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

June 26, 2019

Target Acquired: Hardcore Mecha

Hardcore Mecha, 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 now available for PC via Steam, and is also planned for release on PS4.




June 25, 2019

New Blip: Spelunky 2

Mossmouth returns with a follow-up to one of the most beloved indie games of all time. Spelunky 2 follows up on the finely-distilled roguelike platforming of Spelunky, but adds a slew of new elements to entice players to delve into the depths once again. The new game adds some sweet fluid dynamics that are as pretty as they are dangerous, especially when a waterfall pushes you down a passage at high speeds, or when a pool of lava gives way and sends molten death flooding down at you. The game also features online 4P co-op... which could end some friendships depending on your companions' skill levels, because things can get hairy in a hurry when the griefing kicks in. You can play as Ana Spelunky (daughter of the original game's protagonist), who has a gun that lets her clone kitties (!?); Roffy D Sloth, who can fire arrows and use them as platforms; Margaret Tunnel, who is a demolitions expert; or Colin Northward, who can teleport. The world has grown more complex as well, with layered levels that let you flip between two sides by passing through doorways... and now you can ride animals, which can be sacrificed Yoshi-style to give you a bit of last-minute lift when jumping over deadly obstacles.

The game is coming to PC and PS4 later this year.




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

June 23, 2019

Target Acquired: Steel Sword Story

8bits Fanatics is the studio behind Aban Hawkins and the 1000 Spikes - which you may know from its updated version, 1001 Spikes - and the samurai-meets-US-president zombie slayer The Tempura of the Dead. And now they've teamed up with Kadokawa Corporation and Playism to deliver more ninja action with Steel Sword Story. This time you're plying your ninja skills in a dark fantasy world while fighting enemies, performing platforming feats, and taking down bosses. Use your sword to slash enemies and your magical powers to toss fireballs while exploring the environment for treasures to increase your stats.

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




June 21, 2019

Target Acquired: 198X

198X, from Hi-Bit Studios (game site), is a coming-of-age tale set in the 1980's and tied to the arcade games of that era. You take on the role of a teenager who finds herself drawn to the pixellated glory of arcade games but discovers the line blurring between gaming and reality. 198X actually includes five separate arcade-style games, each in a different genre, including a beat 'em up, a shmup, a racing game, a ninja actioner, and an RPG, and each of these games is realized with stunning pixel art.

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




June 20, 2019

Proximity Alert: ScourgeBringer

ScourgeBringer is the latest from Neurovoider developer Flying Oak Games. You take on the role of a plucky badass named Kyhra as she hops and slashes her way through a sidescrolling roguelike world. Combat is fast and fluid, allowing Kyhra to move quickly from enemy to enemy to dispatch them with speedy swordery, intermixed with serious platforming skills that allow her wall jump, run up walls, and perform dashing downward strikes. Between bouts of bashing baddies and bosses, you delve into the depths to discover mysterious machinery... and maybe save the world. The game also features a cool sounds by Joonas Turner (Downwell, Nuclear Throne).

The game is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux with an announced release date of "soon".


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

June 18, 2019

New Blip: Dawnthorn

Dawnthorn, from Aloft Studio, is an 8-bit-style action adventure inspired by the likes of The Legend of Zelda, Link's Awakening, and the Startropics games, and it's a standalone prequel to Aloft's other Zelda-style game: Hazelnut Bastille. The game is built in the same engine but using the NES style to simulate the way the story would have been presented if it had arrived on the prior console generation, but the games are joined by some of the same enemies and items. You explore themed areas across the overworld and enter challenging dungeons, using magical abilities to aid in your traversal and to contend with enemies in creative fashion. At your disposal are a sword and shield, along with a variety of projectile weapons to help you deal with baddies and bosses along the way.

The game is planned for PC, Mac, and Linux sometime later this year, with possible console releases to follow.




