Let’s jump right into Ducksoup Dungeon. It’s a free web browser playable rogue-lite on Itch.io by developer Richard Lems, also known as Blastmode Games. You might have heard of Lems’ work on the game Mighty Goose. In the game I’m discussing here, Ducksoup Dungeon, you choose one of four heroes. It is playable in a web browser or can be downloaded. Starting with “Slashchicken,” the first hero is a chicken. Gameplay With amazing…
Dogurai by HungryBear is a Game Boy-style indie Metroidvania. I know about it through, a couple of co-creators from Indie Game Collective. Thank you, Jaunty Adventures and Pursuing Pixels. Their taste is superb, as this turned out to be an exciting game. I’ve covered very few Game Boy titles here, aside from Lasagna Boy and… actually, that might be it. It’s a great genre if you want to get into indies. In summary,…
Hivemind 2: Stargrove Scramble is a 2D pixel art platformer part of a 2021 Newgrounds dev jam with an āeggā theme by the dev group Team Bugulon. You play a little cloaked lizard, progressing through various spring-sunset-toned environments, collecting candies that in turn give you eggs that you can use to hurl at enemies and unblock paths. The music is a touch above fun, along with the sound effects, making the game have a…
Octarina is a physics puzzle game about an octopus escaping a sushi factory (donāt worry, youāre on the side of the octopus!) Using your squiggly limbs and momentum, propel yourself around the interior of the factory with the intention of escaping. You can use suction cups to climb structures and hurl objects at switches to reverse conveyor belts and such. Gameplay There are three modes: speed mode, story mode, and āthe floor is lava.ā…
Okay, IN MY OPINION, but it’s cute and it’s the free game today. Actually, I really did like Bunny Bye-Bye and it deserves a break from my sardonic quips. This is a 2D pixel-art platformer about a little alien named ābobeā who needs to clean dust bunnies around a space station using a vacuum called a clean0tron. I can’t promise I have a ton to say about this game, but it’s a neat…
Thereās a really neat ItchIO developer called āeggnog.ā Theyāre publishing all sorts of harmless, fun games apparently. In Super Star Duck: Escape From Nefarious Castle, youāve got the option to play as Esdee, Flan, or Bean, a duck, hippo, and dog (respectively.) The game is one of many free games on ItchIO that I cover, not because it’s a great place to lurk, but because indie developers love the attention there! Why wouldn’t they?…
Mostly created for its novelty probably, Gummy Shooter is an amusing side-scrolling thumb blaster. To be honest, Iāve never tried anything like it before, but I was moved to try the Android category of ItchIO as I was out and it was really quite easy. I don’t always cover games like this, because there is a conflict with how much praise I can gloat over a game versus how simplistic they actually are,…
Hereās an amusing little platformer over on ItchIO called Eats Shoots and Leaves. The name is a parody of the famous writing device expressing how a simple lack of punctuation makes a sentence mean something completely different, especially phonetically. āEats Chutes and Leavesā and āEats, Shoots, and Leaves.ā This game takes this idea and literally makes it the theme. If you’ve never played an indie game like this, it’s not a broad blanket experience…
Just a fun little platformer today called Space Adventure. Found this on ItchIO. You play as a small alien crashlanded somewhere, a moon perhaps, wandering around collecting green dots. Works great on a controller, and the music is pleasant. The original language of this game is German, so if you donāt speak German you might not totally understand whatās going on. Everything is pretty intuitive though, including the universal basics of all platformers…
Caves Ablaze is a 2D Metroidvania Platformer. Play as a ball of fire that completes puzzles deep underground by using flames and dashing abilities to unlock paths. Avoid water and slowly make your way to the surface. Playable with an X-Box Input Controller or keyboard. This was the inaugural free games post for the FGV blog. Not a lot documented here, but a perfectly enjoyable game. Caves Ablaze Gameplay Ah, okay, another fore…
There’s a short, charming story in Eternia: Pet Whisperer. Even if you’re a cockatoo/border-collie lover like me, or whether you lean more toward the exotic koala/frill-necked lizard, or rat brothers. These animals have a slight backstory, and cute appearance, plus a natural subtle wit. It’s got that solo dev quirk that I love best of all, where the plot derails to form a full loopable plot-line but keeps things manageable; that’s a plus,…
If this headline doesn’t raise an eyebrow, then stick with two, because this article is tapping into some unexplored territory with the game Necrow Co. by creator Zahran Worell. The game Necrow Co. is a 2D pixel platformer, playable with either a controller or keyboard. It’s a light narrative about a crow who starts work for a company of reapers, featuring a cozy skeleton psychopomp grim dispatching you to a national park filled…
