If You Like Starship Troopers and Anime, Check out Stories From Sol

Stories From Sol: Part 1 Gun-Dog is a new game entering onto the scene. It’s a hard space sci-fi story, a genre not without a plentiful fandom, although this sneak peek led me mostly through sharp comedic timing and even a romantic interest? Looks pretty cool. Please note that not only is this a demo, but it also’s part one of the whole story, so if you enjoy it, make the dev know so with a comment on their ItchIO. Or drop by our tweet on Twitter as well. Let’s take a look.This game is available on Itch.IO Genre: Visual… Read the rest

Rotund Zero is a Super Cheap Preview of the Rotund Franchise

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,… Read the rest

Galacticon Really Plays Like an Old Arcade Cabinet Style Game

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

BIOTA the Robot Action Monochrome Indie

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

Dogurai – Heck Yeah, a Doggo Samurai!

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

Hivemind 2: Stargrove Scramble is A Sweet SNES Style Indie

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

Is “Pizza Express” the Predecessor to Good Pizza, Great Pizza?

My hunger for low-res grounded pixel games lately opened me up to a stellar sale on a game called Pizza Express. Pizza Express is an indie pixel-graphic pizzeria simulator about a fast-paced solo restaurant run by animal friends Gastone the cat and Lucky the rabbit–and also you. The game is fairly simple but incorporates playful dialogue and gameplay that is quirky in the best indie-adhering ways. It is very similar to the game Good Pizza, Great Pizza, but is older and definitely a bit more grassroots. I enjoyed it very much, so I’ve decided to bring this review of it… Read the rest

Ghostbusters are Back and Even Better in Their New Game

Nobody asked for a Ghostbusters Video Game Remastered review in 2023, especially from a guy who reviews indie games. It’s sure to be overshadowed by the mega Afterlife release coverage, but maybe, just maybe, you weren’t sure who to call. So, that’s where I spawn my digital specter presence to declare, “These Ghostbusters are prepared.” Platforms: PC, Switch, Playstation, Xbox I AIn’t Afraid of No Ghostbuster Reboots I’m not sure if there’s anybody on the planet who has never seen Ghostbusters, so to those who want to know more, let me indulge you in this review of an updated version… Read the rest

Phoenotopia is That Terrific Pink Hair Indie Game

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