Reviews
- Downwell Review: Well? Where? Down!
Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie Developer: Moppin Publisher: Devolver Digital Release Date: Oct 15, 2015 Take the role of a curious young person as they venture…well, down (a well). Simple enough, right? Equipped with nothing more than a pair of trusty gun boots, search for untold treasures and make your way deeper into the darkness. Nasty creatures and mysteries secrets lie in wait for your discovery. Collect red gems, equip power-ups, and level up this precocious explorer to battle well-dwelling monsters and uncover hidden caves. No two trips are the same, enter: Downwell. Gameplay Downwell, developed by Moppin and published by Devolver Digital, is a procedurally-produced, rogue-lite game featuring a typical gameplay mechanic that has been turned upside-down. Many of us retro gamers are familiar with… - Megasphere: Pre-Release First ImpressionsAwakened from your slumber, a gravitational field is discovered within your vicinity, you’re a humaniform explorer set out to discover an abandoned ship within the solar system you’re exploring. Upon arrival, a ship is found still broadcasting its ID on the outskirts of Jupiter’s orbit, this presents no sort of problem but leaves questions instead of answers.Nostars, no guidelines, no tutorials, no rules, no maps, no assistance. Enter: Megasphere. Megasphere, developed by AKGames, is a procedurally produced sci-fi action platformer. Equipped with a big shiny gun, the player battles robots in an unpredictable world that is different each time you play. ATAI is the main character, the one with memory loss and a huge gun (a non-optimal combination to be honest). TURMS is the informational…
- Coffee Crisis: Heavy Metal Alien-BrawlerFull release review of this neo-rogue beat ‘em up! Coffee Crisis is a neo-rogue co-op brawler of two baristas, Nick and Ashley, who have come to a realization: aliens are stealing away all of the good musicians on Earth. They take it upon themselves to defend the good music left on this planet. Caffeine coursing through their veins, heavy metal in their hearts, and moshing moves violent enough to repel small greys and grandmothers alike: enter Coffee Crisis. First Impressions Coffee Crisis greets players with a colorful palette and great character design displayed on the title menu. The menus are easily navigable, while heavy metal riffs pump you up for the action to come. After a brief introduction of the storyline, the player is thrust…
- Flynn: Son of Crimson Preview: Please conserve the RedEither someone didn’t get the memo about the shortage of red pixels circulating the surreal memeverse, or the Son of Crimson is personally responsible. Much like the meme, red is your primary source of power in Flynn: Son of Crimson. I should clarify that by saying Flynn uses a set of blood-red powers to overcome obstacles and crush his enemies. Based on what I saw from the demo of Son of Crimson, a 2D action platformer still in the early stages of development, those obstacles are also pointed out to the player via their bright red coloration. If you need to climb a wall, smash a boulder, or swing on a knob with your grappling hook, those interactable objects are all highlighted for you. The…
News
- A Robot Named Fight Now Available for Switch & Windows 10 DevicesMatt Bitners 2017 homage and highly acclaimed “metroid-like” A Robot Named Fight has now been released on Nintendo Switch and Windows 10 devices! The Nintendo Switch version contains all features found in the PC/Steam version with support for seeded runs, new weapon and power-up combos, and even a new (secret) ending! More details about the games release are below. Matt Bitner (Developer, Matt Bitner Games) “Bringing A Robot Named Fight! to the Nintendo Switch feels like a homecoming in a way. Deep down, I always knew it would end up on a Nintendo platform. The game is a labor of love above all else – a living, breathing homage to the great Metroidvanias of the ‘80s and ‘90s.” Availability A Robot Named Fight is available on Nintendo eShop…
- Three Smart Ways to Get Your Gaming Events SponsoredShows like “King of Kong” have sparked interest in the retro and arcade games of old. The world of eSports is fast-growing, and teams just now starting out face an uphill climb. Luckily, there’s still plenty of room for new stars on old cabinets. If your crew is ready to up their game and become stars at the local, regional or national stage, you probably need funding. Making money playing games is living the dream, after all. The best way to get funds for events, to cover gear and to pay for practice times is to find a sponsor. Here’s three tested methods for getting your events or team the sponsors to take them to the next level. Crowdfunding There are countless millions of gaming…
