Game of Thrones: The 8-bit Game

Game of Thrones is getting the 8-bit treatment, courtesy of Spanish comic artist and developer Abel Alves. Game of Thrones: The 8 bit Game is a freeware 8 bit videogame in the purest style that you could find in the NES. In this game you'll be able to play as 4 characters of the acclaimed novel and TV show, each one capable of executing different attacks and special abilities. There are 4 levels to explore in a platformer kind of way, each level based on different parts of the novel.

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Henry Attacks

Henry Attacks is both a free 2D and 3D platformer made by Mechanical Starling.

If you know about Super Paper Mario, Henry Attacks is very similar to it. You can freely switch between the 2D and 3D as you wish, as long as there isn't any clipping issue when switching to 2D mode. You switch between both dimensions to progress through the level, bypass obstacles and to evade monsters.

When you first encounter one of the few enemies in the game, coming from someone who has played many of the Super Mario games, the first thing you'd do is jump on them, but that is a good way to die in this game. The way this game allows you to defeat any type of enemy is with a gun that you're given, and each enemy takes a few shots to kill.

There isn't much more to talk about, the music, graphics (both 2D and 3D) are all good, but it may take you some time to get use to switching between the 2D and 3D environments.

Overall, if you've liked the Super Mario games or at least want a similar experience to Super Paper Mario, Henry Attacks is something you would really enjoy.

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Man VS The World

Man VS the World is a free 2D arcade shooter made by 'Mikes Plumbing and Tile: Media Arts Division' which is very clearly inspired by old arcade games. You play Mann Lee Gunns, one of the most dangerous men in the world, and the world has just declared war on him. Mann must fight through the world’s forces, in three different acts/locations around the world.

Man VS the World is your typical shoot'em up and explosive filled aircraft flying game. While this idea might not seem original and seems to be a very popular idea compared to what many others independent game developers have created, Man VS the World has a couple of different things you don't normally see. You aren't forced to stay in a single vehicle like many other games, and there's a reason for this, the aircrafts you can fly are very weak and so when a aircraft is destroyed and going to crash, you have to jump out and steal someone else's aircraft. You can do this whenever you want even if you see an aircraft you just fancy. There are also some platforming elements, similar to what you can see in Super Mario Bros. with the climbing on the wire fence, which you have to do to get through some parts of the levels.

This game has the usual type of graphics that these 2D arcade inspired games have (8-bit or 16-bit graphics), which works well, and it also has its own rock music for the action scenes (which is the whole game). The gameplay is also very similar to these older arcade games, but with the added in elements of platforming and freedom of choosing/stealing other aircrafts.

The only problem I had was the coins that you could collect. Usually when you'd see collectible coins in a game, you'd think they must count towards points or money you could spend, I was kind of disappointed by the fact that there was no score (or at least I couldn't find one). But then with that said you're just wasting your time trying to even collect them, if there is no benefit or score for the player.

Overall it's a fun game, if you like the old arcade game, you'll like this, but you might be a bit disappointed by the lack of a scoring system.

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Maldita Castilla

The nigh-on impossible games seem to be making a comeback, with such titles as Super Meat Boy paving the way to the new generation. But many years ago these games were commonplace, with a particular series responsible for many curse words and hair-pulling. This series is Ghosts’n Goblins, sadly sort of forgotten by Capcom.

But Locomalito decided to revive the franchise with Maldita Castilla, a game with no real connection to but clearly inspired by Ghosts’n Goblins. The look is there, as so is the extremely high difficulty, but it’s a fair game at all times. Best of all, Maldita Castilla also includes the high quality of Ghosts’n Goblins and is an incredible free game for your PC. Well, not everything is exactly like in the Capcom’s series, since our brave knight doesn’t lose his clothes when he takes a hit from an enemy – you won’t see him fighting zombies and ghosts in his boxers, but he loses his new and more powerful weapon when he’s hit.

Maldita Castilla demands an overwhelming persistence and patience to progress and learn where the enemies are coming from and what kind of attacks they have. Things become even more complex when we know that Locomalito included some tough and resourceful bosses. Luckily, our character will be able to pick up some new weapons and power-ups.

Maldita Castilla is a game that was made available for free but ranks as one of the best indie games of 2012. It could easily be featured in Steam, PSN or Xbox Live, but luckily for us, it’s here for everyone to play. If you enjoy it – and you definitely will – don’t forget to donate to its author.

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Blazing Trails II

Blazing Trails II is a free indie game that is based on the popular 8-bit game TrailBlazer. You have to guide a ball at breakneck speeds across several twisting tracks on a short time limited and with a limited number of jumps. Besides the danger of falling into the abyss, you’ll have to deal with unexpected ramps, tiles that slow you down and other obstacles.

Blazing Trails II resorts to top technology to offer beautiful graphics and smooth, lightning-fast animation, as well as a realistic physics engine to keep gameplay fluid and addictive. This game also includes a level editor so that you can create your own levels and share them with your friends.

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Street Fighter X Megaman

Street Fighter X Megaman is an official crossover of two of the most popular gaming franchises and Capcom fully supported this fan-made and freeware game, so it’s good news for every gamer out there. This is an enjoyable and extremely unforgivable platformer that will make you sweat, curse the developers and yet laugh at the way some famous Street Fighter characters are rendered in the game.

