combat and acrobatic movement as the cape-wearing protagonist performs jumps, air dashes, and ground slides to navigate the environment and fight enemies. His unique weapon is an electric hook that he can use to attack enemies, deflect projectiles, activate switches, and grab onto floating grapple points to fling himself into the air. Enemies come in mostly robotic forms, and there are dangers in the environment as well, including crumbling platforms, electrical beams, and crushers. Along the way, he interacts with NPC's to learn more about the world and take on various side quests.

The game is now available for PC via Steam and Switch via eShop.

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New Blip: Vengeful Guardian Moonrider

Vengeful Guardian Moonrider is the latest retro-style actioner from the crew at Joymasher, the studio with a decade-long pedigree of retro-inspired hits including Oniken, Odallus: The Dark Call, and Bazing Chrome. In the future, people have fallen victim to a dictatorial rule, oppressed by an army of unstoppable super soldiers... but one such soldier defies its creators and becomes humanity's last hope. You take on the role of this Moonrider as it makes use of enhanced ninja movement, weapons, and combat abilities to break the bonds of totalitarian rule. Inspired by the classics of the 16-bit era, the game features fast combat, chunky visuals, over-the-top boss encounters, and a guitar-heavy soundtrack.

The game is coming to PC, Switch, PS4, and PS5 this fall.

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

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New Blip: Magenta Horizon

Magenta Horizon, from solo dev Maddison Baek under the Hellfire Railway Interactive label, is a sidescrolling actioner with combo-based melee combat. You take on the role of Gretel, an exiled reaper who has spent the last two centuries locked in a sort of purgatory. But one day, she is freed by a man named Archibald, and she decides to help Archibald travel to the sanctuary where she once spent her afterlife... but she'll have the hordes of the underworld to deal with along the way. Gretel has an array of melee abilities available to her from the start, allowing her to chain together combos, juggle enemies, and bounce from one enemy to the next, with health rewards keeping her going to continue the fight. Ranged weapons are unlockable along the way, allowing for some added strategy amidst the fast-paced hacking and slashing. And the whole adventure is set in an insane-looking world filled with strange and grotesque creatures, and huge bosses.

The final game is planned for release on PC in 2023. A demo with the first act is available via Steam and Itch.

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

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Target Acquired: Turrican Anthology Vol. I & II

Turrican Anthology Vol. I & II, from Factor 5, offers an expansive look at the Turrican series, from its Amiga roots through to the final entry on the SNES. Now, you may be thinking to yourself... Didn't Factor 5 just release a collection of Turrican games last year? And you'd be right. The Turrican Flashback collection contained four of the games included here, but fans of the series may be interested in several new offerings in this anthology. First and foremost, there's a whole game here that wasn't in the previous collection, namely Turrican 2. There are also some variations on these games with score attacks, director's cuts, and the Amiga version of Turrican 3 as a standalone release. On top of this, the anthology includes manual scans, a remastered soundtrack from Chris Huelsbeck, previously unreleased concept art, and the ability to vew the full map for every game in the collection... and even play the game with the expanded map enabled.

Turrican Anthology Vol. I & II were originally released in physical form, but now they're available for Switch via eShop (Vol 1 / Vol 2), and PS4/PS5 via PSN (Vol 1 / Vol 2). Check our coverage here.

Turrican Anthology Vol. I includes:

• Turrican (Amiga)
• Turrican II (Amiga)
• Super Turrican (SNES)
• Super Turrican Director's Cut (SNES)
• Mega Turrican Score Attack (Genesis)

Turrican Anthology Vol. II includes:

• Turrican 3 (Amiga)
• Mega Turrican (Genesis)
• Mega Turrican Director's Cut (Genesis)
• Super Turrican 2 (SNES)
• Super Turrican Score Attack (SNES)

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