- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Amid Evil is soon getting a prequel expansion - The Black Labyrinth!
If you've got an itch that can only be scratched by hyper-aggressive oldschool FPS games, you might want to check out the newly released Amid Evil. It's being published by the same team that created the truly excellent Dusk, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that Amid Evil is just as action-packed and unrelenting as its predecessor, or that it has just as kick-ass of a soundtrack!
However, while Dusk mostly used traditional FPS weapons with a couple of twists here and there, Amid Evil's arsenal is more reminiscent of Hexen's than Doom's. What I mean by this is that you'll be using all sorts of magic-spewing devices to bring down the pain upon your enemies, including one that seems to shoot out miniature suns!
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
If you're looking for a tactical, team-based shooter where bullets are about as deadly as you would expect, you might be interested to hear that Insurgency: Sandstorm is currently having a free weekend. Simply head on over to Steam, download yourself a copy, and you'll be huddling behind a rock for safety in no time! The only catch is that the free weekend will end on Monday, so do make sure to jump in as soon as possible.
For those of you curious about what exactly Insurgency: Sandstorm has to offer, as well as what the gameplay even looks like, allow me to share with you one of the original overview trailers. Have a look, it's quite an informative one:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
They are Billions is a steampunk strategy game with a very simple premise: the world is littered with billions of zombies and so you need to do whatever you can in order to survive. This means gathering resources in order to build up mighty defenses and to field a large army, creating a variety of buildings to help support your economy and to give your people a place to live, and then somehow trying to keep your over-stretched empire alive as the undead start pouring in from every corner of the map.
After spending a fair bit of time in Steam Early Access, They are Billions has now released in full, bringing with it a brand new singleplayer campaign. Here's what you can expect to see in terms of storytelling, as well as a small preview of what They Are Billions as a whole has to offer:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Dead Cells is getting its first paid DLC soon - The Bad Seed.
While Dead Cells is an awesome game, it does have a bit of a problem with balance. Some weapons are so far above the rest that you'd have to be crazy not to use them, while some are so flawed and weak that you'd have to be insane to try and carry them into the later levels. Combine this with new weapons slowly unlocking as you play through Dead Cells, and you've got yourself a situation where you can actively make your runs worse by simply unlocking more stuff, and that should never be the case for a roguelike.
With that in mind, I am very happy to say that the latest update has not only nerfed some of the best weapons out there, but buffed a whole host of bad ones as well. According to the developers, approximately 30 "autosell" weapons have received some sort of buff, while less than 10 "instapick" ones have received a nerf. Unsurprisingly, the Rampart shield is a part of the latter category and will now do a bit less damage for such a powerful and defense-focused weapon.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
If you're looking for a reason to revisit Starbound, the latest 1.4 update might be just what you're looking for. The aptly named Bounty Hunter update brings with it numerous procedurally-generated quests that will task you with hunting down the worst scum of the universe, a whole bunch of new monster variants, new mini-dungeons, new furniture, and the list goes on.
You can get a pretty good idea of what all this looks like in-game, as well as what the bounty quests have to offer, through the recently posted trailer. Have a gander:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
If you're a fan of action-focused roguelikes with plenty of ridiculous combos to experiment with, you might be glad to hear that Enter the Gungeon is now entirely free to grab. Simply head on over to the Epic Games Store, log into your account, and you'll be able to claim your copy in no time.
The one catch, as always, is that the promotion will only last for two weeks. As such, make sure to grab your copy before Enter the Gungeon goes away on June 20th. You don't even need to install it, just add it to your account and you're good to go.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: The next freebie game has now arrived - it's the excellent action-focused roguelike Enter the Gungeon!
As announced a little while back, the Epic Games Store will be giving away a new game every two weeks for the entirely of 2019. The offer this time around, as you might imagine from the title alone, is the excellent management/strategy game Kingdom: New Lands.
In terms of pure gameplay, Kingdom: New Lands is all about establishing and then keeping your kingdom safe. You'll need to hire a whole bunch of workers and soldiers, construct layered defenses, and once night comes, do whatever you can to survive the onslaught of enemies that will be trying to steal everything you have that is or isn't nailed down.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update #2]: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair now has a free demo available on PC.
[Update]: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair has now been pinned for an October 8th release date!
While Yooka-Laylee unfortunately didn't manage to reach the same levels of excellence as Banjo-Kazooie, it was still a pretty fun game and one that only got better with each subsequent update. With that in mind, I am very glad to say that the team behind it is now once again making a Yooka-Laylee platformer, though with a bit of a twist!
Instead of Yooka-Laylee 2, Playtonic has now announced a seemingly Donkey Kong inspired 2D platformer called Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair! Here's a brief trailer showcasing just what it's all about:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Celeste's free Chapter 9 update has now arrived with over 100 new levels, and they're pretty good!
Back in 2018, the developers behind the excellent indie platformer Celeste announced that they will be releasing a bunch of new levels in early 2019 to celebrate their 500,000 copies sold milestone. As you're hopefully well aware, early 2019 has come and gone, but the free update has yet to appear.
Thankfully, this is not because of any behind-the-scenes problems, but rather because the developers have greatly increased the scope of the update. Instead of just a couple of new levels to say goodbye to Celeste, the upcoming update has now ballooned in size to over 100 new levels!
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: After a year of exclusivity, Journey is coming to Steam as well.
Journey was originally a PlayStation 3 exclusive that released all the way back in 2012. As you might expect from the name alone, it was an exploration-focused adventure that was all about navigating a truly gorgeous world, taking in the sights, and slowly but surely piecing together the overall story. A relatively simple formula, but that didn't stop Journey from becoming a massive success from the moment it launched!
With that in mind, I am very happy to say that Journey will finally be coming to PC later this week, on June 6th. Here's what you can expect to see: