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

September 30, 2021

Target Acquired: Unsighted

Unsighted, from Studio Pixel Punk, is a cyberpunk action-adventure set in a world that was once filled with a great population of androids. But now their energy source is nearly depleted, threatening the continuation of consciousness for those few androids who remain. Now, a once great city is overgrown and stands on the brink of ruin and machines have become corrupted, causing them to turn against you. You must solve puzzles, overcome environmental challenges, and defeat enemies in a nonlinear world. Along the way, you can equip numerous melee and ranged weapons, level up to increase your strength, and learn new abilities that allow you to explore further. The game features sexy pixel art and some lovely environmental effects.

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

Target Acquired: Aeon Drive

Aeon Drive is the latest from 2Awesome Studio, who most recently developed Dimension Drive. Aeon Drive is a follow-up to Dimension Drive and takes place immediately following the events of that game. The space pilot Jackelyne - or Jack for short - is shot down and crash lands in the dangerous crime-ridden city of New Barna (Barna being what the locals call Barcelona). This is a cyberpunk parallel universe version of Barcelona and there are lots of folks who don't take kindly to Jack's presence, but she must fight her way through them lest her disintegrating dimension drive destruct and wipe out this entire alternate reality. This time around, Jack sets out on foot, leaving her trusty ship behind, but she becomes more adept at environmental navigation and combat as she gains the ability to teleport and manipulate the flow of time. Her primary tool is a dagger that lets her fight enemies, but she can also toss the dagger and immediately teleport herself to its position, allowing for unique combat and traversal.

The game is now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, Switch via eShop, PS4 and PS5 via PSN, and Xbox One via Microsoft Store.

September 29, 2021

New Blip: Moo Lander

Your planet is in desperate need of milk, and only you can save the day in Moo Lander, from The Sixth Hammer. In this action-adventure, You pilot a milk-powered spaceship that has crash landed on a planet rich in resources... namely gigantic cows ready to be beamed back home. Unfortunately, you lost all of your weapons and defenses in the crash, so you spend the game exploring colorful environments, solving puzzles, and dodging enemies until you eventually encounter a milk shield that lets you deflect enemy shots, and a milk gun that lets you shoot projectiles of your own. There are loads of ship upgrades to be unlocked as you play, including non-lethal weapons for dealing with cows, which act as the game's bosses.

The game is planned for release on PC in Spring of 2022, but a playable demo is available now on Steam. Check our coverage here.

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

September 28, 2021

Target Acquired: 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 now available for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, and Switch via eShop.

Target Acquired: Nykra

Nykra, from Endesga, stars a young woman named Keu who is exploring the universe's first galaxy, Nykra. Keu is accompanied by a hovering drone called Eo, which helps to defend her and open new paths as she uncovers the mysteries of this galaxy, starting with a strange black cube on a pastoral planet, reminiscent of the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Her adventure takes her across seven planets and several small moons and offers nonlinear gameplay, puzzle solving, hacking, a loot and crafting system, and a customizable and upgradeable weapon system.

The game is now available for PC via Steam.

September 22, 2021

Early Arrival: Source of Madness

Source of Madness, from Carry Castle, is a roguelike actioner set in a dark Lovecraftian world... but not Lovecraftian in the typical video game sense of over-tentaculated monsters looming in the distance, but rather true eldritch horrors that are made up of amalgamations of flesh that twitch and scurry and slither and sometimes break into gibby bits as you furiously cast spells to blast them into oblivion. As an acolyte, you set out across a dangerous landscape overrun by ancient horrors as you attempt to open a pathway to the moon. Your odds of survival are quite low, but fortunately there are many other recruits who will unwillingly follow in your footsteps when you fall. Permanent upgrades unlock as you make progress, including new character classes with different spells and abilities, and you can pick up or purchase useful items on each run. Do you have what it takes to die many horrible deaths in service to the cult of the Tower of Knowledge? Yes you do. But can you learn from your deaths and fight your way through the lurking terrors?

The game is now available for PC via Steam Early Access, and is also planned for release on Switch. New character classes will be added during the early access period. Check our coverage here.

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

September 16, 2021

Target Acquired: Eastward

Eastward, from Pixpil Games and Chucklefish Games, is an action-adventure set in a post apocalyptic world. You take on the role of John, a digger who discovers a mysterious girl in an underground facility. John must guide the girl through the wasteland, interacting with colorful and unusual NPC's, solving puzzles, and doing battle with dangerous creatures and rampaging machinations along the way. The game is styled after 90's anime and features gorgeously detailed environments as imagined by pixel artist Hong Moran.

The game is now available for PC and Mac via Steam, GOG, and Humble Store, and Switch via eShop.

September 15, 2021

Target Acquired: Flynn: Son of Crimson

Flynn: Son of Crimson from Studio Thunderhorse, is an adventure-platformer where players explore a colorful nonlinear world, fighting monsters, uncovering secrets, and speaking with NPC's. The game stars a redheaded hero named Flynn, who was orphaned as a child, and he must uncover the secrets of his past and uncover the mysterious power that lies within him. Flynn will find himself smashing through obstacles and enemies with an axe, blasting them with a bow and arrows, and slashing them with a sword, and as he unlocks new abilities, he'll be able to smash through stone barricades, climb walls, and grapple across gaps. He also has the ability to summon his doggo friend, Dex, and then use her to traverse the environment, smash objects, and fight enemies.

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


September 9, 2021

Target Acquired: Webbed

Usually when spiders appear in video games, they're there to be spooky, but that's not the case with Webbed, from Sbug Games. Here, you play as a cute and cuddly spider on a mission to save her boyfriend from a menacing bowerbird. Fortunately, you've got plenty of spider skills to help you on your journey. For one, you can swing on your webs like Spider-Man (well, I guess Spider-Man swings like a spider), allowing you to quickly traverse the environment and fling yourself up to new heights. You can also weave webs to suspend yourself in the air and avoid enemies and obstacles, trap some tasty flies, and more fully explore the interconnected environments. And you can talk to bugs and get some of them to help you... or just party down and do a little dance with them. You can do whatever a spider can, and more, with some atypical arachnid activities such as factory work, skateboarding, and cave diving.

The game is now available for PC via Steam, GOG, and Humble Store.

September 2, 2021

Target Acquired: Weapon of Choice DX

Man oh man, here's a history lesson for ya'! Weapon of Choice was originally released by Mommy's Best Games in 2008 on Xbox Live Community Games (later called Xbox Live Indie Games), kicking of an entire generation of indie games published on consoles. The game is a throwback to run-and-gun classics like Contra, but it features branching levels and seven playable characters... most of whom you rescue by killing your way through those nonlinear paths. The game is packed with hand-drawn art, grotesque creatures, huge bosses, wailing guitars, and insane firepower, with zany weapons like a jet engine gun and a bomb-blasting cannon that's totally not a huge bong (bomb-bong). Every playable character has his or her own unique weapon and abilities that change how you engage enemies, and when one dies, a 400 kiloton "vengeance missile" shoots another character into play, obliterating everything in a huge explosion. If that's not enough, you've got death brushing, a wall-crawling spider-pack, and a branching narrative with four endings. Full disclosure: that branching narrative was written by none other than me (Hi, I'm AJ!), so beware that you'll be filling my pockets with fat wads of two dollar bills if you choose to buy this game!

You can get Weapon of Choice DX on Switch via eShop, PS4 via PSN, or Xbox One via Microsoft Store. Check out my article from the 2008 release here with its blurry Xbox 360 capture card screenshots and some lovely development artwork.