Yesterday Steam reduced the prices of many indie games, which of course include those Independent Game Festival Winners and Finalists. Also it’s a pretty opportunistic time to highlight indie games, since PAX East started this morning and includes Indie Megabooth that showcases a plethora of independent game developers. In addition, several developers who received funding through Kickstarter will also be there, such as the Pixelscopic of Delver’s Drop and Sinister Design of Telepath Tactics. You may now also purchase games from Steam’s Early Access Program that allows you test out alpha builds. Gnomoria, Under the Ocean, and StarForge are a few that are available now to try out.
Indie Royale is back, of course, with a new bundle titled the Getaway Bundle. This bundle features six games and some music as usual. For a little under $6, you can pick up Analogue: A Hate Story, Shattered Horizon, Da New Guys, Waves, Miniflake, and Super Amazing Wagon Adventure. Each game is available for Desura except for Shattered Horizon; however, Shattered Horizon, Analogue: A Hate Story and Waves are the only available games for Steam. If you pay $8 or more, you’ll receive the album Handheld Heroes Volume 1 by Handheld Heroes. Also by just paying for the bundle, you’ll also receive the Da New Guys, Waves, and Analogue: A Hate Story‘s official soundtracks with the six games. Check out the trailer below along with the official blog post detailing all the games. Also here’s the official website.
Indie Royale is back with a bundle that will take you on unique adventures from the comfort of your own living room: “travel” to the moon, the American Old West, a starship called the Mungunghwa, and more with the Getaway Bundle featuring six independent games, including exclusive debut Super Amazing Wagon Adventure!
The first exotic location on the itinerary is the moon where you can fight a zero-gravity death match in Futuremark’s unique multiplayer FPS Shattered Horizon available for Windows on Steam. Celebrated by Strategy Informer for game mechanics that create “thought-provoking gameplay”, Shattered Horizon offers unique combat features, realistic space gameplay, 32 player battles and huge levels that offer hours of gameplay. Top contributors will be rewarded for their generosity in this bundle; the top 10 contributors will receive a Shattered Horizon t-shirt; in addition, the top 5 contributors will also receive a meteorite sample from the Sikhote-Alin meteorite (Russia, 1947) with display case and certificate of authenticity. NOTE: Shattered Horizon requires DirectX 10, a DirectX 10 compatible video card, and Windows Vista or Windows 7.
Next up is Christine Love’s visual novel-style game, Analogue: A Hate Story, which takes place thousands of years in the future and is also loosely based on the Joseon Dynasty in Korea, available for Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. A current Indiecade Finalist, this game is focused around finding out the fate of a ship with the help of the ship’s two AIs after it re-appears 600 years following its mysterious disappearance whilst on a mission to establish an interstellar colony. Also included are the Space and Science DLC and the original soundtrack. PC Gamer calls Analogue: A Hate Story “ingeniously constructed” and states that “watching its narrative clockwork spinning is a huge part of the appeal.”
Offered along this journey is an Indie Royale exclusive debut; adventure on the Oregon Trail with Sparse Vector’s game, Super Amazing Wagon Adventure available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free. This 2D shooter offers random gameplay elements and a mission to traverse fires, avalanches and time travel while fighting against bears, giant spiders, buffalo herds, snakes, scorpions, sharks, bandits, wolves and aliens. Originally developed for XBLIG, Eurogamer raved about the XBLIG version of Super Amazing Wagon Adventure : “Hilariously weird, with a solid gameplay base, it’s really quite brilliant.”
Also offered on the “getaway” is a look behind the scenes of a professional wrestling ring with retro point-and-click adventure from Wadjet Eye Games: Da New Guys, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free (also included is the original soundtrack). Da New Guys is based on 3 wrestlers from England (Brain, Simon and Defender) who have immigrated to America. The story begins with the kidnapping of Brain and his recently won medal; Simon and Defender embark on a journey to save Brain which leads them to the city’s darkest corners. Da New Guys offers pixel hunts, puzzles, a lighthearted story, tongue-in-cheek RPG elements and quirky dialogue.
Included in the Getaway Bundle is a twin-stick shooter from Squid In A Box Waves, available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free, which offers a rather unique destination that is “out of this world.” Waves is different from other games of its kind by rewarding you for killing your enemies by triggering a slow-motion buffer and the ability to bomb them; it offers quite lively chiptune tracks and some strategy elements when it comes to killing enemies. Offering five different modes, leaderboards and 20 levels Waves was recognized by Eurogamer as one of the “finest examples of the twin-stick arcade shooter genre to arrive in recent years.”
