Andre's Indie Game Chosen Ones Issue #2
The Last Friend, TOEM, Sable, SAMUDRA, A Little Golf Journey, Kickstarter Spotlight: City Block Builder, 15 Steam Next Fest Demo Thoughts, Trailer Impressions, The Eternal Cylinder Review
Welcome to Issue #2 of Andre’s Indie Game Chosen Ones!
This is a reminder that anything below that is underlined is a clickable link.
Not every section will be included in every issue. My Indie Game Discovery Roundup will always be included! This is explained in the About section.
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ENJOY!
Indie Game Discovery Roundup #51
The Last Friend
(PC)
Surprisingly, this is a game I just recently discovered and wish I had earlier. The Last Friend, developed by The Stonebot Studio and Ludus Games, combines tower defense and beat ’em up mechanics. You play as Alpha and the goal is for you to save doggos from being kidnapped. After the dogs are rescued they can join you in battle. The nice animations and art style make this an even more friendly game to look at, along with the soundtrack that you can hear in the trailer. I can’t wait to eventually play this.
Release Date: September 30, 2021 (OUT NOW)
The Last Friend on Steam
TOEM
(PC, PS5, Switch)
TOEM, developed by Something We Made, is a game completely centered around photography. I played the demo earlier this year and it was really engaging. Your goal is to take pictures to uncover the mystery of the magical TOEM. There’s an in-game camera that is implemented very well with a good zoom that takes easy pictures of the world around you anytime you want. The more interesting aspect of the game are the charming black and white visuals, especially with the nice crisp imagery of the game. If you’re looking for a fresh new photography video game, this is it!
Release Date: September 17, 2021 (OUT NOW)
TOEM on Steam
Sable
(PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass)
Sable, developed by Shedworks, is a really beautiful open world exploration game. I played the demo months ago and it was very interesting. You play as Sable, as she explores a vast desert and open world that surrounds her. The gameplay features puzzles and quests to do, but you’ll find yourself constantly distracted riding her hoverbike, discovering mountains or new areas to explore. I look forward to playing Sable again at some point.
Release Date: September 23, 2021 (OUT NOW)
Sable on Steam
Sable - Launch Trailer - Available Now (4k)
SAMUDRA
(PC)
SAMUDRA, developed by Khayalan Arts, is a game centered around environmental activism. Playing as Trip, a surviving Surface-Dweller, you go on an underwater journey across the ocean floor, while also encountering terrible pollution. It’s your goal to gather resources that can now only be found in the water after mass extinction of animals and depletion of other resources on Earth. The last remaining Surface-Dwellers on Earth need resources in the ocean for a breathing apparatus to survive Earth’s toxic atmosphere. I’m intrigued by the premise of the game, but also because profits from the game’s sales will partially fund a year-round collaboration with the Indonesian Environmental Activist Circle to reduce plastic usage in Indonesia by 70% in 2025. The game aspect that stands out the most are the beautiful drawn visuals, as well as the lack of any dialogue. The gameplay itself is carried by puzzles and underwater events. I may check this out in the future.
Release Date: September 29, 2021 (OUT NOW)
SAMUDRA on Steam
SAMUDRA | Trailer | GRADIENT CONVERGENCE 2021
A Little Golf Journey
(PC, Switch)
A Little Golf Journey, developed by Okidokico, is a very casual and relaxing golf game with many different creative golf settings. There is an overview map to select levels and a star system to collect stars tied to how many shots it takes you to complete the course. I covered this in last week’s issue as a preview, but release is right around the corner. In next week’s issue you can expect the link to my full review along with an excerpt.
Release Date: October 14, 2021
A Little Golf Journey on Steam
Playtonic Friends Presents: A Little Golf Journey coming out in October!
Demo Thoughts (Steam Next Fest)
If you click the Steam link for the below games the demo might still be available, but you can at least add the games to your wishlist for the future. Visit the game’s Steam pages to watch their trailers.