It’s not a combat game either, despite the Street Fighter legacy. In fact, each one of the combatants – Ryu, Chun-Li, Blanka, Dhalsim, Rose, Rolento, Urien, and Crimson Viper – are in fact the end bosses of different stages that are themed accordingly to their characteristics. For example, Blanka is found after exploring dangerous Brazilian jungles and the Dhalsim stages place us inside a temple. The cool thing is how the characters are re-imagined as NES sprites while still retaining the moves and abilities that turned them into pop culture icons of the last decades.

Street Fighter X Megaman is a great homage to both series but it’s not a complete success. Besides being very hard and not having a save or password option, it takes a while for the player to adapt to Megaman’s jumping and some levels are far more exciting than others. In the end, as a free game and fan work it deserves all the attention from fans of retro platformers, but we hope that there’s a sequel that expands on the idea.

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Lifted

It’s safe to say that Valve’s brilliant Portal game serves as inspiration for a few dozens of games and we risk saying that Lifted is one of those. It’s also one of the most brilliant examples of how a free PC game should be developed, using an extremely clever gimmick but not being limited by it.

A team of four students from the Vancouver Film School developed this first-person physics platformer with Unity, where players use futuristic trampolines to explore and overcome the obstacles of a huge cyberscape. Your character, Ally, is an artificial intelligence and test subject that goes awfully wrong, going where its creators didn’t want you to go. The duo of narrators are very funny and add a really nice, relaxed feeling to the game, constantly chatting about our progress and fearing our actions from the moment we complete the tutorial.

And that’s what makes Lifted a great game. It’s not just a platformer game; it’s a game with a compelling story mode, a lot of successful attempts at humor and a gimmick that works perfectly. The levels are very well designed but never frustratingly hard and the clean interface displays everything we need to know: altitude, speed and energy. Instead of thinking with portals, we’re thinking with trampolines, using our gun to shoot them and reach heights we otherwise couldn’t. Later in the game, moving platforms and enemies are added to the mix.

This is another great student project that could easily land its creators a job in the industry and along with UnBoxed, one of the most interesting platformer puzzle games we’ve played recently. If you don’t particularly like the way that description sounds you should at least give this game a go; it’s very likely that you’ll go for the physics and stay for the humor, incredible polish and addictive gameplay.

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Celestial Mechanica

Celestial Mechanica is a game that was released on Steam and is now free to download. A superstar collaboration from two acclaimed indie developers - Roger Hicks from rComplex and Paul Veer from Super Crate Box –, this is a game that blends many genres, from action to adventure, puzzle and exploration, all with a touch of Super Meat Boy challenging difficulty and pixel art.

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Salvage Youth

When planet Earth just can’t take anymore, it’s time for humanity to move to another planet. A planet where the grass cuts itself and there’s an endless supply of good things. Such is the starting point of Salvage Youth, a free 2.5D puzzle platformer from a team of Digipen students.

The game is a nice mix of platformer and puzzles, with the three main characters having to cooperate to progress. Jenny is capable of fixing things, Stu is a strong boy capable of carrying and throwing stuff around and Dustin is the athletic type, being able to sprint and double jump. In their adventure they were left behind and have to rebuild their rocketship to catch up to their parents. That’s mighty careless of the parents, we might say.

Salvage Youth has some nice graphics and will test your wits across several settings. There are a few glitches related to collision detection, but that’s not enough to hinder the overall nice work in this game.

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Moon Child

It’s not unusual to find some poetic adventures amidst the freeware games developed by talented indie studios, using their imagination to serve the game design. Titles such as Douse or Ruins are beautiful but very different tales and Moon Child is another good example of the talent that some students hold. Developed by four students of the Vancouver Film School using Unity, here is a game that marries stunning imagery with dreamlike music to create a tale that ends up somewhat short of brilliant, due to some minor flaws.

In Moon Child you play as a young boy who has the strange habit of carrying his dog on top of his head. The duo wants to go to the moon to find the whereabouts of the boy’s mother. From the farm where he lived with his father begins an adventure set inside the boy’s imagination.

This is a free third-person 3D game that will remind you of Crash Bandicoot in the first level and Trailblazer in the second. It’s a nice change of pace that manages to offer two completely different gameplay styles, while keeping the dreamlike quality of the storyline and visuals. The exquisite moon in the background is an amazing sight to behold and truly one of the most impressive sceneries we’ve seen in a while. The creatures that you cross on your journey, however, are way darker and nightmarish, like they came out of a Tim Burton movie.

The dog isn’t there just to look pretty, you have to use his bark to activate some platforms and he will be of major importance in the second level. You can also collect stars to destroy some creatures and heal our character.

The gameplay isn’t perfect and the main character has a bit of inertia to him that doesn’t feel just right. Adding to this there are some collision problems and playing with a keyboard isn’t the best choice, since some jumps seem to fail due to this control method and bring some frustration to the table – diagonals, particularly, are hard to do. Luckily you can play with a gamepad.

Moon Child is beautiful to look at and hear, not as wonderful to play but it’s also quite good and it never outstays its welcome. It’s a lovely tale, one that should be developed into a full game given the time and resources, since we loved the fable look of it. Moon Child is absolutely recommended for fans of cute, colorful platformers.

