Title: Consortium: The Tower
Developer: Interdimensional Games Inc
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Releasing late 2017
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Now developer IDGI is back with Consortium: The Tower, an even more ambitious sequel that takes what worked in the first game and evolving those elements on an impressive scale and scope.
Consortium: The Tower takes place in a near-future London, in the massive Churchill Tower, now controlled by a mysterious terrorist faction. You play as Bishop Six, an agent of the titular organization, on a mission to observe, report, and handle the situation. How you accomplish those goals are up to you. The tower is home to a whole array of different groups - terrorists, police, civilians, Consortium and other more enigmatic individuals - each with their plans and agendas. You can sky-dive to flank enemies from above and unleash devastating firepower, cloak and sneak through unseen, explore the tower for better routes and hack into terminals for useful data and hidden secrets.
But Consortium wouldn't be an immersive sim if it doesn't offer choices beyond the shooting and sneaking. The spoken word here is as powerful as any weapon or piece of technology; in fact, it'll be possible to be complete a playthrough without firing a shot. Find yourself in a tense standoff with an enemy squad and you can press the talk button (that lets you engage in conversation anytime, anywhere), throw down your gun to defuse the tension, and convince the group that you're not a threat or even to fight alongside you.
Going further than that, disobey your orders, go against the Consortium's wishes, and you're be disavowed by the agency. In another game, that would be a game over, but here, The Tower continues along, except now you're a rogue agent. That status may make you very valuable to other factions and individuals in the game.
While the game is already ambitious, the developers have even bigger plans if budget allows. Their vision for The Tower is one of a nearly fully-explorable environment, with areas ranging from malls and apartments to museums and industrial areas, essentially what you'd imagine an actual skyscraper of this magnitude would contain.
Consortium: The Tower is expected to release late next year and is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. You can learn about the game here.
Developer: Interdimensional Games Inc
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Releasing late 2017
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The ultimate single player first-person immersive sim. Explore, talk, fight or sneak through The Churchill Tower in 2042The immersive sim. It's a small subgenre of games, an eclectic mix of themes and gameplay all bound by a goal of letting you role-play as a character in believable reactive worlds that mold to your choices and actions. Deus Ex, STALKER, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, a few others, but perhaps most recently, Consortium. An ambitious sci-fi game set in the confines of a single plane, yet feeling like an expansive experience thanks to the depth of its narrative, relationships, and gameplay freedom.
Now developer IDGI is back with Consortium: The Tower, an even more ambitious sequel that takes what worked in the first game and evolving those elements on an impressive scale and scope.
But Consortium wouldn't be an immersive sim if it doesn't offer choices beyond the shooting and sneaking. The spoken word here is as powerful as any weapon or piece of technology; in fact, it'll be possible to be complete a playthrough without firing a shot. Find yourself in a tense standoff with an enemy squad and you can press the talk button (that lets you engage in conversation anytime, anywhere), throw down your gun to defuse the tension, and convince the group that you're not a threat or even to fight alongside you.
Going further than that, disobey your orders, go against the Consortium's wishes, and you're be disavowed by the agency. In another game, that would be a game over, but here, The Tower continues along, except now you're a rogue agent. That status may make you very valuable to other factions and individuals in the game.
Consortium: The Tower is expected to release late next year and is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. You can learn about the game here.
Title: Fara & The Eye of Darkness
Developer: Spaceboy Games
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
In development
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Developer: Spaceboy Games
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
In development
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A roguelike with a card-based spell/combat system
Fara & The Eye of Darkness is an upcoming action roguelike that combines fast-paced arena combat with deck-building/card game mechanics, as you face fierce enemies with an arsenal of powerful spells.
As the titular demon witch, you're determined to cure your world of an insidious corruption that's twisting the good animals and inhabitants into aggressive monsters. To defeat this evil and her malevolent siblings, Fara must use an expansive array of spells, ranging from speedy dashes and devastating energy blasts that scar the battleground as they barrel through enemies to fiery sprays and crackling bursts of magic that strike multiple foes at once.
Enemy encounters transports you to smaller arenas that truly test your agility and smart use of the cards in hand. Between fights, you'll explore a procedural overworld filled with towns, shops, and NPCs, and building your deck from defeated enemies, shops, and looting chests throughout the world.
Fara & The Eye of Darkness is still quite early in development, and is expected to release sometime next year. You can find more spell GIFs and follow the game's progress on Twitter.
Title: Fictorum
Developer: Scraping Bottom Games
Platforms: PC
In development
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Fictorum takes place in a world ravaged by a magical apocalypse that left millions dead and the land shrouded in a killing mist. The remnants of society have retreated to the highest peaks and travel by portals and ley lines to avoid the mist-choked lands. It's in this ruined civilization that you enter, the descendant of the infamous Fictorum, the order that destroyed the world. Hunted by the Inquisition, you travel from city to city, increasing your strength and embarking on a quest for vengeance.
While other games like Lichdom and Skyrim have featured flashy first-person magic, Fictorum turns each spells a spectacle of destruction. Ice spikes shear buildings in half. Lighting storms leave gaping holes in structures or reduce them to rubble. Houses are set aflame by streams of fire unleashed from your hands. Entire squads of enemy soldiers can be destroyed with a gesture, frozen solid or slaughtered by destructive explosives.
Fictorum lets you adapt and alter your spells in real-time through a unique spell-shaping mechanic. With a button press, time slows and you can select the attributes of each spell based on three pre-selected runes. A simple fireball can be changed to an explosive multi-shot blast or a focused attack to unleash increased damage on a single foe. Randomly-generated runes, artifacts, and equipment can further enhance the effects and potency of your magic.
Fictorum is currently in development; a Kickstarter is slated for May. You can learn more about the game and follows its progress on the main site and Twitter page.