Last up is I-Game-Art’s retro 1bit RPG miniFlake available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free. A roguelike RPG, miniFlake offers great chiptune music; retro sound effects; and randomly generated dungeons, overworld maps location names, and NPCs. The goal of the game is to pillage dungeons, and this gets increasingly difficult with each level. MiniFlake is still an Alpha: an updated build will be made available on your Indie Royale Key Page every time developer updates it (and the Desura version will automatically update).
Finally, those who pay $8 USD or their currency equivalent during the Getaway Bundle will get ‘Handheld Heroes Volume One’ a project, directed by Saskrotch which consists of 41-tracks from leading chiptune artists. Featuring familiar artists like Wizwars, Alex Mauer, Heosphoros, little-scale, OxygenStar, Goto80, zabutom, IAYD, Bit Shifter, this compilation pays homage to Game Boy, Master System, NES, Game Boy Advance, Amiga and a myriad of other “old skool” consoles.
You can find more information on Getaway Bundle, including real-time statistics and its current price, on its official website or via its Facebook and Twitter pages. And a final reminder – get in early while the prices are still low (unless generous contributors drop the price), so “get away” and grab a bundle today!
Amnesia: The Dark Descent‘s sequel is being held off until early 2013 for its launch. The developer and publisher, thechineseroom and Frictional Games, wished to not rush for a Halloween 2012 release date and want the extra time to make sure it’s the high quality and polished sequel it should be. There’s more information concerning the survival horror game in an interview from Game Zone. Check out the teaser trailer for the upcoming now 2013 release of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
I expected it to release yesterday, but today I received the news about the next, yup again, Indie Royale bundle. This one is a Summer Bundle and includes eight games for around $5.70.
Here’s the rundown of the games and the synopsis below from the organizers of Indie Royale themselves! (mostly because I don’t know much about the games) Purchase your copy of the bundle on the official website; you have less than nine days to obtain one, then it’s gone.
Dino Run SE for: windows, mac, linux, desura – Special Edition (enhanced from the Flash original) w/ upgrades
BONUS: AirMech for: steam (beta), windows, desura – Plus Indie Royale “Fleur de Lis” Pet for your AirMech!
First up is award-winning arcade real-time strategy game from Oxeye Game Studio, Harvest: Massive Encounter, co-created by current Minecraft lead coder Jens Bergensten, and downloadable for Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. In this RTS/tower defense title making its first-ever bundle inclusion, offering battles of epic proportions with a unique style of resource management and exploration. According to IGN, “Harvest is a tower defense game with a goal of achieving high scores rather than a congratulatory, ‘You’ve triumphed! The galaxy is safe again,’ followed by a ‘Game Over.'” So it’s a perfect way to while away the summer days inside!
Next up is a brand new update of a classic point-and-click adventure game from SkyGoblin Games,The Journey Down: Chapter One available for Windows, Mac and Linux on Desura and DRM-free. Play Bwana and his trusted sidekick Kito who struggle to make ends meet at their run-down gas station, as they embark on a spine-tingling adventure far from home and into a twisting plot of corruption and danger. Kotaku describes The Journey Down as a “delightful change of pace… (the) Afro-Caribbean setting is one that’s very rarely used in video games, and comes with a great palette of colors and art to pull from.”
Also making a bundle debut is the long-lost Serious Sam II, Croteam’s twitch-tastic 2005 shooter sequel, brought back by Devolver Digital in 2012, and now available for Windows on Steam. IGN said of the game at the time of its release: “The action is fast and intense from start to finish. You’ll have tons of beasts to blast and a wide variety of vibrant levels to run through” – and that’s still just as true now!
Also included in this bundle a four-pack of top imported Japanese shmups from Rockin’ Android, starting with all three games from Platine Dispositif’s ‘Gundemonium’ trilogy, available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-Free: Gundemonium Recollection, GundeadliGne and Hitogata Happa. These three games, which span both horizontal and vertical scrolling, offer remarkably complex, yet flexible gameplay as you enjoy bullet-hell shoot-’em-up gameplay in a cartoonish steampunk universe. Notably, DIYGamer says of the collection: these games “have huge replay value. They’re score-attack games, intended to be played dozens of times on a variety of modes and mastered thoroughly over time.”
The fourth game from Rockin’ Android is Orange_Juice’s Acceleration of Suguri-X Edition, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-Free. According to GameSpot, this game “offers a delicious mix of arena fighting and bullet-hell chaos.” By mixing a shmup and competitive arena fighting, Acceleration of Suguri-X Edition offers a depth-filled game, inspired by Japanese titles like Senko No Ronde, and featuring eleven levels of gameplay, a techno-trance soundtrack and schoolgirls who duke it out over who gets to eat the last pudding on earth. What more could you ask for?
Finishing everything up, the bundle also features Dino Run SE from Pixeljam, available for Windows, Mac and Linux on Desura and DRM-Free. This pixel-heavy indie classic is presented in a Special Edition, enhancing the Flash original with speed runs, extra multiplayer maps, hats, and other notable upgrades. Based off a pixelated prehistoric world, escape the inevitable doom wave of extinction by controlling a speedy raptor across tar pits, crumbling hillsides and meteorite showers while gobbling up anything that gets in the way.
As a one-off bonus, the bundle also includes another chance to get your hands on a Steam Windows Beta key to hot F2P action-RTS AirMech, with bonus in-game item: an exclusive Indie Royale “Fleur de Lis” Companion/Pet for your AirMech! Excusive to the Summer Bundle, this is one of the very first cosmetic items for AirMech. AirMech is still in closed beta on Steam right now, making these codes very difficult to come by, so many thanks to Carbon Games for partnering with us to offer these keys to all our valued customers.
Finally, those who pay $8 USD or their currency equivalent during the Summer Bundle will get ‘Pixeljams Volume 1’ compilation – featuring tunes from top electronic artists like Miles Tilmann, Datassette, Mark DeNardo, + Dosh – normally a $5 value on its own. This collection of new and old tracks from the Pixeljam team (Dino Run) offers up nine tracks of pure bleepy joy. Included in Pixeljams Volume 1 is the Wiretap EP (Kate Simko + Miles Tilmann) and a goodie bag of images, animations and other PixelJam-related stuff.
Groupees is back with their Be Mine 3 Bundle. This bundle is supporting 20% of takings (or 80% of all payments over $25) go to Nathalie Traller’s medical bills due to her fight with Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS). She’s a 13 year old who is from Beaverton, Oregon who can’t be supported by her parent’s medical insurance for all her surgeries against the chemo-resistant cancer. She’s a top student who loves to play multiplayer and strategy games as well as play soccer, read, and play clarinet. Your wonderful donations to pick up some awesome games would really help her out.
For $4 minimum, you’ll receive four games, well actually seven games not going by the picture.
Then for just $6 or more, you can receive Garshasp: The Monster Slayer (PC – Steam Key & Desura Key). In addition to your pruchase, you’ll receive a special compilation of Be Mine 3 music from Drivepilot, Infinity Shred, and Psyborg Corp. This is definitely a solid bundle and certainly a great steal if you’re interested in the Avernum Trilogy by Spiderweb Software, since each game is individually $5 on Steam. Check out the official website for more information. Also of course, there are goals like the last Be Mine Bundles. $10,000 will unlock special collections of Drivepilot, Infinity Shred, and Psyborg Corp, while $20,000 will unlock Cordoba Nights Indie Film and Viking #1 Indie Comic Book. As usual the last goal is unknown; however the hint states: “A cult-masterpiece and genre defining game. PC/MAC and Linux! BTW, if we blow through this goal, we’ll add another bonus game. C’mon, make us do it!” Can you guess the game?
Frictional Games is back after their recent debut in incredibly successful Humble Bundle V. They just a released a new trailer for their upcoming yet indirect sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. Odd name isn’t it, well Frictional states from the game’s script, “This world is a machine fit only for pigs. Fit for the slaughtering of pigs”. Creepy, aye? While it says “fit for the slaughtering of pigs”, I can only imagine that pigs means humans and somehow this machine is for torture. Anyone else want to venture a guess? Well prepare to wet your pants and set yourself in an extremely lit room for the upcoming installment which is scheduled to release sometime before Halloween for PC only for now.