- Long Awaited Mega Man 11 Announced, Coming to PS4, XB1 & Switch in 2018After years of waiting, Capcom has officially announced a late 2018 release date for Mega Man 11. For many, many fans of the franchise, it is a long time coming. The last flagship game in the series, Megaman 10, released all the way back in 2010. And while we’ve seen a few spin-offs, mobile games, and anniversary re-releases since, it’s about time fans got a main series that’s true to form. Mega Man has championed a video game legacy leading all the way back to 1987 as a definitive early platformer. While Mega Man was never Capcom’s top seller (that honor goes to Resident Evil 5), the blue bomber has a special place in the hearts of many video game players. Though newer games might…
- NESMaker Kickstarter – Make NES Games With Ease!It’s a great time to be alive and making games people! Retro game developer New8BitHeroes’ NESMaker Kickstarter has, at time of writing, reached $172,000 of its £23,000 goal. What can you do with NESmaker? Design sprite graphics and color palettes that are automatically constrained to the NES limitations. Create assets with properties and behaviors to give developing for the NES an object-oriented feel, similar to modern tools such as GameMaker and Unity. Use a text editor to create text strings for NPCs or other narrative devices your game might have. Create *special screens* like start screens, end screens, menus, maps, and more. Customize AI Set initialization parameters (items obtained, player strength/defense, starting screen, etc) for easy testing. Use the base engine to create adventure games,…
Trailers
- Huntdown Game Trailer [2017] – Easy Trigger GamesCreated by Easy Trigger Games, HUNTDOWN is a 2D arcade style action game coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Steam. The game takes a ton of influences from both 80’s/90’s games and film properties. With retro gaming influences like Contra Hard Corps, Gunstar Heroes, Syndicate, Exo-Squad, & Alien 3 and movie franchises like Robocop, Judge Dredd, Total Recall, & Terminator, Huntdown is dripping in sci-fi grit for you to explore. The game features co-op arcade action where two players gain high tech weaponry to fight against the gangs of a gritty post-apocalyptic city. Huntdown’s release date is currently unknown, but we’ll sure to be keeping an eye on this one and providing updates as we learn more! Check out the Huntdown trailer and a…
- Haque Game Trailer [2017] – SuperTry StudiosHaque [official site] is a fantasy rogue-like dungeon crawler rpg with an interestingly pixelated game design. The games successful Kickstarter generated over $6k and was published on Feb 23rd 2016. Haque takes elements from old school rpgs like Shining Force and adds roguelike elements for unlimited replay ability. Through tactical turn-based battles players will grind through dungeons full of enemies, picking up new weapons and items, gaining magical spells, and trying to uncover the mystery behind the darkness that has befallen your precious land. Story isn’t the main point of Haque. It’s endless array of randomized characters to choose from, tons of unique enemies, and procedurally generated maps keep the action and fun, interesting and fresh for hours on end. If you’re looking for a…
- Gunlock Game Trailer [2017] – Aleksandar Kuzmanovic GamesDevelopers: Aleksandar Kuzmanovic [MrAmlice] – Coding / Design / Art / SFX Brian Havey [zminusone] – Music / Additional SFX Create by Aleksandar Kuzmanovic Games, Gunlock is a super fast action game for fans of some old fashioned score chasin’. The game features an old school game boy color palette and over a dozen weapons including pistols, shotguns, rockets, and even a lightning gun! Players run around a fixed map evading attacks and killing enemies with the goal of trying to maximize combo multipliers to break high scores. During battle, players will earn coins that they can use to purchase un-lockable weapons and paint jobs to change the color scheme of the battle field. Players are also able to compete against other players across the Steam…
- Creepy Brawlers Trailer – Horror Movie Punch Out-LikeIf you’re a fan of horror movies and the NES boxing classic “Punch Out”, then you’re going to love Mega Cats latest Frankenstein creation Creepy Brawlers! In Creepy Brawlers you take on the role of an underdog fighting his way to the top of the Underworld Championship. Square off against horror movie monsters like the wolfman, a clown on steroids, a slick vampire, a pseudo axe-murdering Jason Vorhees, and even Frankenstein himself! Performing well timed punches and dodging your opponents relentless attacks will be your only key to keeping your soul. Check out the trailer for Creepy Brawlers and fight your way to the top! If your interested in more from Mega Cat, check out their pre-sale for Creepy Brawlers for the NES!