Developer: Scraping Bottom Games
Platforms: PC
In development
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Become a powerful mage in a world shattered by magicIn RPGs and other fantasy games, there's perhaps nothing more satisfying than unleashing mystical chaos on your enemies as a mage. In Dragon's Dogma, you can conjure tornadoes and call down meteors. In Magicka, you bend the elements to your whim. And Fictorum enhances that mage power fantasy by letting you adjust your spells on the fly and literally raze the environments to the ground with your magic.
Fictorum takes place in a world ravaged by a magical apocalypse that left millions dead and the land shrouded in a killing mist. The remnants of society have retreated to the highest peaks and travel by portals and ley lines to avoid the mist-choked lands. It's in this ruined civilization that you enter, the descendant of the infamous Fictorum, the order that destroyed the world. Hunted by the Inquisition, you travel from city to city, increasing your strength and embarking on a quest for vengeance.
Fictorum lets you adapt and alter your spells in real-time through a unique spell-shaping mechanic. With a button press, time slows and you can select the attributes of each spell based on three pre-selected runes. A simple fireball can be changed to an explosive multi-shot blast or a focused attack to unleash increased damage on a single foe. Randomly-generated runes, artifacts, and equipment can further enhance the effects and potency of your magic.
Title: Clustertruck
Developer: Landfall Games
Platforms: PC
Releasing early 2016
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Your goal in Clustertruck's levels is easier said than done: survive till the end. You're riding on the back of a massive truck convoy as it recklessly careens through the stages, crashing, tumbling, and jackknifing in glorious pile-ups. And through it all, you need to deftly run and leap through the physics-based vehicular chaos.
Planning your route through the mayhem would be tough even if that's all Clustertruck threw at you. But the levels themselves are just as hectic, ranging from dense forests and boulder-strewn deserts to multi-tiered crisscrossing roadways and passages between towering towers that threaten to crush you as they draw inward. Destructible structures crumble and litter the ground with debris. Laser grids slice the air and rotating obstacles offer only the narrowest of gaps to pass through, forcing you to time your leaps. Thankfully, you have trusty slow-motion to activate at those tense moments when you need to stick a landing or precisely angle your descent.
Clustertuck will include 100 hazard-filled levels across 10 different worlds, but if those aren't enough, there'll also be an endless mode to truly test your skills and even a level editor to design your own hellish highways.
Clustertuck is expected to release around April 2016. You can learn more about the game here and see a plethora of footage on the developer's Youtube page.
Developer: Landfall Games
Platforms: PC
Releasing early 2016
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Reach the end of each level without falling off trucks driven by terrible driversJumping. A whole stampede of trucks. Tight tracks and levels littered with obstacles. That formula is the DNA of upcoming first-person platformer Clustertruck. It's definitely a simple formula, but sometimes that's all you need for some chaotic over-the-top fun and Clustertruck looks like it delivers that in ample spades.
Planning your route through the mayhem would be tough even if that's all Clustertruck threw at you. But the levels themselves are just as hectic, ranging from dense forests and boulder-strewn deserts to multi-tiered crisscrossing roadways and passages between towering towers that threaten to crush you as they draw inward. Destructible structures crumble and litter the ground with debris. Laser grids slice the air and rotating obstacles offer only the narrowest of gaps to pass through, forcing you to time your leaps. Thankfully, you have trusty slow-motion to activate at those tense moments when you need to stick a landing or precisely angle your descent.
Clustertuck will include 100 hazard-filled levels across 10 different worlds, but if those aren't enough, there'll also be an endless mode to truly test your skills and even a level editor to design your own hellish highways.
Title: Planet Nomads
Developer: Craneballs
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
In development
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Sprawling deserts, freezing tundras, colorful wilderness...Planet Nomads is home to all manner of biomes and dangerous fauna. Supplies are slight and your only hope of surviving is to construct a space ship and get off this isolated planet. Thankfully, you have the engineering skills to make those plans a reality. With gathered resources and tools, you can construct bases and outposts, powerful defenses, and new equipment. But the most versatile tool is a mobile one: building whatever vehicle you can imagine to travel the planet.
The developers released the Editor a while ago and it's complex, deep, and surprisingly user-friendly. Essentially, it's Space Engineers for land-bound vehicles. Nodes, armor, wheels, control modules, weapons, and much more lets you construct everything from simple buggies and tanks to gargantuan sandcrawlers complete with helipads or even a recreation of the War Rig from Mad Max. But your best option is a mobile base, a self-sufficient home on wheels.
You'll need every piece of armor and weapon, because the worlds in Planet Nomads are not friendly. Subzero temperatures are a constant threat in icy regions. Meteor showers bombard the surface. Fierce predators lurk everywhere, from hulking beasts to massive worms lying in wait underground.
Planet Nomads is coming to Kickstarter in January, with a playable alpha expected to be ready by the summer. You can download the Editor here and learn more about the game on its main site.
Developer: Craneballs
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
In development
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Go further and become a true planet nomad – put all your energy into mastercrafting a huge self-sufficient mobile fortress with all the facilities needed to survive on the roadBoth the survival genre and the building genre has grown incredibly popular in recent years. From Ark to DayZ, Space Engineers to Besiege, there's a plethora of titles for fans of the genres to enjoy. The upcoming Planet Nomads combines the strengths of those genres into a single sci-fi package, as you construct vehicles and bases to survive hostile worlds.
The developers released the Editor a while ago and it's complex, deep, and surprisingly user-friendly. Essentially, it's Space Engineers for land-bound vehicles. Nodes, armor, wheels, control modules, weapons, and much more lets you construct everything from simple buggies and tanks to gargantuan sandcrawlers complete with helipads or even a recreation of the War Rig from Mad Max. But your best option is a mobile base, a self-sufficient home on wheels.
You'll need every piece of armor and weapon, because the worlds in Planet Nomads are not friendly. Subzero temperatures are a constant threat in icy regions. Meteor showers bombard the surface. Fierce predators lurk everywhere, from hulking beasts to massive worms lying in wait underground.
