It’s a rare, special thing to see an indie game draw a large and dedicated modding community. All the more rare when the genre lies outside of shooting or strategising. Multi-award-winning frightfest Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of those lucky few, and there’s some genuinely great fan-made stories to be seen once you’re done with the original campaign. Let’s have a quick peek at some of the more notable releases.

Widely agreed to be the cream of the crop is White Night. Released late last year, but updated again earlier in 2012. Leaving the historical setting of the main game in favour of a classic horror archetype – an abandoned modern hospital – and switching out your oil lantern for a flashlight, there’s less focus on straight monsters-and-weirdness horror here and more psychological thriller stuff happening. It’s the length of a good couple of horror movies, and there’s definitely notes of Session 9 and Jacob’s Ladder about it. Not bad things to be inspired by, really!

Going back to the original storyline of the game, Amnesia: Through The Portal is an unofficial expansion that carries on the plot after the ‘best’ ending. Less traditional horror here, and more exploring the weird and wonderful possibilities put forward by the rather Lovecraftian finale of the original. There’s still monsters and plenty of threats to your health, but after surviving the final encounter of the original game, it feels a little hard to be genuinely terrified.

Another highly praised campaign (even winning an official mod development contest) taking the game outside of its usual bounds is La Caza. A somewhat more modern tale, seperate from Amnesia itself and with a little bit of a meso-American twist. La Caza spans a good range of outdoors and interior environments, and despite largely using the resources seen in the original game, it applies them in a clever range of ways that feels like an homage rather than a clone or continuation. While it does well to capture the atmosphere of Amnesia itself, I think that the architecture used is possibly a little too simplistic, but the new voice acting is remarkably solid.

And a special bonus recommendation of the Dark Room series. Unbelievably stupid, but funny. Saying anything more would be a terrible spoiler. You can find plenty more mods on the official Amnesia forums or listed on ModDB – the developers were celebrating over 100 complete, released mods quite some time ago. A number that has undoubtedly swelled to new heights.

A huge number of people now own Amnesia, thanks to it being a featured item in a recent Humble Bundle, and being a regular Steam sale fixture, so there’s a huge audience out there that have probably never played beyond the original campaign. A pity, given that that Frictional – the developers – produced their own official mod which is now bundled with the game. Look for ‘Justine’ when you launch the game. It’s a standalone story, and a rather clever piece of work.

All of this was made possible due to the efforts Frictional put into the tool-set when producing the game. Give or take a few finer features, the tools used to create all these custom adventures are the exact same used to create the main game itself. It also highlights just how powerful set-dressing, lighting and fog effects can be in creating atmosphere, as the block-based environments themselves are fairly underwhelming when viewed in the full light of day. Horror is all about what you can’t see, rather than what you can, after all.

With any luck, this should help tide you hungry fright-fans over until the official sequel – Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs – is released next year. Got a favourite mod/story that you want to recommend? Or made one yourself? Share in the comments box below. I promise it won’t bite. Much.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Infinite Fear – The Many Mods Of ‘Amnesia: The Dark Descent’

Along with the usual links to various games, today’s Indie Links include some discussion of Valve’s new selection initiative, Steam Greenlight.

Lessons Learned From The Real Texas‘ Voluntary 18-Month Delay (Gamasutra)
“Sometimes game development can go right down to the wire, with ongoing tweaks until just weeks and days before the planned release. Other times, a developer will complete development earlier, and stew over the whole experience for a while. Calvin French of Kitty Lambda took that stewing period to whole new levels with his adventure game The Real Texas. Released last month, the game had actually been finished and ready for play for around a year and a half.”

Exclusive: Trials And Tribulations With The Z Kickstarter ([a]listdaily)
“If there’s things that nerds like, it’s zombies and card games. While there are a few physical products that combine zombies in some way with cards, Z. is a unique project in that it hopes to combine the two in a mobile app. Downward Viral is looking to get the funding for the project on Kickstarter and the project is entering its final stretch; it’s even gotten the backing from Robert Bowling of Call of Duty fame, who publicly endorsed Z. backed it with $10,000 and will be a producer on the game. We got a chance to talk to Sebastian Haley, Culture Editor at GamesBeat, who is working with Downward Spiral on Z. and get a feel for both the game itself and what it’s been like trying to ride the crowd-funding wave.”

Spunk And Moxie (PixelProspector)
“Spunk And Moxie is a fast paced precision-based platformer with one button controls that looks very promising and fun.”

