Welcome to our latest roundup of what’s going on in the indie game sector. A bunch of interesting games arrived this week, including a mobile port of one of the most interesting games I’ve played in years and two completely different titles of the same name. Let’s start by taking a look at some of the projects that were showcased at the latest edition of the Future Games Show.
hyperwired (from SiderealGames and publisher SelectaPlay) is a 2D roguelike shooter with an interesting resource-management twist. To recharge your weapons and systems, you need to plug a cable that runs into a socket on the back of your spacecraft. When you’re plugged in, your movement is restricted due to the length of the wire, but you get more firepower.
There’s a whole bunch of upgrades and bullet modifiers to play with here, including a slow-mo system that you can activate at almost any time. hyperwired It is expected to arrive on Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch this summer.
In clean the earth, You and other players can work together to restore the polluted environment. You can play alone if you want, but on larger maps you’ll have to team up with others to handle massive amounts of junk. A particularly neat aspect of clean the earth is that in-game actions will automatically trigger micro-donations from developer Magic Pockets and its partners to environmental organizations.
clean the earth Coming to Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on April 2nd. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is coming in the future. A demo is also available on Steam.
Mr Magpie’s Harmless Card Game Have a minesweeper style riff on the likes of inscription And buckshot roulette. Like some other evil deckbuilders, you are trapped in a creepy situation and the only way to survive is to gamble and earn enough money in time to meet the quota. To do this, you have to turn the circumstances in your favor by building multipliers and synergy. You can enhance your deck with powerful cards that you can buy from a shop.
However, there are dangerous Jerry cards on the board that can cause destruction if turned over. You can use hints and strategies to try to figure out where those cards are and avoid them.
No release date yet Mr Magpie’s Harmless Card GameWhich is from Giant Light Studios. However, you can request access to the playtest on Steam.
Described in a press release herd As in “Spyro meets breath of the wildWith a dog.” I was instantly sold.
Playing as creative director Christian Hubbell’s magical version of his dog, Snoopy, you’ll “restore balance to a broken world” in this open-world platformer. In your journey, you will save hordes, or corrupted creatures. Doing so will grant new powers, such as being able to glide, break walls, and swim in waterfalls.
There are no fights or deaths in this game, which seems to be largely about solving puzzles, experimenting with physics-based abilities, and exploring. It is also said to have “deep access and customization options.” Fire Sword Studios and One More Journey are behind herdWhich does not have a release window, although the Steam page is live.
new releases
I took an earlier lunch break than usual on Thursday to watch the mobile version ball x pit (from Kenny Sun & Friends and publisher Devolver Digital) as soon as it was released. I am a fan of this game. I’m glad it runs smoothly on my iPhone 16, because that should give me more reason to avoid doomscrolling.
it’s like that ball x pit. It’s still fantastic. The touchscreen dual-stick controls work quite well, especially when the auto-fire option is enabled. Still, a mobile controller like Ohsnap’s MCon or Backbone Pro works better for me.
more people will be able to enjoy ball x pit It is now on iOS and Android. You can play the first level for free and unlocking the full game costs $10.
It’s a great week for those who are interested in brick-breaking roguelites, because here’s another one. ITER-8 (from flickyMachine and publisher Fireshine Games) is a mix of mining and tower defense. it’s something like this keeper of the dome.
You are tasked with obtaining resources from a giant monolith that towers over your base. You have to drag these items back to your base so that you can upgrade your character, ship, shield and weapons. There are relics to find and you can exchange these for installations like lasers, barriers and cannons. There are also puzzle-based sections that see your character temporarily switching from 2D to 3D action, leaving your ship for some individual mining and upgrade collecting.
After a while, the monolith begins to rumble with an ominous sound. This means it’s time to race back to base (with the help of the fast-travel system) to avoid waves of alien enemies.
two aspects of ITER-8 Works really well together and I’ve enjoyed my time with it so far. I actually find it quite comfortable overall, although the tower-defense aspect could have been designed a little more elegantly. Switching targets from one side of the base to the other doesn’t seem fast enough. ITER-8 Available on Steam for $13. A 25 percent launch discount is available until March 23.
piece by piece Presented as a casual repair shop game from GameCat and publisher No More Robots. It looks lovely!