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Douse

Douse is an indie game from the inventive minds of the students of the Digipen Institute of Technology and also a poetic experience that would be a great fit to the collection of fans of games such as Flower or Journey. A free platformer game in beautiful 2D, Douse stars a main character that will make you think again about a drop of rain. The rain sprite that falls from the sky and into a supposedly lush forest has to find a way back home, meaning the clouds in the sky.

The way home is beautiful, peaceful and without any real challenge, since the idea of the game is to explore the amazing artwork that comprise the environment, relax to the soothing piano music and rain sounds and complete the mission of our beloved rain sprite. The adventure is made all the better with a gimmick that adds to the poetic aspect of the game, which is the ability to control rain and bring life back to plants, trees, flowers and everything else that was fading away in this forest. The mouse controls the rain stream and will bring back the beauty of the forest, creating platforms where we would otherwise be blocked, but also bringing the background to life, adding incredibly chosen colors to the hand-drawn graphics.

There’s no high score to beat in Douse, no enemies to kill or avoid, not a sight of any meter to hinder the beautiful visuals. So, what could possibly be a negative in this game? Sadly, the extremely short longevity. With only three sections to explore, Douse will be over in 15 minutes, with the rain sprite rejoining its friends in the clouds after climbing a tree. It made us yearn for a longer game. Douse is beautiful to look at, soothing to play and an experience that will most likely make you smile.

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Goupé

Fans of classic Silly Putty or Putty Squad rejoice, there’s a new goo in town. Goupé is a freeware 2.5D platformer developed in five months by a team of students from the Full Sail University and starring a French amorphous blob that is trying to escape a meltdown in a hazardous factory. Formerly a French chemist, he is now the unfortunate victim of an experience gone incredibly wrong.

This is an extraordinarily polished platformer/puzzle game not unlike fan favorites Super Meat Boy and VVVVV or the free PC games I Wanna Be the Guy and Inside My Radio, requiring perfect timing when you’re bouncing up and down, sticking during a few seconds to every wall, ceiling and moving platforms, avoiding the numerous rows of spikes, toxic waste pits and other traps. There’s also a timer in every one of the 30 sections of the game, which means that when the clock ends, our French blob is stuck in the factory and made into a stinky pile of goo.

Gameplay is fluid and the controls are smooth as they should be to work in a challenging game like this. Being killed doesn’t mean it’s the end, since you have infinite lives; it’s just one of the many times when you’ll be taken back to the checkpoint. This indie game shines in every department, from the longevity of the main campaign to the additional game modes and even an intuitive in-game level editor called Forge. There’s split-screen multiplayer for up to four players, in racing or score modes and there’s support for an Xbox 360 gamepad. The cherry on top of this gooey cake will surely please Team Fortress 2 players – there are several dozens of hats to collect and use in our blob, from Mexican to Viking hats to crazy hairdos ranging from Pokémon to Dragon Ball.

Goupe is a fantastic platformer with a challenging difficulty level, high resolution graphics and smooth controls.

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Blink

 

Blink is a free 2D puzzle platformer from the talented students of the Digipen Institute of Technology. This game is centered on a teleporting mechanic that will take us through several puzzles. Your character is a cute little robot-looking alien who looks like a robot and has that essential ability to navigate the side-scrolling map.

You don’t have any kind of weapon to kill enemies – the only thing you can do is avoid them by using your teleporting ability, something that you have to master to progress. Luckily, the game begins with some quick instructions that teach us the fundamentals of the controls. Basically you use the right mouse button to project your beam to antennas, crates or mirrors that deflect it and then press the left mouse button to teleport and, in some situations, exchange positions with the said object. Naturally, the objects are placed in a way that will make the game a linear exercise, more of a case of getting inside the designer’s heads than of freely experimenting with the teleporting mechanic. That being said, there are a few puzzles where some freedom can be experienced, sometimes in a way that the game wasn’t expecting. There’s even a boss that will take some thinking to conquer.

One of the most common puzzles is the kind that asks you to place a crate on top of a platform, deactivating a barrier that hindered our progress. This sometimes requires the use of mirrors to reach the crates and then teleport to locations that our alien otherwise wouldn’t reach. Although he is capable of jumping, this is useful only for overcoming simple platforms.

Graphically Blink is really pleasing to the eye, with beautiful, lively colors and different layers of scrolling scenery that add to the illusion of depth. There’s a successful cardboard feel to the visuals and the piano music really suits the game.

Blink is a beautiful achievement, a relaxing experience for players who like to test their wits in a free indie game that looks and sounds poetic. Fans of puzzle games shouldn’t hesitate to download this game.

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Hiba Ninja

Ninjas are usually a swift bunch. They can do things mere mortals can’t, including running as fast as the wind and starring in videogames created by students from the German Game Academy. That’s the case with Hiba Ninja, a game where players have to reach the end of the levels with the best time possible. It’s commonly known as a run and jump platformer, but one that is incredibly polished in the graphics department and with some intuitive controls (although wall-jumping will take some time to properly learn).

The Ninja must run through several hazards including the terrifying death pits, but he will also succumb to a simple knock in the head – this is true, just try sliding under a log and if the slide wasn’t long enough the ninja has no option but to get up, bang his head and evaporate in a cloud of smoke. Minor niggles aside, this is an addictive game that even features a ghost ninja of our best performance, pretty much like we are used to see in racing games and other competitive titles.

