8-Bit Awesome!

8 Bit Night

8-Bit Night, by Russian developer Retro Souls, is yet another indie puzzle platformer game in a retro style. Despite the sudden resurgence of platform games in the indie world, especially in the retro style, 8-Bit Night separates itself from purist platforming with a twist of genuinely unique game mechanics. In terms of delivery, the game has a really swell soundscape that oozes that old-time arcade feel along with slightly stylized graphical effects that enhance the overall experience.

Publisher: Retro Souls
Reviewed on: PC

Thomas Was Awesome

From left: Thomas, Chris, John, Laura, and Claire

In perhaps one of the most masterfully crafted indie games I have seen, Mike Bithell's indie puzzle platformer Thomas Was Alone grants every one of the game's characters a believable and convincing personality. The atmosphere accompanying Thomas Was Alone is spot on, and though simple, the effects thrown into the setting deliver a fitting ambiance. Despite being a game about quadrilaterals, Thomas Was Alone provided one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I have ever had.

Anamanaguchi-Airbrushed (RAC Remix)

A chill chiptune track with a nice beat and a light, summery melody to accompany you with a casual game! Hard techno is no place for a bright indie game, and this track will go very, very nicely with anything lighthearted.

Retro Cat Platformer, Nine Lives!

*squish*

  Nine Lives, by Scylla Games, is a retro platform game featuring a cat as the main character. The kitten, Felina, is traveling across multiple worlds to find and rescue her kidnapped mother, dodging water droplets and defeating enemies, all with only nine lives. As Felina progresses through the game, she gains new abilities such as the ability to hang from walls or shoot fireballs. This charming platformer hearkens back to an age of fantastic level design and simple, yet challenging gameplay.

Slender: makes me RUN

First Impressions

  Parsec Production's recently released game, Slender, became one of the year's most talked about indie horror game, if not the most popular. After popular Youtube star Pewdiepie made a gameplay of this then-unheard of game, Slender went immensely viral and caused the official website to crash under the massive weight of incoming traffic. Since then, Slender has permeated the underbelly of the indie genre while simultaneously re-defining the elements of a successful horror game.

Hack Slash Loot

Basically sums up my first 5 minutes playing

Claiming ancestry from the ancient realm of Roguelike games, David Williamson's Hack, Slash, Loot, features similar mechanics and a pixel art style neatly wrapped with nostalgia. With a permadeath system similar to my previous post (The Binding of Isaac), this turn-based dungeon crawler has procedurally-generated levels, keeping gameplay fresh throughout every playthrough. However, Hack, Slash, Loot's dependence on luck to the player forces multiple tries to land that perfect playthrough, which can be a major turn-off for many players.

The Pain of Isaac

Lies. Isaac was never loved.

  The Binding of Isaac, the top-down procedurally-generated shooter by Super Meat Boy dev Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl, is an absolutely punishing game to play. Although the curve doesn't slope up as steeply as Super Meat Boy, the Binding of Isaac has a more diabolical approach to frustrating the player.

Mille-Crysteena

This one is for those Daft Punk fans looking for some of the old-time French house. The distorted melody at the beginning already starts the song off with an old-fashioned feel, and the low bpm and head-bobbing beat track coupled with spacey audio effects really set this song on a different level.

The Last Remnant: the game that could've been

  Square Enix's single player RPG, The Last Remnant, has a curious history of being one of the few games that benefited from being ported to the PC from a console. After suffering a serious backlash from the Xbox 360 community, the developers actually listened to the players, and brought more than a few changes that streamlined the PC port of this tactical RPG. However, The Last Remnant still suffered from serious issues that banished it from the limelight it very nearly achieved and almost deserved.

Krater Tots

This is literally where I got the title from

  Swedish developer Fatshark's new dungeon crawler, Krater, throws its players into a apocalyptic setting, where you control a party of three characters, all with their own unique sets of skills and attributes. Krater stands out from other games of this hack and slash genre with a perma-death feature, a pseudo-RTS gameplay, and randomized dungeons and events.

