Target Acquired: Super Mutant Alien Assault

Chris Suffern presents Super Mutant Alien Assault, a side view arena combat game that can be played in single player or 2P local co-op. The game is a fleshed out enhancement of the developer’s Mutant Alien Assault, featuring gun-dispensing vending machines offering random weapon drops. Numerous futuristic weapons allow players to unleash wholesale space-age destruction on armored enemies by using lasers, particle weapons, and heavy explosives, as well as more traditional shotguns and rocket launchers.

The game is now available for PC via Steam, PS4 via PSN, and XB1 via XBLA. Check our coverage here.

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Proximity Alert: The Final Station

In The Final Station, from Oleg Sergeev and Andrey Rumak, you are travelling by train across a desolate landscape in a post-apocalyptic world. It's up to you to keep the train running and keep the remaining survivors safe as you stop off at stations to refuel, scavenge for supplies, and look for more survivors. You'll need to find medicine and ration your limited food supplies in order to keep them alive (and loot their corpses when they die), and you can craft new items to help you move forward. Along your journey, the shadowy infected stand in your way, requiring that you blast them into oblivion if you hope to survive. The game is being published by tinyBuildGAMES, publishers of a number of indie games, and the developers behind No Time to Explain.

The game will be released on PC via Steam on August 30.




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

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New Blip: Xydonia

Xydonia, from Breaking Bytes, is a retro-style horizontal shmup inspired by R-Type, Gradius, and Darius. Set in the year 30XX, spacefaring humankind have set their eyes on a mysterious planet called Xydonia, but no one who has explored the planet has returned. As you might expect, you play one such adventurer who hopes to uncover the mysteries of this ancient civilization and reap the rewards for yourself. Players may select one of three starting pilots - or team up with another player in 2P co-op - and additional pilots remain to be unlocked, each with a different set of upgradeable weapons and passive modifiers. Players can also unlock new weapons by scavenging parts from defeated bosses. Additionally, the game features branching paths, hidden stages, and multiple endings.

The game just finished a successful Kickstarter campaign and is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, with an expected release of October 2017.




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

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Proximity Alert: Monsters & Monocles

Monsters & Monocles, from developer Retro Dreamer, is a chunky arena shooter that can be played alone or with up to four players (with a single pool of lives) in online or offline multiplayer. The game is procedurally generated, leading to new level layouts with each playthrough, as well as new items, enemies, and bosses. Collecting relics allows players to unlock new abilities, and these items become more effective as they are used in successive sessions. Also, the game features music and SFX from Hyperduck Soundworks, the composers behind the soundtrack for Dust: An Elysian Tail.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam on August 16.




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

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Target Acquired: Bot Vice

Bot Vice, from DYA Games, developers of Super Star Path, is a pixellated gallery shooter inspired by the likes of Wild Guns. The game stars 28-year-old ex-cop Erin Saver, who recently lost her partner and her right arm to a group of criminal cyborgs known as the Wildbots. Now, the Wildbots have returned and are threatening to destroy the Tominaka Plaza building, and Erin decides to go after them herself, exacting revenge with the help of her new bionic arm. Unfortunately, she only has 45 minutes to do so, which is a real time limit placed on the player... there are 24 levels in the game, and future levels remain locked if the player doesn't get through the preceding ones quickly enough. Fortunately, players can retry previous stages to go for better clear times and unlock new levels. Erin can lock onto enemies, destroy explosive barrels, dodge to avoid incoming projectiles, and cycle through an array of weaponry as the situation demands, allowing skilled players to swipe through swaths of robotic baddies.

The game is now available on PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam. Check our coverage here.

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New Blip: Pinstripe

Pinstripe is the latest atmospheric puzzle-platformer from Thomas Brush, developer of Coma and Skinny. The game stars Teddy, an ex-minister who must travel through Hell in search for his kidnapped daughter. Strangely, Hell is a frozen wasteland, and Teddy wanders through six themed locales with a bearded dog named George as he blasts creatures into (out of?) oblivion with his trusty shotgun. He can also interact with NPC's who help him on his journey as he works to solve environmental puzzles - and shotgun-based puzzles - and uncovers information about his pre-Hell life.

Pinstripe is headed to PC and Mac via Steam this summer, and is also planned for iOS.




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

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Proximity Alert: Dead Island Retro Revenge

As a way to promote Dead Island Definitive Edition, the publishers have employed Empty Clip Studios (developers of Symphony) to develop a 2D belt scrolling beat-em-up set in the Dead Island universe, starring a guy on a mission to rescue his cat during the zombie apocalypse. The faux arcade actioner offers fist smashing, bullet spraying, and flame throwing across a 3-lane auto-scrolling environment with a guy who's trying so hard to be Jack Black it's (literally) not funny, as introduced in the obnoxious trailer below.

The game is set to defile PS4 and Xbox One on August 1, and it's already on PC via Steam.




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

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Target Acquired: BOXBOXBOY!

BOXBOXBOY!, from HAL Laboratory, is a sequel to BOXBOY!, which was released last year. Both games are 3DS-exclusive puzzle platforming titles featuring a little white square with eyes and legs who is out to rescue his friends from some unknown threat. The protagonist, named Qbby, is able to generate copies of himself, extending blocks outward from his body, which may then be used as platforms, shields, or even hooks to pull himself up to higher ledges. As players work their way through sets of levels centered around a specific obstacle, such as beams of electricity, spiked conveyor belts, and teleportation fog, before facing off against a final level that combines multiple elements. The main game is fairly easy, but there are lots of optional pickups and unlockable bonus levels that can challenge you well beyond the main game.