Title: Shadwen
Developer: Frozenbyte
Platforms: PC
In development
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As the titular assassin, your quest to kill the king is interrupted by a chance encounter with young innocent Lily. Now you must protect her as you work your way through the city. In many ways, the gameplay is what you might expect: careful crouching behind cover, brutal backstabs, distractions, and evading guards. But where Shadwen stands apart is your agility and grappling hook.
Unravel your hemp tether and the world becomes your stealthy playground. Grapple to the rafters and drop down behind guards to attack from unseen angles. Deftly swing overhead to avoid patrols. Topple over boxes and other items to create distant distractions or crush enemies from afar. The addition of the grapple imbues the stealth gameplay with a fluid, aggressive pace.
In the current pre-alpha demo, you only have a dagger at your side, but later you'll gain access to more diverse tools like poison traps, spike devices, and smoke bombs. But the more powerful tool is your arsenal is that Shadwen is actually a tactical game in disguise, that feels reminscent of the "time moves when you move" FPS SuperHOT. Whenever you stop moving, time freezes, allowing you to assure the situations, decide if and where to fire your grapple hook. You can even rewind, reversing a fatal mistake or trying a new tactic. Combine the fast-paced nature of the movement and the strategic real-time-with-pause gameplay. and you have a stealth game with the freedom to try different tactics and adapt on the fly.
Shadwen is relatively early in development. You can find more information about the game here.
Developer: Frozenbyte
Platforms: PC
In development
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Shadwen is a true stealth game where the only rule is to remain unseenFrozenbyte is well known for its colorful charming Trine series, but their next game looks like quite a departure. Trading 2D platforming for 3D stealth, Shadwen combines sneaky backstabbing and physics-based maneuverability for an enjoyable new entry in the genre.
As the titular assassin, your quest to kill the king is interrupted by a chance encounter with young innocent Lily. Now you must protect her as you work your way through the city. In many ways, the gameplay is what you might expect: careful crouching behind cover, brutal backstabs, distractions, and evading guards. But where Shadwen stands apart is your agility and grappling hook.
In the current pre-alpha demo, you only have a dagger at your side, but later you'll gain access to more diverse tools like poison traps, spike devices, and smoke bombs. But the more powerful tool is your arsenal is that Shadwen is actually a tactical game in disguise, that feels reminscent of the "time moves when you move" FPS SuperHOT. Whenever you stop moving, time freezes, allowing you to assure the situations, decide if and where to fire your grapple hook. You can even rewind, reversing a fatal mistake or trying a new tactic. Combine the fast-paced nature of the movement and the strategic real-time-with-pause gameplay. and you have a stealth game with the freedom to try different tactics and adapt on the fly.
Title: Far
Developer: Mr. Whale's Game Service
Platforms: PC, Mac
In development
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Far takes place on the floor of an evaporated ocean, now just a pale desolate wasteland where beached ships rust and once-water-locked structures now lay exposed to the elements. You're a lone traveler, crossing this landscape in an large all-terrain vehicle. But driving that vehicle isn't as simple as holding down accelerate and moving forward. Reminiscent of the recent Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime. the vehicle interior is a level itself, divided into different sections with their own critical functions.
As you roll across the seemingly endless desert, engine coughing out black smoke, you'll need to contend with various hardships and dangers, from weather to the landscape itself. Managing your resources is crucial for traveling; fuel must be gathered from debris found outside, the engine must be keep cool or run the risk of overheating. Unfurling a large sail lets you converse fuel by catching the wind, but if all else fails, you can always drag the vehicle forward yourself. You will traverse this wasteland, whatever it takes.
Far is expected to release next year. You can learn more about the game here and the developer's Twitter page.
Developer: Mr. Whale's Game Service
Platforms: PC, Mac
In development
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Control an extraordinary vehicle across the endless desert of a dried out seaSome game titles sum up their theme in a single word. Journey. Soma. Limbo. Far is all about a long lonesome journey, to some faraway place across the sprawling expanse of sea-floor desert.
As you roll across the seemingly endless desert, engine coughing out black smoke, you'll need to contend with various hardships and dangers, from weather to the landscape itself. Managing your resources is crucial for traveling; fuel must be gathered from debris found outside, the engine must be keep cool or run the risk of overheating. Unfurling a large sail lets you converse fuel by catching the wind, but if all else fails, you can always drag the vehicle forward yourself. You will traverse this wasteland, whatever it takes.
Title: Rise & Shine
Developer: Super Mega Team
Platforms: PC, Consoles
Mid 2016
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Rise & Shine is a side-scrolling mix of action and puzzles, as you take cover, blow away your enemies, and explore a world of game characters and tropes. The combat and exploration pops with color and charm, thanks to the game's vibrant hand-drawn artstyle.
I was able to try out a recent Rise & Shine press demo, showcasing an early level, and the blend of shooting and bullet-based puzzling was a fun and unique experience.
Combat in Rise & Shine is hectic but also deliberate. Cover shields you from projectiles, letting you time your shots and choose how to handle an encounter, which enemies to deal with first, and such. But it isn't all careful cover shooting; double-jumping and dashing around onslaughts of grenades, missiles, and sprays of bullets is just as important if you want to survive.
Your gun Shine isn't just useful offensively, but solving the game's puzzles as well. A wide array of bullet modifiers are available, from remote-controlled rounds to electric bullets that can disable robots and charge machinery, While those bullets allow you to take on enemies in different ways, they also allow for a variety of puzzle types. One challenge might have you weaving a bullet through remote-control fields to reach a button or hit hard-to-reach switches as you navigate gates
Rise & Shine already features satisfying gunplay and gorgeous art, and the mechanics have the potential for tricky puzzles and challenging bosses. You can learn about Rise & Shine on the game's site and TIGSource devlog.
