Screenshot Saturday: Pretty Indie Games to Keep an Eye On
We take a look at some of the best, er, looking things you can find this week on Screenshot Saturday.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Ah, love at first sight. There's nothing quite like it, is there? Though arguably the best way to get yourself into an unhealthy romantic entanglement, love at first sight is considerably more harmless when applied to rad indie games. Every weekend, we're going to be sifting through the Screenshot Saturday website so we can bring you a whole bunch of beauties to become hopelessly enamored of.
Gods Will Be Watching
Gods Will Be Watching was an entry for Ludum Dare 26 and it's the sort of bleak, distressing survival simulation you probably shouldn't play on a bad day. The idea here is that you have to get a ramshackle crew (and a dog) to hold onto sanity and survive for 40 days in a barren alien wasteland. Needless to say, it isn't easy. While not without imperfections(it was made in 72 hours, after all), Gods Will Be Watching eventually turned into one of those games that people wouldn't stop playing for a while. Like so many before them, the team behind Gods Will Be Watching took that as a good omen and went on to make a full-scale version of Gods Will Be Watching, complete with the ability to kick people while they're down.
You can keep track of their progress over here, here, here and here.
RymdResa
Space. The final frontier. Since time immemorial, we've been fascinated with what's going on in the stars. At least, that's what poets like to tell us. Personally, I don't think cavemen were particularly worried about - er, where was I? RymdResa is, according to its developers, a procedurally generated space odyssey. You'll play as a lonely spaceship pilot adrift in space, devoid of anything except for a few co-ordinates. In spite of how desolate that might sound, it looks like RymdResa is intended to be a relaxing, ambient experience so you're not going to have to worry about surprise Xenomorphs.
The team has an IndieDB page you can stalk over here.
Every Time My Time
According to the developer, Every Time My Time is an open world adventure game that stars a tablet-wielding protagonist of mysterious origins. Judging from the screenshots, it looks like the tablet in question is more iPad than Ten Commandments. Nonetheless, in spite of the presence of mundane-sounding device, Every Time My Time feels considerably more surreal than the local Apple store (unless we're talking about the one in R'lyeh). Spindly characters, black wires and a tentacle-infested moon abound within this upcoming piece. Is it simply artistic expression? Are we staring at an alien world? Who knows except the creator?
Want to keep tabs on Every Time My Time? Go bookmark the TIGsource thread here.
Space Run
Space Run is a real-time spaceship construction game that borrows heavily from the tower defense game. Naturally, it also comes with a twist. Instead of simply erecting a plasma-filled obstacle course, Space Run asks that you maintain the integrity of your space-faring vehicle because, well, you'll be dead otherwise. Given that your business in the game is transportation, you're also going to want to protect your precious cargo from would-be brigands as well. Hiring a competent crew will also be necessary. If you find your interest piqued, you can feast your eyes on this video of Space Run.
Backspace
The bewildering looking BackSpace will, when it is finally released sometime in summer this year, have you plunging into a 'hidden, super network' in pursuit of your missing friends. The culprit? A mysterious piece of software. It's a familiar tune that they're playing here but I'm not going to complain. Anything that gives me my cyberpunk fix deserves, at the very least, a nod of grave acknowledgement. Described as an action adventure game, BackSpace ever-so-slightly like a ground-based SHMUP except with far less enemies.
Pixel Noir
The developers call a new take on JRPGs. I call it just plain awesome. Told through a 16-bit lens, Pixel Noir has all the ingredients of a classic film noir: a hard-boiled detective, a moody cityscape, gang members and the misbegotten spawn of Cthulhu - wait, wait. What? Information on Pixel Noir can only be described as scanty at best. Nonetheless, this looks like something to keep the proverbial eye on.
Regret
Regret is the tale of a boy named Keenan, his fox Curo and a world where dreams and reality are not necessarily separate. It's also a psychological survival-horror game. Eek. The game has been in development for roughly two years now and while certain elements appear to have changed recently, it looks like the game still has a deceased mother, some shadowy creatures and inspiration drawn from the old Resident Evil games.