Valve: Steam Greenlight Is The Solution To ‘An Intractable Problem’ (Gamasutra)
“‘We had this huge business problem,” admitted Jason Holtman, Valve’s director of business development as part of a keynote lecture at the Develop conference in Brighton. “How do we go through the thousands of indie games submitted?’ The answer was Steam Greenlight, the new initiative announced by the Steam behemoth earlier this week that is looking to streamline the submissions process for indie developers hoping to get their games on Steam.”

QWOP Creator Designs Playable Music Video ‘Sun God’ (The Verge)
“Kill Screen and Pitchfork have teamed up to create playable music videos, and the latest game in the series has been designed by QWOP creator Bennett Foddy for Cut Copy’s song “Sun God.” Foddy is a former member of the band, and says on the game’s page that he ‘couldn’t resist this opportunity to torment his old bandmates by making a predominantly pink game and setting it to one of their new songs.’ Sun God can be played alone or with two players, and features two connected figures who pull one another up a mountain while Cut Copy’s song controls the colors and sounds. The game is (so far) considerably easier than QWOP, but it presents a fun challenge and the music’s quite good. Try it for yourself, or check out some of the other playable music videos at the source link below.”

Introversion’s Rezzed Session: Explanations, Demos (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“Introversion used their developer session at Rezzed to explain why they had canned Subversion, and how the technology and ideas from that had become Prison Architect, which was playable at the show. It’s certainly worth a look, and you can watch the session – which includes some footage of Subversion – below. Relatedly, you can also read my take Prison Architect here and here.”

Thoughts On Steam Greenlight (Hookshot Inc.)
“Revealed by Valve during a session Hookshot Inc attended at this year’s Develop conference in Brighton, Steam Greenlight is pulling the Steam selection process in front of the curtain. What was once an arcane process of submission, finding friends of friends who knew someone at Valve, staring at empty inboxes, crossing fingers and looking into the mirror while whispering ‘Gabe Newell’ three times is now a popularity contest. Good thing?”

That Really Awesome, Really Loud PC Stealth Game Is On iTunes Now (Kotaku)
“We’ve already insisted that you play Dynamite Jack, because it’s a truly fun and panicky stealth game with explosions. But now I must insist you pick up the iOS version, because playing a game on my iPad has never taken me to the edge of my seat quite like Dynamite Jack has. Seriously, people on the subway look at me weird.”

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Indie Links Round-Up: Pink And Blue

One small step for man, one giant leap for the adorable little green men of Kerbal-kind. Yesterday, the latest (and possibly greatest) version of silly space sandbox Kerbal Space Program was released. In addition to the regular slew of optimizations, tweaks, tunings and physics engine refinements, the game now allows the wobbly little Kerbal astronauts to hop out of their craft and wander around either on foot or via jetpack.

The addition of EVA options, combined with the multi-vehicle mission system that was added a while back means that your intrepid little space-dudes can hop between vehicles if needed, giving space stations and other such emplacements in stationary orbit a far grander purpose, and opening the possibility of rescuing wayward adventurers if they end up stuck in orbit without the fuel to return safely. Here’s a teaser trailer showing off the brave little guys:

Over the course of the last few major updates to the game (which accompanied a price-hike to a more significant $18), there’s been a huge amount of content added, ranging from new spacecraft components, to an entire new class of orbital vehicle – spaceplanes – bringing KSP up to speed with modern advances in spacefaring technology.

Before that, they added the planet Kerbin’s moon, which you can now land on using a variety of new components to help stop spacecraft from smashing themselves into powder upon making contact with a rocky surface. There’s a huge number of modded ship components created by the (impressively large) community, too, including wheeled rover elements.

Kerbal Space Program is still in Alpha, but offers plenty of entertainment if the idea of semi-realistic space-flight interests you at all. You can buy it for Windows and Mac PCs over at the official site, and keep up with development on this blog here.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – The Kerbal Has Landed – Kerbal Space Program V0.16 Released

TGIF? We’re entering the final weekend stretch here – will it have the best deals to date, or the greatest disappointments? Let’s check it out. It’s the ninth day of Summer sales over on Steam, and this means that a metric ton of indie games are going to be very cheap, although usually for only one day at a time. IGM are here to help you pick out the wheat from the chaff while the daily deals are active.

