We knew it was going to be a big week for little developers, but I don’t think we knew quite how big. Crashlands and Dungelot were on our radar, sure. But The Westport Independent? A new game from the creator of …
We knew it was going to be a big week for little developers, but I don’t think we knew quite how big. Crashlands and Dungelot were on our radar, sure. But The Westport Independent? A new game from the creator of Valiant Hearts?
It’s a great week to support indies. Get out there and play something.
Our Crashlands review should be coming later today, but here’s the short version: buy it. Crashlands is perfect. It’s a crafting / action / narrative / survival / hilarious thing that only Butterscotch Shenanigans could make, and they’ve made it masterfully.
Describing Dungelot as “dungeon crawling meets Minesweeper” doesn’t really do it justice, but if you asked me to explain it in a tweet, those are probably the words I’d use. A wonderful roguelike with a mobile-first mindset, Shattered Lands is the third iteration of the series — and it looks like it could be the best of the bunch. Find out for sure when our full review goes live shortly.
When we talk about “the news,” we’re supposed to be talking about media organizations that report the facts for you to interpret. That’s rarely the case anymore, but at least we don’t have a government that dictates the spin you’re reading in the newspaper. The Westport Independent lives under a different government, and as the editor of the last independent newspaper, you’ve got to find that delicate balance between integrity and obedience.
If you’re a fan of Kickstarter and card games, there’s a very real chance you already own this. Exploding Kittens was the most successful games project in Kickstarter history. If you don’t have it, though, now you can grab it digitally. It’s silly and simple, but there’s a good time to be had. Be forwarned: you’ll need other real players around the table with you to enjoy this app.
Remember the days of Toobin’ in the arcade? Paddle Panda isn’t exactly the same thing, but if you miss the days of tubing down a virtual river, developer Six Foot Kid (of Monster Dash fame) has a new release this week that should help scratch that river rafting itch.
Take to the high seas with your own pirate posse, a cannon, and a love of treasure. Pirate Power is the latest release from Godzilab, aka the studio behind Happy Street and iBlast Moki.
A rhythm / action / autorunning skateboard game from the creator of …Valiant Hearts?!? It may be the strangest mishmash of ideas ever, but it has our full attention.
This clever new platformer puts a boy in a box and straps a few rockets to the side, letting you steer it as you see fit. There seems to be a little bit of a Heroki influence in there, and since that one felt like a lost classic from the 16-bit era, we have high hopes for Sky Chasers as well.
If this were from any other publisher, we’d have rolled our eyes pretty hard at the promise of “a true mobile RTS,” but King’s Command is the latest release from Nexon. Last year they blew us away with titles like DomiNations and Mabinogi Duel — two games that defied genre expectations and really delivered something new — so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that King’s Command manages to deliver on its promise.
