October 31st, 2012 | By Erik Johnson
Tagged in: indie links | indie links round-up | industry news
Would you rather read about a peaceful game about trees and music, or a hyper-violent game about a mask-wearing assassin? A tribute to Space Invaders, or to XCOM? A monochrome sci-fi puzzler, or a computer version of a fantasy CCG? Well, you don’t have to choose, because in today’s Indie Links, you can read about all of those.
Review: Botanicula (Indie Game Reviewer)
“Botanicula is [a] point’n’click exploration game created by Jaromír Plachý and Amanita Design. It’s about a bunch of five friends – little tree creatures who set out for a journey to save the last seed from their home tree which is infested by evil parasites. The original soundtrack and sound effects are created by Czech alternative band DVA.”
Hotline Miami Preview (IndieGames)
“Before you watch the following trailer and I go on with my Hotline Miamipreview know this: Hotline Miami is brutal. And you get to play as a pretty nasty masked murderer. Also, it’s not something you’d want your kids or the more sensitive people around you seeing. Anyway. Disclaimer over. Here’s a trailer that’s a tad more disturbing than the game itself:”
Titan Attacks (PixelProspector)
“Titan Attacks is without a doubt the best and most polished Space Inavders tribute that exists. Stylish visuals, fast controls, many levels with well designed enemy patterns, boss fights, upgradeable ship…”
Memory of a Broken Dimension – Argh, My Brain! (Hookshot Inc.)
“Did you ever see Strange Days, the largely disappointing but still occasionally mesmerising cyberpunk thriller from Kathryn Bigelow? It revolved around a little cycling helmet thing that went on your head and let you experience the feelings and actions of another person. However, sometimes the system crashed, leaving users trapped in an endless vortex of screen static. That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw Memory of a Broken Dimension.”
Star Command, Keep On Looking Awesome, OK? (Kotaku)
“Yup. I’m about to get excited about Star Command all over again. Sorry if that…actually, you know what, no. I’m not sorry. If you can’t get excited about the idea of XCOM meeting Star Trek with adorable graphics then I don’t want to talk to you.”
Powargrid Review (Independent Gaming)
“Powargrid by Wee Free Studio may be in alpha, but that doesn’t stop this game from being a lot of fun. The heart of the gameplay is this: you’re looking down on a 11×11 grid. On one side are your power plants. On the other side, the enemy’s plants. It’s like a cross between checkers and Civilization: your goal is to taken down the opposition’s power plants. You have but five types of units at your disposal: power plants (which give you 5 energy per turn), power conduits, turrets, and towers with a radial attack. Oh, and a storage unit that holds leftover energy.”
Something Like A Funomena: Former Thatgamecompany Devs Form New Studios (Venus Patrol)
“Super interesting news from Robin Hunicke — formerly designer and producer on games like Boom Blox, Journey and Glitch — and Martin ‘Pizzacity‘ Middleton, who joined thatgamecompany in 2006 to work on the PS3 port of flOw before creating much of the underlying technology of both Flower and Journey, as both have announced the foundation of Funomena, a new San Francisco based indie studio.”
Hands-On: Card Hunter (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“One of the games my greedy little brain is currently most anticipating, now that my previous most-anticipated games have arrived, is Blu Manchu’s Card Hunter. A boardgame/CCG mash-up from one of Irrational’s former bigwigs and a cartel of highly experienced devs, its focus is on recreating cheerfully dusty boardgame socials as it on coming up with some tight strategy/roleplaying mechanics. I’ve been able to play the demo made available on the show floor at PAX, but without having to experience the unbridled horror of being in the close vicinity of other human beings. It’s only two matches, but I liked what I saw, yes I did. I liked it very much indeed.”
Erik Johnson (295 posts)