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Starbound – Completing the First Planet (Quick Guide)

Posted on by Dave Pizza
In Starbound, you use Terraria-style mining mechanics to collect materials and progress through the galaxy. This game was released in 2016. It has had some resurgence thanks to a re-release of the game on the invaluable Xbox PC Game Pass platform. I figured since I didn’t find immediate coverage of my own questions, new players may be wondering how to progress in this game. The game takes place in outer space. It has a plotline involving being stranded in space after a cataclysmic invasion destroys the planet. With some basic tools, you’re left to fend for your own. With a… Read the rest

Galacticon Really Plays Like an Old Arcade Cabinet Style Game

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Today, I’m taking a look at the soon-to-be-released, arcade-style title Galacticon from developer Radin Games. It’s similar in style to 1980s arcade games like Defender, Joust, and Jetpac. You might be familiar with some of these from the book Ready Player One; and maybe the film, but I can’t remember, although I know Joust featured prominently in the book. I sat down with the space-themed preview they provided and honestly got really into it. Initially, I wondered how much there’d be to say, but the game has many objectives. There’s also an online leaderboard to compete with, so it is… Read the rest

Jaded – Another Game From My ItchIO Free Game Binge

Posted on by Dave Pizza
I love these platformer games that emerge from the woodwork every single day. Today, that game is Jaded by Shellsnore games, up on Steam. It’s a standard platformer with directional keys, jump, attack, and a special mechanic which is a time warp. Although the time warp mechanic is more of a cacoon slingshot kinda thing, it works pretty well. I was able to bind my controller to the basic keys with no problem. Let me share a tad more here for you. Getting Started with Jaded The demo does mention that the game is still in beta, and there are… Read the rest

Peglin and its Pachinko Goblins – Trying the Demo

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Peglin is a great game where you complete levels by dropping a ball into a destructible pattern of mechanic-activating orbs. You can activate critical strike boosts, or replenish the board. And, before I gloss over too quickly, the purpose of this strategy is to rack up points that can then be used to attack mob health points, in effect winning the level and moving on. I was lucky enough to find the demo on Steam, although the main game has been covered elsewhere. Anyway, I’ll give you a brief rundown of Peglin. Why Peglin? So, it turns out Peglin is… Read the rest

BIOTA the Robot Action Monochrome Indie

Posted on by Dave Pizza
I’m going to try something new here. I have been known to review demos in the past, but they get kind of buried under other projects. I really want to dedicate time to as many as I’d like to. All things relevant, I made a post on Twitter about needing to play for Game Boy-style indies. I got a great tip from cshPinecone of Indie Game Collective about the game BIOTA from “small bros.” It’s a shmup–aka shoot ’em up. Blasting away weird goops of purple eyeballs has its merits, so here it is on MrDavePizza. The game is rich… Read the rest

Recommendation: Ducksoup Dungeon

Posted on by Dave Pizza
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 firepower at your side, you’ll blast your way through and collect coins. Each play’s collection can be used to unlock the other three heroes. Every level features… Read the rest

Dogurai – Heck Yeah, a Doggo Samurai!

Posted on by Dave Pizza
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, the designs are aligned with the palette and rendering of old-school Game Boy games. This one in particular is a nice platformer/Metroidvania that takes you through some… Read the rest

I Found the SNES Style “Bumballon” for Under a Dollar, and it was GREAT

Posted on by Dave Pizza
I’ve got a great video up for Bumballon on my YouTube channel because I found this game on a Steam sale for 89 cents! With some investigation, I narrowed down some impulse options for pixel art platformers in the likes of some recent faves like Grapple Dog (which hopefully I’ll get to) and PomPom. Bumballon is a game with unique characters and a traditional SNES-type side-scroller game that puts me into an optimized chill mode. Basically, hop in a cannon, and, after the blast-off, interact as you’re taken for a ride through a colorful world with unique obstacles and fun… Read the rest