The tutorial is the first step in this game and will quickly teach us the basics of the game – but that wall-jump will leave players scratching their heads. When were done with these few levels it´s time to get to the serious stuff, meaning the basic and difficult sections. The ninja can reach high speeds and things can get infuriatingly fast, so it’s a game for those with fast reflexes and nerves of steel. When the ninja completes the level he shows his mad skills with some acrobatic movements. Hiba Ninja is Canabalt for the new generation, but here you have more keys besides jumping and the screen only scrolls when we decide to make the ninja run.

Hiba Ninja is a great game that only suffers from one major problem – the dodgy wall-jump syndrome. Although practice will make you overcome some obstacles with relative ease, this issue is capable of destroying your performance and the great time you were doing so far. However, it’s polished, cute and addictive, so definitely give it a try.

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A Story About My Uncle

A team of 11 students decided to create an entry for the Swedish Game Awards 2012 and the result was A Story About My Uncle. Running on the Unreal engine, this is a free 3D indie platformer game of immense qualities, from the lush visuals that could make it pass for a retail game to the confident voice over and, last but not least, the interesting concept and original setting. It’s a non-violent game, more based on platforming and exploration of a strange world and its mysterious creatures.

The name of the game says a lot about it – the player has to embark in a journey to find his missing uncle, all in a charming first-person view and using an innovative suit that gives us special powers. Not only will we be able to perform amazing jumps and fall from great heights (beware of water though, the heavy suit means death is certain), but there’s also a sort of a whip or grappling hook to propel us from platform to platform.

The game is supported by a beautiful story and the main character’s frequent monologs add to the atmosphere and the mystery. The discovery of a strange civilization (there’s an Avatar feel to it) and creatures that seem to have a thing for dropping off cliffs is just the tip of the iceberg and it’s obvious that the intention of the developers of creating an engaging story was fully achieved.

A Story About My Uncle is one of the most beautiful and soothing experiences that anyone can enjoy, and better still from a free game. The story could be easily taken from a Pixar or Dreamworks animated movie, as well as the overall atmosphere and the game is also technically very accomplished. There’s something magical to this story that no player should miss.

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Balloon Quest

The same team of students from the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg, that created the impressive and free indie game Of Light and Shadow is developing Balloon Quest, possibly one of the most charming games ever, capable of making even the coldest person to feel sympathetic for the duo of main characters.

This is the story of a little boy and his sister, a sweet girl that sadly is unable to walk. However, she dreams of going outside and finding the great magician in a mountaintop that can grant them all their wishes. The only way for them to go is for the boy to attach her to a balloon and carry her in his back.

Everything in Balloon Quest seems to be made to create an emotional response from the player. The harsh reality is transformed by the little girl’s imagination, turning a harmless carpet into a pool filled with sharks and even the door to the street becomes a monster that must be vanquished. It reminds us of our time as children and all the pretending that we did. The way that this theme fits to the gameplay is incredible, turning what could be a gimmick into a fully-realized game.

The original concept had a pair of characters, with one of them moving horizontally (the boy) and other vertically (the girl). By letting the girl go, she floats to high places and picks up bonuses, weapons and other things. We can pop the balloon any time to bring her back (luckily she seems to have an endless amount of ballons) but we have to catch her before she falls on the ground, something she will only be able to do a few times. We also can’t move away from her, since she’ll become too scared.

The result is a beautiful 2.5D platformer with fantastic graphics, smooth animation, striking imagination and technically accomplished in all aspects, including the voice work and beautiful music. The downside is that it’s not yet complete, with only two playable levels, but it deserves to be seen by everyone.

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Of Light and Shadow

Of Light and Shadow is a freeware game designed by a small indie team of Austrian students and as is usually the case it shows us how these unknown minds can come up with a brilliant concept. Created with the Unity 3D engine, this is a clever 2.5D side-scrolling game with a couple of tricks up its sleeve.

In this case, we have a duo of main characters that have a distinctive quality about them - one is capable only of moving in the light while the other has darkness as his biggest ally, since the contrary will purely incinerate them. The first one is a breezy character, one that makes jumping his main strength, while the other, more robotic character is incapable of jumping but uses his suit as a sort of anti-gravity device, walking like a spider in any kind of flat surface. The characters are smoothly animated and even enjoy a few cute idle animations to make them look more alive.

While in the first levels we get to know each character’s abilities, soon we’ll be able to switch from one to the other and overcome the obstacles that the designers throw at us. Frequent and sudden switches from light to darkness, side-scrolling monsters that threaten to gobble us whole, platforms that move in weird patterns and more. The strange alien world where Of Light and Shadow is set has a lot of surprises for us, including the two final sections which are particularly ingenious. There are some frustrating parts in the game but a nice checkpoint system avoids that we incur in an excessive amount of swearing.

Of Light and Shadow is a brilliant game that goes a long way to show how an indie team with the right amount of talent and mindset can break the mould and prove that there are some good ideas worth developing. With a little more work and longevity this could easily end up on Steam and other digital portals, but hopefully the team will strike gold with their next game, The Balloon Quest, a platformer so cute it shouldn’t be played by diabetics.

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Corporate Property

If GlaDOS from Portal had a part-time it would be in Corporate Property, a free indie game created by students of the Games Academy. This is a 3D jump’n’run game developed with the Unreal Development Kit and with visuals so clean you could eat off the floor.

The complex from where the player has to escape is filled with diabolical contraptions, most of them created right before our eyes, another feature that reminded us of Portal. The polished but simple aesthetic of the game could make it look like a spin-off from Portal, with the evil robotic voice of the complex rounding things up. But enough about Portal, this is Corporate Property.

Similar in theme to the equally interesting Trials, Corporate Property is extremely polished, up to the point where you can even see the hands of your character while he runs through the futuristic complex. There’s no time to waste and some jumps require not only timing but also good memory skills to discover the right way to the exit… or else the abyss is next.

The tutorial will teach you all the basics, from sliding to double jumping and frogjumps (jumping really high) and can be completed in just a couple of minutes, fitting with the urgency theme of the game. Even the credits are worth seeing, since they show up just like if it was another level to explore.

Corporate Property is sharp, can be played with the keyboard and mouse or with an Xbox 360 controller (both options are perfectly intuitive and responsive) and will test your skills to the max. It could have a few more levels but the existing ones are pleasant enough to try the game a couple more times.

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Rambros

While the movie Expendables united several of the greatest cinema action stars of all time, there’s still a game to do the same thing. Now, an entry to the Give Ludum 23 is sure to correct that oversight. Rambros is a freeware game with a nostalgic feel, both in gameplay terms and in the action stars lookalikes that are part of it. Four of the greatest - Sylvester Stallone, B.A. from the A-Team, Chuck Norris and Dolph Lundgreen are out for revenge and to uphold the spirit of the United States of Bromerica.

Rambros is a retro pixel-art platformer with a great look and feel, offering old-school gameplay that just feels right. The four different characters have different weapons that completely change the way the player faces the enemies and navigates the environment – there’s a shotgun, a machine gun, a rocket launcher and a flamethrower, as well as grenades for all of them. They can also climb any kind of wall by using their knives. The neat twist comes from the fact that the terrain is destructible, adding an extra layer to the gameplay and offering many possibilities of approaching the relentless enemies. Although this short game is very tough and occasionally frustrating (the checkpoints are very distant), the Rambros have infinite lives, so it’s not so bad when we have to restart. Beware though – if you destroy the ground in random ways you may not be able to cross over some precipices and have to exit the game.

With all that said, it’s time for the sad part – Rambros is far from complete. At the current state it’s little more than a short level and when we reach the end there’s a chasm and that’s it. No Bros high fiving, no Bromerica salute, just emptiness and the wish that the game would be longer and had some conclusion to it. With the theme music still in our heads, we hope that the Black Ships Fill the Sky team go ahead and really improve on the game.

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There and Back

There and Back is a nightmarish but cute 3D platformer designed and developed by a group of four students from the Vancouver Film School. Although created in full 3D using the Unity engine, the gameplay is inspired by classic side-scrolling titles. However, there’s an original twist to it, adding a layer of puzzle game to it.

The menu scene, where the main character is grabbed by a gloomy and mysterious hand is just the beginning of the surreal adventure of There and Back. The first – unintentional – task is to discover the controls, since there are no in-game instructions. This can be solved by taking a look at the read me file in the project page or, better yet, by using an Xbox 360 PC controller, as the creators recommend.

With the first hurdle out of the way, it’s time to take control of our small boy, who is lost and interestingly dressed as a bear. Platforming plays a big part in the game, but soon we’ll have to use our brain to overcome the challenges that lay ahead. The distinct feature in the game is the nightlight, a cube that allows our bear-child to project a mirror image of himself that is capable of crossing and solid surfaces. Pressing the key again will teleport our character to the place where the mirror image is. It’s not as easy as it looks, since controls work as if reverted, leading to some unexpected and often funny deaths, especially when our actions need to be timed right – just wait to see the ramps. Don’t worry, however, since there are unlimited lives and the checkpoints are very generous.

There are three very different setting to explore and the 10 levels may not seem like much (they’re also fairly short), but the beauty of There and Back is not just running to the end; it’s collecting all the tablets scattered across the levels. A few of them require quite some thinking to collect and are sure to stumble many players.

With its somber yet cute looks, There and Back is a free game recommended for everyone over 8 years old and to just everybody who enjoys quality platformers with a hint of originality.

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Inside My Radio

Rhythm games are few and far between but usually they manage to hypnotize the player with their astonishing synchronization of visuals and music. Freeware quality games are even more uncommon, but the indie TurboDindon team created a small gem for the Ludum Dare 23 competition.

We could say that Inside My Radio is a game that thinks completely outside of the box, since behind its platformer looks lies an astute and demanding mix of music and skill. A small green boombox with headphones is the main character, one that could easily be a recognizable mascot for any brand. The purpose of the game is to take this character across some psychedelic stages, but the twist is that he can only jump and dash in sync with the music beat. A clever touch is that every one of our move results in a sound effect that adds to the soundtrack.

So, the trick is to let the music inside our heads – something that is really easy, since the beat is incredibly addictive – and jump at the right time. It can get very demanding, because it’s not only jumping across platforms. Some of them disappear after a few seconds (take note of the rhythm) and wall jumping is one of the most demanding tasks in the game. Although our green block may die in the many lasers and stuff, the creators were kind enough to provide us with infinite continues and only a few seconds before any dangerous setpiece.