Today’s Individual Deals:

• Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad – 75% off – Not quite as good as the original Red Orchestra, sadly. A troubled launch, engine issues, balance complaints and attempts to please both hardcore military sim players and the Call of Duty online twitchfest crowd have left Red Orchestra 2 on dangerous footing. Recently revived as the ‘Game of The Year Edition’ (who’s game in the question), it’s a bit more polished and stable now, but with the quality of F2P shooters on Steam going through the roof this year, you might be best off paying nothing.
• Dungeon Defenders – 75% off – Possibly the only game to ever get too much post-release support. Once a fairly mild-mannered iOS port of a third-person action Tower Defense game, and now a sprawling indie behemoth with easily triple the content it launched with, a massive range of character classes to play with, persistent online play and more. In a bizarre twist, the sheer activity and responsiveness of the developers in addressing imbalances has resulted in a downright strange difficulty curve, with it being obvious where things were hit with the nerf-bat and where difficulty has been jacked up. Still, there’s a lot here, even if it isn’t the most finely tuned of games, and it’s good fun with friends.

Today’s Flash Deals – They’ll Be Gone Soon!

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Steam Summer Sale Indie Roundup – July 20th – Day 9

In the games explored in today’s Indie Links, you can explore a house, navigate environments created by music, or just have lots of sex if that’s what you’re into. Hey, we won’t judge you.

Mercenary Kings (PixelProspector)
“Mercenary Kings is the upcoming platform shooter by the creators of Wizorb that shares similarities with the Metal Slug series.”

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Beatbuddy (Joystiq)
“Beatbuddy is an action-adventure that takes you into the world of a song. You take control of our main character Beatbuddy and navigate him through levels where everything you see, the enemies and challenges you encounter, are synched to the music and rhythm of the individual tracks that make up a particular song, which you can manipulate and basically re-mix through your interactions.”

VVVVVV’s Cavanagh On His Quest To Become Activision (Also: Super Hexagon) (Hookshot Inc.)
“Super Hexagon is very close to completion now – I sent the beta out to some friends for feedback a few weeks ago, and right now I’m working through that, and trying to polish some of the game’s rough edges. Once that’s done, I’m going to start thinking about how to release it, hopefully very soon.”

The “British STALKER” Continues to Look Fabulous in Tweed (Kotaku)
“In case you’re just joining us, Sir, You Are Being Hunted is an upcoming indie game that promises to be ‘a procedurally-generated first-person, open world game, with some sneaking, some shooting, some tweedpunk adversaries, and plenty of fleeing in terror.’”

NSFW Free Indie Games Spotlight: Polymorphous Perversity (Calunio) (IndieGames)
“Calunio’s turn-based sex-RPG Polymorphous Perversity is finally available, for those who want a quest to explore unknown lands, meet strange people, and sample slices of sexuality.”

Spelunky Review: Obtainer Of Rare Antiquities, Giver Of Aneurysms (Joystiq)
“Spelunky, an Xbox Live Arcade revamp of a free PC indie game, straddles the line between insurmountable addiction and a precise extractor of self-hatred. Like other rare indie gems, such as Metanet’s N series, Spelunky is equal parts diabolical and ingenious.”

What Uplink Really Made Me Think Of (Book of Justice)
“A key element once you get past the early stages of Uplink is deleting logs – you bounce your connection from place to place before connecting to a target system, and a passive trace can follow this breadcrumb trail. What it means is you have this moment of tremendous excitement during a hack, where you’re playing chicken with the clock, before the disconnect and an immediate urge to delete the trail back.”

Ain’t No Mystery: Fullbright Talks Gone Home (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“Gone Home is to be the first game from The Fullbright Company, a new indie studio whose formerly mainstream members were previously the prime creators of the excellent BioShock 2 add-on Minerva’s Den, as well as working on assorted other 2K projects. I had a chat with Mr Fullbright himself, Steve Gaynor, about their highly intriguing but equally mysterious non-combat first-person game. Why ditch the guns? Why leave cushty industry jobs to do this? How abstract will it be? How much can the physics be abused? I also made some sweeping generalisations about Columbo.“

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Indie Links Round-Up: Move Out!

La-Mulana is one of those games that seems to make people want to tell stories, and share them with friends. From the famous Let’s Plays, to the adventuring image-blogs and more, there’s just something about the sprawling platform-adventure that just generates interesting anecdotes. Long-time fan (to the point of being in the thanks section of the remake’s credits) Pauli ‘MadamLuna’ Kohberger agrees, and is assembling a fan-book entitled Stories From the Ruins. All it needs are some stories, and that’s where you come in.

There’s a tentative deadline of August 31st on this project, and once all the tales and anecdotes are collected, they’ll all be professionally edited together and distributed as a PDF booklet for all to enjoy. Submissions can be in any visual form, so if you want to draw some inspired art, or just doodle your incoherent rage at an unfair puzzle, go right ahead. If you think you’ve got a story worth telling, then check out the Stories From The Ruins site and shoot off an email. And if you haven’t been lucky enough to play the game yet? Well, it just got a polished, updated and generally improved remake, so go check our review and give it a try. 

Images shamelessly pilfered from the brilliant and adorable La-Momolana image-blog. Many of these illustrations were polished up and used in the official manual for the re-release.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Archaeological Records – ‘La-Mulana’ Fan-Book Seeks Contributions

BitMonster, a new indie studio composed of Epic Games veterans, has released their first teaser for their first game, Lili.  Lili will be an RPG adventure for iOs, using the Unreal Engine. Lill, the game’s introspective young protagonist, will explore lovely landscapes, meet interesting characters, battle enemies (in an unspecified non-combat way…. I hope it’s insult swordfighting!), and collect island items.

       It seems like every day there’s another industry-vets-go-indie press release in my inbox, but I’m quite interested in seeing what developers with such a strong Unreal Engine and AAA background do with next, as they move away from bro shooters like Gears of War into what looks like a story-driven, casual RPG.  BitMonster’s team is Lee Perry, Demond Rogers, Aaron Smith, Mikey Spano, Martin Swietzer, and Matt Tonks, all Epic Games alums.

    Also, BitMonster’s new Executive Production Management Director in Chief is an excellent hire for a key role in any game studio:

Many traditionalists might scoff at our choice for an Executive Production Management Director in Chief, but we learned quickly how effective a cat can be in such a well defined role. Lucky worked for several experimental game development studios prior to BitMonster. He may best be known for his cult hit game ‘fsdgkndg njjg kksnk’. His work in howling at closed doors and rattling the knobs when we need to have a meeting has revolutionized the BitMonster work environment. He’s also not opposed to crawling inside a Krispy Kreme box if nobody is paying attention.

Via BitMonster

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – BitMonster’s Upcoming Lili

Hail dear IGM readers! I greet you as one freshly returned from the inaugural (and hopefully now anual) PC gaming expo: Rezzed. I kid you not, there were mountains upon mountains of Indie games dotted all around the show floor. Some were ones IGM have covered in the past, but there were others that took me completely by surprise! So, I felt it only fair that I share with you some of what I learnt on my travels here in the Rezzed 2012 report. Bare in mind I’ll mainly be talking about ‘Big Guns’ of Rezzed in this article, as we’ll have a separate one about the smaller games that made up the SEGA Leftfield collection at a later date. Plus, keep a lookout for a bunch of video interviews in the next day or so!

Here’s a handy little list of shortcuts if you’d rather check out a specific game than scroll through this behemoth:

Day Z
Krater
Prison Architect
Skulls of the Shogun
Xenonauts
Serious Sam 3 BFE: Jewel of the Nile
Strike Suit Zero
Tengami
Hotline Miami

**Please note that there were a few other Indie titles at the show such as Natural Selection 2 that I didn’t really get a good look at due to lack of time, sorry about that!** DayZ

Day Z

Funnily enough, I was unable to play any of DayZ at Rezzed for more or less the same reasons people who already own it can’t either. I.e. The current build was either so buggered-up that merely glancing in its general direction would trigger a crash OR when it was working, It’d be so jam-packed with other players that you’d have needed either celebrity status and/or a hefty application of a cattle prod to get even close to it. Sadly I had neither at my disposal that day, so I’ll just have to trust it’s still as amazing as the 400,000 strong player base insist it is!

I did however manage to cram into the equally popular DayZ keynote with Lead Developer (as far as I can tell, the ONLY developer) Dead “Rocket” Hall. Unfortunately it was mostly comprised of slightly boring waffle about the game’s history, but there were a few tidbits of interesting info about his plans for the game’s future:

• Detailed stat tracking on the DayZ site.
• Forums, clans and other such social networking fluff.
• Pet dogs!
• Player-built underground bases (?!?).
• Sorely needed performance optimization.
• Immersive chat functions to replace the recently removed ‘global chat’.
• Finally launching the game as its own stand-alone title.

