VVVVVV platformer screenshot of the "yes" room

Back in 2010 when indie game were still incredibly niche, only the most unique and interesting ones ever got any sort of recognition. Despite this massive hurdle, the highly challenging platformer VVVVVV released to an overwhelmingly positive reception and has remained a staple of the genre ever since.

So if you've never given VVVVVV a try, or if you're in the mood for a bit of a nostalgia trip, you might be interested to hear that there is a brand new update brewing. The first one after a sever year hiatus!

Deep Rock Galactic Azure biome artwork

[Update #2]: Deep Rock Galactic's massive mod support update has now been unleashed!

[Update]: Deep Rock Galactic has now added elite enemies, a ton of balance changes, and improved gunplay. 

Continuing with the excellent support they have provided so far, the Deep Rock Galactic team have just announced the next major update, humbly titled Modest Expectations. This one will bring with it greatly improved mod support and the ability to filter modded content in-game, as well as the long-awaited weapon rebalance that will hopefully make some of the underpowered weapons feel fun and exciting to use again.

In order to provide a target-rich environment for testing all of these weapon changes, the Modest Expectations update will also be adding elite enemies. These variants are tougher, faster and more dangerous, and will randomly appear on Hazard Level 2 and above. How exactly all of this will translate into actual gameplay, however, that still remains to be seen.

Streets of Rage 4 artwork for the Mr. X Nightmare DLC

[Update]: Mr. X Nightmare DLC has now arrived and so far it's looking like it's quality stuff!

In order to spice things up, Streets of Rage 4 developer Lizardcube has now announced the very first piece of DLC - Mr. X Nightmare. Once it arrives later this year Mr. X Nightmare will bring with it brand new characters (including Stage 4 boss Estel Aguirre), a new survival-focused game mode, an assortment of new weapons and moves to help customize your playstyle, and naturally, a whole bunch of new music to jam out to.

Best of all, the Mr. X Nightmare DLC will be accompanied by a substantial free update. While the details are still few and far between, you can expect to see new character palettes, a training and tutorial mode, a new Mania+ difficulty level as a nice challenge for veterans, and as is tradition, a whole host of gameplay and balance tweaks.

Turbo Overkill screenshot of the environment and one of the TV-faced enemies

[Update]: Turbo Overkill's Version 1.0 has now arrived, and as I've detailed throughout my review, it's a ton of fun!

If you've been enjoying the recent 'boomer shooter' renaissance, you'll be delighted to hear a brand new challenger has just entered the arena. The appropriately titled Turbo Overkill is an upcoming retro cyberpunk shooter with a focus on fast movement, cleaving through hordes of enemies with oversized weaponry, and as is tradition, ridiculously over-the-top violence. Oh, and your leg also doubles as a chainsaw, because why not!

Since words alone are woefully inadequate when it comes to describing these types of games, allow me to share with you the recent gameplay trailer. It should clue you in quite quickly on just what Turbo Overkill is all about. Have a look:

Tyrant's Blessing artwork showing off a dragon attack

While a little bit on the short side of things, Into the Breach was still a brilliant and highly enjoyable strategy game. Mercury Game Studio seem to have thought the same thing as their newly announced Tyrant's Blessing is a turn-based tactical RPG that borrows quite a few elements from Into the Breach.

Enemies always display their next move in advance, all of your heroes are highly specialized and powerful in different ways, the battles take place on small maps where every decision matters, and naturally, each unique biome offers its very own obstacles and hazards. However, unlike Into the Breach where the bugs have the common courtesy to stay dead, any living unit that falls in battle will soon be raised as a part of the titular Tyrant's army and will once again start marching against you.

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord official artwork and logo

[Update]: After two years in Early Access, Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord will be unleashed on October 25th, 2022.

After spending a considerable amount of time in development, Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord finally released onto Steam Early Access on March 30, 2020. Since then the TaleWorlds team has launched a whole bunch of content updates and bugfixes, slowly but surely tweaking just about everything from combat to performance.

That long journey might soon be coming to an end, however, as TaleWorlds have now announced that they are planning to release Mount & Blade 2 in Q4 2021. That said, this is only a tentative release date and if it's deemed that Mount & Blade 2 needs a little bit of extra time, they will absolutely push the release date back for as long as necessary.

OpenTTD official screenshot showing off the massive factory

OpenTTD is an open-source business simulator that's heavily based on the 1995 Transport Tycoon Deluxe. As you might imagine from that brief description alone, OpenTTD is all about trying to become ridiculously wealthy by transporting passengers and cargo through a network of railways, roads and rivers, ideally without getting your vehicles stuck sideways on either of them!

While there is a bit of a learning curve, OpenTTD is a highly enjoyable and surprisingly relaxing game once you get into it. So if you're curious about the whole thing, you might be happy to hear that it has just recently made its way to Steam, and much like everywhere else, it's entirely free to check out!

Subnautica: Below Zero artwork of the icy caverns

[Update]: Subnautica: Below Zero has now launched from Early Access, and without any sort of major technical issues!

After going through a rather eventful Early Access campaign that even saw the entire storyline rewritten due to player feedback, Subnautica: Below Zero is now finally nearing completion. So if you were holding off in order to get the full experience, you'll be delighted to hear that Subnautica: Below Zero will be launching this May 14, 2021!

While the details behind the launch version haven't been announced just yet, I think it's safe to say we can expect to see the final few pieces of content to round out the story, a whole bunch of bug fixes, as well as the usual performance improvements. So far things are already looking much more stable than the original Subnautica, so I must admit I have high hopes for the 'final' version of Below Zero!

Risk of Rain 2 official artwork and logo

[Update]: Risk of Rain 2 will be getting its very first expansion in early 2022 - Survivors of the Void.

Even though Risk of Rain 2 was fully completed and released last year, the Hopoo Games team has now decided to release another massive update as a way to say 'thanks!' to all their fans. The appropriately titled Anniversary update brings with it Bandit as a brand new survivor, a variety of new items and skills, as well new monsters and even a boss!

The good news doesn't end there, however, as the update has also brought in some serious improvements to old content alongside numerous quality-of-life changes. As such, the final stage has been redone entirely and now features a more interesting area to play around in, while the AI pathfinding has been greatly improved across the board. The latter will be especially handy for friendly minions as they will now not only effectively stick around players, but thanks to other tweaks will also scale better as the difficulty level rises.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator official artwork showing the launch factions

After spending a considerable amount of time in Steam Early Access, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator has now finally been released in full. The launch version brings with it two new maps to duke it out on, two new factions and a couple of secret units, both online and local multiplayer, as well as a some good ol' UI improvements.

You can get a pretty good idea of what all of this looks like in action through the recently posted trailer. Have a gander, it's about as ridiculous as you'd expect: