An update on some indie games I like
I realized today that I’ve written about quite a few under reported, under appreciated indie games in my time at the helm of GameLuv, many of them in just this past year. So I went digging around online for a quick update on all the ones I could remember and here’s my status report.
Terraria, the 2D take on Minecraft that you all have yet to freak out over (seriously, start spazzing!) has gone from “coming soon” to a Steam-powered launch in June according to the official Twitter account.
Wrecked: Revenge Revisited, the sequel to my beloved Mashed from last generation was officially announced at the beginning of March. Coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network “in the Spring“, there have been a few updates from the developers at Supersonic Software including a contest for new in-game taunts, a tease of a returning favorite course, and some talk of customization. We’re getting close to the middle of the fiscal Spring window so I’m hoping for a big blowout at E3.
The last time I wrote about The Adventures of Shuggy it was all but a Marketplace mystery. A page for the game has existed on Xbox.com for months but the game remained in approval limbo. An update on the homepage and Twitter of developer Smudged Cat Games on May 2nd announced that “Shuggy approved by Microsoft for release to XBLA.” I really hope Shuggy features in Microsoft’s E3 lineup; it looks good enough to be part of Summer of Arcade.
SHMUSICUP, the top-down shooter that runs your music through a bullet hell filter went into an online open beta in March. Since then it’s been updated to support more music formats, controller inputs, full screen mode and more. The downloadable version is also out now if you’d like to take the game out of your browser for better performance.
Metal Assault, which I first discovered and posted about in February, is still in open beta with ongoing stat-boosting events. I have yet to check it out but it continues to look like a tempting mix of Maple Story, Metal Slug and MMO.
Owlboy is an indie game I’ve been watching for quite some time and dates back to at least 2008.When I posted about it in July of 2010 I was hopeful it wouldn’t be more than a year before it was finished but according to the official site it’s now gone beyond its Q1 release date. Their blog doesn’t pin a new date on Owlboy but it does show plenty of activity on the game and teases of even more content they aren’t ready to show.
Lastly, my beloved Youropa by frecle has gone silent once again. The super stylish 3D puzzler did get nominated in January for the Danish Game Awards ‘New Talent’ category but didn’t pull off a win. After following the game for nearly three years, though, I’m not worried. I’ve interviewed the guys at frecle and Youropa has always been a side project to their more regular animation work. It’ll happen one day and I’ll still be there, calling its praises from the mountaintops.
