New Blip: Super Hydorah

Super Hydorah is an updated and expanded version of the original Hydorah, a freeware game from Locomalito. The new game is a partnership between Locomalito and Abylight Studios, following their release of Maldita Castilla EX: Cursed Castilla, an expanded commercial release of Maldita Castilla, a Ghosts ‘n Goblins-inspired actioner.

Super Hydorah is a horizontal shmup inspired by genre entries of the early 80's, but offering nonlinear gameplay that allows players to take different routes to complete the game and reach one of several endings. The original game was a single player experience, but the new one can be enjoyed locally in 2P co-op. In addition, the number of levels, bosses, enemies, and weapons has been increased over the original game, offering even veteran players something new to experience. The new game also offers bonuses based on level rankings, as well as CRT-style filters and various graphical improvements.

The game is coming to PC via Steam, and possibly consoles, with release dates TBD. For a taste of the original experience, check out Hydorah for free on the developer's website.


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

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News: Enter the Gungeon Supply Drop Update

Dodge Roll Games has just released an update to Enter the Gungeon, a top-down action RPG centering around an ancient artifact... a gun that can KILL THE PAST! The Supply Drop update includes nearly 200 new rooms, as well as new weapon types, companions, enemies, and bosses. The game, which is already pretty meta with its bullet-shaped enemies, now features a Bullet Gun (a bullet-shaped gun) that shoot guns that shoot bullets. Yeah, that's what you're in for.

The update is free to owners of the original game and is now available via Steam and GOG, and it's coming soon to PS4. Players new to the experience can expect over-the-top weapons (lasers, cannons, rainbows, etc.) and enemy-packed environments. Players murderfy their way through the ever-changing Gungeon, taking down enemies and bosses, dodge rolling (of course), and grabbing loot to buy more powerful gear. Check our full coverage here.

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Target Acquired: Death's Hangover

Not since Wizorb has a game Wizorb'd as hard as this game Wizorbs. Death's Hangover, from Retro Army Limited (Super Trench Attack) is an Arkanoid-style game with juvenile humor, starring a pair of dead moronic warriors named Andy and Bob, who have been resurrected as women to bash monsters and free a bunch of imprisoned souls. One of the women holds what appears to be a mattress pad and walks along the bottom of the screen, while the other woman is actually inside the spiked ball that bounces around nearly 100 Gothic horror-styled levels. Players must bash through blocks, smash through piles of poo, activate switches, and collect powerups, while dealing with enemy rats, bats, and various dark creatures, including some room-filling bosses.

The game is now available for 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: Pixel Session Vol. 1

Pixel Session Vol. 1, from prolific Pico-8 developer Trasevol_Dog, is a collection of five arcade-style games developed using Pico-8, a tool developed specifically for the creation of chunky low-rez arcade titles with no more than 16 colors and a 128x128-pixel resolution.

Descent is a descent-based platformer where players must eliminate beams to drop down while avoiding bouncing rings. Lightner is a slower-paced game where the player uses beams of electricity to eliminate enemies. B1g Br0th3r is another descent-based game where players must avoid black static beams from above while touching positive color-coded words and avoiding negative ones. Charging Panic is a game about creating clones and protecting them while they charge batteries of ever-increasing size. And Chroma Cannon sees players operating a color-changing turret to take down snake-like enemies of the corresponding color.

The collection is now available for PC via Itch.io. Check our coverage here.

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News: Velocity 2X Gets Physical

Velocity, from Futurlab, was originally released as a Playstation Mini title, and later received an HD upgrade with Velocity Ultra, followed by a sequel entitled Velocity 2X... which is getting a physical release this Spring. Courtesy of Badland Indie, the Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition physical release is coming to PS4, which includes the game itself and the Daily Sprint, Critical Urgency, and Dual Core DLC packs, as well as some behind the scenes featurettes, a booklet, and a soundtrack CD composed by by Joris de Man. A physical version is also coming to the Vita, which includes Velocity 2X and a download code for the original game.

Velocity 2X sees you piloting the teleporting Quarp Jet to defeat enemies, drop bombs, solve puzzles, and teleport through solid objects. In several areas, you can dock your ship and head out for some on-foot action in sidescrolling action platforming environments. For more details, check our coverage of the game here, and the original game here.

