Target Acquired: Yoku's Island Express

Over the years, many developers have experimented with mixing pinball mechanics into other genres, with examples including Pinball Quest, Odama, and Rollers of the Realm. Developer Villa Gorilla aims to do the same with Yoku's Island Express, an open world action adventure starring a dung beetle named Yoku who has recently accepted the role of postman on a tropical island. The dung beetle's ball acts as the game's pinball, with the beetle tethered to it, letting out cute squeaks and flailing about whenever the ball is launched. The player must use flippers to knock the ball around, bouncing it off of bumpers, activating switches, and breaking environmental objects in order to move across an array of themed environments. Along the way, he interacts with NPC's, goes on quests, and contend with giant creatures spread across the land.

The game is now available on PC via Steam, Switch via eShop, Xbox One via Microsoft Store, and PS4 via PSN.

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Target Acquired: Fox n Forests

It seems that the season-changing fox-based platformer genre is starting to get a bit crowded, what with this and the long-in-development Seasons After Fall. Developer Bonus Level Entertainment (game tweets) presents Fox n Forests, a game inspired by the colorful platformers of the 16-bit era. You play the role of a fox as he travels through environments themed on each of the four seasons, on a quest to prevent the coming of a devastating fifth season. Along the way, the fox can alter the seasons, allowing winter to give spring and summer a miss and go straight on into autumn, and changing the world around him. For instance, the impassable waterways of summer may be safely passed by changing the season to winter and freezing them over. The fox uses a short-range sword and various projectile attacks to take down pixellated foes as he hops across platforms, slides down ziplines, collects coins, and faces off against the occasional screen-filling boss.

The game is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, Switch via eShop, and PS4 via PSN, and an Xbox One version is arriving soon via Microsoft Store. Check our coverage here.

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New Blip: Doko Roko

In Doko Roko, from Eric Mack, you take on the role of a small adventurer with a big sword who must make his way up The Tower, which extends thousands of feet into the sky and passes beyond the clouds, with each section containing its own inhabitants and ecosystem. Along the way, you'll have access to magical artifacts and a variety of swords from across the world to protect you against the tower's more hostile elements, allowing you to attack your foes, parry enemy strikes, and deflect projectiles. The game is intended to be light on story but heavy on atmosphere as you make changes to the world within the tower, and it also changes you.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux later this year.




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

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Target Acquired: Captain Forever Trilogy

Captain Forever Trilogy, from Farbs, is a collection of three games: Captain Forever, Captain Successor, and Captain Impostor. The original award-winning browser-based game has been remastered with a new engine, as have the later releases, allowing for faster and smoother gameplay. The game also has new ship design options, new audio, and a rewritten story from novelist Cassandra Khaw. The games let you fly around space blasting spaceships and attaching their assorted bit to your own ship, complete with physics simulation that impacts your ability to fly, forcing you to take your bulk into consideration. Of course, you can add on a bunch of weapons as well, but you also lose parts when you are blasted, forcing you to beat a hasty retreat to reconfigure your ship with the pieces that remain.

The game is now available for PC via Steam.

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Target Acquired: Lords of Strife

Lords of Strife, from Revolutionary Interactive, is set in a world where Dark Lords have overrun the land, destroying villages and spreading their darkness. On peasant decides to rise up against them, but his quest is fraught with danger, especially given that 90% of the world is make up of spikes. The player is able to hop on scarecrows and enemies in order to clear spike pits (while also watching for spikes on the ceiling) and make it through each of the single-screen environments. In many cases, the player must leap into the air and grab floating hearts just above spikes, which turn him invincible for a split second until he smashes in to the spikes below, bouncing him upward and into more danger. Each world terminates in a boss encounter against one of the Dark Lords in a high-flying fighting flurry against floating foes.

The game will be out in just a couple of days. You can grab it on May 22 for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam. Check our coverage here.

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Arrival Delayed: Indivisible

Action-RPG Indivisible, from Lab Zero Games (Skullgirls) has been pushed back into the first half of next year. The game is planned for release on PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, PS4 via PSN, Switch via eShop, and Xbox One via Microsoft Store.

The game stars Ajna who sets out across the world to discover the origin of her powers, which allow her to absorb and summon various beings, and she is joined along the way by a number of characters who fight alongside her. In addition to Lab Zero's trademark 2D designs, the game is accompanied by a soundtrack from Hiroki Kikuta, best known for his work on Secret of Mana. The game mixes action platforming (in 3D environments) with turn-based battles and the ability to inflict damage to enemies prior to battle, Paper Mario-style. The game also features loads of crossover characters from other 2D indie games, including the lead characters from Shovel Knight, Hyper Light Drifter, Curses 'n Chaos, and Guacamelee, as well as the skateboarding 80's dinosaur from Super Time Force, and Shantae from WayForward's Shantae series.

