New Release: Cannon Dancer - Osman

An enhanced edition of a bombastic arcade actioner, from Mitchell Corporation and ININ Games

New Release: Hazard Saviour

An open world platformer inspired by Crazy Taxi, from Sinclair Strange

New Release: Ginsha

An open world action-adventure that takes place across multiple planets, from PolarityFlow

New Release: Haunted Lands: Burial Grounds

A tough and bloody DOS-style shooter, from Alexey Goryachev

New Release: Curse of the Sea Rats

An open world action-adventure featuring 2D animation and 3D environments, from Petoons Studio

August 30, 2017

Early Arrival: Sunless Skies

Failbetter Games, the studio behind Sunless Sea, set in their Lovecraftian Fallen London universe, returns with Sunless Skies, a game set 10 years after the original. The game plays similarly to its predecessor as you dock your skyship in various ports and unravel the stories of the game's universe - and even take a side in the conflict - all told in the series' trademark early 20th century Victorian dialect. Outside of ports, players engage in ship-to-ship battles, and explore mysterious locales, and you can upgrade your ship and recruit crew members to better your chances in the wilds. As before, your very sanity is at stake, and you have to avoid running out of food and falling to mutiny... but if you're feeling peckish, you may consider eating your crew.

The game is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam Early Access and GOG's Games in Development.




August 29, 2017

News: Shantae: Pirate Queen’s Quest DLC Released

Last year, WayForward released Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, a hybrid sequel -slash- soft reboot for the indomitable Shantae series. The release promised not only a return of Shantae and her friends, but also new playable characters, and that promise has been realized with Shantae: Pirate Queen’s Quest DLC, which places Risky Boots in the hands of the player as she experiences her own journey to find items that will allow her to conquer Sequin Land and its half-genie protector. The new adventure allows players to tackle levels in any order, fighting enemies with Risky's sword and pistol while unlocking pirate gear in the form of a bomb shot, grappling hook, and hat glide... which may be familiar to players who experienced Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, where Shantae and Risky teamed up, and Shantae used Risky's pirate gear in lieu of her genie transformation powers.

The DLC pack is available for $9.99 on Switch, Wii U, PS4, Vita, Xbox One, and PC.




August 27, 2017

Target Acquired: Phantom Trigger

Phantom Trigger, from Bread Team, is a neon-lit hack and slash starring The Outsider, an individual who may or may not be the alter ego of a man named Stan who has found himself in the hospital. In the neon world, The Outsider uses a whip, a sword, and giant pink fists to pound his way through enemies and bosses, while the visuals occasionally glitch out, revealing a bedridden Stan who seems to recall some of these events. Using each of his three weapons causes them to level up individually, slowly unlocking various spells that are initiated with button combinations, such as the ability to dash through enemies to slow them down, a freeze attack, and a ring of fire that causes continuous damage... but some elemental-based foes are immune to these attacks.

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




August 24, 2017

New Blip: Super Hydorah

Locomalito is the developer behind Hydorah, Maldita Castilla, The Curse of Issyos, and numerous other titles mirroring the styles of classic arcade games. For many years, the developer released all of his games on PC for free, but recently he has been working with Abylight Studios to release enhanced versions of his games, with the first being Maldita Castilla EX (a.k.a. Cursed Castilla). Now his first breakout hit, Hydorah, is being released as Super Hydorah, with enhanced visuals and several entirely new levels, enemies, and bosses. This is a horizontal shmup modeled after 80's arcade games like Gradius, R-Type, and Darius, featuring a variety of weapon types, waves of enemies, huge bosses, and 2P co-op. The game also features numerous branching paths as well as multiple endings, encouraging players to replay the game to see everything that it has to offer.

The game is headed to PC via Steam and Xbox One via Microsoft Store but does not yet have an announced release date. Players looking to check out the original game may download it for free from the developer's website.




