The Next Penelope has arrived on Steam for PC, Mac, and Ubuntu, and will also be released for Wii U later this year. For more details, check out our full review.
To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.
Downwell, from Ojiro "Moppin" Fumoto, is a vertical descent platformer where the player uses his gun boots to shoot downward through a procedurally generated well to destroy blocks and enemies below him. Jumping and shooting are tied to a single button, but there is some strategy involved... Repeated blasting allows the player to slow his descent and line up targets below him, and blasting destructible blocks and enemies reveals gems. When the player strings together a series of gem collections, his overall damage output increases, allowing him to blast through enemies more quickly. Gems can be traded in to shopkeepers for powerups. Players can also find rooms containing caches of gems, as well as new gun types such as shotguns and lasers that allow for faster shooting, increased damage, and wider sprays of projectiles.
Downwell is scheduled to release on PC, iOS, and Android later this year. Here's a video from November of last year showing the game's basic concept, but it is already faster and flashier than this:
To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.
Berzerk Studio wants to take you back to the 80's with Infernax, a retro metroidvania with horrific enemies that are far more gruesome than anything that would have actually been released on the NES. Players must trek across an open world, fighting monsters, gaining experience points to increase their stats, and acquiring new weapons, spells, and abilities. Players also earn money that they can use to buy better armor, as well as health and magic restoratives.
Infernax is headed to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam in June. Keeping withe the theme, the developers have created a suitably energetic 80's-style trailer:
To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.
BiT Evolution, from Major Games is about ready to leave Steam Early Access. The game stars a simple sprite named BiT who manages to escape his game and travel to four other worlds inspired by the 2D games of the 70's, 80's, and 90's. BiT traverses the world in typical platformer fashion, bopping on enemies heads to kill them and to reach higher platforms. He is also able to shift between worlds in order to discover hidden areas and get past certain obstacles.
BiT Evolution is set to officially arrive on Steam for PC and Mac on June 9.
To find more promising 2D games currently under development, be sure to check out our Master List.
At long last, Feist is coming. The game was originally announced years ago by developer Bits & Beasts, drawing comparisons to the then-contemporary Limbo, with its silhouetted characters and floaty jumps. The game takes place in a large natural environment made up of forests, mountains, and dark caves. Combat is done with the use of rocks and spears, with the player and enemies knocking each other around, and occasionally being crushed by boulders and weighted traps.
Feist is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam on July 23.
There Was a Caveman, from developer Aamatniekss, is a retro-styled action-platformer inspired by Castlevania, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, and Shovel Knight. In a world of dinosaurs, one caveman finds himself alone, with his entire kind apparently killed. He must battle his way through deadly dinos and avoid traps on a quest to find a female caveman (cavewoman?) with which to repopulate the world. Fortunately, the loincloth-wearing hero is trained in the art of platformery as he jumps, double jumps, dashes, and swims through the world, occasionally encountering objects that may be hurled at enemies, including rocks and bones. Javelins may be thrown as well and then used as platforms, Völgarr the Viking-style. Of course, nothing conks better than the caveman’s trusty club.
There Was a Caveman is headed to PC and Linux via Steam later this year.
Developer Dakko Dakko has released an update to their quirky top-down actioner Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails, a.k.a. Scram Kitty DX, in celebration of the 1-year anniversary of the game's original release. This update offers a substantial change to the control scheme, making it easier for the player to engage armies of evil mice.
The game has a somewhat odd control scheme where the player navigates environments by hugging the walls, and his aim is locked perpendicularly to his position. This design sometimes makes it difficult for players to line up shots with enemies. However, the new patch allows players to move and fire independently with a more traditional twin stick control scheme. However, players attached to the original control scheme may opt to use it instead.
Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails was released on Wii U in 2014, and an updated version was released for PS4 and Vita via PSN with cross-buy. Here's a video from the developer explaining the new controls:
Originally a Ludum Dare winner from TurboDindon, Inside My Radio is returning for a full-fledged release, courtesy of Seaven Studio, the developers behind Ethan Meteor Hunter. This platformer requires that players pay attention to the beat in order to time their jumps, wall jumps, dashes, and ground slams. Each world features a different heavy-hitting musical style and accompanying throbbing visual aesthetic, as well as different gameplay themes with focuses on dashing, bouncing, and more.
Inside My Radio was just released for PC via Steam.
Developer Dreadlocks presents Dex, an action RPG in a future where artificial intelligence is on the verge of surpassing human intelligence. Your part in this world changes depending on the choices you make and the skills you choose to develop, allowing you to focus your development on stealth, hacking, and/or weaponry. This allows you the choice of avoiding confrontation altogether, using tools to destroy your foes remotely, getting up close to take down enemies silently, or going in with guns blazing and fists flying. The game also takes place between the real world and cyberspace, with the player character inhabiting an online avatar. The RPG focus allows players to equip modifiable weapons and gear, as well as acquire upgrades to give them the upper hand in a hostile world.
Dex was just released for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, and it's coming soon to Wii U and OUYA
Crystal Labs has spent the last 4 years developing an action-adventure title that is meant to appeal to fans of 8- and 16-bit games. In fact, you eventually gain the ability to switch between 8- and 16-bit worlds in order to solve puzzles and uncover writings that are only viewable in one world or the other. High Strangeness begins with a boy living in modern day America, who finds his home occupied by strange figures known as Shadow Men. The boy finds himself pulled into another world and must uncover its mysteries and defeat the evil to save the multiverse. You will find yourself fighting shadow creatures, speaking with NPC’s, switching between worlds, and… consorting with cats.
High Strangeness was just released for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, as well as the Wii U via eShop.
Developer Sri Kankanahalli presents Steel Assault, a retro throwback actioner styled after late-era 8-bit games like Shatterhand and Sunsoft’s Batman, using many (but not all) of the hardware restrictions of the NES. In the year 2040, the economy of the United States has collapsed, resulting in a civil war that results in the rise of a cruel new leader. You play the part of a resistance soldier using a robotic suit to free the country from this terrible new ruler. The hero defeats many of his foes using his robot fists, but an arsenal of projectile weapons is available as well, including grenades and a short range energy beam.
Steel Assault will be blasting its way to PC in May of 2016.
The Way, from PlayWay, is inspired by 2D puzzle platformers like Another World, Heart of Darkness, and Flashback, and it shows in the game’s art style, which features thin characters dwarfed by large detailed backgrounds, and colorful environments that mix the organic with the industrial, and detailed animations. The game begins with a man who has lost someone he loves, and he wants to find a way to bring her back. His journey leads him to an alien planet filled with hostile lifeforms – many of which kill you instantly, as in the games that inspired it – and mysterious artifacts that allow him to teleport and deflect enemy laser blasts. The player must explore the environment, solve puzzles, and survive long enough to find a way to bring back his lost love.
The Way is on its way to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, but does not yet have a release date.
Cosmochoria, from Nate Schmold, features a naked cosmonaut (with a helmet) jetpacking through space and blasting away at aliens, all while planting seeds to restore the galaxy. The cosmonaut is able to hop from planet to planet, destroying bad guys and bosses who are attempting to destroy him. Along the way, you plant seeds to grow plants, which in turn yield more seeds, and you can even build bases on planets to blast away at aliens while you work. The game features a procedurally generated galaxy and a shop system that allows you to upgrade your abilities.
Cosmochoria has left Early Access and is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, and to celebrate its full arrival, the game is 50% off.