The game is now available for 3DS via the eShop, but you should pick up the original game first (also on the eShop). For more details about both games, check our coverage here.

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New Blip: Gunkatana

Gunkatana, from Torn Page Games (game site), is a fast-paced action game where players are armed with the titular gunkatanas, capable of slashing enemies or firing laser blasts. Players are dropped into an arena and tasked with slaughtering their way through their enemies in single player, local cooperative, and local competitive modes. Arenas are decked out with grind rails, allowing players to grind along at high speeds to travel the environment and get the drop on their opponents. In addition, laser blasts bounce off walls, allowing for some additional strategy as players attack around corners and fake-out foes by bouncing them off of walls as they run away... but the lasers can also kill the player who fired them, and all hits are 1-hit kills.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam later this year, and a demo is available on the game's Itch.io page.




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

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Target Acquired: Song of the Deep

Developer Insomniac Games is primarily known for the original Spyro the Dragon games, as well as the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance series, and Sunset Overdrive. While the studio has been on the forefront of 3D game development for years, they're now exploring 2D gameplay with Song of the Deep, an underwater metroidvania starring a girl named Merryn on a search for her missing father. After he fails to return home from a fishing trip, Merryn has a dream of her father trapped beneath the sea, and so she builds a submarine and heads out after him, exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations, vast seascapes, and the perils of the deep. As she travels, Merryn must upgrade the submarine in order to reach greater depths and overcome dangerous sea life and mysterious machinations.

Song of the Deep is now available for PC via Steam, as well as PS4 and Xbox One via digital download and physical release.

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Target Acquired: Hyper Light Drifter

Hyper Light Drifter, from developer Heart Machine, is a colorful action-RPG constructed with chunky pixel art. Drifters explore the ancient depths in search of knowledge and technology that has been lost to time, and this particular Drifter is looking for answers to stop a terrible disease that has infected him. Players slash through enemies, upgrading weapons and discovering new equipment as they explore a large world filled with treasure and secrets. Your primary weapon is a sword made of light, although you’ll discover a number of limited-ammo projectile weapons as well. You also have a shield to absorb direct attacks and a dash move to evade enemies, avoid traps, or charge forward to bash baddies in their hurty places.

The game is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, and planned on PS4 and Xbox One later this year, with releases on Vita and Wii U to follow. Check our coverage here.

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Proximity Alert: 10 Second Ninja X

10 Second Ninja was originally released in 2014 and featured a ninja fighting Nazi robots, complete with swastikas and a robot version of Hitler... Fast-forward a few years, and developer Dan Pearce is revisiting the game with 10 Second Ninja X under the new studio label Four Circle Interactive. The goal of the game is the same: to beat each level in 10 seconds or less - usually way less in order to get the best rankings - but the Nazi factor has been excised in favor of robots that appear to be wearing red vests (but probably not).

The ninja can run, jump, and double jump to get around environments and must quickly slash away at up-close enemies and toss throwing stars to blast enemies from across the room. The original game featured 40 levels across four themed worlds, and this game contains remastered version of those levels, along with 60 new levels, a number of unlockable items, and leaderboards for every level so you can demonstrate your ability to achieve completion one hundredth of a second faster than the competition.

The game is being released on July 19 PC via Steam, with releases also planned for PS4, Vita, and Xbox One. A demo is now available on the game's Steam page.




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

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New Blip: Bot Vice

Bot Vice, from DYA Games, developers of Super Star Path, is a pixellated gallery shooter inspired by the likes of Wild Guns. The game stars 28-year-old ex-cop Erin Saver, who recently lost her partner and her right arm to a group of criminal cyborgs known as the Wildbots. Now, the Wildbots have returned and are threatening to destroy the Tominaka Plaza building, and Erin decides to go after them herself, exacting revenge with the help of her new bionic arm. Unfortunately, she only has 45 minutes to do so, which is a real time limit placed on the player... there are 24 levels in the game, and future levels remain locked if the player doesn't get through the preceding ones quickly enough. Fortunately, players can retry previous stages to go for better clear times and unlock new levels. Erin can lock onto enemies, destroy explosive barrels, dodge to avoid incoming projectiles, and cycle through an array of weaponry as the situation demands, allowing skilled players to swipe through swaths of robotic baddies.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam on July 11.




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

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Target Acquired: Systematic Immunity

Systematic Immunity, from Felix Wunderlich, is a game that takes place inside the human body... a terribly infected human body. You take on the role of a cluster of white blood cells, and it is your job to rid your human host of infection by getting as many cells as possible to the germ cluster that lies beyond a series of precision platforming challenges. Lose too many cells, and you need to start the level from scratch. The game takes place across 75 levels in the stomach, lungs, and brains, each offering their own challenges, such as acid in the stomach, heavy winds in the lungs, and electrical impulses in the brain. Players must run up the sides of tar-packed lung tissue, roll under spikes, and wrap themselves in a protective bubble to float around obstacles if they hope to defeat the ever-present germs and the boss creatures that appear at the end of each themed area.

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

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