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New Blip: Celeste

Celeste is a game from Matt Thorson (TowerFall) and Noel Berry (Skytorn), and is a more polished and greatly expanded version of the pair's original Pico-8 release, now called Celeste Classic. As in the original, the game is a precision platformer about scaling a mountain called Celeste, and players must use everything in their repertoire to see themselves through to the end. In addition to running and jumping, the character can also (temporarily) hang on walls, climb walls, and perform an air-dash in any direction. New mechanics are slowly introduced along the way, continuously challenging the player to learn new things to navigate tightly-designed environments. The game also features a number of secrets and side passages to further challenge expert players, and once you've mastered everything, you can have a go at the more difficult variants of the existing levels.

The game is planned for release on PC in 2017.




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

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Target Acquired: Hive Jump

Graphite Lab’s Hive Jump is a multiplayer co-op shooter where soldiers must descend into a procedurally generated alien hive. Players work together to blast hordes of slime-spitting bugs with pulse rifles, flamethrowers, and bombs, all of which are upgradeable by gathering resources from within the hive. Players are able to move and aim independently to deliver maximum destruction, and jump boots allow them to soar over critters and aim downward to give them free hot lead acupuncture treatments. At the bottom awaits the hive queen, and the crew has a nasty surprise for her, as they plant a transporter beacon that allows their orbiting ship to beam a nuke right into mommy’s lap.

Hive Jump is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam and is planned for a Wii U release later this year.

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New Blip: Goodbye! BoxBoy!

Goodbye! Boxboy!, from HAL Laboratory, is the third entry in the BoxBoy series, a fun and charming (and somewhat easy) series of puzzle-platformers published by Nintendo. This time around, Qbby has a number of new abilities to see him through the platforming challenges, including the creation of time bomb blocks that can blow holes in walls and jet-propelled blocks that he can use as a jetpack or to press buttons on the ceiling. There are also a number of stages where you must not only survive to the end but also protect a smaller box-person as well.

The game is coming to the 3DS eShop in Japan in February but does not yet have an announced release date in the US. Also announced for Japan is a physical release that includes the game, soundtrack, and an all-new BoxBoy amiibo.




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

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Target Acquired: Assault Suit Leynos

Assault Suit Leynos is a mech game from Dracue Software, a doujin studio known for Gunhound EX, which was heavily inspired by the Assault Suit series. The Assault Suit series is comprised of two Assault Suit Leynos titles and two Assault Suits Valken titles, only two of which were released in the US, as Target Earth and Cybernator.

This latest release is a remake of the original game of the same name from NCS Corporation / Masaya, released in 1990 for the Sega Genesis, which arrived in the US as Target Earth. The game includes a Classic mode that plays very similarly to the original Genesis version, as well as an Arcade mode which offers a somewhat more balanced experience and also adds cinematics and fully-voiced dialogue (in Japanese). As in the original, players pilot a lumbering mech against other mechs and huge enemy ships in order to protect Earth from invading cybernetically-enhanced clones. As the game unfolds, the player slowly unlocks dozens of weapons, six of which may be equipped before each mission, allowing for some additional strategy as players customize the mech to meet the threats ahead.

The game is now available for PC via Steam, as well as PS4 via PSN and as a physical release. This was a full $60 game when it released in Japan, but came to the US as a $20 budget title (even the physical version). Check our coverage here.

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News: Wii U Version of The Next Penelope Cancelled

Developer Aurélien Regard has announced that the Wii U version of The Next Penelope has been cancelled. Released for PC, Mac, and Linux in 2015, the developer had been working with another company to port the game to Wii U, but that company has been unsuccessful in doing so, due to the difficulties in converting the HTML5 code (generated from Construct 2) to the new platform. Bringing the game to Wii U would involve recreating it from scratch. There is some small hope that the game may be converted to run on Nintendo's new Switch console, but nothing has been determined for sure at this point.

Aurélien Regard is the co-founder of Arkedo, and developed such titles as Nervous Brickdown, Big Bang Mini, the Arkedo Series, and Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit. Following the studio’s closure in 2013, Aurélien set out to make games on his own. His first project was The Next Penelope, and it stars Penelope, the wife of Ulysses (a.k.a. Odysseus) from the classic Greek tale The Odyssey, but this game takes place far in the future. As in the original epic poem, Ulysses has left for a grand adventure and struggles to return home to his wife. However, in this game, Penelope takes a more active role and sets out on a quest to find him. The game is a futuristic top-down racer, along the lines of F-Zero. Penelope sets out across the galaxy to explore worlds and gain new permanent abilities by racing against classic Greek characters like the Sirens, and defeating bosses like the Minotaur. Abilities include shooting, boosting, dropping mines, and Velocity-style teleportation.

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New Blip: Chicken Wiggle

For many years, developer Renegade Kid struggled to stay afloat, and after seeing diminishing returns from their new releases, the studio finally folded in 2016, despite a robust catalogue of titles including the Moon and Dementium series, as well as 2D standouts like Mutant Mudds and Xeodrifter. Following the dissolution, founders Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove split their IP and founded two separate studios, with Gregg's founding Infitizmo and retaining ownership of the 3D games, and Jools founding Atooi and retaining ownership of the 2D titles.

The first new game announced by Atooi is Chicken Wiggle, starring an odd partnership between a bird and his wiggly worm friend, which he keeps in his backpack (but not as a snack). The worm is able to stretch out and reach grapple points and zip to them, as well as smack enemies to stun them, while the bird hops about to navigate the environment and complete platforming challenges. In addition, players are invited to create their own levels and share them online, with new elements unlocking once the player completes the single player campaign.

The game is headed to 3DS via the Nintendo eShop and to iOS via the App Store in 2017.




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

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New Blip: Code: HARDCORE

Code: HARDCORE, from RocketPunch Games is a fast-paced mech combat platformer featuring a variety of mechs with different abilities. The game offers a single player story experience about a war between Earth and Mars, as well as local and online multiplayer versus modes, reminiscent of Metal Warriors on the SNES, but considerably faster. The slick 2D visuals look almost 3D with their smooth animation, rotation effects, and a skeletal animation system that conveys a sense of weight as mechs tear around blasting each other with heavy weapons. Mechs can fire multiple weapons, smash each other with melee attacks, defend themselves, jump toward enemies, and some can even transform into vehicles such as tanks and jets. And yes, you can eject from mechs and enter others.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam in Fall of 2017.




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

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Target Acquired: Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

It has been pushed back a few times, but the Kickstarter-backed Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, from WayForward, has finally arrived! This newest release in the Shantae series retains the core mechanics of those previous, with Shantae whipping her hair to kill enemies, exploring colorful platforming worlds, and doing the occasional bit of belly dancing. Shantae uses magical animal transformations to explore the land and return to previous areas to access new paths, metroidvania-style. Like the studio's own DuckTales Remastered, this game features a mixture of 2D and 3D elements, with vibrant colors, lots of detail, smooth animations, and loads of personality.

The game is available digitally for PC, PS4, Vita, Xbox One, and Wii U, with Risky Beats physical versions available for PS4, Vita, and Wii U. Check our coverage here.

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Target Acquired: Standby

Standby, from developer Noclip (game site), is a fast-paced minimalist platformer taking place across more than 50 levels. Platforms are color-coded, with black being the neutral color of walls and floors, but players move through environments at a break-neck pace and must be wary of the color changes around them. Red platforms may be dashed across, yellow ones must be smashed through, and blue ones can send the player flying across the screen perpendicularly, while flashing lasers are deadly. There is, of course, a speedrun mode to put the skills of hyper-reactive players to the test.

Standby is now available for PC via Steam

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New Blip: Sundered

Thunder Lotus Games, the studio behind the solid and visually splendiferous Jotun, has returned with Sundered, a Lovecraftian metroidvania. The new game once again features hand-drawn visuals and battles against creatures many times the size of the protagonist. You take on the role of Eshe, exploring an eldritch underworld filled with horrific creatures, mysterious and powerful relics that grant new abilities, and titanic bosses, while attempting to retain your sanity in a darkly beautiful world.

The game is headed to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, GOG, and Humble Store, as well as PS4 via PSN in 2017. For more details about the studio's previous game, Jotun, check our coverage here.




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

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Target Acquired: Deios II: Deidia

Deios II: Deidia, from BARCHboi, is a sequel to Deios, and stands as an experimental album/game/visual experience that mixes platforming into a glitched-out world filled with oddly-scaled layered sprites, beams of light, splashes of sound and music, improperly parsed overlapping text, odd popup images (which are editable), and a minimal yet somewhat unnerving narrative. The game is an exploration-based platformer, although the platforming mechanics can be a bit frustrating due to the player character's high movement speed, the general absence of flat surfaces, and the occasional need for precise movement. Exploration involves passing through doors to reach new areas, with very little direction given to players as to how to make progress or whether doors will take them to new areas or return them to old ones.

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

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