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

October 25, 2018

New Blip: Platinum Kill

Fun Infused Games, creators of lo-fi indie actioners Nasty, Hypership Out of Control, and Bad Caterpillar, have returned with Platinum Kill, a Contra-inspired run and gun for up to 5 players on PC or 4 players on console. Gamers who enjoy running through the jungle with no shirt and bright red pants will find themselves at home here, with loads of 1-hit enemies, multi-hit brutes, and destructible objects that dispense powerups like popcorn... if popcorn shot bullets. Use machine guns, spread guns, and big bullets to take down baddies and end-level bosses.

The game is headed to PC, PS4, and Xbox One, 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.

October 24, 2018

New Blip: Apocalypse Cow

As children, we dreamed of the possibilities that could arise from being sucked into Videoland and going on game-hopping adventures like Captain N... but hopefully with a lot less "mega mega" from the Blue Bomber. Apocalypse Cow, from Monsters, helps to answer that question when CandyWorld suddenly gets overrun by baddies. Penny is a GameWalker (Texas Ranger?) who has the power move between game worlds and rupture time itself. While in search of a missing robot, Penny contends with various video game elements such as green warp pipes and thwomp-like obstacles, while also fighting off hordes of enemies. Fortunately, she can slow down time to make platforming leaps, dodge bullets, or get in close to slice up thugs with her katanas. In the end, she must save the game worlds form an evil robotic cow.

The game is coming to PC and Xbox One later this year.




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

October 21, 2018

Target Acquired: Jolt: Fully Charged

Jolt: Fully Charged, from Darkera Studios, is a colorful platformer inspired by 16-bit classics, particularly the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game stars Jolt, a robot capable of dashing along the ground and through the air, along with his companion, Cycle, a robot that can perform multiple midair jumps and dashes. The duo are off to face the evil Professor Ohm, who is constructing a weapon capable of wiping out all organic life. Along the way, Jolt finds shields that grant him special powers, like the ability to draw in gems from a distance (which also restore health and grant 1UPs), and the ability to fire off sparks when dashing, causing damage to enemies below him. When Jolt is killed, Cycle takes over, using her aerial acrobatics to dodge obstacles and attack enemies, on her way to the next checkpoint that allows her to rebuild Jolt and bring him back into play. The game offers a lot of content, with 20 levels in the main campaign - each with its own boss encounter - and several unlockables for players who can make it to the end.

The game is now available for PC via Itch.io as a pay-what-you-want title, along with an illustrated PDF manual, as well as a playable demo. Check our coverage here.




October 18, 2018

New Blip: Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch

Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch is the latest effort from Interabang Entertainment, the developers behind Super Comboman, a beat 'em up that was, uh... not very good. If you aren't already familiar with the works of Kevin Smith and the View Askewniverse, then you're likely not going to understand the appeal of a Jay and Silent Bob video game. The game stars Bob, a generally silent overweight fellow in a black overcoat, along with his foul-mouthed stoner friend Jay in a beat 'em up with loads of references to their film and television outings, along with numerous comic book references. The drug dealing duo suddenly find that they have no customers and head over to the new gigantic mega mall (hints of Leonardo Leonardo?) to put a stop to it. Players can tag team between characters (natch) or double team in co-op and use insults to take on bosses.

The game is planned for PC, PS4, and Xbox One and will release sometime around the debut of Kevin's next film, Jay and Silent Bob: Reboot in 2019, in which Kevin will likely have to wear a fat suit to play his own character on account of losing a bunch of weight after very nearly succumbing to the grip of death, and subsequently turning to a life of healthy living with a cleaner diet and better weed. Here's Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes to tell you more about the game:




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

October 16, 2018

New Blip: Shattered Realms

Free Lives, the developer behind Broforce and Genital Jousting, has teamed up with Kopskop Games to bring you Shattered Realms, a beat 'em up that uses 1:1 fighting game mechanics (unrelated to the fantasy novel series of the same name). Instead of just mashing the PUNCH button until the bad guys fall down, players use advanced combo systems, cancelling techniques, and recovery moves for a more technical experience. Of course, enemy characters and bosses are more intelligent as well and won't fall for your old button mashing brawler tactics. Players have separate buttons for punching, kicking, dashing, and special attacks, and they can build up an EX gauge to unleash powerful moves. Players have access to a dozen ground-based moves and another dozen midair moves, some of which can be combined with EX or super attacks for devastating results. The game supports up to 4P co-op and includes a versus mode.