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

June 16, 2019

Target Acquired: Killer Chambers

Killer Chambers, from Village Bench, is a game that combines action and memorization, dropping players into confined spaces where they must dodge a variety of projectiles. With limited room to maneuver, players must pay attention to cues indicating when arrows are about to fire, get the rhythm right to dodge them in time, and commit certain patterns to memory. Players may opt to simply move from one room to the next, or dive back in to face tougher projectile patterns, thereby earning currency that allows them to purchase support items or hats with added abilities, such as absorbing a hit of damage or sticking to the ceiling when jumping. Die too many times, and players must face a cursed room before they can move on, and each of the five areas features a boss encounter that changes up the gameplay.

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




June 13, 2019

Early Arrival: Dungeon Munchies

Dungeon Munchies, from maJAJa (game tweets), is a sidescrolling action-RPG where you play the role of a reanimated corpse who must hunt down strange creatures, kill them, and then cook them up into delightful meals to gain new abilities. Depending on the meals you create, you can heal, increase your damage output, or enable better damage absorption... and then craft weapons with the inedible parts to increase your effectiveness in combat, including swords, spears, and bows and arrows. Defeat bosses, eat gross monsters, and interact with whacked-out NPC's in this unusual adventure.

The game just entered Steam Early Access for PC and Mac.




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

June 11, 2019

New Blip: Heidelberg 1693

Heidelberg 1693 is the latest actioner from Andrade Games, the studio behind 1917 - The Alien Invasion and SturmFront - The Mutant War. The studio is known for its gritty art style and throwback arcade action. The game is set in Heidelberg, Germany in 1693 (as you may have guessed) during the War of the Grand Alliance, in which the French captured and nearly destroyed the town of Heidelberg... but things take a turn from historical events as the French turn to forbidden science to resurrect the dead. You take on the role of a musketeer who uses his rapier and musket - with appropriately long reload times - to fight off an army of undead creatures and fiendish versions of historical figures. Gunpowder is limited and the undead are tough to kill, so you must use your shots wisely, and even lure enemies to harm each other with friendly fire.

The game is coming to PC later this year, and a demo is available on Itch.




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

June 9, 2019

Target Acquired: Gato Roboto

Proving once again that anything can happen in indie game development, we have somehow seen a resurgence in super lo-fi and 1-bit action games, with titles like Downwell and Minit standing as some of the finest examples, both of which were published by Devolver Digital... and Devolver is publishing Gato Roboto as well. Gato Roboto, from Doinksoft, features an adorable kitty in a metroidvania adventure. The kitty is on a spaceship and steps on the pilot's keyboard (as kitties do), leading to a crash landing on an alien world, where the kitty hops out and get to platforming. The game takes place in a black and white world inspired by classic Metroid games, with obvious nods offered in its environmental tilesets and bulbous doorways, but the cat is pretty fast compared to Samus Aran. Pretty soon, the cat finds a mech suit and hops inside, using its powers to take down enemies with blaster shots and missiles, destroy bosses, and rocket jump. The cat can even eject from the suit to run around, swim(!), climb walls to reach new areas, and hop into missile-firing submarines.

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




June 4, 2019

Target Acquired: Reventure

Reventure - originally titled Lonk's Adventure - from Pixelatto, is an open-world retro-style platformer starring a fellow named Lonk who must rescue the kidnapped princess... but this is no ordinary adventure. The trick here is that the game features 100 different endings, and most of your major actions lead to one of these endings. Walk into a cave and pick up a sword from an old man who says "It's dangerous to go alone!", and then plunge the sword into the old man's chest to get Ending #1. Of course, you'll go to prison for a few years, but when you get out, the adventure continues, and you can look for the next ending. While the premise is simple, there is some strategy involved with exploring the world and finding these different endings, since each piece of equipment lets you do different things, but the more you're carrying, the lower your jump height. Throughout your adventure, you'll find a sword, shield, hookshot, bombs, and a chicken that lets you glide through the air (there are lots of Legend of Zelda references in case you haven't figured that out), among other things, and loads of silly humor to encounter along the way.

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