Developer: Super Mega Team
Platforms: PC, Consoles
Mid 2016
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Think of a more arcadey Another World, also with a very tight relationship between gameplay and storyIn a word of game characters and digital threats, you're the only hope. Wielding the powerful handcannon Shine, young Rise must venture out into the war-ravaged landscapes and destroy enemy hordes and towering bosses in the upcoming Rise & Shine.
Rise & Shine is a side-scrolling mix of action and puzzles, as you take cover, blow away your enemies, and explore a world of game characters and tropes. The combat and exploration pops with color and charm, thanks to the game's vibrant hand-drawn artstyle.
I was able to try out a recent Rise & Shine press demo, showcasing an early level, and the blend of shooting and bullet-based puzzling was a fun and unique experience.
Your gun Shine isn't just useful offensively, but solving the game's puzzles as well. A wide array of bullet modifiers are available, from remote-controlled rounds to electric bullets that can disable robots and charge machinery, While those bullets allow you to take on enemies in different ways, they also allow for a variety of puzzle types. One challenge might have you weaving a bullet through remote-control fields to reach a button or hit hard-to-reach switches as you navigate gates
Title: The Last Shore
Developer: Pulpo Games
Platforms: PC, Mac
Releasing mid 2016
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The Last Shore drops you in a vast randomized sea, filled with islands, towns, dungeons, and other locations. From vine-choked temples to towering mountains, each island is unique, offering dungeons, monsters, puzzles to solve, or items to gather. The sea is just as varied, featuring both calm waters and massive underwater monsters to avoid during your travels. Sailing across the ocean is a mechanic to be explored and mastered.
To face the gods and other beasts, you'll be able to equip powerful weapons, from the bow of Artemis to a sword of light found deep within Ares' volcano. Combat looks to be fast and focused on deft evasion and precisely timed attacks.
Text is sparse in The Last Shore's tale of adventure and adversity. Instead, its narrative is told through the environment, animations and music, and the game's vibrant pixel art.
The Last Shore is slated for a mid-2016 release and is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. You can learn more about the game here.
Developer: Pulpo Games
Platforms: PC, Mac
Releasing mid 2016
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A girl must sail across the ocean, visiting islands and collecting powerful artifacts, to confront the gods and save her familyInspired by games like Zelda, Shadow of the Colossus, and Proteus, The Last Shore is an adventure across an ocean fraught with monsters and mysteries. Wielding blade and bow, you guide a young woman on a seafaring journey to defeat the gods.
The Last Shore drops you in a vast randomized sea, filled with islands, towns, dungeons, and other locations. From vine-choked temples to towering mountains, each island is unique, offering dungeons, monsters, puzzles to solve, or items to gather. The sea is just as varied, featuring both calm waters and massive underwater monsters to avoid during your travels. Sailing across the ocean is a mechanic to be explored and mastered.
Text is sparse in The Last Shore's tale of adventure and adversity. Instead, its narrative is told through the environment, animations and music, and the game's vibrant pixel art.
Title: Killers and Thieves
Developer: Candle & Key
Platforms: PC
Releasing 2016
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From Mark of the Ninja and The Swindle to Gunpoint, Ronin, and even This War of Mine, 2D stealth is flourishing. The upcoming Killers and Thieves will add to that growing list with its blend of thief guild management and medieval heists.
In Killers and Thieves, you don't simply control a single thief, but maintain an expanding guild in a city of skilled rivals and houses waiting to be looted. From your tavern hideout, you can plan heists. recruit new talent and upgrade your thieves, and can further expand with new additions such as the spymaster room. Each thief is unique, with special abilities and attributes, both positive and negative. One might be able to scale the outside of buildings, while another might be able to slink into the shadows more effectively.
From the hideout, thieves can be sent out on missions or controlled directly, taking a team of up to four into the dark city streets. Rather than offering a single building to pilfer. an excursion in Killers and Thieves features an entire procedurally-generated street with several buildings, allowing you to leap across rooftops for a better entry or scout from above.
Developer Candle & Key plans for the gameplay to be a tactical experience with an emphasis on interlocking systems. You'll be able to pause the game to precisely queue actions for your team of thieves. A poorly-planned move might result in a thief captured by guards, but you'll still have the opportunity to rescue your partner before he's carted off to prison. And if all else fails, the skilled killers on your team can resort to bloody violence to fend off alerted guards.
But you're not the only faction active in the city; rival guilds and the authorities are an ever-present threat, tempting members to betray your guild or seeking out your hideout. Expanding your successful thief guilds means keeping your members well-paid, attempting more daring, more lucrative heists, and maintaining a low profile.
Killers and Thieves is currently in development; an Early Access release is slated for early 2016. You can learn more about the game and follow its progress here.
Developer: Candle & Key
Platforms: PC
Releasing 2016
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Control a feudal thieves' guild, preying on the riches of an old and corrupt city
In Killers and Thieves, you don't simply control a single thief, but maintain an expanding guild in a city of skilled rivals and houses waiting to be looted. From your tavern hideout, you can plan heists. recruit new talent and upgrade your thieves, and can further expand with new additions such as the spymaster room. Each thief is unique, with special abilities and attributes, both positive and negative. One might be able to scale the outside of buildings, while another might be able to slink into the shadows more effectively.
Developer Candle & Key plans for the gameplay to be a tactical experience with an emphasis on interlocking systems. You'll be able to pause the game to precisely queue actions for your team of thieves. A poorly-planned move might result in a thief captured by guards, but you'll still have the opportunity to rescue your partner before he's carted off to prison. And if all else fails, the skilled killers on your team can resort to bloody violence to fend off alerted guards.
Killers and Thieves is currently in development; an Early Access release is slated for early 2016. You can learn more about the game and follow its progress here.
Title: Wizard of Legend
Developer: Contingent99
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Releasing 2016
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The set-up is simple. You're a mage facing a series of trials to prove your skill and join the Council of Magic as a new Wizard of Legend. Those trials will take you from dense forests to dank dungeons, each featuring procedurally-generated layouts and dangerous enemies.