Although the beautiful 2D graphics run originally at full-screen 800x600 resolution, it’s possible to edit the file zik.ini to change this setting.

For a game created with Game Maker in just a few days, Inside My Radio is incredibly polished and should serve as a prototype for a commercial sequel. As a free game it is completely unmissable.

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BooWate

BooWate is a free puzzle platform game developed by the indie French team Cyber@One Productions. Featuring a clean and attractive aesthetic that some may compare to games such as Portal and Quantum Conundrum, this is a game based on physics and puts the player’s skills to the test across several rooms. The goal is to reach a button that ends the level, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. A simple fixed screen tutorial teaches us the ropes before we venture into the demanding puzzle world of BooWate.

The player has to use the boxes that are scattered across the levels to overcome the puzzles and reach improbably high places. Making piles of boxes is something that may lead to a lot of frustrations, since one misplaced box may topple all the others that took quite some time to arrange. But that is part of the fun of BooWate, since the levels are timed and the best players will feel challenged to beat the best times.

BooWate could be improved in some areas, but those are not really related to the appealing design of the game itself. The menus, for one, are beautiful to look at and intuitive, but the transition between each one takes more time than it should. Worst still is the obligation to change the keyboard layout from qwerty to azerty, something that has to be done through Windows. A simple option to configure the keyboard controls in the game would spare many players to what can be a frustrating move.

However, those who get to fully enjoy BooWate and are fans of mindbenders are in for a treat. This is a competent, clever and demanding game.

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Bit of War

The ‘demake’ is a subgenre that is quickly becoming famous among the indie developers. The idea behind drawing inspiration from a popular franchise from current times and creating a short game in all its sweet retro glory is an appealing one. We had games such as Call of Duty 6 2D and Pixel Force Halo and now Holmade Games created Bit of War, an homage to Sony’s acclaimed Playstation series God of War.

Just as the games mentioned, the revised genre of Bit of War is the retro action platformer, similar to the games that we used to play in the NES, including a retro theme soundtrack to fit the game. It’s more of a curiosity for fans of the series, who were wondering how Kratos would look like if he was the star of a game out of the 80s. Since this brutal warrior only begun his videogame career in the PS2, he was a full-blown character from day one. With the details scaled back – way back – the Kratos from Bit of War is more of a chibi version of the god we used to know, one that didn’t forget to bring his blades of chaos with his tiny self.

As far as gameplay goes it’s standard platform fare but one that is imminently playable. There’s some genuine interest in finding out what kind of settings chibi Kratos will have to explore and what new enemies he will face, including some bosses that may take some time to defeat until we learn their attack and movement patterns. Kratos even has the medusa head to turn enemies into stone, but this ability is limited by the power available (it must be replenished by opening any blue chest).

If you’re a fan of Kratos then Bit of War is one offer you just can’t refuse. It’s far from groundbreaking and the demake scene is not as fresh as it was a few years ago, but it’s free, so what is there to complain about?

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And Then There Were None

Despite having the name of an Agatha Christie novel, this And Then There Were None is a free indie game by Russian developer Saintheiser, the same author behind puzzle game Danger! Energy, original psychedelic shooter e3.14 Center and others.

In And Then There Were None we control a character that is lost in a raging snowstorm, struggling for survival not just against the forces of nature but also trying to escape the mysterious ice foes that are trying to kill him. The only thing that may help us is a voice in a radio that advices him to get some equipment to help in the exploration of the hostile surroundings. Things such as boots to jump higher or a radio to send radio signals and jump on the antennas (it’s weird, we know), besides a very helpful gun are objects that will prove to be vital.

The game offers five chapters and four difficulty levels that will be suitable to any kind of player, although the normal level is already pretty unforgiving. It’s not as taxing or fast-paced as Super Meat Boy or I Wanna Be the Guy, but a miscalculation in the many jumps may be enough to send us back to the beginning of the chapter, since our unlucky character only has three health points maximum.

And Then There Were None is a platformer with some visual ingenuity, going for a stripped down approach that worked wonders with games such as Limbo. The white screen is ravaged by snowstorms of different intensity and when we wander too far from the radio signal, static invades the screen. The only thing that adds some color to the proceedings is, ironically, the red blood splatters of our recently demised hero. And Then There Were None lives up to its name.

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Mari0

Mari0 is the unlikely combination of two classic videogames from very different eras. Although this kind of experimentation could easily result in a dodgy effort, Mari0 manages to be a great tribute to both Super Mario Bros. from Nintendo and Portal from Valve.

To give Mario a portal gun is to open an entirely new world for the famous plumber to explore and overcome. The feel is that of the 1985 original Mario game but the mechanics are a blissful mix of platforming and puzzle, with a retro style that will fascinate fans of Mario, but not just them. Having a four player coop mode ensures that there will be many portals thrown around and a lot of fun missteps.

The level editor that the creator used to build the game is included as a real treat to players who are willing to create their own works and further experiment with the portal gun. With the added option to play levels created by other players, the longevity is amazing.

Mari0 includes other nice features that many freeware games usually forget. Things such as 33 hats for Mario to use, lots of game modifiers such as shaders, a black and white option and more. Fans shouldn’t miss this for nothing in the world, since it’s a game whose quality and ingenuity is becoming known all over the world!

