Category: Indie Games

Lenna’s Inception is 2020’s First Good Zelda

Being a Zelda-like in 2020 means that you’re facing a ton of comparisons to other games right out the gate. The actual Zelda games, pseudo-Zelda games like Anodyne and 3D Dot Game Heroes, and departures that still retain a lot of Zelda DNA like Hyper Light Drifter. Do I think Lenna’s Inception stands up to any of these? Not really, but it’s a good, breezy way to start off a slow-starting year. The soundtrack is… pretty good! The procedural map generation is… good enough that you usually won’t notice that the world isn’t hand-crafted! The writing is… actually kind of great on occasion, but that’s balanced out by scenes like the one in the opening with a dead old man in a cave who smeared “IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE” with his own blood.

I had to add this picture so you would believe me about just how dumb it is. Good on him for remembering the apostrophe.

Edgy. Thankfully those moments are few and far between, and instead we get a pun loving librarian (“ISBN missin’ you!” got me pretty good) and an evil sorceress trying to convince one boss to stop opening his mouth because his weak spot’s in there.

If you’re familiar with Link’s Awakening, a form of the shell upgrade system is back. In Lenna’s, every overworld screen with enemies will drop a reward for defeating them, usually a limited-use material that can be used to upgrade any of your many items. Items like bombs, arrows, and swords. You get it. My biggest complaint with the game is that this progress isn’t tracked anywhere. This leads to you needing just one more meteorite to upgrade your bow, and you’re forced to wander the map aimlessly massacring every screen of enemies hoping that maybe this is the one you hadn’t cleared before. The weirdest part is that there IS a map and every screen has its own square you can hover over. Please, please just plop a checkmark somewhere on there if I’ve already cleared it and save us all the trouble.

Oh, also, you can swap between two completely different graphical styles at any point. Want it to look like a weirdo NES The Legend of Zelda? They got ya. Prefer a vastly superior art style that seems like what the game intends you to choose? Do what I did and slap those SNES graphics on and never look back.

If you’ve noticed by now a lack of mention of puzzles, it’s because there really aren’t many to speak of. Lenna’s Inception gates progress by whether or not you have the next item, but doesn’t require a ton of thinking beyond that. Shoot arrows at the targets, bomb the rocks, etc. This is an action game where you occasionally push a block to the right spot to open a door. Don’t go in expecting a wild variety of dungeon puzzles like in A Link Between Worlds. This isn’t that. Go in expecting to see a cool map and fight some rad looking boss monsters to get better armor and swords.

If you’re ready to save this odd world, check out Lenna’s Inception on Bytten Studio’s itch.io or Steam page.

February 8, 2020
Baba is Not You in Tip of the Icebug’s Silly Sokoban

This was the first video game I finished in 2020 because it was only ten minutes long! More people make ten minute games please.

If you played Baba is You, this is like that but without the programming languages rearing their indecipherable heads. Developer Jon Topielski sticks you in a big Sokoban grid and has you maneuver yourself to the exit while both utilizing and avoiding the obstacles along the way. It’s certainly not as unique a concept as Baba, but if we’re grading on that curve our expectations might need some readjusting. No, this time instead of moving the literal, tangible phrase BLOCK = BAD around a maze in some interesting way, we’re simply heaving that bad block out of the way ourselves.

The Baba is You influence is readily apparent, but the What the Golf? nod had me intrigued. Turns out, yeah there’s a bit of that DNA here as well! If this were ever to be fleshed out into something larger, the silly surprises of What the Golf? would add a lot of identity to an otherwise pretty simple Sokoban riff. Just in the first handful of levels (I think there’s only six or seven total), the silly surprise of taking control of a random stage object instead of the main character still hasn’t lost the charm since What the Golf perfected the concept last year.

The visuals are just enough not-Baba to get the job done. The elevator / carnival-lite music is also pretty chill while not doing anything to stand out. For what it’s worth, the one looping track works just fine as background music to walk around the house and eventually write this post to. The central concept is good and the ancillary stuff just works! I hope we get to see Topielski experiment further with blending puzzle genres, because after my ten minutes was up I was ready for more. Also, adding a dash of What the Golf’s manic brilliance into every genre should be industry standard going forward.

Go enjoy your ten minutes of puzzling on the game’s itch.io page!

February 2, 2020
Decimating Demons is a Delight in SACRIFIGHTS

In seven days, The Ancient One is going to mess you up. Bad. The only way to stop him? Fight the lesser minions of hell and eat their entrails to gain their power. Duh!

SACRIFIGHTS is FrankieSmileShow’s entry for Ludum Dare 44. And while I don’t think it nails the theming (Your life is currency) as successfully as safecrack, it’s a pretty fun time regardless.

