I’d brushed the proximity of Jack Move several times this year. Seeing it here, seeing it there, probably even passing up a demo. When I just had to have the Tactics and RPG turn-based bundle from Humble Bundle this month, I got a chance to play it. Turns out Jack Move, the pixel graphic cyberpunk RPG, is a fantastic, well-paced and interesting adventure. Here are my first impressions of the game along with…
Grab your mop, bring your Stardew Valley membership card, and head into olden times with Travellers Rest. Yes, I literally just started this game, so I’ll continue to update this as time goes on, but I’m already hooked. I do in fact still love that old classic Stardew Valley, a basic grounding point for this game. But I have also enjoyed the medieval theme of RPG’s for a long time. The concept is…
MMORPGs get tossed into the indie content spin room all the time these days, generally with a slight irreverence. Inkbound is different though, it has A LOT of potential. I sat down with the game at my PC to test out a new character in this magical book-themed MMO. Is Inkbound actually “a world” yet? Yes–and a plentiful one–which I’m still exploring the depths of. A couple of important facts: This early access…
Black Skylands is an immersive fantasy skypunk 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. I revisited this game in 2023 after a couple of years to see how it…
So, it’s finally here: Hogwarts Legacy. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for Potterheads since, well, pretty much always honestly. But it’s finally here, isn’t it? Something that once we ruminated on as a possibility actually exists now. I grabbed a little bit of gameplay way back in February, wondering if the storytelling was going to be up to par. Since then, I’ve picked it up again on console and I played it for…
This article is my Stardew Valley Beginner Guide. Along with some quick beginner tips on the game, unravel the narrative a bit, and in the process, let me share some helpful lessons learned from playing the game. Whether you’re just starting out, or returning to the game, I’ll show you how life in Stardew Valley pans out from parsnips to star drops. So, without further ado, buckle your overalls, because we’re headed to…
Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok is a ride and a vibe–or whatever these new Midgardians call things. It was a great time trying the early access on Steam, and I’ll tell you about it. This is a passive auto-combat… roguelike–it’s a Vampire Survivors type game basically. Overall, these are good fun, and anybody can play them with a little familiarity with the genre. In this one, you play a Viking warrior (is that…
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…
Hip Witch is a free adventure game released on Steam this week by developer Studio Hip Sword. The environment is handmade, and the storyline involves a lost young witch boarding in a state park, where she begins a quest to investigate odd happenings on the park’s grounds. It is playable with a controller or keyboard and is short but charming and cozy met with positive reviews. Gameplay in Hip Witch: You Got Spells,…
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…
Today’s game, Loading Story, listed as developed by “potatodog” on Steam is a tad quirky but genuinely satisfying. It’s a very short game about a character troubleshooting a game loading error in an imaginary video game town, where the loading tube passes through. Just wander around and solve the mystery. It’s good that it’s free because it only takes about 20-30 minutes to play, which is fine. I’ll tell you enough about it…
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…
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…
Dark Dragonkin is an indie dev project from Twintertainment that is a top-down pixelized fantasy RPG/dungeon-crawler. Players control multiple characters in a group to make them work together to defeat enemies and advance the story. This game is still deep in the dev process with a potential audience of RPG fans and general indie gamers. It feels very attended to as a solo dev project though, and the potential to scale abilities and…
Go Heroes is a coming soon, turn-based RPG based on the stories of Greek Mythology. Each level is filled with puzzles that not only advance your progress in the game but progress the story. It is not quite isometric but rather described as four-directional–it is sort of like using a board game with camera controls. You play as Prometheus, the Greek titan, who dared give the gift of fire to mankind. I am…
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…
Phoenotopia is more than a cozy pixel-art game about a hero with pink hair. There are some pretty deep theme but also pleasant gameplay. For a sample, a group in Phoenotopia known as the last councils decide the fate of humanity. This game has emotional and philosophical depth. But once again, it’s buffered with some enjoyable run and jump platforming. In my playtest of the demo, I enjoyed the open world environment and…
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…