The demo playtime below represents a range between 25 minutes up to an hour and/or when the demo ended.
Battle Bands: Rock & Roll Deckbuilder
This is a deck building card game that is different than most of the other card games you see in the gaming universe. The biggest factor that I’m drawn in by is the co-op aspect of the game. In this demo, you can you play solo with bots (I did for this), or play with friends online to be in a four person band and battle other bands in a single player roguelike experience. The full version will have online multiplayer tournaments. Every player has their own instrument, custom avatar, and can play their instrument cards that get played on top of song cards. The goal is to generate hype by playing cards that spend energy to reach a designated hype level in the match to defeat the opposing band. The actual music is also really good. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this game develops.
Release Date: 2021 Entering Steam Early Access
Battle Bands: Rock & Roll Deckbuilder on Steam
Changes
This is a grid-based puzzle game about moving cells in different directions in order to create new cells and prevent cells from dying. The game is inspired by John Conway’s Game of Life, a game I’m not familiar with. I did not play much of this because I was racking my brain to try to figure the rules out. Unfortunately, the tutorial isn’t that great and I think in order for this game to succeed everything will need to be explained better. I want to like this game because it looks interesting, and maybe I will like it if I can eventually figure it out.
Changes on Steam | Release Date: October 12, 2021
Tunic
Tunic is a game that was announced years ago with few updates until recently. It’s an isometric action game featuring a fox in what seems to be a cross between The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls. This has been on my radar for a long time and I was a bit disappointed in the demo they provided. Besides the technical issues and lack of an actual options menu, the controls were stiff, and the dodging needs to be tweaked. I hope this can turn into something good, but the demo wasn’t promising.
Tunic on Steam | Release Date: TBD
Midnight Protocol
This demo is one of the more interesting ones I played. As a hacktivist, you hack terminals in a tactical turn-based RPG structure using text commands to drain money, discover secrets, and more. I’m really impressed by the user interface, as everything is clean and easy to access. As you progress into the game you also have to make choices of what hacking programs to equip to aid your missions. The game uses the action point system per turn for each mission. First you make your commands, then the system responds, and you have to be successful in a certain amount of attempts. I found the game to be easier to understand than I anticipated despite the gameplay and presentation of text commands. Midnight Protocol is definitely a game I might play in the future.
Midnight Protocol on Steam | Release Date: October 13, 2021
Decoherence
This is a top-down arena shooting game about building robots and programming a strategy to destroy the opponent’s home base or achieve another objective within the arena. There is a lot to do here because not only are you building robots with different robot building cards, but you’re also programming them and controlling another character to fight alongside them. The robot programming reminded me of Frozen Synapse, while the top-down shooting of the character you control felt standard for the genre. I played the single player experience that also features upgrades, but I did not spend time within the upgrades system. I spent most of the time trying to figure out the programming, but also learning the movement of my player-controlled character, that also has the ability to jump into and control the robots themselves. The game will also feature PVP, which I feel will be good for this type of game. I just have concerns that there may be too much going on for a player to worry about that will take away enjoyment in the end. I’ll keep tabs on this game.
Decoherence on Steam | Release Date: October 28, 2021
Scrap Seas
This ship combat game immediately caught my attention with its comic book style look. I generally enjoyed this demo, although the controls were a bit rough sometimes. The comic book design is surely going to set this game apart when it eventually gets released. I’m looking forward to seeing how this game develops and can easily see this being a very fun arcade-style ship battle game in a similar vein to Rock N’ Roll Racing, especially with the upgrade system.
Scrap Seas on Steam | Release Date: 2022
Wytchwood
This was one of the best demos I played this week. Playing as an old witch, you embark on a gathering and crafting adventure to do missions for a goat that will eventually rescue someone. The demo shows off the gathering and crafting systems, as well as the beautiful very colorful graphics that were a lot better than I had even anticipated. The storytelling style and presentation makes this a rich gaming experience that I will definitely consider playing in the future.