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Target Acquired: The Swords of Ditto

The Swords of Ditto, from One Bit Beyond, tells the tale of a young hero who is destined to fight an ancient evil that awakens every 100 years. She pulls forth the sacred Sword of Ditto from the grave of the former champion, walks directly to Mormo's palace, and is unceremoniously murdered on the spot. So, another 100 years pass, only now with the world plunged into darkness, and then another hero rises to take on her role... and the player has only a few days to level up and face Mormo again, and if he fails, the world will suffer further until a new hero is born. In this roguelike structure, the player's stats and money roll over, giving him a better chance at making more progress as he goes, and completing dungeons allows him to unlock better weapons and weaken Mormo. Gameplay takes place from an overhead perspective with the player hacking and slashing at enemies, and toys act as secondary weapons, allowing for ranged attacks. These toys allow the player to shoot arrows, fire off lasers, or even toss vinyl records... and they can be further enhanced with elemental traits. In addition, players may find or purchase stickers that act as passive buffs, offering a better shot at besting Mormo in combat and saving the world.

The game is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam and GOG, and PS4 via PSN. Check our coverage here.

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Target Acquired: Raging Justice

Raging Justice, from MakinGames, is a sidescrolling beat 'em up made up of high-gloss prerendered claymation-style sprites that look like they fell out of Donkey Kong Country (and hey, one of the devs used to work at Rare, so maybe they did!). The game features traditional brawler fare with a pair of rogue cops - with the totally plausible 80's-style names of Rick Justice and Nikki Rage - take to the streets to whip some thug ass and take down a crime lord... and you can even choose whether you want to arrest the criminals or just beat them into a pulp. Players can go it alone or team up with a real life friend for online 2P co-op. You'll be beating up mofos with your bare hands, running them over with tractors, bashing their teeth in with baseball bats, and even letting off the occasional inappropriate shotgun blast.

The game is now available on PC and Mac via Steam, Switch via eShop, PS4 via PSN, and Xbox One via Microsoft Store.

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New Blip: Black Future '88

Welcome to 1988... the future! Black Future '88, from Don Bellenger, finds you in an alternate cyberpunk 1988 that is filled with all the lasers and fog machines you remember, but also hovering machine gun sentry bots bent on your destruction. In this dystopian roguelike, you must climb a tower that is constantly reconfiguring itself to become more difficult, and your mission is to make it to the top and kill the owner. Action is fast paced with running, double jumping, air dashes, and near-nonstop laser and machine gun blasting across six zones, and you can even team up with a partner for 2P co-op action.

The game is coming to PC via Steam later this year.




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

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Target Acquired: Light Fall

Light Fall, from Bishop Games, is a platformer starring Nox, the shadow trixter, and his companion, an elderly owl named Stryx, who must venture out across a land that has been overrun by a mysterious evil force. Nox has a tool at his disposal called the Shadow Core, which allows him to manifest floating boxes in midair. Using these boxes, he can run and dash across gaps, creating platforms beneath his feet as he goes. Throughout his adventure, he learns new uses for the Shadow Core, allowing him to attack enemies, activate machinery, reach greater heights, and uncover numerous hidden areas. The game focuses on retaining momentum - although most of it can be played at any pace - and there are numerous shortcuts for speedrunners, along with leaderboards to show off your best times.

The game is now available for PC and Mac via Steam and Switch via eShop, and is also planned for release on PS4 and Xbox One. Check our coverage here.

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New Blip: Narita Boy

Narita Boy, from Studio Koba, is a neo-noir actioner starring the eponymous Narita Boy, a digital hero who has the power to swap between dimensions. The digital world has come under attack and you must explore the landscape and uncover the techno sword, the only weapon that can stave off annihilation. You'll spend your time surfing on a floppy diskette, bashing cuboid beasts with a bigass sword, sliding blocks around to solve environmental puzzles, unleashing photon fury on rows of baddies, and riding transforming digital horsies. The game features a distinct visual style with high-frame animations, unusual proportions, and stylized flourishes to emphasize its hard-hitting combat... all accompanied by an 80's-style synth soundtrack.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam in December of 2018, and is also planned for release on PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, but with no official release date for those systems.




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

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New Blip: Guardians of the Rose

Guardians of the Rose, from Pixel x Pixel Games, is an open world action adventure in a fantasy world filled with monsters and magic. Unfortunately, the kingdom has become corrupted by dark magic, leading to the murder of the royal family by a contingent of the royal guard. As a member of the royal guard yourself, you work to save the kingdom, but you have no magical powers of your own. However, in your quest to overthrow the false rulers, you can choose to learn this dark magic yourself, or seek out special items that will allow you to combat your enemies, leading to alternate endings based on your actions. The player chooses how he will engage his foes, whether with direct assault, stealth, or through the evil of magic, and he may recruit NPC's to aid him in his quest, depending on his alignment. The player's actions determine the types of items available to him, which quests he can take, and how others react to him.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, and PS4, 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.

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