The year is 1899. Wealthy industrialist Oswald Mandus has returned home from a disastrous expedition to Mexico, which has ended in tragedy. Wracked by fever, haunted by dreams of a dark machine, he recovers consciousness in his own bed, with no idea of how much time has passed since his last memory. As he struggles to his feet, somewhere beneath him, an engine splutters, coughs, roars into life…
Starting well yesterday, you can now purchase the new 1Up Indie Underdog Pack for $3.99 for five games. The bundle is available until June 24th. The five games featured are the following:
By donating your money to pick up some neat indie games, you’ll also be helping out the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The ASPCA will receive 10% of the bundle’s earnings. Additionally if you pay $8, you’ll receive the immediate access to bonus items (three games, a chiptune soundtrack, and other soundtracks and art) once they are unlocked after reaching a specific goal. Check out the official IUP Bundle website for more information or to pick up your bundle today.
“The year is 1891 and the triumph of alternating current has sent Edison into a violent rage. It is up to you, playing as Nikola Tesla, to defeat an army of DC-powered robots and prove that you are the true greatest man of science! Wield the powers of lightning, levitation, rain, sun, and snow to solve physics puzzles and put a stop to Edison’s destruction.”
“One day, a man known only as the “King of the Seas” led a huge army and conquered the undersea world. Not stopping there, he closed the six drains of the world, causing the ocean to steadily flood over everything. With no place to go, the land dwellers are getting hopeless. Now, it’s up to you to save the day!”
“Ichi is an easy to play but challenging one button puzzle game. Don’t be deceived by the game simplistic look, it’s a braintwister for sure! Collect golden rings by rotating objects, using teleporters, breaking blocks and more. If that isn’t enough, the game includes a level editor that allows you to create your own levels and share them with anyone around the globe!”
“The multi-bearded adventure game where you get to control up to 32 player characters simultaneously! Meet Wolf, a bearded carpenter, who has lost his family and decided to wander the world and protect anyone in distress. He owns a magical medallion that can instantly create his double to aid him in his fight. The game combines a 2D platformer and a tower-defense genre: defend each village from incoming monster hordes, using a combined strength of your player character clones.”
“48 Chambers is a simple, yet challenging 2d game about movement and timing. Race against the clock for the high score as you collect orbs, dodge bullets and blades, and attempt to reach each chamber’s exit in one piece. Defeat 48 increasingly difficult and treacherous levels to become the master of the 48 Chambers! Casual mode now included with infinite lives and no scoring. Online Leaderboards supported.”
Once again, Humble Bundle takes away my heart again with an amazing collection of games. Forget about Indie Royale, Bundle In A Box, or Build-A Bundle, this time in all its glory Humble Bundle V features five amazing stellar indie hit games: Supergiant Games’ Bastion, Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Double Fine’s Psychonauts, Playdead’s Limbo, and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP.
Two of my personal favorite games are in here, Bastion and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. I actually have S:S&S EP on both my PC and my iPad. Words cannot describe how amazing S:S&S EP is. The pixel-art is absolutely lovely as Jim Guthrie’s wonderful musical plays in the background of your adventure as this warrior girl who tries to understand the mysterious Megatome. The point and click adventure game is simplistic in that you don’t have to worry about your deaths or your inventory for that matter. It is a casual-style game that allows you to focus on the taking in the entire game through the amazing visuals and wonderfully humorous dialogue. Also Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP will be available in Japan on June 21st and a new remix soundtrack created by many famous Japanese composers will be available to purchase on the same day for $5. So if the game and its soundtrack isn’t enough, you have an amazing reworked soundtrack of Jim Guthrie’s innovative music on its way.
With that being said, Bastion has a similar style. The game is run with a booming narrative voice in the background as you control The Kid. It’s a hack-and-slash action game, but one where you must survive among the floating pieces of your homeland. Lost after the Calamity, The Kid must collect the cores that used to power Caelondia and use fragments as currency to upgrade and buy new weapons.
Additionally, the bundle includes Playdead’s Limbo, winner of at least 90 awards, and it is currently showcased in Steam’s midweek madness sale set to end in least than three hours. Originally published by Microsoft Studios as an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, Limbo tells a story of a boy, who awakens in the middle of a forest, and must search for his lost sister. This black and white game, among this stellar lineup of games, is just another reason to highlight why video games should be consider art by any non-believers.
