Gorillas have always loved their bananas, but what happens when the bananas say "no more?" You can find out with Banana Kong for iOS, a 2D endless running game that challenges you to run, run, run away from an ever-toppling pile of banana peels. Banana Kong doesn't hit the lofty standards set by Rayman's Jungle Run, but it's still one of the genre's top bananas thanks to slick controls, polished graphics, and tons of fun Donkey Kong Country references.
Thieves are everywhere you look. Raccoons swipe our garbage; ants steal our food crumbs. It's the way of nature, whether we like it or not. And as some of you (sadly) know from experience, this pertains to humans as well. Some people are no-good bandits, as the upcoming Tiny Thief—published by Rovio and developed by 5 Ants—deftly reminds us. In fact, if you play the game, you'll be taking part in all sorts of burgling. Pardon me while I phone the police.
You may or may not know this, but both of Valve's hugely popular Portal games were based on ideas from students at DigiPen, a college based in Redmond, Washington that seems to churn out the most incredible video game designers annually. The original Portal was based on a student game called Narbacular Drop, while the second title was inspired by another DigiPen game called Tag: The Power of Paint.
I often have this strange urge to play overly-challenging indie games that I know will make me scream out in anger over and over again. Titles like Super Meat Boy and VVVVVV are difficult as hell, yet overcoming them gives me this incredible sense of victory that cannot be matched elsewhere in the video game world.
You may not be familiar with the name Domo, but if you've spent any meaningful time on the internet, you've almost certainly seen him. He's a cubical, brown creature with stumpy arms and legs, beady black eyes, and a gaping red mouth, filled with pointed teeth, that never closes. Objectively, he looks like something out of a nightmare, but in actuality he's friendly, cuddly and, if you catch him in the right light, even kind of cute.
War is a horrifying and bitter experience even in its most base form—that is, two walls of armed human beings throwing themselves at one another. But war is really hair-raising when it becomes subtle, shadowy, and sneaky. Infestor is a compelling, if straightforward, platforming/puzzle game that demonstrates how the loud work of an army can be done with a single, silent germ.
A finalist in IGF 2013's "Excellence in Visual Art" category, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime takes place "inside a pink Death Star locked in battle with hordes of space baddies." These never-ending baddies can only be repelled by the two astronauts inside the space station, who are controlling turrets, lasers, shields, and more—while they themselves are controlled by you and a friend.
Have you ever composed a list of the top ten superpowers you wished you possessed? Of course you have. Everyone has. And on a majority of those lists, I'd wager, the ability to stick to (and subsequently climb) stuff probably showed up. Well, that's never going to happen. But the next best thing, far as I can tell, is to enjoy the vicarious thrills that come from playing Stick to It, a game that's all about—drum roll—sticking to stuff.