- By Ash
- in Indie Games
While it once commanded a great deal of respect, the F-Zero series has sadly completely disappeared over the course of the past twenty years. While that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon, I am pleased to say that an indie studio is currently working on a spiritual successor - Voidspeed Outlaw.
As you might expect given its inspiration, Voidspeed Outlaw is a retro-futuristic racing game that will have you zoom across a whole bunch of tracks set all throughout the Solar System. Along the way you'll be able to upgrade and customize your speeder, switch between a variety of different models, as well as mess around with several game modes.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: The Ideology expansion and its accompanying free Update 1.3 have now arrived alongside a pretty positive reception.
It may have taken well over a year since RimWorld's Update 1.2 and Royalty expansion, but I'm happy to say a brand new batch of content is nearly ready to be unleashed! Much like before the upcoming patch will be separated into two parts: the free Update 1.3 and the paid Ideology expansion.
Despite being free, Update 1.3 will be a rather chunky one. Expect to see a new AI system to make base raids a more dangerous affair, a pens-and-fences system for animals, a reworked faction goodwill system, combat formations, improved mod support, better visual indicators for things like wounds and body modifications, new beards, a whole bunch of quality of life tweaks, and the list goes on for a while.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Mr. X Nightmare DLC has now arrived and so far it's looking like it's quality stuff!
If you're looking for a reason to dive back into Streets of Rage 4, you'll be happy to hear that a brand new DLC is set to arrive this July 15th - Mr. X Nightmare. The rather appropriately titled expansion will have you enter a simulation created from the remnants of Mister X's brain, in which you will find a brand new Survival mode, three new playable characters, a character customization system, and naturally, a whole host of new weapons and enemies to test your toys against!
The way the Survival mode will work is fairly simple, though it does also promise a decent chunk of replayability. As you push through increasingly stronger waves of enemies you will be granted a choice of perks. These perks can be either purely positive or a offer a 'give and take' sort of deal, with the end goal being for you to create synergistic builds with which you can bulldoze straight through the toughest enemies Streets of Rage 4 can throw at you.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Not only has Afterlife arrived, but Death's Gambit is also getting its very first paid expansion on February 10, 2022!
Given the fairly positive reception the Souls-like, action-platformer Death's Gambit enjoyed ever since it first launched back in 2018, it should come as little surprise to hear that the developers have now announced a massive new expansion. What might come as quite a shock, however, is that the Afterlife expansion will be entirely free!
Afterlife will bring with it 10 new levels to drastically increase the size of the world map, all the while bringing in plenty of new items and secrets to make exploring and re-exploring the existing areas more exciting as well. You can also expect to see 6 new bosses, 22 new weapons, a whole bunch of new talents and customization options, and naturally, a brand new storyline that will culminate with multiple new endings!
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Only a few months have gone by since the Souls-like Metroidvania Ender Lilies launched into Early Access, and already the devs have managed to finish up all of the content and release it in full. The launch version brings with it an additional five areas, a whole assortment of new bosses and secrets to uncover, the ability to fully upgrade your spirit companion, and naturally, the conclusion to the whole story. A pretty chunky update, all things considered!
As for what exactly all of this looks like in actual gameplay, that you can find out through the recently posted launch trailer. Have a gander, it's a rather stylish one:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
After being mercilessly teased for nearly five years, the post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu RPG Biomutant finally arrived onto PC and consoles back in May. Unfortunately it did so alongside a somewhat mixed reception, with most of the complaints focusing on the numerous and annoying bugs, somewhat janky combat, and an overall lack of polish.
While some of these issues still remain, I am pleased to say that the freshly released Update 1.5 seems to have addressed many of the more pressing concerns. Combat has undergone a variety of improvements aimed at making it feel smoother, item drops have been made more exciting across the board, and even the level cap has been increased from 50 to 100.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: V Rising has now landed into Early Access, and so far things are looking quite good!
After developing two highly competitive arena games with a focus on non-stop action, Stunlock Studios will be taking their next game V Rising in a completely different direction. Instead of everything taking place in a tiny arena where two teams battle it out to the death, V Rising will be an open world vampire game with plenty of room for both cooperation and hostility among players.
As you would expect from any vampire game, in V Rising you'll have to hunt for blood in nearby villages in order to survive, avoid the scorching sun and the endless pursuit of vampire hunters, and naturally, try your best to remain on friendly terms with your blood-sucking neighbors lest they decide to make your unlife a bit more... interesting. Along the way you'll be able to gather resources and learn new abilities, build up a bastion of power or simply move from town to town in order to avoid pursuit, as well as uncover a variety of dungeons and points of interest throughout the world.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
While there are a ton of Warhammer 40k games around these days, the amount of good first-person shooters among them is either zero or one, depending on how generous you want to be to Space Hulk: Deathwing. As such, I am incredibly happy to say that we can bump that number up as the newly launched Necromunda: Hired Gun is not only oozing with Warhammer 40k atmosphere, but is also quite a competent Doom-like shooter as well!
Rather than babble on, allow me to share with you one of the gameplay overview trailers. It's a few months old by this point, but it should give you a pretty good idea of just what Necromunda: Hired Gun is going for. Have a gander:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Biomutant's Patch 1.5 has improved the loot, increased the level cap, and fixed a bunch of crashes.
After being teased for nearly five years at this point, the stylish and post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu RPG Biomutant has now finally arrived. It brings with it a colorful world to explore, an assortment of mutations that you can acquire in order to drastically change your appearance and abilities, and as is tradition, plenty of combat, crafting and conversations to keep you occupied along the way.
You can get a pretty good idea of what all of this looks like in action through two of the recent trailers. The first is the fairly standard launch trailer, while the second one is a developer-guided overview of Biomutant's world and themes. Have a gander:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update #2]: Deep Rock Galactic's Season 1 patch has added a hefty amount of free new content!
[Update]: Deep Rock Galactic's massive mod support update has now been unleashed!
After being teased for quite a while, Deep Rock Galactic's massive balance update has now finally arrived. It brings with it a couple of nerfs to some of the most ubiquitous weapons and traits, while also buffing just about every underpowered strategy, weapon and overclock. And yes, this does include fun stuff like Engineer's electric turrets or the rocket-jump grenade launcher overclock!
Besides all of the balance changes, the update has also greatly improved gunplay by making it far more responsive and resistant to lag. As a consequence of this projectiles should fire instantaneously, use less bandwidth, and in general just do exactly what you want them to regardless if you're the hosting or simply joining a random match.