You offer some blood, or guts, or uh, batteries and staplers that the bosses drop to the sacfiricial altar and fight whatever monstrosity is summoned. Clowns, spiders, demons and secretaries take shape and are quite angry with you. Thankfully, a magic seal keeps them in place for you to get some potshots in before they wreak havoc. Your first run through the game will almost inevitably go like this: Summon a bunch of monsters, maybe kill one or two by the skin of your teeth for some sweet loot, and then die to the final boss when he shows up and you’re absolutely unprepared. The second run is where things… kind of fall apart a bit.

Once you’re familiar with how the game works, you’ll try to min/max your process through the monsters. Eat what’s edible, summon what’s not, and grow incredibly powerful as events progress. You’ll eventually learn that most monsters can be decimated before the seal is broken, and they never even have a chance to move before they’re sent back to whence they came. The game is still fun to play because the monster designs are neat to see and each of them have unique quips, but once you see the seams there’s no challenge whatsoever.

And that’s cool, I guess! I had a pretty great 20 minutes or so between both of my playthroughs. I just wish I had been able to have a fair fight with more of them. There’s definitely more that can be done here, and if SACRIFIGHTS 2 came out tomorrow I’d be down immediately. Just maybe give the hellspawn a headstart when you try to take them on yourself.

If you’re up for meeting the minions of the abyss, check out the game on its Ludum Dare page.

May 16, 2019
Safecrack Is Fast and Frantic Frugality

Made for Ludum Dare 44’s “Your life is currency” theme, Torcado’s entry is well among the best of ’em. Though it’ll take you just 10 or 15ish minutes to blow through, safecrack is one of the most inventive incremental games I’ve played in quite a while.

If you’re not familiar with incremental games… you’re probably a better and healthier person than me. It’s one of those things like Cookie Clicker or Forager that sucks hours and hours away, promising you that by doing one thing over and over again, you’ll become better at, well, doing that one thing even better. They’re typically near-endlessly looping Skinner Boxes that trap you inside them for as long as your addictive personality allows. Thankfully, safecrack is one of the more ethical ones.

Happy with simply providing a dozen or so minutes of fun, safecrack has you upgrading ways to hurt yourself. See, you’re a safe, and you’ve gotta get all that money out of you somehow. As you take “damage,” money for upgrades flies out of you. Spend that money on more enemies to fill the screen with, or to make yourself more vulnerable to attacks, and you make more cash for new upgrades to die even faster.

I was surprised at how satisfying the upgrade tree was for such a small project. As you experiment with new combinations of enemies to harm you, you’ll occasionally think “oh, this is definitely the best way to take damage the fastest,” and then almost certainly stumble into an even more efficient way to kill yourself.

If you’re ready to hop into a quick bout of chaotic currency collecting, head on over to the game’s itch.io page.

May 16, 2019
2016 Mid-Year Wrap Up – What’s Left?

We’re halfway through 2016 and my Game of the Year prediction list is already in the trash. Surprise! Four of them aren’t even coming out this year and two of them weren’t that good. Dark Souls and The Witness were pretty sweet, and the verdict’s still out on Zero Time Dilemma and No Man’s Sky. We’ve had a few great releases this year like Salt and Sanctuary, SUPERHOT and Pony Island, but so far I’m feeling a bit down on 2016’s game output.

HOWEVER: We’re far from sending this baby off just yet.

There’s a load of cool games still coming this year, and *hopefully* some of them will actually be good. Let’s run through the ones I’m most excited about.

Zero Time Dilemma:

I’m finally getting to play Zero Time Dilemma, a game I’ve been hoping would actually get made since 2012’s incredible Virtue’s Last Reward.

Inside:

The follow-up to Limbo, Inside, is also on its way. I’ve got some very high hopes for this one, especially after hearing some early thoughts on it during E3.

BoxBoxBoy!:

The sequel to one of the best games nobody played last year. Nintendo’s best puzzle game in a long time, and one of my favorite things HAL Laboratory has done.

Song of the Deep:

Song of the Deep looks like a promising Metroidvania, and Insomniac tends to not make anything that’s outright bad.

No Man’s Sky:

You’ve probably heard enough about No Man’s Sky by now, but I don’t know how anyone can write it off yet. There’s no way this thing can deliver on all of its promises, but even if it manages to be a decent version of what Hello Games’ is envisioning… it’s going to be something very special.

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2:

Gunvolt 2 is nearly topping my most anticipated games right now. After finishing Mighty No. 9 and well, not thinking about it much anymore, I’m ready for a good action platformer that can deliver the goods. The first Gunvolt was sooooo cool. Please don’t mess this one up.

Final Fantasy XV:

Final Fantasy XV is somehow just a few months away and I still don’t have any idea what kind of beast it’s gonna be. It seems like such a mishmash of so many disparate ideas that I can’t fathom how any of it is going to work together. And maybe it won’t. But, wow…what if it does?

The Last Guardian:

The Last Guardian is finally, really, truly coming out. The follow up to one of my favorite games of all time, Ueda’s next game has a lot to live up to.

Dishonored 2:

I never finished Dishonored. I never even got halfway through it. But a lot of people I respect seem to love it, and I’m willing to give the series another chance.