But you're more than capable of surviving these challenges. There's a vast array of magical abilities to choose, ranging from chain lightning and devastating fire blasts to summoning meteors and dropping totem turrets. Chaining together your chosen abilities is key to defeating the hordes of undead foes, beasts, and bosses; combat is a spectacle of powerful screen-filling effects, as you control crowds, stun enemies, evade attacks to get into a better position, unleash flame and ice and wind.
Special items and perks will complement your magic, but if the challenge proves too much, Wizard of Legend lets you team up with a friend in local co-op. If you'd rather prove your superior wizardry, you can face your friend in spell-slinging PvP combat.
Wizard of Legend is expected to release in mid-2016, and is currently seeking votes on Steam Greenlight. You can learn more about the game and follow its development on TIGSource and Twitter.
Developer: Contingent99
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Releasing 2016
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A fast paced 2D dungeon crawler where you assume the role of a powerful wizard on his quest for fame and glory!Often in games, wizards and mages are designated as support. Powerful but fragile units kept away from the fray, helping out the warriors with magic and healing. Wizard of Legend takes the opposite approach. In the fast-paced dungeon crawler, you're a force to be reckoned with, wielding the might of the elements to decimate enemies.
The set-up is simple. You're a mage facing a series of trials to prove your skill and join the Council of Magic as a new Wizard of Legend. Those trials will take you from dense forests to dank dungeons, each featuring procedurally-generated layouts and dangerous enemies.
Special items and perks will complement your magic, but if the challenge proves too much, Wizard of Legend lets you team up with a friend in local co-op. If you'd rather prove your superior wizardry, you can face your friend in spell-slinging PvP combat.
Title: Skychasers
Developer: Alexis Eshford
Platforms: PC
In development
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At the controls of an extremely mobile and well-equipped fighter jet, you'll face down squadrons of enemy planes, pulling off precise aerobatic maneuvers to evade bullets and missiles. While the game might seem reminiscent of the other 2D aerial bullet hell Luftrausers, Skychasers stands apart due to its colorful visuals, stage-by-stage progressions and bosses, and a focus on letting the player remain untouched through skill alone.
A stylish barrel roll move lets you dodge incoming projectiles, and by combining that maneuver with your fighter's agility, it's possible to beat levels without getting hit once. Complementing your superior mobility is a customizable loadout to blow your enemies out of the sky. EMP bombs, rocket swarms, homing missiles, and more are available, along with a sizable array of modules to further alter your play style.
Skychasers is still relatively early in development; you can follow its progress on TIGSource and Twitter.
Developer: Alexis Eshford
Platforms: PC
In development
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A story-driven fast-paced 2D arcade shmup about supersonic jets, intense dogfights, and giant bossesFighter jets carve through the skies, leaving coiling contrails in their wake and unleashing blinding explosions and streaking missile barrages. Amidst the aerial chaos, a singular pilot deftly weaves between the opposing planes and projectiles. That's the core gameplay of the in-development high-flying shmup Skychasers: vibrant, frenetic, bullet hell action in the skies.
A stylish barrel roll move lets you dodge incoming projectiles, and by combining that maneuver with your fighter's agility, it's possible to beat levels without getting hit once. Complementing your superior mobility is a customizable loadout to blow your enemies out of the sky. EMP bombs, rocket swarms, homing missiles, and more are available, along with a sizable array of modules to further alter your play style.
Title: Beacon
Developer: Monothetic
Platforms: PC
In development
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Beacon is an upcoming isometric roguelite that takes the generational concept of games like Rogue Legacy to a new level. Your successor isn't your offspring; it's you, your clone, able to be biologically molded through genetic engineering. The mutations are your most effective advantage against the alien and mechanical threats awaiting on Beacon's hostile landscapes.
In Beacon, you play as interstellar mercenary Freja, stranded on an alien planet with only a functional cloning bay scavenged from the wreckage of her ship. If she can build a distress beacon, help could be summoned. But first, you'll need to explore the dangerous maps, gathering resources and weapons and facing an array of extraterrestrial enemies
Being a fast-paced action roguelite, Beacon offers a extensive arsenal, from your basic assault rifle and grenade launcher to more exotic weapons from other factions. But modifying your DNA can provide abilities as useful as any gun. Scaled skin will let you absorb more damage. An aerodynamic tail will increase your speed and agility. Stone muscles increase your strrength and health. Each mutation is represented through cosmetic changes, and each has both positive and negative effects: extra health at the expense of speed, or trading stamina for increased accuracy.
Aside from mutations, you'll also be able customize your playstyle through weapon mods, various grenades, one-use pickups, and powerful auxiliary items. Your enemies are equally varied, from the native species such as the tritoraptor to the hologram-headed Prism droids.
Beacon is currently in development, and doesn't have a set release date yet. You can follow the game's progress on Monothetic's devblog and Twitter page.
Developer: Monothetic
Platforms: PC
In development
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A sci-fi action roguelike, where you have to mutate your way to victory through repeated cloning
In Beacon, you play as interstellar mercenary Freja, stranded on an alien planet with only a functional cloning bay scavenged from the wreckage of her ship. If she can build a distress beacon, help could be summoned. But first, you'll need to explore the dangerous maps, gathering resources and weapons and facing an array of extraterrestrial enemies
Aside from mutations, you'll also be able customize your playstyle through weapon mods, various grenades, one-use pickups, and powerful auxiliary items. Your enemies are equally varied, from the native species such as the tritoraptor to the hologram-headed Prism droids.
Title: Tusks and Tigerskins
Developer: Jay Stevens
Platforms: PC
In development
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Welcome to the jungle. Winding serpentine tributaries through dense undergrowth, cloaked in shadow and fog. Hungry eyes watch from the shore. But there are riches to be made in the jungle, so you'll need to brave the dangers of the wilderness and embark along the river in Tusks and Tigerskins.