Alright, folks, I am compelled to write about this. Last night I posted a video of a game on itch.io called Soul Delivery. Yes, it is true, the graphics in this game are so stunning, it’s enough to short-circuit. Though, until now, I’ve never even heard of it. I don’t know who the dev is, and I don’t know anything more than what’s covered on the itch.io page. But, since there’s a demand…
Widget Satchel is a cross-platform indie platformer out a couple of years but is still very fun and fresh. It’s also a great project from Mark of Nice Games Club, which is a podcast I listen to from time to time. It is currently available through the Itch.IO Palestinian aid bundle. Widget Satchel is a delightful flat graphic style game, where you play as an adorable ferret upon a space station. You start…
My Cup of Coffee: The Trouble with Earl Grey is a visual novel that takes place in a turn-of-the-century coffee shop presumably somewhere within Victorian society. You play as a family apprentice of the coffee trade and you more or less are plonked right into days as a barista. The story revolves around a casual plot involving a group of customers known as the Grey family. Using clues from casual conversation, you are…
Magic Trick is a 3D first-person skateboarding game that combines elements of popular wholesome achievement games with a skateboarding theme. It is rich in cotton candy pastels, low poly maps, and anthropomorphic characters to interact with through each island. You can play this game with a controller or keyboard and mouse. The storyline is driven by skateboarding objectives of traditional moves like ollies, grinds, flips, and jumps. It is a fully released game…
Wheels of Aurelia is an interactive-fiction-style racing game set in Italy in 1978. The left-hand steers the wheel of a gritty game that is full of themes of crime, punk, and danger. While the themes are a bit serious, its thematic integrity is in check by fun, innovative game design, and a serious historical snapshot. Drive through the coastlines in low-polygon graphics and talk to your passengers about anything. Wheels of Aurelia: Clarification…
Shu’s Garden is a game that’s part of the huge Itch.IO bundle released recently. It is essentially an open playground experience, with no strict rules or goals. Play a little space cactus named Shu, a ball of shine with a friendly symbiotic tail that bounces around planets. This game holds up well over time, and even without any clear direction or strategy, it is still quite enjoyable as a mini-session or even a…
Catlateral Damage is a game from Itch.IO that is so simple in concept, but so enjoyable that way! I also know it is time for another review! This game is part of a bundle I obtained and is one of many great games over at Itch. The game is about you, a cat, in a playground suitable for the mischievous antics of a cat. The objective of the game is to knock stuff…
When I first started reviewing games, I wrote a list of flying games that I found intriguing around the time Sky Rogue first appeared on my radar. I feel like Sky Rogue has evolved from my first perception of it though. My own style is a bit different too since I’ve stepped out a bit more from my digital pacifism, at least on principle. Not much though. This is another game that has…
Doubts is a short interactive fiction game from a talented solo developer & German artist, Fulmen. Play the role of Gerda, a woman in 1926 Berlin, Germany. She is a runaway with her boyfriend and is by herself during her boyfriend, Joseph’s, temporary absence. She contemplates her surroundings and decisions in a session of examining items around their hotel room while he is away. Without certainty, she wonders if her decision to be…
BattleCakes is a cozy RPG from the studio Volcano Bean. Play as a customizable cupcake person and explore the town you live in. Talk to other cake-like characters around town and even solve some mysteries. I took a look at the demo and found it to have a very colorful–and sweet–style. You can solve the problems around town when you head out the gates and take on the gumdroplins, some goblin gum drops…
Escaping Winter is a strategy game about a forest colony that has to survive the winter every few turns. It’s safe to say that this is more of a JAM than anything, solely representing some conceptual ideas. Indeed, civ strategy games are not my forte, but I think this idea is unique enough. If unprepared a winter might be the downfall of a society if it lasts long enough. Luckily it just makes…
drawing practice goblin As I’ve been writing about, I’m still in some brainstorming stages of a visual novel. I saw a post on Reddit about spending 15 minutes a day practicing, with a disclaimer that after 15 minutes you’ll want to draw all the time. That’s one thing I’ve always liked about drawing, it’s a relationship between you and the sketchpad but between you, you can create worlds. Same for writing really. Anyway,…
Here’s quick gameplay of Kraft And Slash from Purejam Games on Itch.IO. Link: https://purejamgames.itch.io/kraft-slashThis post’s game is called Kraft & Slash. An in-browser game with a cute crafty aesthetic, decent tune, and solid gameplay. Not sure the motivation behind Kraft & Slash, but it appears it’s done its job in the look good feel good, please distract me into playing vibe. I am fond of this style because it reminds me of crafting…