You can decorate your shop and make it look homey by cleaning, lighting a wood fire, and making sure the cookie jar is full. Of course, you may also be restoring heirlooms and antiques for clients. It’s available now on Steam for $12, with a 20 percent discount until March 25.
piece by piece is a puzzle platformer in the most literal sense. You manipulate levels by moving puzzle pieces around. This is a great idea from Neon Polygon and I look forward to checking it out on Steam. It normally costs $13, but is 15 percent off through March 27.
Wait a second here… two games have been called piece by piece Which were released in the same week? This is a big coincidence. Thankfully, the teams behind both games saw the funny side. They’ve also created a bundle of both games so you can buy them both for an additional 10 percent off.
Here’s another puzzle-forward game, although this one is more of an adventure. In Rails: Distorted World and Troubled TimesYou’ll discover and combine spells in creative ways to solve puzzles, just like in the game Baba it is you. It is said that there are over a million ways to combine magic keywords. Since each spell works on any object in the game, there are over 102 million possible configurations. clean!
SlugGlove’s solo developer Alice Jarratt spent three years creating it Rails: Distorted World and Troubled Times And created more than 10,000 frames of animation for it. The game is available on Steam for $15 with a 20 percent launch discount until March 26. A demo is also available.
upcoming
I’ve had it happened On my wishlist forever, so maybe it’s time for me to check out that puzzle platformer before the sequel comes out later this year. hoa 2 (from ScrollCat Studios and publisher PM Studios) sticks to the hand-painted art of the original game but this time it’s a 3D game.
It begins after a long, long time of ending it happenedWith the eponymous fairy returning to a world that has changed with the times. But many of her old friends have passed away, so Hoa seeks a new purpose.
With platforming and spatial puzzles, hoa 2 Features mysteries and mini-games. It’s coming to Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
I dig what I see motorslicewhat appears to be mirror’s Edge-Style parkour action but in a much more serious looking world. The developers also took inspiration from the Prince of Persia series. Shadow of the Colossus here – Probably not too surprising in the latter case, given that you will become the big boss. This action adventure sees you on a mission to destroy every piece of machinery inside a ruined megastructure.
motorslice Coming to Steam this spring. A demo of the game is now available from regular studio and publisher Top Hat Studios.
Being a lifelong soccer fan is a curse that is associated with rare moments of the most intense joy you have ever felt. Plus, every few years, I lose about a month of my life to the latest version of Football Manager (I gave up on the last one after winning every possible trophy with Borussia Mönchengladbach for three consecutive seasons). So, it’s safe to say that being game-focused on probably the least glamorous job in football is my priority.
give the kit – A job you might know as “Equipment Manager” – a game management game with co-op for up to four people in which you take care of things behind the scenes of a football team. You’ll clean locker rooms, polish shoes, make sure players have the right uniforms, etc., as well as take care of all the details on match days.
There’s a fun twist in that you can covertly take on some of the manager’s duties, like scouting players and adjusting formations. Perhaps this explains what’s been happening with Tottenham Hotspur recently.
give the kitFrom Outliers, coming to Steam later this year. In the meantime, you can sign up to participate in the playtest.
If, like me, you love astro botHere’s something to keep an eye on. Astrolander is a 2.5D platformer with beautiful looking 3D environments. As a robot named Feedback, you set out on a journey with a rocket-powered sidekick named Haptic (heh) to rescue bots known as Most Valuable Programs, or MVPs. A second player can join in and help control the feedback.
Astrolander Lost is from 16 year old Max Trest of Cartridge Creations. The PlayStation team (including its then-head of indie games Shuhei Yoshida) tried Astrolander At an event a few years ago and Trest was given the opportunity to bring their game to PS5. Astrolander Also coming to Steam. It is due out later this year.
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