Borderlands 2 Playtime 60 Hours

Zer0 Tackling Hour 46

As stated by the title, the upcoming Gearbox game, Borderlands 2, has been clocked at having approximately 60 hours of playtime to get through the campaign, as a single character. Seeing as there are 4 total characters and a 5th as part of the pre-order bonus, those perfectionist completionist OCD gamers out there better start stocking up on Hot Pockets.

Minecr-I mean, STAAARFORGE!

If you haven't exactly gotten over your Minecraft addiction, but have already built everything possible, there is hope for you yet. Starforge, a game by the 2-man company CodeHatch, takes a page out of Notch's book and throws itself completely in the direction of the popular construction-survival niche Minecraft carved out for itself.

Long melodic lines running on top of an additive rhythm just serves to make this song an instant classic to me. Hopping around like an idiot in BF3 while listening to this song just makes it all the more enjoyable.


For the love of god, HD

Ecotone: too cute to die?

Created by the 5-man French development team, Sundae Factory, Ecotone is a 2D puzzle platformer with an emphasis on physics and help from its nifty selling point. Each level in this tiny indie game features a whimsical atmosphere along  an incomplete sentence at the top left of the screen. For example, a level with the text "we didn't always agree" features two characters instead of one, and from the text, the player gathers that both characters move in opposite directions. Completing each level completes the statement, and in that way advances to the next level. The game features several physics-based puzzles (i.e. pushing boxes, crates, simultaneous button presses) and also a Limbo-like death timer. However, the most appealing aspect I found researching this game was the overall atmosphere of the game. Describing this game without describing the character design would be a sin, and doggone it, Sundae Factory captured my attention with adorableness. A single look at the forlorn mask the main character wears was enough to break down my resolve and bust out a post in the middle of the night. In addition, I was super impressed that 5 friends got together and threw together such an absolutely charming game, with a soundscape befitting of its airy quality.


Unfortunately, these folks are starving for money, and with only 10 days left on their project starter site and several thousands of dollars short, it seems like a shame that a game like this would get so high, yet fall so short. 

Freshness Rating: I wish I could stay awhile, but I'm forced to leave.

Donate here!

Portal Lego Set?

Not reviewing a game here, but just a heads up that the Portal design put up by the crowd-sourced Lego design website Cuusoo has been approved and is now heading towards an official Lego jury for a second review and product testing. It might take a great many weeks to a few months, but at least it crossed the first hurdle!

Freshness Rating: I threw money at the computer, but it slid off the screen

Antichamber - what is this I don't even

Think all the way back into early high school, all the way back into your Geometry class. Remember Euclidean space and all its different laws? Basically, Euclidean space describes how the normal world functions from the second dimension and upwards. Alexander Bruce's upcoming Antichamber takes everything you ever knew (or thought you knew) about how space works, twists it, and throws it back in your face.

Savant-Splinter (Electro House)

First up in the music category, we have Savant, with Splinter. Featuring a heavy bass line, a pulsing beat track, and samples from Street Fighter, you literally can not possibly find a better track to pop heads to. *ding* You Win!


Like it? Buy it on iTunes!

Blacklight: Retribution an original FPS? Gasp!

 Here's a title most of you folks haven't heard of! The new f2p FPS by gaming studio Perfect World features an amazingly fleshed out gun creation/customization kit along with fast-paced gameplay to show off your baby to the rest of the community. This fully featured game has loads of gametypes aiming to please, from a CoD-inspired Kill Confirmed game mode to a Battlefield 3-like Capture the Objective game mode.

Hello!

and welcome!


Of course, from the description you know what sort of posts I will be posting, but most of my inspiration and credit will be coming from sources such as Destructoid, CVG, or Joystiq. Rest assured, my content WILL be original, as I will be taking ideas, not content away from their well-written articles. If you would like a more in-depth read, I will be posting links after my posts that link directly to aforementioned articles.


In the same way, I will be posting music I find altogether too awesome to keep to myself onto this blog. All credit goes to the composer, and I might review associated albums as well.


Game reviews are game reviews.


Thanks everyone! I'll have to remember to post regularly and keep my content original and interesting!
Remember, stay a while, stay forever!