Indie Games

[Sméagol]

This one seems interesting:

Also seems to get a physical release from Red Art Games.

[Ashley]

89p in the UK (and I guess €1 in Europe?)

Not played it myself but always been on the list so I'll grab this as it looks like silly fun. 

[drahkon]

[drahkon]

[Sméagol]

This..

Will probably get its own thread later.

[bob]

This..
Will probably get its own thread later.

Been waiting ages for a good French scrapbooking game.

[MindFreak]

CrossCode releases in Japan on July 9th - new trailer:

The same date applies to Europe - and I've substituted the Japanese trailer with an English one.

Edited June 11, 2020 by MindFreak

[MindFreak]

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX announced, release Q1 2021:

 

Also, Slime-san developer announced Demon Turf:

 

[MindFreak]

Mark of the Ninja - developer just out their newest game on Switch, a stealth release for a stealth tactical turn based game that looks brilliant:

 

[Sméagol]

It's actually an old game. I never gotten into it, even though on paper I should really like it.. It's basically Xcom with a stealth twist. The problem is there are (very tight) time limits, and I'm not really fond of that. I want to have the freedom to explore and see what my options are from a strategy point of view. But I must give it another try.

[MindFreak]

25 minutes ago, Sméagol said:

It's actually an old game. I never gotten into it, even though on paper I should really like it.. It's basically Xcom with a stealth twist. The problem is there are (very tight) time limits, and I'm not really fond of that. I want to have the freedom to explore and see what my options are from a strategy point of view. But I must give it another try.

Ah, shame. I don't want time limits in stealth games, just doesn't feel right.

But I would like a stealth XCOM-game. I'm playing XCOM 2 at the moment and I'm not that fond of it - I don't like how serious it is (and the game runs awfully) and I think I'd enjoy it more if it were possible to complete a level stealthily.

[Sméagol]

29 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

Ah, shame. I don't want time limits in stealth games, just doesn't feel right.

Well, from a story perspective, it's all very appropriate of course, but I just don't like it from a gameplay perspective.. With these kind of things, you want to think things through, but you don't really get the opportunity to do so. You constantly feel rushed. Just to be clear, when I say "time" limit, I actually mean turn limit, as you technically get all the time you need to make a decision, but you have to clear each mission in a small number of turns. Often you will have to decide what you actually want to do in a mission, because you will have an objective, but there may be side objectives too, and loot (which you will need), and there are simply not enough turns to do everything.

And this is coming from someone who actually didn't have an huge issue with the turn limits on some of those Xcom 2 missions.

[drahkon]

This will release in two days on all consoles. Think I'll get it day-one

[MindFreak]

I'll probably pick up CrossCode but not right now as I'll l get to review Paper Mario once that's released and don't want to leave CrossCode behind for that. 

[drahkon]

Oh no...another game that'll release soon (next week) that I just NEED: Neon Abyss

 

Played the demo. The rogue-lite elements (upgrades in-between runs) are locked, but it shows potential. The full release is supposed to fix some issues I had (frame drops, can't rebind keys, balancing of weapons/enemies), so that's good.

CrossCode and Neon Abyss for a total of 40 bucks. That'll work

Edited July 8, 2020 by drahkon

[Londragon]

Limited Run Games just held their LRG3 Presentation, and there's a lot of news from them regarding physical versions of current eShop titles.  I've summed up all the presentation and other recent news here;

 

[Dog-amoto]

Devolver’s what-would-have-been-E3 presentation begins in half an hour. Hoping to see the Katana Zero DLC and hopefully a release date for Fall Guys. 

[Ganepark32]

Started and finished Carrion yesterday (admittedly on the Xbox One but the game is also available on Switch). Was expecting it to be a little longer than it was before playing but it clocked in around the 4 to 5 hour mark and after going through it I do feel that was the sweet spot for length as it was starting to lose its lustre at the end.

Generally speaking it was a decent game. Good pixelated art style (something a lot of the Devolver published indie games have going for them) and interesting premise, though any grander story allusions were lost on me given that its so minimal in presenting why and what is happening in that regard.