It's 1927 and you're managing a trading and shipping company from a British outpost deep in the jungle. Inspired by such diverse works ranging from Disney World's Jungle Cruise and Heart of Darkness to Far Cry and Recettear, Tusks and Tigerskins puts you in command of a boat and tasks you with traveling down the twisting jungle rivers to trade. The map is quite large, currently a square kilometer of dense wilderness, ruins, villages, and of course the waterways.
Tusks and Tigerskins is aiming to focus on exploration and careful planning; the jungle is a merciless place. You'll need to manually fuel your boat with coal or petrol, watching the waters to steer around rocks, rapids, and territorial species. Repairing your boat, buying faster boats or ones with larger cargoholds, or upgrading your boat with better parts will let you traverse the waters more efficiently. The developer also hopes to include elements such as disease and crew management.
But if the river is too dangerous to travel or night is approaching, you can always embark on foot and set up camp on the riverbanks. Keep your sword or elephant gun close though, because you're not alone in the jungle. Tusks and Tigerskins will feature an dynamic ecosystem of herbivores and predators, including tigers, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and more; you can hunt animals to sell pelts and other parts for money, but can be hunted as well. Animals like the hippos are territorial and can damage your boat if you pass close.
Successfully traverse the jungle and you'll find Tusks and Tigerskins' other element: trading. Other explorers and natives can be traded and bartered with; you can even foster a business relationship by trading regularly, allowing for better offers. Another way to gain favor could be to perform tasks, such as ferrying a safari expedition or leading an archaeologist to a jungle ruin. But be careful, since angering individuals with low-ball offers can hurt your reputation, or acting in a threatening manner could make a native tribe aggressive towards you.
Rival trading companies could also be a feature in the game, challenging you to develop better business relationships than another trader or lowering your prices to undercut competition.
Tusks and Tigerskins is still relatively early in development, with an estimated release date around late 2016 or 2017. The developer has plans for a Kickstarter next year, and hopes to include Oculus support. You can follow the game's progress on Twitter.
Developer: Jay Stevens
Platforms: PC
In development
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You're in charge of a shipping company at a jungle British Outpost circa 1927
It's 1927 and you're managing a trading and shipping company from a British outpost deep in the jungle. Inspired by such diverse works ranging from Disney World's Jungle Cruise and Heart of Darkness to Far Cry and Recettear, Tusks and Tigerskins puts you in command of a boat and tasks you with traveling down the twisting jungle rivers to trade. The map is quite large, currently a square kilometer of dense wilderness, ruins, villages, and of course the waterways.
But if the river is too dangerous to travel or night is approaching, you can always embark on foot and set up camp on the riverbanks. Keep your sword or elephant gun close though, because you're not alone in the jungle. Tusks and Tigerskins will feature an dynamic ecosystem of herbivores and predators, including tigers, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and more; you can hunt animals to sell pelts and other parts for money, but can be hunted as well. Animals like the hippos are territorial and can damage your boat if you pass close.
Rival trading companies could also be a feature in the game, challenging you to develop better business relationships than another trader or lowering your prices to undercut competition.
Title: Nantucket
Developer: Picaresque Studio
Platforms: PC
Releasing 2015
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Nantucket isn't just a game about 19th century whaling; it's continuing the story of the classic Moby Dick. As Ishmael, you must assemble a crew and venture out into the open seas, in track of the infamous White Whale.
But before taking on Moby Dick, you'll need to establish your reputation and simply survive the hostile waters. From devastating storms and pirates to dissent within your own crew, Nantucket will challenge you to carefully plan each voyage and adapt to random events. Starvation can be as dangerous as an angry whale if your food runs out without land in sight.
Nantucket will offer a varied selection of options and ways to tackle the dangers of whaling and the sea. You'll be able to level up skills and stats, bribe or fight pirates with your outfitted ships, choose your route to avoid developing storms or fog-cloaked icebergs, buy new ships or upgrade your current ones with better equipment, among myriad other events and dangers and hazards.
Nantucket is currently in development for PC. You can learn more about the game and its various systems here.
Developer: Picaresque Studio
Platforms: PC
Releasing 2015
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A strategy seafaring game set into the golden age of American whalingI read Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea over the summer, and it was a compelling look into the harrowing world and dangers of 19th century whaling. Developer Picaresque Studio is hoping to capture that danger and thrill of that period in its upcoming strategy game Nantucket.
Nantucket isn't just a game about 19th century whaling; it's continuing the story of the classic Moby Dick. As Ishmael, you must assemble a crew and venture out into the open seas, in track of the infamous White Whale.
Nantucket will offer a varied selection of options and ways to tackle the dangers of whaling and the sea. You'll be able to level up skills and stats, bribe or fight pirates with your outfitted ships, choose your route to avoid developing storms or fog-cloaked icebergs, buy new ships or upgrade your current ones with better equipment, among myriad other events and dangers and hazards.
Title: Indivisible
Developer: Lab Zero Games
Platforms:PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One
Releasing 2018
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Indivisible follows young Ajna on her journey to learn the truth behind both a devastating attack on her home and a mysterious mystical ability awakened within her. Ajna's quest will take her across the globe, through lands inspired by Japanese, Central American, and other mythologies and architecture.
Indivisible is split between two types of gameplay. Exploration revolves around Metroidvania-esque platforming, as you wall-jump and dash through towns, temples, and other varied locations. As you progress, Ajna will gather new items and skills to traverse the environments in new ways, from clambering up walls with your axe to swinging across gaps with a rope dart.
But you're not the only one roaming these locations; dangerous enemies lurk as well. Running into them or getting attacks seamlessly shifts the gameplay to Valkyrie Profile-inspired combat. Ajna has the ability to absorb special individuals and manifest them as incarnations in battle.
