Posts from ‘Steam’ Category
Geneforge Saga Now on Steam
By: Derek Yu
On: November 2nd, 2011
All five games in Spiderweb Software‘s Geneforge saga are now available on Steam as a $20 bundle (currently on sale for $15). The series takes place in an original fantasy world dominated by Shapers, powerful mages who can create life from scratch. Like many of Spiderweb’s RPGs, the Geneforge games are known for their deep storylines, flexible skill system, and tactical, turn-based combat. The first game was released in 2001 and the final game was released in 2008.
The Binding of Isaac
By: Derek Yu
On: September 28th, 2011
10 months after the release of Super Meat Boy, Edmund McMillen has put out his next game, The Binding of Isaac, a horror-themed top-down shooter that takes its name from the Biblical story where Abraham is asked by God to sacrifice his son. The game features short, randomly-generated levels with 100 items, over 50 monsters, and 20 bosses. The soundtrack is by Danny Baranowsky.
Note: Isaac is not a Team Meat release. The programmer for this one is Florian Himsl, who previously collaborated with Edmund on Cunt and Twin Hobo Rocket. Team Meat has purportedly started work on their next project.
Bastion Released on Steam
By: Derek Yu
On: August 18th, 2011
Bastion, the isometric action-RPG that’s narrated by a badass old black man (actually, it’s actor Logan Cunningham), has been released on Steam for $15, just a few weeks after its XBLA release. Supergiant has also put out the game’s OST, which is $10.
Frozen Synapse PC Demo and Sale
By: Derek Yu
On: August 11th, 2011
Frozen Synapse, the simultaneous turn-based squad tactics game from Mode 7 Games, is half-off this weekend on Steam ($12.49). Also, a demo has been released for the PC version of the game (with Mac soon to follow).
TIGdb: Entry for Frozen Synapse
Limbo out on Steam and PS3
By: Derek Yu
On: August 3rd, 2011
The IGF award-winning platformer Limbo has just been released on Steam for $9.99. It was also released on PSN a few weeks ago.
TIGdb: Entry for Limbo
Legend of Fae
By: Lorne Whiting
On: July 29th, 2011
Legend of Fae, by indie duo Endless Fluff, was recently added to Steam. The game is a charming mix of the Match-3 and RPG genres: the player switches between the two, using magic they’ve gathered in the puzzle mode to attack in the RPG mode. It’s pretty tame at first, but battles get frantic in the second half of the game and the mechanics start to really shine. The game is easily worth the 10 dollar price tag; by the end I’d say it was the best Match-3 game I’ve played. There’s just not much interest for the rather lengthy introductory segment of the the game.
Although the demo for the game is strangely absent from Steam’s store page, you can still nab it from the developer’s website.
Dungeons of Dredmor Released
By: Alehkhs
On: July 13th, 2011
Dungeons of Dredmor (Windows, Mac, and soon Linux)
Released: July 13, 2011
Price: $5, on Steam
Gaslamp Games’ indie roguelike, Dungeons of Dredmor, has finally been released today and is currently available on Steam. With addictive gameplay and tons of replay value, it’s a steal at only $5.
A while back I gave my enthusiastic impressions of my time with the Dungeons of Dredmor beta. Changes have been made to the game since then (ensuring an even finer experience since I played) but if you’d like to hear what I thought back then, be sure to check out my preview.
Octodad 2
By: Alehkhs
On: July 11th, 2011
Octodad, last year’s amazing docudrama (and award-winning game) following the life of a secret cephalopod, is getting a sequel!
Several of the members from the DePaul University team that created Octodad last year have founded a new indie studio: Young Horses. In addition to announcing their new studio, they’ve also announced Octodad 2, which promises to deliver more of the wacky, out-of-control, physics-based gameplay as the free original, but now with a “much more polished, full-featured and longer game!”
To help raise development funds and meet their planned release schedule of next year, Young Horses has opened a donation page on Kickstarter. Based on their donation, supporters are also eligible for anything as simple a pre-order of the game or early beta access, to t-shirts, plushies, and even a full-sized, framed oil painting. Not only is it a great way to help get this dream game off the ground, but also an open door to fans who want to show their love of Octodad, so head on over to the game’s Kickstarter page for more information, including a teaser trailer.
For those of you who never played the first game, download it for free from the Octodad website.
Jamestown
By: Derek Yu
On: June 18th, 2011
Japanese developers have refined shoot ’em ups to a point where many casual observers are fascinated by the action and speed but are too intimidated to play. “It’s like standing in the rain without getting wet” is a phrase fans came up with to describe playing the games of ZUN, and it touches on the kind of fear and awe that bullet hell shoot ’em ups can inspire. It’s not only the playing of them that’s awe-inspiring, though, but also the development – ZUN is a single individual who handles every aspect of the dozen or so games that he’s released in as many years. (In the West, you could maybe make an analogy to roguelikes, which are usually made by a small team – oftentimes an individual – and are legendary for their challenge.)
It’s under this backdrop that Jamestown was released by a small American team, Final Form Games. From the get-go, it’s obvious that FFG was careful to make a shoot ’em up that fans of the genre might appreciate, while avoiding the pitfalls that enrage (or at least bore) them. At the same time, the game is very accessible to newer or more casual players, offering five difficulty levels and a very clear tutorial that explains the game’s scoring system.
Vertex Dispenser
By: Derek Yu
On: June 11th, 2011
Vertex Dispenser is a clever RTS where the goal is to overrun your opponents on abstract 3d worlds, claiming your territory vertex by vertex. The most interesting aspect of the game, in my opinion, is the resource management – resources come in seven different flavors, from blue, the least valuable, all the way up to white. The more nodes of a color you own, the faster that resource replenishes, but what color a node becomes when you tag it is dependent on the colors of the adjacent nodes. Specifically, it defaults to the lowest value color that is not present in the adjacent nodes. White, the most difficult color to obtain (because it requires that all six adjacent nodes are different colors), yields the most powerful abilities, and blue the weakest.
Getting the most out of the nodes requires some simple puzzle-solving, but it becomes much more difficult on a constantly changing battlefield where opponents are also expanding and poking at your defenses. It’s a cool idea, and despite the serenity of the abstract audiovisuals, Vertex Dispenser is pretty exciting to play at higher difficulties. The game comes with a single-player campaign, puzzle and battle modes, and the ability to play multiplayer games across platform (Windows/Macintosh).
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