Wytchwood on Steam | Release Date: 2021
Dogs Organized Neatly
This is a sequel to the developer’s first game, Cat’s Organized Neatly. It’s a puzzle game where you have to place different dogs into a space to make sure they all fit. Imagine a combination between Klotski and Tetris, although all the dogs start outside and there is no sliding pieces involved, only rotating. The aesthetic of the game makes it very appealing for what would otherwise be a somewhat stale gaming experience.
Dogs Organized Neatly on Steam | Release Date: 2021
Into The Loop
This demo really surprised me. The object of the game is to click a loop with a spinning ball to use its momentum to get to another loop, while also collecting power-ups. As you play more, the angles get harder and obstacles get put in the way that you have to overcome. The game feels so casual and easy to keep playing that I was starting to get addicted to it until I hit a wall, as in a level that was giving me too much trouble and I wanted to slam my mouse. I probably would kept trying if I didn’t have other demos I wanted to play, but I can definitely see myself playing more. The other factor in the game that is well done is each level keeps track of your time.
Into The Loop on Steam | Release Date: October 14, 2021
Diplomacy is Not an Option
I’m not so sure about this one, but I like the concept. This mixes RTS city building with tower defense, as you are a feudal lord trying to prevent yourself from being overrun by enemies and monsters. I’m usually one to cut some slack when the graphics aren’t too sharp if the gameplay is solid, but this one is rough on the eyes and hurts the gameplay experience. To be fair, this still has ways to go and will be entering Steam Early Access in January 2022. Hopefully that time will be used to make the visuals sharper and improve the gameplay and tutorial.
Release Date: January 26, 2022 Entering Steam Early Access
Diplomacy is Not an Option on Steam
A Way Back
This is a very simple, but enjoyable puzzle game. You play as a cute little penguin to clean plastic off of islands to help the penguin find a way back home. The hand-drawn visuals make an otherwise generic style puzzle game much more appealing. I was really relaxed playing this, and I can easily see myself playing more of it. I never felt like breaking my mouse or keyboard.
A Way Back on Steam | Release Date: Winter 2021
Torn Away
This is an interactive story set in World War II featuring Asya, a 10-year-old, who escapes a labor camp to become free. This side-scrolling experience has such great art direction and storytelling, although some of the UI when using items can be better. What makes the storytelling so good is the game switches between the 2D side-scroll view and first-person view to tell certain parts of the story. I was already interested in the game before the game switched perspective, but after it shifted to first-person view this immediately shot up much higher in my internal hype meter. I can easily see Torn Away included in the Tribeca Games Festival next year.
Torn Away on Steam | Release Date: Early 2022
Manta
This is a sci-fi flight simulator that I really wanted to like. Unfortunately, the demo controls were very rough, so I had a very difficult time maneuvering my fighter jet. The game is supposed to feature RTS elements of building resource buildings and fleets, but my experience was so rough that I never got farther than just trying to keep my fighter upright and out of the water. Interestingly, this game also features underwater mining. More flight simulators are needed, especially casual ones, so I’m actually rooting for this to fix its problems and get better.
Manta on Steam | Release Date: Spring 2022
Evertried
This was an interesting experience. It’s an isometric, tactical rogue-lite, where you climb a tower and have to defeat enemies to reach the next floor. The key game mechanic is that the enemy moves only when you move. You also have a special focus meter that goes up whenever you hit or defeat an enemy, but goes down when you are idle or not moving. This encourages fast gameplay, which I found that I’m not good at! Items can also be found that can be equipped, but I never got that far. My biggest gripe is that a few of the enemies look the same and attack differently, so deciphering the attack direction is difficult. The rough part is that whenever you die you go back to floor 1 of the tower. I’ll probably give this a second chance at some point, but it may not be the game for me right now.
