Pictured above: Faeria
We’ve been having a lot of problems with IGS following a software update, hence the lengthy hiatus. The website still has a long way to go, but its operable enough for me to play a bit of catch-up and highlight obscure indie games from the last few weeks. I can’t guarantee that these games are any good, just that they stood out from all the other new releases on Steam. Be sure to read user reviews for more information about each title.
2Dark
Gloomywood
$24.99
2Dark is a top-down stealth horror game developed by Frédérick Raynal, the creator of Alone in the Dark. After witnessing the murder of his wife and abduction of his children, former detective Smith sets out to bring those responsible to justice. What he uncovers is the dark underbelly of the city of Gloomywood, where an unknown group has been abducting children for a mysterious purpose. Infiltrate the most sinister places in Gloomywood to rescue the children, and bring an end to the terror gripping the city. You can also find 2Dark on PS4 and Xbox One.
Reflex Arena
Turbo Pixel Studios
$9.99
Reflex Arena is a fast and competitive arena shooter that harkens back to the days of Quake and Unreal Tournament. The game already has many of the features players would expect from an old school arena shooter, including LAN support, custom servers, mutators like big head mode and instagib, and a map editor with full Steam Workshop support. Upcoming features include bots and seasonal leagues.
DESYNC
The Foregone Syndicate
$14.99
DESYNC is the latest ridiculously challenging title to be released under Adult Swim’s publishing studio. This neon-lit FPS takes a few ideas from the cult favorite Bulletstorm, most notably a combo system that rewards you for killing enemies in creative ways. This system also comes into play when fighting “synced” enemies, difficult foes that can only be killed by chaining together attack sequences.
Loot Rascals
Hollow Ponds
$14.99
Loot Rascals is a roguelike that features collectable cards and resource management. Loot comes in the form of cards that can be played for special effects, or sacrificed to heal or gain other benefits. In an interesting take on player interaction, enemies can steal your cards and transport them to other players’ worlds. Sometimes you’ll defeat an elite enemy that drops one of these stolen cards, and you can choose to keep it or send it back to its owner. Returning it will allow you to summon a helper hologram, while stealing might result in a hologram of that player’s character appearing to take the card back by force. Also available on PS4.
River City Ransom: Underground
Conatus Creative Inc
$19.99
After a successful Kickstarter back in 2013, the NES classic beat’em up is back with River City Ransom: Underground. This new installment features 10 playable characters, which totals out to over 500 unique moves and dozens of weapons. You can play alone or with up to 3 friends in both local and online co-op.
Faeria
Abrakam SA
Free-to-play
Faeria has finally made its way to Steam following a lengthy open beta. While it may look like another Hearthstone clone at first glance, Faeria actually plays more like a board game. You build decks of cards like in your typical CCG, but battles are played on a grid. The grid starts with nothing on it, and over the course of the game players will build their battlefield by placing land tiles. The types of land tiles you have determine what color of creatures and structures you can deploy. You can also find Faeria on mobile, and for $35 you can purchase a starter set on Steam that will give you a nice boost to your collection.
Davyria: Heroes of Eternity
Sebastian Groll
$8.99
Davyria is a skill-based, top-down action RPG that takes a few cues from Dark Souls. The game focuses primarily on its challenging combat, which involves a lot of timing, dodging, and precision. Davyria promises a variety of weapon types as well, each of which have a unique fighting style that makes them useful against specific enemy types.
Furious Angels
MorfeoDev
$6.99
Finally we come to Furious Angels, a top-down, arcade-style sci-fi shooter. Survive as long as you can against increasingly difficult waves of enemy ships, the larger of which have subsystems that you can strategically destroy. In addition to the standard wave-based gameplay, Furious Angels offers daily leaderboard challenges to overcome.
Not enough games for you? Here’s a few extra releases that you might want to check out:
- Blink, a puzzle-platformer based around manipulating light and after-images.
- Stories Untold, a compilation of experimental text adventures published by Devolver Digital.
- Bad Dream: Coma, a surreal horror point ‘n click with a minimalistic art style.
- Disc Jam, a fast and frantic action-sports game for up to 4 players that blends elements of tennis and air hockey.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back soon with more overlooked indie releases.