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Aztlan: Rise of the Shaman

Aztlan: Rise of the Shaman is a freeware platform with a theme that resembles classics such as Tomb Raider and Pitfall, although the gameplay in this case is 2D but with 3D graphics. Ayuken Studios, comprised of students from the Polytechnic University of Barcelona used the popular Unity Engine to develop this game, which is available for PC and Mac. The OST is also available as a free download in the official website.

The visuals in Aztlan are of top quality as far as indie games go, using motion capture for the main character and some amazing lighting and particle effects. The level design also shines, with 6 levels full of deadly traps and enemies and a huge final boss to deal with.

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Johnny Platform Saves Christmas

Johnny Platform Saves Christmas is a freeware game for PC that was previously imagined for Xbox Live Indie Games in 2009. IshiSoft created this hero Johnny Platform, who is the only one capable of saving Christmas. How? By jumping on robots, collecting bonuses and completing the 100 levels of platforming and reflexion.

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Treasure Adventure Game

Treasure Adventure Game is a freeware and acclaimed platform adventure game with retro graphics and an appealing story. Although visuals are comparable to the classic game Cave Story, Treasure Adventure Game offers an open world and many hours of gameplay and exploration in a wonderful 8-bit universe.

Robit Studios created an indie game with many features that will appeal to players looking for a grand adventure. A day and night cycle with great weather effects such as rain, snow and wind, over 70 characters to interact with, lots of items to find and use (including clothes and hats) and much more. The player isn’t limited to solid ground, being able to use a boat to travel to different islands and even explore the depths of the sea.

The goal of the game is to find 12 artifacts, but there are many treasures and surprises to be found along the way.

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Dangerous World

Dangerous World hails from Japan, created by indie developers Gaisu and Miki. The star of this freeware pixel-art platformer is a young girl who crash lands in an unknown and dangerous planet.

She has to explore the magnificent and daunting forests, claustrophobic caves and high tech corridors, using a sword and a laser gun to eliminate enemies. There is a great retro vibe to the game, requiring sharp reflexes to progress and overcome the fast and deadly enemies. Some of them should be avoided instead of confronted, since they can be quite dangerous.

This is a difficult game and one where game over means restarting all over again, but this can be seen as a challenge to fans of games such as Super Meat Boy or the free game Stealth Bastard.

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Stealth Bastard

Stealth Bastard is a fantastic and completely free stealth platformer that could show Sam Fisher a thing or two. In this fast-paced mix of platforming, hacking and dying a lot, shadows are the player’s best friend. There are many ways to die and all of them in gruesome glory.

Curve Studios, the team behind Stealth Bastard, are known for the PSP versions of the quiz game Buzz and PSN platformer Explodemon, and decided to create what they call a fusion of Metal Gear Solid and Super Meat Boy. This description fits the game perfectly.

There are 28 twisted levels to overcome in split-second decisions, avoiding certain death. When the campaign mode is complete players may explore the in-game level editor, an amazing piece of software that was used by the designers to create the official levels. There are many other features such as the capacity to share your levels, a rating system and a leaderboard.

Stealth Bastard is a frantic and amazing piece of entertainment, one that will never bore you and that will most likely make you curse at the screen. Great, challenging games usually have this effect on players.

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Mega Man: Day in the Limelight 2

Mega Man: Day in the Limelight 2 is another great tribute to the famous character created by Capcom and based on the first years of the franchise, meaning that there’s a retro style to the visuals.

The player gets to control 8 different Robot Masters and although at the time of writing not all the levels are included (twelve out of the planned sixteen) in this beta version, it’s a nice taste of what’s to come. There’s a short trial with each character before we get to control each and every one and then it’s up to us to select our favorite and use it along classic platform levels and boss battles. As a fan game, Day in the Limelight 2 successfully ticks every box.

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Flip's Adventure

Flip's Adventure was created by the Singapore division of the already famous Digipen University, a place where great free games are being made all the time. In this example, we have a nice single player platformer set in a steampunk universe, where a war between humans and alien robots is raging. The player is Flip, who has to infiltrate the enemy base and install a virus, as well as discovering his true identity along the way. There are twenty levels to explore and many enemies to fight. The game includes an original multilayer function, with the chance of bringing the background area to the foreground by pressing the adequate switches.

Although not revolutionary, Flip's Adventure is another successful creation from Digipen students, offering some solid gameplay and smooth visuals that will entertain players for a while.

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Chewy

Fans of classic games Silly Putty and World of Goo will most likely enjoy Chewy, another sticky platformer where the player controls a piece of pink bubblegum. The original control system in this freeware game, where you use the mouse to show where your gum should go, will be used to navigate the few levels available. They are, however, cleverly design and full of obstacles and require some skill to make it to the end.

Besides sticking to almost every surface, the gum is also capable of floating in air currents and pushing small objects. Chewy was developed by a team of students from the mADE school.

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Blokhead

Blokhead is a… well, thing with a block as a head that is used to deflect balls and break blocks in this freeware platform game. Blokhead was developed in three months by a team of four from the Vancouver Film School using the Unity engine.

This is a fun and clever platformer that adds the breakout concept to the mix, resulting in an original game that requires some skill to progress through the levels. There are different types of balls to add an additional layer to the gameplay.