Hivemind 2: Stargrove Scramble is A Sweet SNES Style Indie

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Hivemind 2: Stargrove Scramble is a 2D pixel art platformer part of a 2021 Newgrounds dev jam with an “egg” 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 polished SNES quality that is so adored in these kinds of games.  Gameplay Stargrove Scramble is a generous product as far as free games on ItchIO go in… Read the rest

ItchIO Spotlight: Eats Shoots and Leaves

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Here’s 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. “Eats Chutes and Leaves” and “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.” 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 for the whole genre, but many of us who play these types of pixel art platformers love, love, love this genre. And I assure you I did.… Read the rest

Village Monsters: A Pleasant Town Sim Borrowing From Made Up Myths

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Village Monsters is a solo dev project from Josh Bosser. It’s a pixel art town sim that departs from conventional titles with an alternative community of friendly monsters. The game plays on similar genre themes as Stardew Valley but the content goes into the outsider/quirk genre of games with its monster acceptance communicated in each character’s unconventional friendliness. It departs from too much comparison by offering a vast amount of exclusive unique story concepts in each character’s backstory and dialogue. Players can also enjoy activities like treasure hunting, fishing, exploring, working, and contributing to the town itself. Village Monsters is… Read the rest

Pompom is A Challenging, Colorful Hamster Platformer

Posted on by Dave Pizza
The recently released pixel platformer Pompom: The Great Space Rescue ran across my desk as a showcase opportunity through my friends at Indie Game Collective. It’s a precision platformer, sort of, with a feature I’ve never seen before this involving time slowing AND improvised platform placement. You can play with a controller, or you can play it with a mouse (or hamster actually, since that is Pompom’s main character you play as.) The game balances innovative gameplay, a moderate learning curve, and generous leniency to keep your gameplay flowing. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, at the level of some other top… Read the rest

Moonlighter is a Much Better Game Than I Thought

Posted on by Dave Pizza
The game Moonlighter is a combination of 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 the game is available on most platforms like PC & Nintendo Switch.Moonlighter is a story about hopeful adventurer Will, a shopkeeper in the small commercial town of Rynoka. Although his family’s shop offers stability and prosperity, it is sustained by the materials found deep in dungeons accessed through gates outside the village. Every night after the shop closes, Will skulks into the darkness to descend into the dungeons before… Read the rest

Mago is a Colorful SNES Style Platformer About a Sorcerer

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Let’s take a look at Mago: The Villain’s Burger. It’s filled with so many fun easy-to-learn but masterable abilities and unique mechanics that you just don’t find in every game. The best way to understand it is most likely visually, but today I’ll be talking about why Mago is a promising look at how its developers are creating something that is, possibly, capable of going big if they wish. So, let’s get started. This game is available on Steam. Mago: The Villain’s Burger is an adventure set in a world populated by fresh NES sprites and joyful playful storytelling. It… Read the rest

Playing “Make The Burger” Because It Looked Cool, and it Kinda Was

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Welcome to my post about Make the Burger. This game’s release date on Nintendo Switch occurred this week, although it has a presence on Steam and ItchIO as well. This is a casual food truck sim with catchy and fun pixel environments and a line-up of hungry and paying illustrated customers. Your entire success is dependent on your ability to remember ingredient symbols and who ordered them. Take orders from customers to cook the burgers they want as accurately and quickly as possible. Upgrade your establishment each day by using funds to purchase new ingredients, furniture, and various tools of… Read the rest

I Played Owlboy With a Library Copy on Switch – This is a Classic

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Let’s talk about Owlboy. Sometime about 100,000 years ago Owls became all the rage. I joke since owl knickknacks and stories have surged in popularity over the past couple of decades. But they’ve long symbolized intelligence, wisdom, and ability. This is a nice bonus to covering commentary-based analysis because those are common themes in Owlboy too. I tested this game on Nintendo Switch, but it is a cross-platform Metroidvania, an acceptable umbrella term for a whole ton of games out there. Intro It was released in 2016, and again in 2018 for Switch. So not hot off the game press… Read the rest

Necrow Co. is a Fun Little Platformer

Posted on by Dave Pizza
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 with spookies, squishies, and don’t-touchies (terms coined on our end.) Abilities are basic: move left and right, jump, and shoot a sort-of crow song wave that disables… Read the rest

What Lies in the Multiverse is a New Game With One VERY Interesting *Feature*

Posted on by Dave Pizza
We’ve got a big event going on right now for THE BIG ADVENTURE. Many demos, and many great indies. I set my eyes on What Lies in the Multiverse first. It’s a collaboration between Studio Voyager, IguanaBee, and Untold Tales. Everything you’ll see in this game has a silvery thread of classic games like Fez, Owlboy, etc. But it’s a little more than technicolor flashing pixel animations, it’s dealing with a really awesome powerful mechanic. Changing universes. That’s right, when you click RT you change universes in this game, and, honestly, it’s unique, it’s a seldom-used trope, but a particularly… Read the rest

Remember When I Played Soul Delivery And It Got Like 40,000 Views?

Posted on by Dave Pizza
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 on this, let’s just take a look at it right now, and I’ll polish this up later once I’ve had a little more time with it–maybe, I… Read the rest

Celeste is Ultimately the Best Game I Have Ever Played

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Celeste. Yes, it’s about time we did this. The renowned precision platformer from Extremely OK Games has been out for approximately three years now (Celeste was released on Jan. 25, 2018, hence the three-year anniversary,) and it has not lost its charm. And why would it? The game sold over a million copies by the end of 2019. Whether you’re hanging out in your game room or playing on your Switch en destination, this is the kind of pick-up-and-go game dreams is made of. You’ll have to pardon me as I haphazardly introduce a game that’s been out for three… Read the rest

Date Night Bowling: This is a Visual Novel About Fun Love

Posted on by Dave Pizza
For the record, I am a big fan of Way Down Deep and their dating sim releases over the last year like the socially distanced romance sim Romantic Distancing and the popular release Half Past Fate. I’ve been eyeing Date Night Bowling since I first saw it in an upcoming game roster. So when the opportunity to play it on Switch arose, I snagged it and slipped on some bowling shoes. Eww, digital ones! Anyway, what we’ve got here is a combination of a very pleasant to-look-at video game with plenty of replay value and a pretty darn decent bowling… Read the rest

Alchemic Cutie is a Bright, Colorful, & Adventurous RPG

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Update: Alchemic Cutie is, once again, a game running across my desk, slated for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5 for June 2023. I really have no particular context for describing it after so long, but when I tested it on PC I felt that it fits into the few neat descriptors of bright, colorful, cute. It’s an RPG. In all fairness, it is a monster collection game, à la Pokemon-style games. In the realm of indies, it bridges stylistic notes of games like Arietta of Spirits as well as Potion Party, but goes a little more Zelda in its cutesy… Read the rest

Arietta of Spirits – This is Really a Charming Indie With a Supernatural Spin

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Arietta of Spirits is a story-driven action-adventure set in a bustling forest teeming with creatures from the spirit realm. Your identity is Arietta, a young lady camping at grandma’s cabin along with Arietta’s mom and dad. Arietta meets a spirit named Arco on their first night. After Arietta’s departed grandmother greets her on the cabin pier and sends her on a quest to retrieve a silver ring, things take a major turn. With some authentic metaphysical storytelling involving realms, ghosts, and spirits, the integrity of the spiritual aspect of this game is solid. As a reward, it creates a game… Read the rest

Big Boy Boxing is a Great Game Homage That You Have to See

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Big Boy Boxing is a cartoony indie boxing dev inspired by Cuphead and the classic late 80’s NES game Punch-Out!! The concept is polished and shiny for contemporary indie players who thrive on retro quirks in new games. You play as a new boxer, trained up through the earnest beginning in the ring with a trainer, Coach Hank. At this stage of development, the demo is pretty short with only one contender, but there are plenty of interesting observations to be made on this neat project. I’d say it’s pretty certain by the time this is released this is going… Read the rest

