I love games that let you unwind in a Zen kind of way. Whether it’s arranging your personal belongings in a title like Unpacking, or driving across a lonely highway in the calming silence of the night in Euro Truck Simulator 2, I can always appreciate it when a game lets you completely tune out the outside world to the point it becomes almost therapeutic.

Taking players to an alternate 1984 filled with secrets, betrayal and deception, the game will follow Daniel McGovern, an agent working for the omnipresent Leviathan Corporation in East Germany.

A post-apocalyptic action-RPG that takes place in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, the game will have you step into the boots of a parallel world-hopping planewalker trying to survive the nightmarish dangers of the Zone after it’s been altered by the mysterious, high-energy material known as Chernobylite.

And while the main meat of the game does involve mopping up bloodstained floors and cleaning up a multitude of messy rooms at the behest of the mob, the single father protagonist of Crime Scene Cleaner is doing all this shady work for a good reason – to help with his severely ill daughter’s medical costs.

Man, how do I even begin? Dark and Deep is a game that kept me in a cautiously optimistic mood at first, because clearly a good deal of work had gone into it. It’s a first-person, narrative-driven adventure game with puzzle-solving and mild exploration as its main focus, featuring a storyline that’s hoping to blur the lines between the real and the nightmarish.

Set in a land where the gods and their people have mysteriously vanished, players will follow the journey of Juno, the Chosen Outcast, as she attempts to rebuild the world and bring back all that was lost.

In it, players will take on the role of seasoned paranormal investigator Alan Rebels as he takes on a case that promises to be something different – this time, you see, Alan travels to the mysterious island of GodStone in search of his missing father.

Inspired by Studio Ghibli films, Slavic folklore and medieval Europe, Scarlet Deer Inn will have you follow the adventures of Elise, a mother of two who, despite being a completely ordinary person, will end up experiencing situations both unusual and potentially terrifying.

Guess who loves pixel art games around here? Well, we do. You can probably see where this is going, but I’m going to tell you anyway: we tried a bunch of demos, picked out our favorites, and now we’re here to tell you about them. Trust me, there are some juicy titles in here, so do read on!

No new release date has been set for the Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth developer’s latest project, but needless to say, the delay has been announced for a good – and fairly obvious – reason: the game needs further polishing and quality improvements.

Welcome to GTOGG’s August 2024 edition of Promising Indie Game Releases, where we highlight indie and non-mainstream titles that we believe deserve your attention – in other words, “look at all this potentially cool stuff you might’ve missed otherwise”. That would’ve been too long for a title, though.

Arriving later this summer – on August 2 – as a free update to everyone who already owns the base game on PC or Switch, the Definitive Edition is going to include a so-called endless embalming mode that does exactly what it says on the tin: it lets you embalm an unlimited amount of bodies.

Taking place in a world being invaded by The Meat, a hostile biomass of flesh that devours anything and everything in its path, the game will have you take up arms and – hopefully – blast this intergalactic threat off the face of the galaxy.

Taking place in a dying, abandoned world enveloped by fleshy abominations, the game will have you discover fragments of your own troubled past while trying to avoid the nightmarish monstrosities that haunt the pitch-dark landscapes surrounding you.

That’s a surprising title, I know, but hear me out – what if the giraffe at the local zoo mutated into a nightmarish spider creature? I know, right?

Very clearly inspired by survival horror greats such as the earlier Silent Hill and Resident Evil installments, the game introduces an interesting twist with its setting: it takes place in 1916, during the First World War, and stars a lone French soldier in search of his brother.

Now, you may be wondering what I meant by “deflection-focused”, so let’s go over that real quick: Deviator will have you traverse many diverse landscapes and tackle countless dangerous foes, but the way to victory isn’t necessarily through endless button mashing – instead, you’ll want to avoid getting hit and skillfully parry/deflect all your enemies’ attacks.

Taking place in the vibrant, bio-magical world of Nauris, inspired by Avatar and Stranger Things, the story will have you explore the inherent darkness of this otherworldly universe as you peer into its madness-infested depths from the parallel viewpoints of multiple characters.

The game wastes no time when it comes to grabbing you by the collar and pulling you right into its creepy, Lovecraftian bog of otherworldly secrets, utilizing narrated quotes from the original story to set its eerie mood.

NIGHTMARE OPERATOR takes place in the ruins of Tokyo (in 2036, to be precise) as it’s being haunted by eldritch monstrosities, that is, youkai inspired by urban legends and Japanese folklore.

Mountains of Madness is pretty much an exploration simulator, where 90% of your gameplay will consist of wandering around massive open spaces and trying to find your way forward with varying levels of success.

Welcome to GTOGG’s July 2024 edition of Promising Indie Game Releases, where we highlight indie and non-mainstream titles that we believe deserve your attention – in other words, “look at all this potentially cool stuff you might’ve missed otherwise”. That would’ve been too long for a title, though.

When I first came across Felvidek, the initial emotion I felt was probably... confusion. I was taken by surprise by what I was seeing: a retro-style RPG set in medieval Europe (more specifically, 15th century Slovakia), with engaging turn-based combat, extremely lofi graphics, dialogue scenes that alternate between the serious and the outrageously comedic, and a plot that takes a handful of unexpected turns?

Set years after the events of INDUSTRIA, the sequel will follow the adventures of Nora, a scientist from East Berlin, 1989, who ended up stuck in a parallel dimension while trying to find her missing colleague.