There’s also the bone-chilling Amnesia: The Dark Descent by Frictional Games. The survival horror game requires you to explore a castle through the eyes of the protagonist, Daniel, a young man from London. You are literally taught to survive. Without the use of any weapons, you must venture through the dark Prussian Brennenburg Castle and save yourself from any monsters that pop out in your path. Daniel, who has no recollection of who he is (medically known as a form of amnesia – oh why yes that’s the title), must use whatever hiding spots he finds to avoid monsters as well as barricading doors with whatever may be in the room, such as chairs or tables.
Lastly but not least (and it just so happened I talked about these games in this order) is Double Fine’s Psychonauts. This platformer follows Razputin, a boy with psychic abilities, who decided to run away from the circus and infiltrate a summer camp that helped others with similar abilities and create them into a “Psychonaut”. A quirky adventure filled with memorable characters and tons of collecting, Psychonauts has plenty of content for maximum replay value.
Not only does this bundle contain five games (if you pay more than average and you darn well should! if not then shame on you!), but it also contains each game’s official soundtrack in MP3 and FLAC as well as DRM-free downloads for PC, Mac, and Linux for every game and Steam keys. Totaled at $110 retail price, this bundle is pay-what-you-want. Heck I bought this Humble Bundle even though I have three out five of the games. Look at the trailer below if you still aren’t convinced of this great bargain. Pay for some amazing indie hits and awesome music to keep you entertained for the upcoming summer while also supporting both Child’s Play Charity and Electronic Frontier Foundation. Check out the official website here and totally pick up this awesome bundle now.
Indie Royale’s Lightning Pack has just arrived, sporting four games and three albums if you pay a minimum of $7. This bundle is a bit different from the rest because this bundle all proceeds go directly to charity. It’s Indie Royale’s All-Charity Pack. The four charities the developers chose to support are UNICEF’s Haiti Aid, Amnesty International, the EFF and ActionAid, which you are able to decide how you would like your money divide amongst them. For this bundle, your money will net you these four games plus Mat Jarvis’ (under the name High Skies) album, Sounds of Earth.
In addition to the games if you chose to support above $7, you will also receive these three chiptune albums: Jake Kaufman’s FX4 (Retro City Rampage composer), Disasterpeace’s Level (Fez composer), and a new EP from 6955 titled IN1ep (Super T.I.M.E Force composer).
Every game is a Windows only game, except for Osmos which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Also you’ll receive keys for every game except The Shivah, which is only available on Desura or through the Windows DRM-free download. Each game is available for Desura.
The bundle is going on for 100 hours. If you feel like supporting and are able to take a break from your Diablo III gameplay, head over to the official website.
Analogue: A Hate Story is now available on Steam for $9.99. Christine Love developed Analogue: A Hate Story to follow up her Digital: A Love Story which was released in 2010. Digital: A Love Story was set “five minutes into the future of 1988” and detailed about an online relationship with a girl. The protagonist, through 1980s bulletin board styled messaging, attempts to figure out the deaths of artificial intelligences with the girl. It is considered a visual novel and was listed as one of the best indie games in 2010.
Christine Love’s follow up of her 2010 hit is set in the future and also focuses on how people interact with computers. In addition, Analogue: A Love Story requires you to explore a ship that was once in contact with Earth. The ship left to form a new colony. With the help of Hyun-ae and Mute, you must figure out what happened to the ship by exploring its logs. During this game, themes such as transhumanism, traditional marriage, loneliness, and cosplay will be explored also.
You may purchase the game on Steam now which is Mac and PC compatible as well. You may also buy it from the site here, which is compatible with Linux too. If you already have a copy of the game and would like a copy connected to your Steam account, you may email Christine at scout@scoutshonour.com with the subject “Steam code” as well as the address where you purchased the game from.
That’s right. The most popular digital distributor of games is heading to Linux (all good, though I don’t know anyone who uses Linux). The service will allow those who use Linux to hopefully open up more gaming opportunities and make Linux a more viable gaming option. This is especially important considering Humble Indie Bundles have received a high amount of Linux gamers for their present and past bundles.
“Larabel seems suitably impressed with what Valve have working right now, including seeing Left 4 Dead 2 running on the Linux OS Ubuntu: ‘I am still struck by just how interested Valve is in Linux as a platform; it is certainly beyond my original expectations. This Linux work just is not some half-assed attempt by them to make it look like they are a Linux-friendly organization'” (Destructoid).
Endless Raining 
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