Evertried on Steam | Release Date: October 21, 2021
Chinatown Detective Agency
This cybernoir point and click detective game may be the most surprising demo experience of all of them. Set in Singapore, you play as a detective in a detective agency with many tools and information gathering methods at your disposal. Not only only is the user interface very interesting, but even better, this is a point and click game with voice acting! I had no idea about that. Even more interesting, you have to go outside of the game to find out information using clues. I had to use the internet (Google) to solve a clue using a quote provided in the game to find a particular book name. The full game will also use a clock to affect the game experience. The clock was disabled for the demo, but it will eventually correlate with your endurance stat, as more or less endurance you have will make the clock go faster or slower. This means you can miss in-game appointments or flights. I’ve had this game on my radar for quite some time, but never felt compelled to try the demo. I’m glad I did because this is way high on my radar now. I never thought a point and click game would be this engaging and interesting.
Chinatown Detective Agency on Steam | Release Date: Fall 2021
Kickstarter Spotlight
City Block Builder - Tycoon Game
City Block Builder, developed by Tentworks Interactive, is a city building game set in 1950s Los Angeles. You’ll be able to run your own restaurant, cinema, bowling alley, a jazz club, parlor, and more. A lot of tycoon games look and play similarly, but this one looks different and seems much deeper and more unique. Watch the video below and judge for yourself.
As of this writing: $2,482 pledged of $20,000 goal
Ends Sun, October 31 2021 12:53 PM EDT
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cityblockbuilder/city-block-builder-tycoon-game
City Block Builder - Tycoon Game on Steam
Release Date: TBD Entering Steam Early Access
Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of the Kickstarter, nor am I affiliated with the developers. Pledge at your own risk.
Trailer Impressions
Starship Troopers - Terran Command
Starship Troopers - Terran Command || Battle in the streets
Starship Troopers, developed by The Aristocrats, is a real-time strategy game set in the Starship Troopers (1997) movie universe. You can immediately hear the great narration in the trailer that will make this game a fun experience. I’m even more impressed by the visuals and art style chosen for the game. This game is a bit different than your average RTS game, because it emphasizes controlling your areas and surviving waves of hordes of the Arachnid threat. I hope this is as good as it seems to be.
Release Date: March 31, 2022 (PC)
Starship Troopers - Terran Command on Steam
A Rat's Quest - The Way Back Home
A Rat's Quest - The Way Back Home // 2021 Showcase
This trailer for A Rat’s Quest might be one of the more surprising trailers I’ve ever seen because it just came out of nowhere and it actually looks good! The platforming is very interesting and the encounter with the frog looks great. The game’s basic premise is about seeing the world from a rat’s perspective trying to get back home, so I hope that brings a lot of encounters with many size disparities. I’ll keep tabs on this game moving forward.
Release Date: TBD (PC, Xbox One, PS4, Switch)
A Rat's Quest - The Way Back Home on Steam
Full Length Review
The Eternal Cylinder Review (PC) - October 5, 2021
EXCERPT
…The Eternal Cylinder, developed by ACE Team, is one of the most unique video game experiences I’ve had in recent years. Your goal is to outrun and survive the eternal cylinder, essentially a steamroller, that crushes everything in its path while you control creatures called Trebhums to avoid destruction. As you control the Trebhum creatures, you’ll be able to explore, adapt, plus evolve and mutate your creatures into what you want or need them to be in a specific scenario. The story of the Trebhum unfolds and is narrated when you’re not running for your Trebhum life trying to escape the eternal cylinder. All of these elements mixed together create a lot of moving parts that help make The Eternal Cylinder an interesting and somewhat player-defined experience.
Upcoming Content
What to Expect in Issue #3:
Indie Game Discovery Roundup (5 Games)
Kickstarter Spotlight
Steam Early Access Report (1 or 2 Games)
Trailer Impressions
Review (Excerpt & Link): A Little Golf Journey (PC, Switch)
The first issue of Andre’s Gaming Odds & Ends will be week due to my gaming hands being more full than I expected this past week.
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