The gameplay very quickly goes into a rinse repeat situation that, even with the addition of new power-ups, it still feels like more of the same and some of the later sections with more enemies that have flamethrowers, robots and mechs just become a bit tedious as you try to smash them as quickly as possible before you're annihilated. Bursting into rooms with enemies with minimal firepower or just people felt great but when the shocks shields and flamethrowers came out it at times felt like a battle of attrition to get them take down quickly before you snuffed it, especially as your health would drop really quickly.

Its one of the main issues with the game, that for all the powers and stuff it throws at you (which isn't much to be honest), it still feels the same at the end as it does in the beginning.

Perhaps the bigger issues are the controls and the lack of map for the game. As the small blob, its easy to control, to whip round corners and get away but as you get bigger it becomes a chore trying to get round simple bends and flee fights. The game doesn't know which part of the blob to let you control so when you think you've steered round a bend and try to change your direction in line with that the opposite end of rhe blob will take over control and so you'll go back on yourself. Its a small but consistently irritating thing later on as you need to be certain sizes to use specific power ups and the finesse of the controls is only ever truly there when you have the equivalent of one or two health.

Further to this, aiming your tentacle for grabbing things is done with the right thumb stick but it doesn't feel accurate and again comes to bother when you're sizeable and thereby covering up parts of the screen that you're looking at to interact with. Just as with movement, its hard to tell where the tentacle situated for reaching out with the right thumb stick and then the right trigger. Some refinement in these areas would have been greatly appreciated.

The lack of a map for areas yours in isn't the biggest issue as the game does tend to drop you in and out of areas that lead on to where you're going next but when you're searching for areas to save and deposit biomass, necessary for opening doors, its hard to keep track of where you've been and where you need to head. Most of the areas have a decent enough flow to them to keep you going forward but some not so great environmental puzzle sections and the control issues can have you sucked into the wrong pipes and have you doubling back on yourself. Just some basic info about where you'd been and where you should head next, even environmentally with signs in the lab areas or something, would have been helpful.

All in all, its a decent game but there's a few issues I'd say that hold it back somewhat. It tries so hard to be a metroidvania but to also not be one at the same time and it definitely feels like there's some semblance of an identity crisis there. It's worth a go but I wouldn't say it should be top of people's lists if they're looking at Devolver's output for what to play next.

[Dog-amoto]

I feel exactly the same @Ganepark32. Also played it on Game Pass. Finished it today. I had a blast with it overall but I’m glad I didn’t pay £18 for it. 

The only gripe that I can add to your list is the annoyance of getting somewhere only to find you’re too powerful (an interesting mechanic to be sure) It was annoying to have to backtrack a few screens to dump some of your form in a pool.
 

[gekko]

I'm a bit late on this one, but I just wanted to say that I think Invisible Inc. is a fantastic game. I played the heck out of it on Steam and was following it from early access all the way through. Hopefully it's a good port as you need to be able to view the rooms easily from different angles to figure out your next move. It's very satisfying when you complete a mission, having agonised over the right strategy. The first few levels are fairly easy and you do get a couple of chances in the game to rewind a turn, which can be helpful when make a move only to get that gut-wrenching feeling when you realise you've made a complete hash of it and are about to get shot.

[Dog-amoto]

Bloody hell. Bought The Touryst on sale last week only to find it got released on Game Pass a few days later. Game Pass has to be simultaneously the best and worst thing about gaming

[Dog-amoto]

Braid: Anniversary Edition coming early next year. 

 

[Julius]

32 minutes ago, Dog-amoto said:

Braid: Anniversary Edition coming early next year. 

 

Thought it showed really well and was a pleasant surprise during PlayStation's State of Play, I knew of the game but did not know of its art style, and having not played it before, I'm very interested. That commentary sounds awesome too.  

Also coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and Linux, for those curious. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Julius

[Jonnas]

Huh, that's neat. Braid was one of the first indie darlings on consoles, and helped shape how we see (or rather, what we expect of) indies nowadays, from its price, length, unique take on established conventions, and even its status as an "artistic videogame" resonates to today.

In retrospect, it was a very influential videogame. Good to know it doesn't intend to fall into obscurity.

[MindFreak]

I'm unsure if I actually own Braid on Xbox 360 or if I just played it elsewhere. But that must mean that I'm ready to play it again.