The game is planned for PC and possibly other platforms, but does not have an announced release date. A demo is available on Itch.io.




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

October 14, 2018

Target Acquired: To Leave

To Leave, from Freaky Creations, is a game that takes place in a psychedelic fantasy world with a guy clinging to a flying door as it makes its way through strange environments. It is also a game about mental illness. The lead character is named Harm, a manic-depressive young man whose girlfriend recently committed suicide. Harm spends much of his time writing in his journal, in which he details "The Plan" that will eventually result in his death, along with that of many others. But he can only write for so long before the nausea overtakes him, and he has been saving up his drugs - prescribed and otherwise - to enter another world through a glowing blue door in his room. In this world, he flies around dodging obstacles and collecting souls, while dealing with metaphorical representations of elements from his life. At the end of each level, he allows a Harvesting Temple to draw the collected souls from his body, leaving him a spent husk as he passes through the magical door and returns to his dilapidated room where collapses onto a mattress on the floor.

The game is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, and PS4 via PSN, and it is also planned for release on Vita. Check our coverage here.




October 7, 2018

Proximity Alert: Log Jammers

Log Jammers, from Mega Cat Studios, is a modern retro take on the alternative sports game Windjammers, which came to arcades and the Neo Geo in the mid-90's... and as such, was filled with musclebound beach people bursting with 90's 'tude. Log Jammers (no relation to the Lebowski-verse's Logjammin') eschews the 'tude in favor of wacky over-the-top character designs, featuring an equal mix of human and nonhuman characters in a world filled with logging and political corruption. Instead of running around an arena, opponents are logrollers, running and spinning their logs along the water (or lava, or mayonnaise) as they toss hatchets back and forth at one another. Players can toss the hatchet in a straight line or bounce it off the edges of the arena, and the goal has a 2-point center and 5-point edges, offering additional strategy and keeping the pace up, as either player can make a comeback in 11-point matches.

The game is coming to PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, and Xbox One in February of 2019. Check our coverage here.




October 6, 2018

Arrival Delayed: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom

Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom has been delayed due to production issues with the physical release. The game has been in the works for five years, so rather than push out a sub-par product to meet the original release date of November 6 (formerly announced for summer), the studio announced that they have elected to push the release - both digital and physical - back to December 4 of this year. The game is coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, with physical releases for PS4 and Switch.

It has been more than 20 years since the last Wonder Boy game was released, but the spirit of the game lives on in Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. The game is being created by mobile developers FDG Entertainment and Game Atelier in partnership with Wonder Boy series creator Ryuichi Nishizawa. Monster Boy is able to transform into five different animals, each with their own abilities, allowing him to traverse the world, access new paths, and fight his way through baddies and bosses. The new game is getting the HD treatment with colorful high quality sprites as seen in Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap.




October 2, 2018

Target Acquired: Mega Man 11

You may have thought it was never happening, but Mega Man is officially elevening! Capcom, has decided to bring the Blue Bomber back for another run in the main Mega Man series with Mega Man 11, despite letting Mega Man Legends 3 disappear into oblivion (leading to the creation of an alternate universe in which Keiji Inafune left the studio to create Mighty No. 9). All of the series' latter-day trademarks are in place, with Mega Man's buster and charge shot, ground sliding, and even some assistance from his buddy Rush. And of course, no Mega Man game would be complete without a new set of Robot Masters and their accompanying abilities that Mega Man earns by defeating them. Instead of the retro 8-bit style seen in Mega Man 9-10, the new game features HD visuals, making it look more like a modern continuation of Mega Man 8 than the first six games.

The game is now available for PC via Steam, Switch via eShop or physical release, PS4 via PSN, or physical release, and Xbox One via Microsoft Store or physical release. Demos are available for each of the console iterations.