Momodora III is a fast-paced action platformer. It’s been getting a lot of press lately, and I usually try to avoid big-name indie games on this list; but, for a number of reasons, I’m including it here. If you want to give your money to some developers who have worked hard to build up a cool game series, you should buy Momodora III on itch.io. Even if I like Steam and want them to continue publishing great games, I’d rather support a small-time developer who doesn’t already have a huge income. Give them your $5.00 USD over itch.io, and maybe we can look forward to Momodora IV!
Friday Night Bullet Arena is a local multiplayer game where you shoot your friends. No, wait, come back! It’s cool because you only get one bullet. Wait, no—please! Can you at least visit the page? It actually looks kind of cool. Not only is it $5, but that’s Canadian dollars. That’s only like $4.65 in American dollars! Maybe give it a shot if you’re looking for something on game night.
Super Pixalo is a pretty basic platformer with mediocre graphics, which it makes up for by having hundreds of levels if you’re really into that kind of thing. Personally, at $4.99, I'm not sure if I'd buy this one—but, if you're a fan of platformers, there's definitely plenty of content! It’s a Java game, so it should run on most desktops.
Sleeping Souls didn’t impress me too much as I started watching the trailer, but then they pulled the hook on me. It’s one of those puzzle platformers, and the key mechanic is that the stages split and reorder themselves, leaving you trying to remember how to get back safely. If you’re not convinced by the trailer, there’s a demo available as well. But, really, for only $0.99, what’s the big deal? You also have your choice of Windows (with keyboard or gamepad) and Android.
The Underlings is…I’m having trouble explaining what I see in the trailer. The profile page describes it as a “creature and plant simulation game”, and the trailer makes it look like you’re tending a garden. A garden where you grow some sort of wooden robot golem creatures underlings. I enjoy games that have something that’s not just the latest craze, though, and this one looks like it has a bit of effort behind it. And, it’s only $1.00! For today’s list, that’s a pretty good deal. If you have a dollar, why not support a creative developer?
The Nightmare Cooperative is a tile-based, dungeon-crawling, team…strategic…uh... It’s a roguelike. With cute, clean graphics. It doesn’t explicitly say it, but watching the trailer gives me the impression that it’s also one of those “move all of the separate things to the same exit when they all move together” puzzle games. You know, the kind where there are separate things and you have to move them all to the same exit, but they all move together. But, it’s a roguelike. It seems like a neat concept, at least. For $5.99, you can get a copy for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Schein is a platformer—with a twist! OK, yeah, I know, that’s what every platformer says. This one seems pretty neat, though, and looks like a quality game. Using different lanterns, you can see (and, encounter) different platforms or obstacles. There looks to be a lot of polish on this on, so the €6.99 (~$9.60) price tag just seems like they’re targeting Steam.
Glow Ball is a minigolf billiards physics puzzle game. With lighting effects! That look like it’s about it, really, but it’s a pretty game and does a little more with “billiard physics game” than average. For $1.99, you could easily find worse physics puzzle games. Why not give it a shot? Or…wait, what’s the term for hitting the ball with the stick? Is it “shoot”? You “shoot pool”, right? Just pretend I made a clever pun there.
The Sun at Night has a talking dog wearing armor equipped with weapons. And, this dog is will save us all from the Soviets after America and Great Britain have been wiped out. With platforming shooter action, this sounds like my kind of game! The trailer shows decent variety of gameplay, and I enjoy the concept. Priced at only…
Wait, $14.99—for “Part One of Three”? I guess it’s an average price for quality games you’ll find on Steam or Desura—and, it looks pretty good from what I see. Check it out, if you want to fight Soviets as a talking dog from space.
Lenna’s Inception is basically Link’s Awakening. I mean, just look at it. The general gameplay looks pretty decent, though, and the art looks like less of a knockoff and more of a playful parody. Or, it could just be a careful money grab. People do tend to be willing to fork over cash for anything vaguely related to The Legend of Zelda. I might have more of a problem with this, but the £2.99 asking price is honestly pretty reasonable, watching the trailer.
Sentris looks like some kind of music-based puzzle game, but it’s not your average rhythm game. As I write this, I just got the Tetris reference in the name. Anyway—this game caught my eye for not being the usual platformer or roguelike or shmup or whatever that usually comes through. It’s sort of like a sequencer, with you dropping blocks into different rings and having them play as it loops around. As you progress through the puzzle, it develops into a song. For only $2, it seems like a real deal!
Catmouth Island is a cute, low-poly adventure game. It looks like a pretty laid-back game with a lot of walking around and getting to know the locals. Some people might not like the casual pace, but it seems more charming and relaxing than boring. The $5 price for an episode is comparable to, say, the Back to the Future episodic adventure games. If you’re looking for a cute adventure game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is one I’d look into.
Shadowcrypt is a classy action platformer that I remember voting for on Steam Greenlight a while back. The graphics are pretty sharp and the gameplay looks pretty solid, so it looks like an obvious game for fans of Symphony of the Night (except that in this one, the shield is actually useful). The game is priced for Steam at $9.99—and, you’ll get a Steam key after the publishing process is finally complete.