A Cottage Story is an indie fantasy-style visual novel currently in development by indie developer LadyMeowsith on itch.IO. The theme is what is described as, “Cottage-Core.” You’ll play as Emory, or whichever moniker you choose. Your form is selectable as well. You are a human/changeling grown up far away from humans. You live within a fantastic forest of goblins, satyrs, elves, and maybe more. Meet characters and treat their ailments by mastering herbalism…
I have been getting really into visual novels and interactive fiction lately. Itch.IO is rich with these games, and they’re kind of a nice gig. There’s a lot they can offer for developers and gamers. Lower production demands without sacrificing creativity, and a focused effort for players. The talent of the creator is still necessary of course. I certainly intended to give Cryptid Crush an efficient test. I played it out until the…
Scoured Steam for ages looking for anything that caught my eye. My shortwave is all fuzz today. It must be a solar storm and a celestial body in retrograde. But it’s not, the dishwashers running and it’s just a slow week. So, I took forward to Itch.IO in the hopes of some nice dev gems out there and sweet demos. I hit the motherlode. Thank you GameDevites. A Long Journey is such an…
Just a forewarning, I’m going to use Go Morse Go! as an introduction to a very personal interest in radio and telegraph topics. But aside from that, may I first inform you that this game is quite neat. It’s like Powerpuff Girls with rabbits that know how to rock the CW. There was some news of Powerpuff Girls trending recently, so I guess I found this fact amusing. This is a real casual…
Double Cheeseburger, Medium Fries is surprisingly delightful. When I was looking at the ItchIO page for this game, I wondered if it would throw me into flashbacks as a teen, where I worked a few jobs here and there in kitchens and at counters. It managed to perfectly capture that experience–without all the real-life boredom–and add some entertaining gameplay, for what is actually a pretty simple but good game concept. If you’ve ever…
I have been attempting to perfect my gentleman speak for like over a decade now. It’s a lost cause. What I do know, however, is that I am a video game blogger and not Lord Alfred Tennyson. I’ll do my best not to too scuff your wingtips, Oxfords, Mary Janes, Pumas, Jordans, or other fancy footwear. Have you ever watched Antiques Road Show? Edify yourself, it’s on PBS and started in Britain. Lots…
I had the privilege of playing an itch.IO demo today called Lo-Fi Room. It is a member of the rhythm genre. It’s taken on a new kind of life within the indie game scene though. You can search game databases for games that have tags like “rhythm” or simply music. There are incarnations of this genre for Android and iOS devices as well. Developers have really gone hog wild with the possibilities. Rhythm…
Brok the Investigator is a side-scrolling point-and-click cartoon adventure detective story. Fully interactive, voiced characters. It’s chock full of feel-good, heartwarming, animal noir gameplay. And what would an animal people noir be without a detective croc named Brok? The game begins in an inexplicable house fire, although things aren’t quite what they seem. After this introduction, you’ll start your story from an underground apartment. Brok’s son, Graff, is a raccoon or bear, I…
UPDATE: Loco Motive is headed for full release on Switch & PC in 2023 (sorry if I don’t update this right away.) I absolutely adore it, and if you want to watch the awesome trailer for it, check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFahJJOdMzII’ve spent a good amount of time my life on trains or watching, learning, and reading about trains. For my own context, it’s always been a novel way to travel, and some…
Beasts of Maravilla Island is a mindful and progressive concept revolving around the science, hobby, and storytelling of isolated ecosystems and their sometimes astonishing, in this case even magical, discoveries. It’s a game about collecting documentation and exploring the flora and fauna of an environment, where combat or violent interaction is non-existent. I wish I could say non-violence in games is more common, but games are still in the formative years of non-violence,…
Here are 5 Itch.IO games that are either demos, choose your own price, or free–depending on how much you want to contribute or can afford. You may have noticed I am very enthusiastic about this platform because it is where indie games are happening every moment! I’ve got some great titles for you, so let’s get started. 1. Doggo Quest https://meebob.itch.io/doggo-quest The dog is pretty cute and funny and the interactions with the…
I recently, officially delved into a world which is mysterious yet intriguing on the game review front to me. That world is Itch.io. If you are unfamiliar with this website, it is an all inclusive community of solo-dev and indie dev game projects. It’s got everything from free games to digital game building resources. It’s also host to some pretty weird stuff, and I’m okay with that, because there is so much creative…