From the master archer Zebei to the sword whip-wielding Tungar, you'll be able to fight alongside three companions, each tied to a face button. Like a fighting game, combat features combos and specials, blending each incarnation's moves to stun, slow, and damage your foes. Lab Zero's signature art style brings those battles and locations to life with beautiful details and fluid animations.
Indivisible is slated for release in 2018 and is currently seeking funds on Indiegogo. You can support the game, and download the surprisingly lengthy and incredibly polished prototype, here.
Developer: Lab Zero Games
Platforms:PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One
Releasing 2018
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Indivisible is a side-scrolling RPG in the vein of Valkyrie Profile, spanning a huge fantasy world inspired by our own world’s various cultures and mythologiesLab Zero's Skullgirls was a gorgeous fighter with incredible hand-drawn animations, and now they're applying that artistic approach and polish to the RPG genre, with their next project Indivisible.
Indivisible follows young Ajna on her journey to learn the truth behind both a devastating attack on her home and a mysterious mystical ability awakened within her. Ajna's quest will take her across the globe, through lands inspired by Japanese, Central American, and other mythologies and architecture.
But you're not the only one roaming these locations; dangerous enemies lurk as well. Running into them or getting attacks seamlessly shifts the gameplay to Valkyrie Profile-inspired combat. Ajna has the ability to absorb special individuals and manifest them as incarnations in battle.
From the master archer Zebei to the sword whip-wielding Tungar, you'll be able to fight alongside three companions, each tied to a face button. Like a fighting game, combat features combos and specials, blending each incarnation's moves to stun, slow, and damage your foes. Lab Zero's signature art style brings those battles and locations to life with beautiful details and fluid animations.
Title: Verreciel
Developer: Devine Lu Linvega
Platforms: IOS Universal
Releasing January 2016
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Devine Lu Linvega is known for his enigmatic abstract puzzle games, from the Myst-esque Hiversaires to the dimensional-hopping Oquonie. For his next game, he's taking that approach and applying it to space exploration, in Verreciel.
Verreciel sits you before the control consoles of a Glass Ship traversing the cosmos, surrounded by screens on all sides. By connecting different parts of the ship, you'll be able to power thrusters, autopilot, weapon systems, oxygen levels, shields, radio scanner, and other modules. The tactile UI looks perfect-suited for touchscreens.
In your travels, you'll discover extraterrestrial structures like the Prismatist and venture into the ashen Opal dimension. You'll collect batteries, ammo, warpgates, cloaking devices, and other items in your cargohold. You'll set autopilot coordinates to follow NPC travelers. To survive the dangers of space, Verreciel will challenge you to reroute and manage your systems amidst dangerous weather systems and hostile events.
Verreciel is slated for release on January 10th, 2016; you can learn more about the game on the developer's site and see gameplay clips on Vine..
Developer: Devine Lu Linvega
Platforms: IOS Universal
Releasing January 2016
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A virtual space exploration project
Verreciel sits you before the control consoles of a Glass Ship traversing the cosmos, surrounded by screens on all sides. By connecting different parts of the ship, you'll be able to power thrusters, autopilot, weapon systems, oxygen levels, shields, radio scanner, and other modules. The tactile UI looks perfect-suited for touchscreens.
Verreciel is slated for release on January 10th, 2016; you can learn more about the game on the developer's site and see gameplay clips on Vine..
Title: Sharp Flint
Developer: EATMEAT Games
Platforms: PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One
In development
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Sharp Flint takes the popular explore/survival/crafting genre and strips out the zombies, the post-apocalyptic settings, the alien worlds, the isolated islands or voxel landscapes in favor of a low-poly experience set in the prehistoric era.
Across sprawling forests and plains, your goal in Sharp Flint is simple: survive and hunt. Inspired by games like Monster Hunter, you'll carefully traverse expansive maps filled with dynamic herds, prey and predators, and both random and scripted events.
Hunting in Sharp Flint will be more complex than simply throwing a spear at a mammoth. Wind and scent will play a role in tracking and stalking herds, and you'll need to use the environment to your advantage to craft new clothing and weapons. Hazards like quicksand and rock slides can hurt you or be used against fierce predators.
But be careful, because your life is not the only one at stake. You need to gather food and resources to support your family and clan. While the game isn't a roguelike, it will feature a lives system based on the number of children you have. Upon death, you'll take control of your oldest child and inherit your father's equipment; when you run out of characters, you'll need to start a new game. This lives/family management adds a persistent element to Sharp Flint's ice age hunting and gathering.
Sharp Flint is still in development, and is aiming for release on PC, Mac, and consoles. You can sign up for a newsletter on the game's site, and follow its progress on Twitter.
Developer: EATMEAT Games
Platforms: PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One
In development
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A survival/hunting game where you can chase and hunt mammoths, wolves, and other titans of the ice age
Across sprawling forests and plains, your goal in Sharp Flint is simple: survive and hunt. Inspired by games like Monster Hunter, you'll carefully traverse expansive maps filled with dynamic herds, prey and predators, and both random and scripted events.
But be careful, because your life is not the only one at stake. You need to gather food and resources to support your family and clan. While the game isn't a roguelike, it will feature a lives system based on the number of children you have. Upon death, you'll take control of your oldest child and inherit your father's equipment; when you run out of characters, you'll need to start a new game. This lives/family management adds a persistent element to Sharp Flint's ice age hunting and gathering.
Title: Hello, Neighbor
Developer: Dynamic Pixels
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PS4
In development
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Reminiscent of movies like Hitchcock's Rear Window and Disturbia, Hello, Neighbor puts you in the shoes of an man living across from a suspicious neighbor. And like those movies, your goal is to figure out your neighbor's secret and eventually make your way into his home. What could he be hiding in the basement?