We Slay Monsters is a roguelike dungeon crawler, but it sets itself apart with a creative combat system. Instead of simple random numbers or even the familiar dice, damage is partially determined by playing a hand of cards. This is a pretty cool twist, if you’re looking for something a little different from all the other roguelike dungeon crawlers out there. I’ll let you decide what you think about the $4.99 price point.
Deity Quest says on its profile page that it’s a “Pokémon-inspired RPG”, but I think that’s selling itself short. There are definitely elements of Pokémon, but at the same time, there’s plenty of unique content seen in the screenshots. Something about the team battles reminds me of Ogre Battle, but that doesn’t seem quite right, either. Your goal is to become “the Overgod” by gathering followers and destroying your competition. You could probably do worse for the $5 asking price, and it’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Back to Reality is a puzzle platformer that looks to be styled after Commodore or other old computer games moreso than regular consoles games. That in itself makes me a little curious, but it makes me wish there was a trailer to see what gameplay is actually like. It’s also the cheapest game on today’s list at €1.36 (~$1.85), which helped it get on the list despite the somewhat lacking description.
Eucloid is an interesting take on competitive gaming—it’s definitely not your average punch-and-kick fighting game. It seems to be more about learning the mechanics, and it offers some creative gameplay. This one had me really interested from a development perspective, because I usually enjoy learning about technical details as much as I like playing the games. The profile says that it’s still in development, and only works on Windows 7 and 8, and you need two wired Xbox controllers…so, I can’t actually play it anyway. It’s currently available for $4.99.
Little Walker is a retro platformer with clean and attractive art for what it is. It reminds me a bit more of a Sega game than a Nintendo game. These ones always get me, because it’s a little tough to justify spending $3.99 when they don’t have a trailer video or a demo. I guess it got me curious because “Retro Platformer” is often the realm of game developers who aren’t very creative, but the quality of the art and the gameplay implied in the screenshots has me wondering if this game might be worth the investment.
Shots in the Dark is a retro-style action platformer, but more neo-retro than actual oldschool this time. The point of the game is to kill things and take the stuff they drop. I mean, that’s generally the idea in videogames—but here, it’s explicitly noted as a concept, not just an incidental part of the gameplay. It looks pretty flash and fast-paced, and it’s only $1. Sometimes, I wonder about these prices. What am I missing that makes this one only worth $1, while the others are $8? It seems decent enough, so you can always pay more if you want!
Emo McGothington has you playing an emo/goth “exiled hermit and all-around downer” fighting against the devil’s infinite candy army. If that description hasn’t pulled you in, it looks like a pretty decent retro action shooter/platformer. You know, less like Metroid and more like Contra. We’re getting a lot of high-priced games this week, but depending on the quality of gameplay and length of the game, the $8 asking price might not be as bad as it seems. They could just have their eyes on Steam, where it’d be more of an average price.
Gyossait is…intriguing. And, creepy. Usually “creepy” games are 3D/Oculus Rift types, but this one's a retro platformer. I kind of wonder about the $8 price, but after seeing the trailer, I feel compelled to try it—even if not much gameplay shown. The concept looks great, and they went all-out on the trailer. The retro horror niche lends to supply and demand allowing games to ask for more. Still not convinced? It also comes with a bunch of bonus content—including the soundtrack and multiple games. What are you waiting for? What am I waiting for?! Let’s check it out!
Block Blocks is another block game, but it looks like it has pretty solid gameplay. You draw lines on the screen to block the blocks (haha, get it!), and different types of blocks will interact with the lines in different ways. The game is available for only…huh. I usually don’t select games that are under $1. The developer apparently dropped the price, because it’s currently “name your own price”. It’s still a decent-looking game, so go support a developer and pay at least something!
UnSummoning: the Spectral Horde is an interesting take on the block-matching concept. Monsters are coming for you, and you have to step on blocks of the same color in order to dispatch them. The more blocks of the same color that you step on, the more powerful your attack. I think that’s actually a pretty cool idea, and it the graphics and everything look pretty nice as well. Overall, it looks pretty worth the $3.99 asking price, and it’s available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Haunt the House: Terrortown is a really cute game. Really, go check out the trailer. Don’t worry; I’ll wait.
You’re a ghost, and your job is to possess objects around town to terrorize its various inhabitants. Seriously, did you watch the trailer? I’m not sure what the point is (the description says something about trying to scare away all of the residents), but really, I just want to possess things and scare people. Cutely. For $3.99, you can scare people with cuteness. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!
Dungeon Colony reminds me of the original Warcraft, only focused less on “real time” and more on “strategy”. You seem to get more time to plan instead of the constant rush you get in Warcraft-type RTS games.
I also love the “playing as the bad guy” motif. Most games don’t really do justice to how most videogame bad guys operate. Instead of personally going after the heroes, in true end-boss style you have a dungeon full of minions to stop heroes from coming through. The $9.99 suggested price seems worth it—but, you can pay as low as $4.99.