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

August 20, 2017

Target Acquired: Graceful Explosion Machine

Graceful Explosion Machine, from Vertex Pop is a colorful arena-based shmup with horizontal wrapping levels, similar to those of Defender or Fantasy Zone... although there are no humanoids to be rescued, and no bulbous floating shops. Instead, the game features loads of enemies spawning in from all sides, while you control a ship with four different kinds of weapons, each available at the touch of a button. You need to decide when it's best to use your infinite-ammo blaster that tends to overheat, or a concentrated laser blast, spinning sword attack, or a swarm of homing missiles. Different enemies are more easily dispatched with certain weapons, and this game is all about crowd control and threat assessment, as you may find yourself surrounded by dozens of enemies at any given time. This is an arcade-style game where the primary focus is on racking up a big score, which is done by stringing together long combos.

The game is now available for PC via Steam, PS4 via PSN, and Switch via eShop. The game originally released in April as a Switch exclusive. Check our coverage here.




August 17, 2017

Target Acquired: 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 now available for 3DS via Nintendo eShop and is also planned for iOS.






August 16, 2017

Target Acquired: 20XX

20XX has just left Early Access and is now available for full-on purchase on Steam. The PC version is live now, and the game is also planned for Mac and Linux in the future.

Batterystaple Games invites you to dust off your blaster and dive into 20XX (previously Echoes of Eridu). The game features colorful fast-paced robot action inspired by the gameplay in Mega Man X, while mixing in multiplayer and roguelike elements. In the year 2045, an online retail computer system becomes sentient and starts a robot revolution that wipes out most of humanity… but it feels really guilty about it, so the AI imbues some of the surviving humans with cybernetic enhancements so that they can fight back. You play the part of one of these cyborgs (or two in 2P co-op), with a heavily modifiable weapon loadout that you can expand by finding blueprints, allowing for a huge array of possible weapons, abilities, and support items. Taking a page out of the Blue Bomber’s handbook, you get new weapons by defeating bosses. The game mixes precision platforming with air dashery and fast-paced combat sequences.



August 15, 2017

New Blip: Bomb Chicken

Bomb Chicken, from Nitrome is a puzzle platformer about... well, a chicken with a bunch of bombs. Basically, the chicken has to resolve every situation she encounters with one or more bombs. She can drop stacks of bombs to prop himself up and reach high platforms (at least until the stack explodes), she can kick bombs into enemies to kill them, bounce bombs off walls, and kick bombs into switches to open doors and discover hidden areas, and generally just blow everything right the hell up with a barrage of nonstop explosions. Gameplay is changed up as enemies charge toward the chicken, conveyor belts pull bombs along the floor, bomb stacks propel the chicken into the air, and certain enemies can only be destroyed from a certain direction.

The game is coming to PC and Mac via Steam, but does not yet have an announced release date.




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

August 13, 2017

Target Acquired: A Robot Named Fight

Developer Matt Bitner presents A Robot Named Fight, a game about a robot (named Fight) who lives on a planet inhabited entirely by machines. One day, a gigantic mass of flesh covered in eyes, teeth, and dirty dirty sex organs descends from the skies, dropping its progeny on the mechanical city below. You must defend your world from this invasion of meat in an adventure that mixes metroidvania and roguelike genres. Levels are procedurally generated, but still balanced to ensure that you can access all of the powerups and new abilities you need to move forward, including a double jump, sliding kick, and air dash. You also gain access to weapon powerups that include flame and electrical enhancements, allowing you to burn and electrocute enemies and open electronic and flesh-covered doors. Enemies come in a variety of disgusting forms, from hovering blobs of flesh, toothy intestinal creatures, and fleshy beasts with way too many mouths.

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




August 11, 2017

Arrival Delayed: Sonic Mania

The PC version of Sonic Mania has been delayed slightly. While the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch versions are still slated for their original August 15 launch date, the PC version has been pushed back to August 29... so PC gamers will have to wait a couple of extra weeks to determine whether the game truly recaptures the spirit of the original (good) Genesis games. But those folks who preordered the PC version will be gifted a copy of the original Sonic the Hedgehog by way of apology.

It's no secret that Sega's most fondly remembered Sonic the Hedgehog titles were the 2D iterations from the Genesis era, and now - 25 years later - the company has decided to revisit these classics with Sonic Mania, an all-new game showcasing some of the finest moments from the series' 2D history, along with some entirely new areas for Sonic, Tales, and Knuckles to explore. The game is being developed in collaboration with Christian Whitehead and Headcanon, who worked on several modern re-releases of 2D Sonic titles, as well as Pagoda West Games. In addition, a new move has been added to the mix, called the "drop dash" which allows Sonic and pals to drop out of the sky and hit the ground with a burst of speed.




August 10, 2017

Target Acquired: Draw Your Game

Originally released for mobile devices, Draw Your Game from developer Zero One is now available for PC. The game allows you to draw levels on a piece of paper and take a picture to have the levels rendered into playable form. Different colors create different types of objects, with black acting as solid walls and floors, blue for objects that you can push, green for bouncy things, and red for deadly objects, and these levels may be shared online. Players can play a game where they destroy red objects by pushing blue ones into them, or a game where they try to find a way off the page to escape the level.

The game is now available for Android via Google Play and PC via Steam.




August 8, 2017

Early Arrival: MiniLAW: Ministry of Law

In MiniLAW: Ministry of Law, from Lasso Games, you take on the role of a law enforcement officer in the dystopian future city of New Babel (and let's face it, every city named New Babel is set in a dystopian future). As a Constable, you can opt to apprehend enemies using diplomatic tools or non-lethal force, or go in guns a-blazin' to blast baddies. Eliminating enemies grants you upgrade points that you can use to purchase new weapons and increase the movement and combat abilities of your exoskeleton, making you more effective and able to perform far beyond human capabilities, allowing you to sustain more damage, increase your strength, heal more quickly, etc... but your enemies have upgrades of their own, giving them access to powerful weapons and armored suits of their own.

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 Master List.

August 6, 2017

Target Acquired: Running VoltGun

Running VoltGun is a short game that was developed in under 72 hours for Ludum Dare 39, with a theme of running out of power. The game was created by Sinclair Strange, who also developed Jet Gunner, an NES-style run and gun actioner inspired by and Shatterhand and other classic shooters. The game features only seven levels and three boss encounters, but it is packed with the fast action, bright colors, silly enemy designs, and exuberant shooting found in classic 16-bit games. Gameplay is driven by an ever-dwindling battery that can be powered up by collecting gems from fallen enemies, and collected weapons can be fired in low or high power modes to alter their energy consumption.

The game is available for free on PC via Itch.io, or in your browser at Newgrounds. Check our coverage here. There's no trailer, but the developer has posted a full playthrough (below) if you want to spoil everything for yourself.




August 3, 2017

Target Acquired: Road Warriors

Intergalactic Race Warriors, from Turtle Blaze and Lucky Kat Studios is now Road Warriors, bringing its Mad Max inspirations all the more apparent. This stylish vehicular combat game looks like a 16-bit demake of Redline with cars burning up the road - or at least the offroad - with speed lines, shaking chassis, and debris flying everywhere. Players blast away at other cars with machine guns and rockets, while boosting, jumping, and flying off of steep slopes... and hopefully landing wheels-down. Races take place across multiple planets, and players can customize and upgrade their vehicles to make them best suited to their environment.

The game is now available for mobile devices via the App Store and Google Play.




August 1, 2017

Target Acquired: Patapon Remastered

Non-PSP owners (I gather there are quite a few of us) finally get a shot at Patapon with Patapon Remastered from the folks at Sony. The original game came out in 2008 to much acclaim with its mixture of rhythm action, strategy, and light RPG elements. You control a bunch of one-eyed critters who march against monsters and enemy constructions by using drumbeats to compel them to do your bidding. Getting your timing right means faster and more powerful attacks. The original game had a pretty unique art style with a simple color scheme, featuring stylized backgrounds that faded into lighter colors, and stark black characters and enemies in the foreground. The remastered version brings these elements to life with crisp 4K visuals, giving the game a serious boost over its small-screen origins. If you'd like to see what all the fuss is about, check out some gameplay in the video below.

The game is now available on PS4 via PSN.