Another week, another batch of Indie Game Lookout titles.
I actually had more intriguing titles than I had spots. I do want to keep it to three entries per week; I don’t want to drop a whole encyclopedia on everyone. I’m thinking of doing side bits where I highlight a particularly juicy title. Let me know what you think about that, and please keep feeding me indie goodness on my Twitter account.
We Happy Few
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Developer: Compulsion Games
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One
Release Date: 2016
Available via: Developer Website
I have been waiting for this game for months! Now that it’s available via Steam Early Access, I’m incapable of staying in my own skin!
We Happy Few is set in the dystopian England town of Willington Wells 1964. Everyone is cheery and happy, but it’s all artificial. They are all under the effects of a drug called Joy that keeps them constantly happy and serene – until they sense someone off their Joy, hence a Downer. Then they are quite unpleasant. The player must navigate through the town, trying to escape while trying to blend in with the drug addicted populace without trying to give away that they are not a Downer.
Early gameplay demos looked harrowing as hell, which made me want to try the game, but the E3 trailer cemented it for me. The 60s era TV presentation, coupled with the trippy and horrific situations, makes this game an absolute must-play for me. It’s a game that reeks of character – and tension!
Since it’s in Early Access, there might be a few bugs here and there. I’m still jumping in this headfirst! Xbox One owners will have to wait a bit later for a release, but by then the game should be truly ready for primetime.
Galactic Junk League
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Developer: Pixel Federation
Platform: PC
Release Date: TBD
Available via: Developer Website
This game looks like Junkyard Wars mixed with Beseiged, and I will take that any day of the week!
Galactic Junk League is almost exactly what would happen if people built spacecraft with Junkyard Wars rules. The game puts players in a hangar full of thrusters, weapons, modules, and other pieces of junk. You are able to build one of three classes of spacecraft: frigate, destroyer, and frigate. You then pile things on the ships as you please. Want a battleship covered stem to stern in rocket launchers? Do it! Prefer a frigate that is all engines? Knock yourself out! Every piece you add to your Franken-craft alters the ship’s characteristics, affecting its maneuverability, survivability, and firepower.
Once players settle on their junkyard machine, they are pitted against one another in 5v5 deathmatches. Moving around and firing weapons is simple enough, and after a minute or so of getting used to everything, you will be ready to approach an enemy’s broadside and bring your guns to bear. The differences in setups are noticeable in battle, from a lighter ship’s better maneuverability to the massive gatling gauss guns of a self-made dreadnought reducing enemy combatants to mincemeat.
Visually, the game’s battle areas are not incredibly detailed, but the ships are. Zooming in and watching your blasters pick apart the enemy’s superstructure will probably never get old! The various special abilities, from gauss guns to shields and everything in between, will give space captains vast amounts of customization.
I’d write more about this game, but I can’t stop playing it. Jump on their website, grab the playable alpha, and see if you catch me there. The game is set to test Steam Greenlight properly soon, and I am ready to give it my vote!
DOGOS
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Developer: OPQAM
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Release Date: TDB 2016
Available via: Steam Greenlight
No, I will never stop loving bullet hell shoot-em-ups. Why do you ask?
DOGOS comes to us from OPQAM in Argentina, and I cannot stop looking at it! It’s a bullet hell shooter on steroids – no seriously, I think the steroids were on steroids!
The premise is cliché shooter stuff: the world was invaded, the baddies wrecked everything, humanity found a way to fight back, now we’ll teach those alien scum a lesson! I don’t mean to glance over the story like that but…I mean, LOOK AT THE GAME!
This is Radiant Silvergun if you could flank your enemies. The map rotates in 360º twin-stick style, allowing you to strafe enemy ships and structures. The enemies come at you from all points of the compass as well, so you best make sure your deft maneuver to avoid a deluge of enemy fire doesn’t end with you crashing into another enemy’s hull.
For those who love danmaku shooters, you will be well served here. Enemies come at you from everywhere and packing serious heat. The screen fills up with hostile shapes and ordnance quickly, so twitch reflexes will be tested. This is absolute bulett hell bliss.
The visuals absolutely pop! There is a great amount of detail, and there seems to be no slowdown despite the sheer number of things flying around. Add in the constant rotation as you try to position yourself for a better shot, and I may have to keep a few barf bags at the ready.
DOGOS has successfully cleared Steam Greenlight, and I only await word on when it will grace the main page. I will be prepared, money in one hand and Dramamine in the other!