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Forgotten Kodama

Forgotten Kodama is a great looking free PC game where players control Uzume in an amazing action-adventure filled with magic, nature and horrible enemies, all while trying to restore the nature’s balance.

This is a creation of a spanish team, known for talented indie developers that gave us freeware games such as Burning Thirst and A Fistful of Cows.

The third person visuals in Forgotten Kodama are beautiful and Uzume is an athletic heroine, defeating enemies, jumping from platform to platform, solving several puzzles and all of this with the nature in mind. Although the camera is not always correct – something that affects even the triple AAA games –, there’s a lot to be enjoyed in Forgotten Kodama.

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Roger Fastman

Roger Fastman is a nice freeware PC game starring the character with the same name. Roger has to escape and he will run and fire automatically through his adventure. This way players can focus on other important actions such as jumping and dashing, trying to overcome the complex and twisted levels that the creators designed. Your reflexes will be put to the test. Visuals are simple but appealing and the designers managed to keep things clean and the gameplay benefits from it.

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Opus Pocus

Opus Pocus is a free and very original puzzle-platformer that is set inside a fantasy pop-up book, offering players the ability to manipulate the scenario to discover new paths and solve puzzles.

Created by a group of students from the Vancouver Film School, Opus Pocus is the rare kind of original game that manages to take us back to something from our childhood.

The impressive 3D engine powers the game and offers a cardboard look to the environment, with the player acting as a young magician that has to solve several puzzles to be set free. With ten worlds to explore, our ability to move the pages and change the setting is crucial to reach our destination.

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8-BIT Halloween

8-Bit Halloween is a game for those who love this scary holiday and also a tribute to the games we used to play on our NES and ZX Spectrum. Lionsoft developed this fun little freeware game where we control a hero named Jackie-Gun. He will have to face zombies and ghosts using only his gun. There’s a lot of platforming to do and some bosses to battle and send back to the place where they belong.

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Riah

Riah is a young girl that will fight several monsters and turn the world into a better place. The creatures will be destroyed using weapons such as a sword, hammer, knife and others, but Riah is also a very athletic character, jumping her way from platform to platform.

It’s not the visuals that stand out in this game, but the polished gameplay and level design, along with a pleasant variety of situations to deal with. It may recall Ghosts’n’Goblins, since it’s also a tough game to beat.

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Shadow Neko

It’s a common superstition to be scared of a black cat, but in Shadow Neko the cat is the star of the game. This is a fun and simple freeware platform game developed in Japan.

There are seven levels to take our cat through with a simple and comprehensible goal: to collect all the fish before the timer runs out. Our commitment to the task will be translated into the score, so be careful to grab all the fish before moving to the next level. It’s a short diversion that doesn’t complicate things unnecessarily.

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Vest Trials: Approaching Dawn

Vest Trials: Approaching Dawn is a freeware 2D platformer designed with an accomplished pixel art graphic style. Our lone adventurer, Dareo, sets off to discover the secrets of an abandoned temple, avoiding many dangers, exploring the underground and using several platforms to escape deadly traps.

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Infernal Edge

Infernal Edge is a freeware retro platformer game with a survival theme. The player has to battle a cybernetic alien race called Unicus in the Space Station LV-427, doing whatever he can to avoid the deadly dangers that are waiting around every corner. A grappling hook will help us navigate the space station and reach places otherwise impossible.

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A Game With a Kitty 3

The freeware Kitty series just received its third chapter, following the adventures in A Game With a Kitty and A Game With a Kitty 2: Darkside Adventures. In this new chapter, simply entitled A Game With a Kitty 3, players control Kittey, a chubby cat who goes out for some treasure hunting.

In the same tradition of previous outings, A Game With a Kitty 3 is a platformer that features some cute pixel-art graphics and plenty of enemies to eliminate or avoid. Also, keep an eye for secret areas along the way.

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Arvoesine

Behind the strange name of Arvoesine lies a retro platformer game that was previously released as a shareware product. Now the game is available to all as a freeware title in the official website.

In Arvoesine the player is a Roman warrior with the typical sword and shield and even throws a few spears along the way. He will need to fight the best that he can, since the world is filled with strange creatures and bosses.

As the author himself says, this is a short game with only five levels (a good player may finish it in under ten minutes, if he knows all the dangers that await him) but that may bring back fond memories of classic 8-bit titles such as Wonder Boy and Ghosts’n’ Goblins. The game features really smooth animation to go with the tiny but detailed pixel-art graphics.

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TAGAP 2: The Apocalyptic Game About Penguins 2

Jouni Lahtinen released the sequel to TAGAP (The Apocalyptic Game About Penguins), one impressive freeware 2D shooter, and this time things are much meaner and with incredible production values. The game may be a 2D side-scroller at heart, but there are some fantastic 3D effects to watch.

In TAGAP 2, the cyber-penguins Pablo and Pedro have to cooperate to eliminate an impressive zombie penguin army, defeating enemy after enemy with several amazing weapons and vehicles. The task isn’t easy, but the high quality of this free PC game will surely keep players invested in the campaign. Now, you may play with a friend in split-screen co-op mode and double the fun and destruction.

Players who want more of TAGAP 2 will be able to use the built-in level editor to create their own mods.

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