They may look kind of “vintage” to some of you, but that’s how these indie games roll in this week’s Humble Weekly Bundle. It’s all about black and white games (with splashes of color in a few cases) and some interesting genre choices that run the gamut from claymation adventure to an intentionally seriously disturbing look at mental illness. Seven games for a ten dollar minimum is dirt cheap, particularly for the creativity and passion that went into all these titles. I’ll say no more save for your purchase helps support charity and it’s a given that you’ll enjoy everything here if you’re the open-minded gamer who likes to mix things up a bit. Forget about Fifty Shades of Whatever, folks- sometimes, back to basics are what works the best.
It’s March already? Yikes. Well, no matter how fast the year moves, IndieGala is there like clockwork with its Every Monday Bundle. This week, get six Steam games for $1.99, including the cool, creepy first-person sci-fi adventure Master Reboot:
I’ve yet to play it, but I’ve heard some nice things about it from a few friends who have. At the price of about 33 1/6 cents, it’s probably worth picking this deal up. I do have Depths of Peril on disc already, but it’s been loaned out and isn’t currently installed on any of the hard drives here. Hmmmm… what to do? Yeah, like it’s that much of a deep though coin toss. SOLD.
With Rocksteady knocking things out of the park with their best work to date and Scarecrow doing his best to make Batman’s life a living hell by gathering up the worst of his Rogue’s Gallery, Batman: Arkham Knight is clearly going for instant classic status. All that in-game engine visual bliss on display means the game will look phenomenal on anything it runs on and that new Batmobile just makes me wish it were a real ride. Well, just so I could say I saw it blaze by while I was out strolling about to the store. Hey, you put me in a cape and black costume and I’m going to go home and straight to bed. Sleepman to the rescue! See you in your dreams, ladies and gents! Yeah, that’s about all the heroics I’ve got.
Anyway, Batman: Arkham Knight hits retail and digital shops for PS4, Xbox One and PC on June 2, 2015. That’s not to far away at all, really. Just one big super-nap for Sleepman! I’ll see you in a few months, folks. It’s Rip Van Winkle time, Zzzzzzzzzaaaawwwww! *snnxxxx* Zzzzzz!
If I’m not mistaken, every time Bundle Stars has run some sort of RPG Maker deal, they get a great deal of traffic and plenty of purchases. This time out, it’s not a bundle up for grabs, but a digital ton of game creation software, DLC content and even some excellent games you can buy up in whatever package you see fit. All you need is the basic RPG Maker VX Ace software and after that, you can add whatever DLC you like at an additional cost. If you’ve ever wanted to experiment with making your own JRPG-style games in just about any genre, here you go. If you just want to play games made by some really creative folks who’ve used the software, well, you get served as well with some fine titles to choose from. Buy what you like, save a bunch of money and support charity all in one shot? Sounds like a plan, man or ma’am, so get to it!
March 30 will be a pretty grin-filled day for fans of super-cool HD reissues of classic PSP games. Er, given that the ONLY game coming out on that day that fits that description is Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure on Steam, that’s the game I just so happen to be writing about in this post. Actually, I’ll let you click on that link above and check the game out for yourself. Gurumin was and is one of my favorite PSP games, so it’s excellent to see it coming to PC all gussied up in HD and packing a bunch of Steam bonuses such as Achievements, Trading Cards and the like. Anyway, I’m supposed to be “off” today, so that’s all you’ll get from me. Go check out the game trailer and screens on Steam and if you like what you see, you know what to do…
When I think “Trash TV”, it’s usually any modern reality show or anything well-aged that I used to watch that was more of a guilty pleasure more than anything “educational.” Thanks to indie developer Lawrence Russell and publisher Reverb Triple XP, Trash TV means something entirely different and a hell of a lot more fun.
This inspired “retro” platformer/shooter is now available on Steam for $4.99, 30% off the list price. That’s a short-term sale, folks (in case you didn’t realize this yet). You have to love a game where you play as an old cathode ray tube TV on the hunt for its lost remote so it can get back to functioning as it’s used to. Hey, watch that game trailer and I bet you’re grinning quite a bit. I also bet that you won’t see some flimsy flat screen TV trying any of those acrobatics and surviving more than a few seconds. They built a lot of those old sets link tanks, people. I still have one here that’s used for games from the NES to PlayStation era and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Well, that’s because it keeps threatening me when I try to unplug it, but you don’t need to know this. *Ahem.*
Want to know how tough it is to set up a trade show booth? Well, let busy as heck indie developer tinyBuild Games show you how it’s done (sort of). Their PAX South booth setup video is pretty amusing stuff for cheering up a chilly Monday. I most likely won’t be at the show at all (too much work here to do plus there’s some more apartment maintenance coming – boo!), but as a veteran of many behind the scenes setup routines from circus tents to game demo stations, I can safely say that you’re getting an education of sorts here. Now that you’re just that little bit smarter, I say you should pop on over to tinyBuild’s site and perhaps check out some of their fun games.