The Wratch’s Den is a Feast of Excellent Challenges

Posted on by Dave Pizza
The Wratch’s Den is a rogue-like dungeon builder from the depths of the PUNKCAKE Délicieux inventory on Itch.IO. The gameplay involves building a pixel art-style base by mining the surrounding layers of cave rock. The core of the base is a simple brick square structure that houses a minotaur villain on a throne that oversees a group of minions. Progress is measured by how quickly you respond to crusading do-gooders and the retrieval of three magic orbs. When enough progress is made the arch-villain minotaur can research new areas in the base or even revive slain minions. This entire experience… Read the rest

Potion Party is That Great Colorful Pixel Alchemy Sim Out

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Potion Party is a recently released indie co-op that involves running an alchemy shop and racing around part of your lab to create potions for hurried customers. Its style is a pleasant top to bottom, cute, pixel art environment. Get in the groove as an alchemist to the thumpy party music of its namesake. Players may enjoy reasonable tasks along with adequately challenging objectives. In addition, there is a respectable host of elements that advance the needs of player skills as levels are completed from customers to creatures. I think this game is really fun and am delighted to share… Read the rest

Black Skylands is Awesome (And Big)

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Black Skylands is an immersive fantasy sky punk RPG that takes place in the colorful airborne landscapes of another world. As an indie gamer, this is indeed one of the most optimistic projects I’ve looked at, and yet very promising indeed. Take the helm of a family airship and float between islands in the sky to claim your stake. This review is sponsored by a free copy through Indie Game Collective, which I am really grateful for, so let’s go! Get Started in Black Skylands I’ve played a few airship games here and there. It’s a very satisfying theme and… Read the rest

Tales Of The Neon Sea is a Colorful Yet Dark Cyberpunk Interactive Fiction

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Tales of the Neon Sea is a bright pixel art in the hardboiled cyberpunk detective style. It’s also borderline platformer and adheres to a very high-density environment in synch with some of the best cyberpunk cinematics out there. Explore shadowy laboratories or deep dungeons sewers. This game is not for the light-hearted but it does deliver on content. This is probably the most sophisticated pixel art game I have ever played. Let’s take a look. Initiation Sequence in the Tales of the Neon Sea Heads up on a certain aspect. This game is pretty graphic. Your protagonist is a detective… Read the rest

Half Past Fate is the Only Dating Sim I’ve Seen Attempt to Address Love During the Pandemic

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distance is a visual novel about dating during the pandemic. It is out as of February 2021. The story revolves around a mutual interest involving a young man and his broken laptop named Stephen and a clerk at a computer repair shop named Robin. Soon after they meet, the city goes into lockdown because of the pandemic. They try to make it work using video dating for multiple months and test the limits of distant relationships. The game has a very pleasing 2.5D pixel art aesthetic and a catchy chiptune soundtrack. What is Half Past Fate?… Read the rest

“Coffee Talk” What is This Seattle-Set Indie Masterpiece?

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Coffee Talk is an interactive visual novel released in the pumpkin spice season of 2020. You play a barista in Seattle in a futuristic/alternate universe. Your customers range from humans to succubus, and it is your job not only to make them coffee in your coffee shop but also to help talk them through their personal problems. The gameplay is interspersed with actual barista beverage-making with various ingredients and you can even make latte art. The game art is also enjoyable and has a high-quality direction in design. Oh yes, this is the game I need. Yesterday, I drank entirely… Read the rest

Playing the Cyberpunk VN: “Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER” 👾