But there's one significant obstacle in your way, and that's the fact your neighbor is no ordinary scripted NPC. He's powered by AI that will learn from and adapt to your attempts and tactics, fortifying his house, setting traps and preparing in ways that counter your methods. The developers state that the longer you play, the more dangerous and intelligent the neighbor becomes. You might enter his home to find the floor littered with bear traps...
The prototype footage showcases the game's interesting stealth-based gameplay, as you lure the neighbor outside by throwing a tomato at his window and turn the TV on as a distraction while you hide in a closet. Once seen, a desperate chance ensues, as the neighbor smashes through a window to cut off your escape. Fleeing back into the house, you find the back door barred shut; trying to pry off the wooden boards with a hammer, you're captured and awaken to your doomed fate.
Hello, Neighbor's concept of stealth-puzzle tactics against an adaptive AI looks very promising. A Kickstarter is slated for October; you can learn more about the game here.
Developer: Dynamic Pixels
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PS4
In development
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A first-person tactical thriller puzzler with a tricky self-studying A.I. as an opponentI remember the first time I encountered the concept of an adapting AI in games. It was playing the freeware shmup Warning Forever; that game pit you against a single boss that adapted to your tactics, eventually growing into a screen-filling monstrosity bristling with lasers and armor. It's a fascinating concept, which is why the upcoming Hello, Neighbor caught my attention.
Reminiscent of movies like Hitchcock's Rear Window and Disturbia, Hello, Neighbor puts you in the shoes of an man living across from a suspicious neighbor. And like those movies, your goal is to figure out your neighbor's secret and eventually make your way into his home. What could he be hiding in the basement?
The prototype footage showcases the game's interesting stealth-based gameplay, as you lure the neighbor outside by throwing a tomato at his window and turn the TV on as a distraction while you hide in a closet. Once seen, a desperate chance ensues, as the neighbor smashes through a window to cut off your escape. Fleeing back into the house, you find the back door barred shut; trying to pry off the wooden boards with a hammer, you're captured and awaken to your doomed fate.
Title: Cobalt
Developer: Oxeye Game Studio
Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox 360
Releasing October 2015
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Cobalt is a 2D shooter with an emphasis on acrobatic gunplay and deft evasion. The most useful manevuer in your moveset is the combat roll, which not only lets you chain together moves like punch-jumps and slides but also deflect bullets. Combined with the vast array of weapons and gear, combat in Cobalt proves to be hectic, fast-paced, and have a high skill ceiling, with a surprising amount of hidden depth to its seemingly limited moveset.
But while Cobalt has a large multiplayer focus, with co-op survival modes as well as competitive modes such as deathmatch and capture the plug, I was surprised to learn it has an equally extensive single player component. Aside from an expansive Adventure mode that takes your titular robot Cobalt on a journey from abandoned facilities to snow-capped mountain bases. the game has myriad challenge maps, divided between combat, speed, and puzzle scenarios.
I've been playing the challenge maps present in the current alpha, and Cobalt has really impressed me with its very satisfying gameplay and tactical depth. Your loadout is extremely customizable, including an large selection of guns, melee weapons, throwables, skills, upgrades, and equipment. To name some of the gear in the game: a cloaking stealth suit, time-slowing grenades, rocket boots, a scoped rail gun, a riot shield, a passive reflecting shield, hack grenades that let you control enemies, flash-bangs, silencers, and much more.
Take the plan-and-pounce pacing and hectic eruption of chaos seen in games like Hotline Miami or The Swindle and the acrobatic gunplay of a John Woo film, and that would be Cobalt's gameplay in a nutshell. A typical action beat sees you sliding down an embankment, punching a rocket back at a turret, turning mid-slide to shoot a sniper behind you, rolling to deflect bullets, and shooting while rolling to take out enemies above you. Or, given the extensive armory, maybe you'll distract enemies with a decoy, blind them with a flash-bang, then hack a powerful Predator foe to wipe out the stunned robots.
Enemies are quite varied as well, ranging from organic beasts and spear-wielding natives to robotic combat squads. Some might carry shields, forcing you to attack from behind or above, or wield devastating sniper rifles, among other challenging permutations. The deep moveset, extensive array of weapons and gear, and diverse foes gives the gameplay, especially the challenge maps, that one-more-go appeal where you want clear areas in the smoothest slickest way possible.
Cobalt is expected to release in October. You can purchase the game and download the free alpha demo from the developer's website.
Developer: Oxeye Game Studio
Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox 360
Releasing October 2015
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Play as a cute cyborg with a passion for 2d multiplayer battles involving extreme slow-mo and combat rollsEven if you only have passing knowledge of video games, then the name Mojang probably brings a very specific game to mind. And while Minecraft is undoubtedly the company's magnus opus, it's not their own only game. There was the unfortunately cancelled Scrolls, as well as their foray into publishing with Oxeye's Cobalt. Thankfully the latter is slated for release next month, because it's shaping up to be a skillful and fun 2D action game.
But while Cobalt has a large multiplayer focus, with co-op survival modes as well as competitive modes such as deathmatch and capture the plug, I was surprised to learn it has an equally extensive single player component. Aside from an expansive Adventure mode that takes your titular robot Cobalt on a journey from abandoned facilities to snow-capped mountain bases. the game has myriad challenge maps, divided between combat, speed, and puzzle scenarios.
Take the plan-and-pounce pacing and hectic eruption of chaos seen in games like Hotline Miami or The Swindle and the acrobatic gunplay of a John Woo film, and that would be Cobalt's gameplay in a nutshell. A typical action beat sees you sliding down an embankment, punching a rocket back at a turret, turning mid-slide to shoot a sniper behind you, rolling to deflect bullets, and shooting while rolling to take out enemies above you. Or, given the extensive armory, maybe you'll distract enemies with a decoy, blind them with a flash-bang, then hack a powerful Predator foe to wipe out the stunned robots.
Cobalt is expected to release in October. You can purchase the game and download the free alpha demo from the developer's website.
