Rotund Zero (IGC Showcase)
Back with another Indie Game Collective showcase for Rotund Zero. It's a precision platformer with a Game Boy monochrome style that uses directional keys only to solve puzzle levels made of bouncing blocks. It's only $1.99 on Steam at the moment and encourages problem-solving in timed runs. You have 5 minutes to complete as many levels as possible, and there are 26 levels, 1 for every letter of the alphabet! You'll be on your toes to speedrun all of those levels, but the pressure is mild. Watch the YouTube video at the top of this article to see me run,…
Moonlighter – Dungeon-Crawler AND Shop Simulator?
The game Moonlighter is a combination rogue-lite dungeon-crawler mixed with trade simulation and story-rich RPG elements. This timeless, beautifully rendered pixel top-down was released by Digital Sun in 2018, and is available on most platforms.
The Gunk – Follow the Pipe, Collect Alien Junk (Review)
Discovered through Game Pass, I'm rather fond of this new title, The Gunk, from Image and Form/Thunderful Development, just launched a few days ago. It fits neatly into the category of games I usually enjoy which are casual character development, soft sci-fi, and familiar mechanics of resource collecting games. And this version of those styles is well presented here. While the game is really very straightforward without much need for introduction, a quality I appreciate, I'll share some highlights on my experience playing through the first few areas plus what you should know about this game.
Fugl: The Meditative Bird Game: Review
The word Fugl means bird in Norwegian. Fugl is a casual sandbox indie game created by a small group of dedicated developers. Its story is whatever you make it, and the gameplay is most certainly endorsed by all birds. I started as a colorful neutral voxel bird in a voxel world and glide through the treetops and oceans, plus more. Interact with your environment to test new experiences. Transform into other birds, try neat stunts, and listen to the pleasant music that guides you through the map. To the skies!
Space Mechanic Simulator: Demo Impressions
Let's talk about an upcoming space game! Space Mechanic Simulator is a 3D space sim set in, you guessed, outer space. So far, this game is still in development, but that may have changed by the time you read this. It is currently in development with a demo on steam that I am reviewing here. Your job is to repair space stations, spaceships, and presumably other space vehicles with a sophisticated drill and a meter. Obtain parts from drones or 3D print them. Once you have detected the malfunctioning equipment, remove it and replace it.
Lab Rags: Art-Deco Robot Puzzles
Lab Rags is an upcoming title from the student project studio Salt Mine Studios. It is an art-deco era puzzle level game that shares mechanics with games like Portal and its descendants. Get started right away as a mechanical android with a neat gun similar to the classic gravity gun. You can advance within the game by respawning and then grabbing your previous housing to fling at door-opening buttons, traverse over spike pits, and even build structures like stairs out of crushed cubes made from your metal leftovers. The environments and music are very charming, and it is an appropriate…
Double Cheeseburger, Medium Fries: Review
Play as Penelope, a fast food worker whose called into work on her day off with the only alternative being terminated. So, she goes in and there's nobody else working besides her and the manager who does nothing. Take your time and work through lines of customers who are pretty authentic in their variations and orders.
Loco Motive: Pixel-Art Train Murder Mystery (Classic Demo Version)
Quick description though: it is a standard Clue/family drama set in 1939 aboard a train in Switzerland. The conflict is a very classic trope, a tried and true one. Like all mysteries, just being in the genre usually checks all the switches into place for creating all the elements of an effective plot and engaging the audience.
Cloudpunk: A Hardboiled Sci-Fi Game
The way games roll out in relation to cult themes these days feel like popping a bean bag chair full of glitter. Shiny and colorful, but spreading everywhere. Cloudpunk IS DEFINITELY a cyberpunk game. Life existing in an oppressively technological Babylon run by criminal overlords and the rebellious underdogs to send it tumbling–not always in an obvious way either. Of course, Cloudpunk is massive, and I have no idea how long it takes to reach the end, or how it ends, or if it ends. Hold on let me look that up. WOW, this game is massive. Get Yourself Connected…
Minecraft Fans Dream Of 64-Bit Sheep
Minecraft rocks. It blocks and rolls. I first played this game around I want to say 2009. People in my social circle were going bonkers for this game. Or “bonkies” as I now want to say, but that’s unrelated. I was really hesitant because it seemed to short circuit my interest in sandbox gameplay with how I felt about low res graphics. It’s basically still that way, but this is one of the most popular games ever, so I return to it frequently. Chop Down Trees With Ya’ Bare Fists! Ah, yes, a glorious sunrise in Minecraft valley amongst the…
