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

November 26, 2019

New Blip: Jetboard Joust

BitBull Ltd presents Jetboard Joust, or as it's also known: Jetboard Joust: Next-Generation Retro, a neo-retro arcade-style shmup in the bullet hell vein. You take on the role of a jetboarding badass who must save his/her babies from being abducted by aliens Defender-style and transformed into mutants. Fortunately, you can make use of several upgradeable weapons, including a flamethrower, grenade launcher, a gravity hammer, and an antimatter rifle, in order to take down your enemies. You can also jump off your jetboard for temporary invincibility, gaining a reprieve as you smash your jetboard into baddies and bosses to make them explode mightily. Gameplay takes place across multiple playfields on five planets, with bonuses awarded for clearing multiple levels in succession.

The game is coming to PC and Mac in Spring of 2020, followed by Switch shortly thereafter, and possibly other consoles.




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

Target Acquired: Sparklite

Sparklite, from Red Blue Games, is a lighthearted roguelike action-adventure set in a vibrant world filled with colorful creatures and chunky animations. You take on the role of an adventurer named Ada who goes up against The Baron, who is mining a material called Sparklite to power his war machines, polluting the land in the process. Ada travels the world to take out his defenses, fighting enemies and bosses before facing off against The Baron himself. Along the way, she finds new items and gadgets that aid her in her exploration and make her a more formidable opponent.

The game is now available on PC and Mac via Steam, Switch via eShop, PS4 via PSN, and Xbox One via Microsoft Store. The game also received a limited physical release. Check our coverage here.




November 21, 2019

Target Acquired: 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 now available on PC via Steam and Switch via eShop.




November 14, 2019

Early Arrival: SteamDolls - Order of Chaos

SteamDolls - Order of Chaos, from The Shady Gentlemen, is a steampunk metroidvania featuring fast combat and brutal stealth kills. In a world overrun by industry and an authoritarian government, you take on the role of The Whisper - David Hayter - who dons a helmet and wrist blades to deliver his personal brand of anarchy to the streets... and to expose the dark secrets of those in power. The game is being developed in conjunction with a graphic novel (and a VR game) set in the same universe, and this artwork carries over into the game, which also features hand-drawn cutscenes. Also, beware the friendly naked witch.

The game is currently available for PC via Steam Early Access, with a playable demo.




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

November 12, 2019

New Blip: Steel Assault

Steel Assault, from Sri Kankanahalli (game tweets), is a sidescrolling actioner set in a dystopian America (is there any other kind?) 20 years after the nation's fall. You take on the role of a resistance soldier named Taro Takahashi who infiltrates Washington D.C. to take down an evil army in a vibrant retro-style world filled with lovely pixel art. Takahashi is a versatile melee-based fighter who is able to slide along the ground to close ground on enemies or dodge through them, perform a jetpack-assisted double jump, and extend a cable that allows him to grapple onto platforms to jump up onto them, or walk hand-over-hand across the cable to cross gaps or ascend through narrow passageways. Enemies are colorful and varied, with bosses and minibosses that are over-the-top in all the ways you'd expect from the console classics that inspired their designs.

The game is coming to PC in winter of 2020, with console versions coming at a later date. Check out the level playthrough below for a look at the intense gameplay and zipline mechanics.




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

November 10, 2019

Early Arrival: Noita

Nolla Games is a studio made up of Petri Purho (Crayon Physics Deluxe), Olli Harjola (The Swapper), and Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari (Environmental Station Alpha), and they have returned with Noita. The game is a physics-based action platformer, but what sets it apart from the other games in the genre is the fact that physics are applied to every pixel in the game world, bringing about shenanigans you haven't seen since the PixelJunk Shooter series, only this time in a chunky pixellated world. You can freeze water and then blast through chunks of ice, smash objects to make them break and collapse, cause lava to flow into an open space, electrify pools of water, or burn through flammable gasses to ignite the air in a room and burn through your enemies... or yourself if you're not careful. This is a roguelike game featuring spellcrafting, permadeath, and procedurally generated environments filled with dangerous enemies and elements.

The game is now in Early Access for PC via Steam and GOG. Check our preview here.




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