The next time you feel like a little bedtime story, don’t grab a book from the bedside table. Instead, go download NLB Project’s offbeat Return of Red (Riding) Hood and settle in for the short haul that turns into a longer one sooner than you think. This Russian developed game takes the simple tale of Little Red Riding Hood and makes it into a choose your own adventure experience that ends up going all over the place and then some. It’s also a bit of a meta exercise as the whole thing starts out as one character reading the old story to a little girl as a bedtime story, but at certain points, you get to choose different options that alter the next page of the story.
Part of the humor here is from the developer’s sense of humor and part is from the mangled English translation that makes for some grin-worthy reading. Early on, “Pastries” becomes “Pasties” (and yes, I know all about pasty as a pastry, but this is just a spelling error in the game) and you’ll see a few other grammar issues pop up. That said, even with the bumps and grinds in the translation, the stories play out in some pretty amusing manners. The choices you make turn the really short and familiar story on its ear a few times and with 45 endings to discover, you may be up slightly longer than you thought. Is this for kids? That depends. If you and your kids share the same sense of slightly twisted humor and you don’t mind some bizarre twists to the old story, it’s all good. Just give it a read on your own and decide for best results.
That said, it takes perhaps three minutes or less to get to an ending (more if you’re a slower reader), so expect to get to a bunch of that 45 the first time you pick this up. It’s currently FREE and NLB is also trying to get the game onto Steam Greenlight (go vote for it if you’ve a Steam account!). Some dopes on the Greenlight page are actually complaining about the artwork in the game, but NLB can ignore those fools who don’t grasp stylization or realize that you shouldn’t ever tell any artist HOW to make a storybook look. That, and the CG characters and backgrounds remind me of Access Games’ quirky Deadly Premonition, one of those games that uses its “dated” art style to excellent effect.
Finally, if you like what you see and read, it seems that the game engine is also free to use to cook up your own tales. I can see some writer types I know possibly making use of this at some point. Hey, anything to get more people perusing your work, right? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to my “book”. Also, I want some pasties now, as reading about them has made me quite hungry…
If ever a game needed to be played, it’s this one. Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball was created by one guy and although it’s been in Steam’s Early Access program for a while, the quality of the game was astounding. Yes, it’s got that silly and catchy title working that hammer on your head, but once you actually see and then PLAY the game, it becomes hard to stop. Whether in solo play or online with friends or soon to be enemies, Disco Dodgeball is a total hoot. It’s only one of a handful of games I’ve played this month (hey, it’s been a BUSY February what with Toy Fair and a few other events), but it’s one that’s been stuck in my head since. Must be the disco tunes or something. And the visuals. And the gameplay.
Anyway, go get this NOW on Steam (it’s 20% off for a week!), then ring up a few friends and tell them to get it as well. That’s not quite a review, but it IS a recommendation.
Holy cats. As I was hoping, the Humble Star Wars Bundle went from “Must Buy!” to “Oh, you’d BETTER Buy It NOW!” status. As you can see (well, once you pop your eyeballs back in from looking at the selection of games), the roster of titles got bumped up so that even if you pay the lowest possible price (a dollar a game), it’s a STEAL even a Corellian would pay for. Yow. Even if you skip that $12 tier and the three games that make up the deal, you’re getting enough games to keep you busy for months. As in you’ll probably still be playing by the time the new Star Wars movie hits theaters in December.
Yup, you know what you need to do, right? Force grab that wallet and force choke out that debit card, folks. Get enough games to zonk anyone into a digital coma and help charities in the process. You don’t need to be Yoda to realize this is a wise deal, Padawans. Now, get to it! You’ve got a galxy far, far away to save. or ruin, if that’s your thing. Anyway, this deal ONLY lasts until next Tuesday, so don’t wait (or pray that it’s altered any further, you cheapskates out there). Jump on this like it’s the last ship leaving Hoth or else you’ll regret it. Or at least your backlog will!
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 