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER is an indie interactive fiction visual novel project. Play as ES88 a psychic therapist who recovers lost memories for clients using the help of an organic “neurodiver.” You’ll start as a hybrid client named Crow. Crow has a mysterious background but is trying to restore a memory that has been tampered with to recover a memory chip at the center of a secretive trade he took part in. The art direction in reading Only Memories is colorful and fresh. The subject of memory is always a potent one, and the way it translates into media is… Read the rest

Don’t Forget Me is an Interesting New Cyberpunk Mystery

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Don’t Forget Me is a pixel art, narrative investigation game about two cybernetic specialists, memory copiers to be exact. After a client visits their clinic, they find themselves in a complex situation involving government conspiracies and secret technology. The game is slated for release on April 15th, and gamers will find themselves playing a game with excellent art and unique mechanics. When I first encountered this game, I thought about some similar theme stories or picked up on them. One is The Lathe of Heaven, a science fiction book by Ursula K. LeGuin, and also Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless… Read the rest

VirtuaVerse is a Visual Novel in the Dark Cyberpunk World Of Indie

Posted on by Dave Pizza
VirtuaVerse is an indie cyberpunk pixel art point-and-click adventure that exudes what some might think of as classic cyberpunk. You, a hacker named Nathan, wake up in your apartment, to which your girlfriend has changed the exit code. Stylistically it appeals to an aesthetic of a disheveled, neon glow surrounded by cybernetic paraphernalia. Solve enigmatic puzzles to progress the story. I meant to try this game around the time Cyberpunk 2077 came out, maybe as an indie alternative. That was before I learned there was a demo so that I could see what was in store. After a conversation online… Read the rest

Go, Morse, Go! Arcade Edition is an Unexpected and Terrific Hidden Gem

Posted on by Dave Pizza
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 game that is challenging but does not require immense skill to play. Then again, I only played single-player with some computer rabbits. It can be played with… Read the rest

Double Cheeseburger, Medium Fries – Why Do I Love This?

Posted on by Dave Pizza
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 worked in fast food, food service, or really any customer service, you’ll probably find this game highly relatable, especially if you’ve had the kind of shifts where… Read the rest

Loco Motive is Coming to Nintendo Switch

Posted on by Dave Pizza
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 don’t dig it, but I do. The chic yesteryear of trains was incredibly stylish at any rate. You’ll find that aesthetic all here in Loco Motive. There’s… Read the rest

Princess Farmer is a Unique and Colorful Indie Out Now

Posted on by Dave Pizza
The game is called Princess Farmer. Princess Farmer is essentially a complex row-matching game, mixed with some RPG and storytelling elements. With some pixel graphics and a cozy story about bunnies, it’s a lot of fun. The style is pink and indie in the best way, and it is fun just to look at. I’m pretty much a sucker for anything with this style. I’m not totally sure what you would call it, but it puts me in a happy place Pinkness and Bunnies Everywhere in Princess Farmer! Princess Farmer is a breath of fresh air after trudging dark dungeons… Read the rest

Phoenotopia is That Terrific Pink Hair Indie Game

Posted on by Dave Pizza
I sat down this morning, had something to drink, and thought, let’s play that really cool game that makes me feel good whenever I see art from it. Let’s play… Phoenotopia: Awakening. Heads up: this is based on the demo on Steam. There’s quite a bit of content in the demo though. Don’t contemplate the parallels of one or the other too much, at least for this review. Probably better to get the full game, yeah. First off, I am so grateful for the demos that some of these game publishers are releasing these days. I wondered if the demo… Read the rest

A Bird Story is a Classic Indie You Need to Know About Now

Posted on by Dave Pizza
A Bird Story is an indie game title from Freebird Games, a game studio that is led by Kan (Reives) Gao. This game came out in 2014, but it laid a lot groundwork for solo dev RPG’s. It’s the first in a roster of game titles from FreeBird that encapsulates pleasant illustration and crafty story. This one in particular is about a young boy who rescues an injured bird in the forest near his school. More specifically, he fends off a badger that tries to catch the bird in a forest clearing. The rest of the story flows naturally from… Read the rest