Aground is a survival crafting game with an emphasis on progression and quests. You're a crash survivor in the middle of a storm that sets about making a shelter. You quickly meet another survivor, and working together, begin gathering supplies. More characters can be found as you play, allowing you to build a thriving settlement with a farm, workshop, market and more.
Project Adventure Game is a difficult but rewarding exploration platformer. It plays similarly to classics like Metroid or Castlevania, requiring you to learn the patterns and moves needed to survive an area with save points being few and far between.
Mansionvania is a short platformer heavily inspired by the classic Castlevania games. You're on a mission to retrieve your pet which was stolen by a warlock. Chasing the villain to his mansion, you now must defeat the monsters and obstacles in your way.
If you've ever played the NES-era Castlevania titles, you'll feel right at home here. Enemies are defeated using your trusty whip, though you can obtain other weapons for a limited time. The controls are tight, though you'll probably encounter some frustration when enemies knock you back (which is perfectly in the spirit of the genre). Thankfully, the game provides you with unlimited lives, allowing you to memorize strategies and progress much faster than the titles it was inspired by.
While most of the monsters were standard for a game like this, there were a few interesting additions. The guy that spawns a large slime when you get close was pretty neat, and the boss fights were all enjoyable (which was also the case with another title from the same developer called Yet, I despise him).
If you have some free time to spare and need a quick Castlevania-style fix, be sure to check out Mansionvania!
Into the Underdusk is a retro-styled platformer created using the Multimedia Fusion engine. You play as the last remaining person in a world now shrouded in darkness. You're losing your memory and decide to seek out a locket you had long ago.
The game features classic pixel graphics and tight controls. You'll spend most of the time trying to navigate each screen's obstacles, dying until you get it right. Thankfully, there are numerous checkpoints scattered about, giving a "difficult but fair" level of challenge overall.
As you explore, you'll encounter a number of glowing blue collectibles and other power-ups that improve your character (speed increase, double jump, etc.) and allow you to explore previously unreachable locations.
There are many similarities between Into the Underdusk and You Have To Win The Game, so if you enjoyed one of these titles you should probably check out the other. Both are short but sweet classic-styled platformers with a few (more modern) improvements.
WizardWizard is a short but challenging platformer with a charming retro look. You play as a wizard whose only real powers are the ability to double jump and respawn a lot. You're on a mission to save a princess from a big bad with lots of obstacles in the way.
I keymapped a controller (as the game natively uses the keyboard) and it was very responsive. I've said it before - a platformer must have tight controls - and that's certainly the case here. My deaths were my fault, not the game's, which is good.
Aesthetically speaking, the title has a retro charm with several small modern effects (like the glowing moon and torches) which I really enjoyed. The game's premise is a handful of well-worn tropes, but that doesn't really affect the gameplay.
I suppose my only real complaint might be how short the game was. 25 levels went by relatively quickly, even with all my blunders. That's more of a compliment though as the game was enjoyable enough that I would've gladly played on!
So there you go, WizardWizard was a bite-size bit of afternoon platforming fun!
Trapped in a dark tunnel system and questioning your sanity, you realize you're not alone...
Like many horror titles, VANISH thrusts you headlong into the game with minimal backstory. The short intro suggests you've been thrown into an underground tunnel (perhaps sewer) system against your will, with no explanation as to why.
The area is quite dark - with the brightness turned way up for the video, I could barely see before walking right into a monster. Playing at the recommended settings makes it so you're lucky to see several feet ahead, meaning you'll have to tread with caution so as not to bump into a baddie. This gets progressively worse as the darkness eventually takes hold (whether physically or in the character's mind I'm not certain) and it goes pitch black even with a glowstick and your brightness up.
Those complaints aside, I found the rest of the game to be quite good. It's full of atmospheric sounds that keep you guessing if something evil is lurking nearby, and there's a number of environmental startles like bursting pipes and tunnel collapses thrown in for good measure.
The real kicker though is the unpredictability of the tunnels. Not only is the layout procedurally generated, but it can change behind you too! It's a cool feature that considerably ups the creep factor and reminds you that no place is safe. The downside to this however is the possibility that one could get incredibly unlucky and be hopelessly stuck/lost (though it's hard to know for sure, considering the changing nature of the tunnels). The game seems designed around short play sessions though, making this situation more like a "bad run" in a roguelike title.
In all, VANISH blends atmospheric horror with a slight roguelike twist into a thrilling test of your bravery, patience, and sanity!
Manipulate the darkness as a ninja brought back from the dead in the stealth adventure Path of Shadows!
This game is really good. The cell-shaded art style makes you feel as if you're inside an anime title. There's no UI overlay and the only important information is cleverly attached to your character in a non-intrusive way. You're free to explore the levels as you wish (though they are rather small) and you can summon a raven to lead you in the right direction instead of having a map or waypoint system (which is a great design choice).
You're given a number of special shadow abilities, allowing you to sneak around undetected, locate enemies behind obstacles, teleport, assassinate and hide your victims. You can even distract guards by jingling bells. Your character has a couple of weaknesses - light sources deplete your power and you can't fight if detected - which makes for some interesting scenarios.
Sadly, Path of Shadows is really short with only three levels before the game is over. I understand that the developers have made a spiritual sequel to the game, with Path of Shadows serving as a way to introduce people to it. Giving out a cool game for free and then promoting a jam-packed sequel is a pretty common practice these days and I think it's a brilliant tactic (You Have To Win The Game and Treasure Adventure Game being two positive examples). Path of Shadows is more of a working demo than a full game, however. The third level ends with a "this is just the beginning" statement, then disappointingly cuts to the credits.