The genre of brick breaker video games is as old as time itself – a genre that most people probably associate with oldschool, tried-and-true titles like Breakout and the original Arkanoid. Needless to say, I approached Firebat Revolution, an absolute love letter to that bygone era of gaming, with ample curiosity; as I wrote in my initial coverage of the project, Firebat Revolution does a great job of authentically recreating the style and feel of a game that could’ve come out for PC in the mid-1990s.

The sun is out, our drinks are cold and we’re sweating buckets – in other words, summer is officially here, and with it, yet another Steam Next Fest has arrived to give us a lovely truckload of indie demos to look through. As usual, we’ve found a handful of gems we’re very much looking forward to sharing with you.

Taking place on the now-abandoned tourist paradise of the titular Dimhaven, the game will follow protagonist Emily Ravenstone on her journey of discovery as she attempts to unravel the mysteries behind the scenic island’s fate – while also trying to find her missing uncle.

So Bad It’s Good?

HIGH The soundtrack is genuinely excellent.

LOW Poorly designed levels. 

WTF Commiting to the bit makes it a difficult game to review!

One of the strongest (and most surprising) games I’ve reviewed for GameCritics has been Hypnospace Outlaw, which was set in a parody version of 1999’s early internet. It resonated with me in a big way due to its setting, but the developers were also commenting on the toxicity of contemporary social media — which, if anything, has gotten worse since its release. When I saw there was a recent spinoff, I had to see what they’d do with it next.

Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer is a ’90s style first-person shooter developed by Tendershoot and published by No More Robots.            

 In Slayers X, Zane, the incredibly obnoxious 15-year-old troll from Hypnospace Outlaw, is now a grown man in his mid-thirties. He’s decided to continue working on a half-done videogame he stopped making in his teen years, and “Slayers X” is that game. This game-within-a-game stars Zane, who is part of a superhero group called the Slayers. His fictional persona is seeking revenge for the murder of his mentor and mother by a rival group headed by Zane’s stepfather. 

This story hints at what one might expect from the mind of an obnoxious teenager, and in this respect, Slayer X commits to the bit. This thin plot is just a setup for a power fantasy that invokes Doom and Duke Nukem. The story is ridiculous and replete with awful one-liners where Zane mocks enemies by saying things like “I slept with your mom!” Complete with poor CG between levels, the overall quality of the experience is surely a series of deliberate choices by the developers to remain consistent with the premise.

Additionally, gameplay has a familiar smoothness and speed typical of shooters from that era, complete with exaggerated head bob. The shooting is exactly what one would expect, offering simple shooting in levels filled with enemies. The guns feel common, though the Glass Blaster shotgun packs a punch and is the exception, due to its ability to use broken windows as ammo refills.

However, Slayers X is also seemingly filtered through the prism of someone lacking in the talent department when it comes to game design. The areas lack flow — I often found myself lost among many seemingly pointless areas and diversions lacking tangible rewards for exploration, aside from some predictably poor and immature visual gags. This resulted in a stop-start feeling not helped by the prevalence of monster closets and waves of spawning enemies.

Speaking of enemies, they lack interesting designs and are repeated ad nauseam. When the difficulty needs to ramp up in the final levels, the classic design mistake is made — the enemy count skyrockets and stronger enemies become too plentiful.

To make matters worse, ammo was inconsistently and haphazardly placed. I sometimes found myself with an overabundance, but at other times — especially when it was needed the most — it was hard to come across.

Again, while this was not a pleasant experience per se, I want to reiterate the admiration I had for the developers’ commitment to their concept. It is through this authenticity that Slayer X shines — it’s not really a ‘bad’ FPS, but instead a character piece reflecting the mind of a juvenile edgelord and his views of the world. This meta-concept is where Slayer X finds its humor, in exposing his illusions of grandeur and not in Zane’s terrible zingers.

While the concept behind Slayers X might spark debate, there’s no argument around the soundtrack, where the parody band “Seepage” returns from Hypnospace Outlaws. Clearly inspired by late ’90s bands like Linkin Park, tastes may vary here (and I’m exposing my own nostalgia) but I genuinely found the songs not just pitch-perfect throwbacks, but enjoyable in their own right.

Considering its premise, it would be betraying the concept to make a ‘good’ game. It’s certainly interesting, but does that lead to an enjoyable experience? Well, it’s worth playing for those who enjoyed Hypnospace Outlaw and are interested in another snapshot from that period, and it’s brief enough so that it doesn’t outstay its welcome. However, people who aren’t Hypnospace fans or those who aren’t interested in the meta-concept would probably do well to look elsewhere if they’re craving a standard FPS fix.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Tendershoot and published by No More Robots. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 3.5 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Drug Reference, and Language. Whilst the graphics are deliberately primitive, the game is very violent with exploding limbs and lots of blood, although the prevalence of blood depends on whether the violence level is set to normal or extreme in the settings. There are references to suicide, drugs and crude humour such as sexual innuendo, for example, the player character saying he has slept with someone’s mom.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers:  This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized.  I found it to be quite playable without sound, however there were a couple of issues. Subtitles did not appear when Zach made comments about why doors were inaccessible (there are color coded locks.) A bigger issue is the lack of visual cues when enemies approach from the back and the sides, and I did not see visual cues detailing where damage was coming from. As a result it is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

Now you can design and manufacture your own custom chips — for cheap!

The post DIY Silicon: Design Your Own Chips appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.

Now you can design and manufacture your own custom chips — for cheap!

The post DIY Silicon: Design Your Own Chips appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.