Below:

Below is a mysterious adventure game that I’ve heard whispered of in the same breath as Dark Souls, and that’s about enough for me.

Cuphead:

Cuphead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2D platformer. Cool boss battles. Wonderfully drawn art style. Cuphead!!!!!!!

Nioh:

I have no idea if Nioh is actually going to make it out this year with all of the changes they’ve been making to it, but that alpha demo was promising. It definitely needed a tweak or two, but there are neat ideas there that I want to see more of.

The Intruder:

The Intruder has been talked about in hushed tones for what feels like a decade now. It’s an indie Slender-like thing, but supposedly has way more going on than your average “get chased by spooky man” game.

We Happy Few:

We Happy Few reminds me of BioShock at its prime. Terrible world that’s totally fallen apart but a subset of the population seems cool with it? Sign me up.

The Pedestrian:

The Pedestrian is a simple platformer with a cool aesthetic, and sometimes that’s all I need, ya dig?

DARK SOULS III DLC (at some point)! Yay.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided:

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the sequel to a game I love, in a series I should probably play more of. Human Revolution was my introduction to Deus Ex, but what a wonderful, memorable introduction it was.

Pokemon Sun and Moon:

Also Pokemon Sun and Moon is coming and if you don’t know why someone might be excited about that I don’t know what else to tell you. Rowlet 4 lyfe.

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And I’m sure there’s more stuff coming, too. I always get blindsided by some cool indie thing that comes out of nowhere, so don’t take this as the law of everything cool coming out for the rest of the year. And, yeah, there are other games I plan on playing, like Infinite Warfare (yes, space shooty will probably be fun), but those just didn’t feel special enough to make the “excited about” list. 2017 is already looking ridiculous with all of the currently announced games, consoles, delays, etc, but there’s still plenty to occupy our time until then.

Here’s to a good rest of the year. And please let most of these actually come out in 2016. Please.

June 29, 2016
Games of the Month – May 2016

Before I went to look at the list of games I had played in May, I had assumed it was a huge list. It was not. I’ve been playing a ton of games lately (or so it feels like) but I think I’ve just been getting a lot deeper into a handful than I usually do. And I’ve been playing Mother 3 and the original Doom a lot, and I guess it wouldn’t be fair to count those.

1. Overwatch

Even as I’m typing this, I’m not sure if Doom belongs in this spot. But I haven’t been looking at fan art, memes, and lore videos about Doom 2016, so maybe Overwatch speaks for itself. Like last year’s Splatoon, Overwatch is a fast-paced, colorful multiplayer game oozing with personality. Also like Splatoon, I don’t know how much I’ll be playing after the launch-window hype has died down. I still enjoy hopping back in with my squid buddies every once in a while, but those first few weeks made such a good first impression that it was still one of my favorite games of the year even after I put it down during its second or third month. Overwatch feels like it could live in a similar place in my gaming library. But with Blizzard’s promise of keeping the game fresh with (free!!) new characters and maps, hopefully this one will stay fresh in my mind even through year’s end. I’m gonna hurry up and finish this post so I can read more character bios on the game’s site. And maybe play a few matches. And go look at more fan-art. And…

2. Doom

I’ve never been a Doom guy. I didn’t grow up with any access to it, and by the time I started messing around with emulators, I always ended up trying the shitty GBA ports and not understanding why anybody thought that highly of the series. Then Doom 2016 came out. I’ve been blasting and shooting my way through the entire series this month, and I have a newfound respect for each game in the series. I’ll admit that I’ve played more Doom 1 than Doom 2016 since the newest one’s release, but I still enjoy both immensely more than I thought I ever would. What I had always thought of as a dumb bloody mess of bullets is so much more. It’s still that, sure, but there’s a level of thought and decision making that goes into each new area. Each game is about managing guns, ammo, upgrades, placement and more to minimize your chances of being turned into space dust. I see a lot of Doom in my future this year, and I’m happy that such an amazing sequel could be made this far into the series’ life cycle. Oh, and the explosive charge on the shotgun is clearly the only choice. Just sayin’.

3. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Another Uncharted game, and maaaaybe my favorite in the series? I’ve never been a super huge fan of Naughty Dog’s work outside of The Last of Us, but I still respect a lot of what the Uncharted games have accomplished over the years. They’ve done a lot with just a few pulpy adventure stories, but the actual play itself hasn’t ever grabbed me. This was the first that I actually enjoyed playing a lot of. The shooting still isn’t exactly top notch, but it’s serviceable, and the climbing and swinging around while people chit chat is better than ever. TLDR: Uncharted is good. It’s never been great. This is another good one.

Honorable Mentions:

Cooldog Teaches Typing: Another good and funny typing game in a surprisingly consistent genre. Is…is every typing game just automatically good?

-I wish i had played more this month, but the big things took up so much time. I’m sure I missed some indies, and that sucks. I’ve looked around like always, though, and I can’t find any giant standouts. I’ll keep looking for things I may have missed. Here’s to June!-

June 13, 2016