You can currently download the DayZ mod from the official site, although you will also need a copy of ARMA 2 (currently £14.99 on Steam) and a saintly amount of patience to actually play the damn thing.

Krater

This was definitely one of the weirder ones out of the “big” Indies Rezzed, so much so that I’m struggling for an easy way to sum it up. The best I can come up with is an Action-RPG that blends the loot hunting and mechanics of an MMO, the randomised dungeons of a Rougelike, the control scheme of an RTS and the fast paced ability management of a MOBA. I call it the ‘MM(A)RPG/TS-MOBA Like’. Also, it’s set in postapocalypitc Sweden. Yeah.

However for something so mechanically dense, it was surprisingly easy just to pick up and play. After spending only a minute or so reading tooltips, I was already blasting my way through swaths of indigenous wildlife, managing agro, healing up and lootin’ loot like a total boss. What’s more, I never felt like it was holding my hand or anything; it just seemed to be generally accessible while at the same time not being too simple. Mainstream devs should be taking notes!

I do hesitate in calling Krater “good” after only playing it for such a short time though. As with most RPGs, there’s just too many factors in play here that’re only going to become clear after many an afternoon has been invested first. But without a doubt the way it smoothly merged together so may discrete genres makes it intriguing and, dare I say it? ‘unique’ enough to recommend than any Indie fans out there check it out post-haste!

On a side note, I was very amused that the devs like to refer to it as a “Living Game” which to me sounds like a polite way of saying the retail build still contains an ton of bugs and missing features that they’ll probably get around to patching in at some point. Innovative new development method, or just clever way of selling a product that ain’t finished? Only time -and inevitable internet based whining- will tell.

If you want to delve into the dark caverns of Krater yourself, then you can pick up for £11.99 on Steam.

Prison Architect

Much like DayZ, getting within a stones throw of Introversion Software’s Prison Architect was an achievement unto itself, and I thus was unable to get my grubby hands on it. Although I did manage to attend the (also jam-packed) developer session, which not only provided the fascinating story of Prison Architect’s origins as a level editing tool for the now canceled Subversion, but also showed more than enough live gameplay to satisfy those of us destined to never reach the fabled keyboards of the Introversion booth.

From what I saw, the closest parallel that sprung to mind was the much underappreciated Evil Genius, which in turn was sorta like the Sims, only with each sim acting as peon highly valued employee that maintain your meticulously designed institution of interlocking systems and subsystems. Basically Dwarf Fortress but, you know, actually playable by human beings. Prison Architect’s twist? A bunch of those sims (the prisoners) really REALLY hate you, and want nothing more than to send your magnificent creation into complete disarray and hightail it outta there to freedom.

The creation tools seem fairly intuitive, relying a traditional click ‘n drag interface that’ll let you build key prison facilities such as cafeteria, showers, gyms and cell blocks in all but a couple of seconds. But with the promise of complex dynamic AI behavior, It seems to me like it’s going to be just as addictive watching the prisoners go about their daily lives as it is actually creating anything for them to do it in. Definitely one to keep an eye on!

The release date for Prison Architect is still TBA 2012, so keep track over on the official site.

Skulls of the Shogun

Wow. This turn-based strategy game has come a LONG way since we first saw it way back in 2010. Starting off life as relatively obscure little gem, Skulls is now blessed (or cursed, depending on your disposition) with a juicy publishing deal from Microsoft that sees it slated to appear not only on XBLA, but is also acting as a gaming frontman for Windows phone and the supposed ‘iPad Killer’ MS Surface.

I managed to play a far bit of both the single and multiplayer modes during my stay at Rezzed, and I came away fairly impressed but also a little concerned about its future. True to their word, the developers at 17-BIT have made something that’s both a love letter to the genre, yet also provides a smooth experience that isn’t bogged down by the usual sea of menus and mechanics. Turns went by in a flash, strategies were formed, battles were fought and honorable victories where had; all with nothing but a few seconds worth of explanation from the helpful booth staff. Great! So, everything’s hunky dory right?

Well, what worries me is that they’ve maybe gone a little bit *too* far with their streamlining of the genre. In short bursts Skulls of the Shogun was definitely entertaining, but the rather limited number of unit types and overall simplicity makes me think there isn’t enough there for strategy fans to sink their teeth into in the long term. That said, It’s not really something I can say for sure until I’ve spent more time with it, so keep an eye out for IGM’s review when it eventually hits the market later this year.

As a side note, I’d like to say that my hat really goes off to whoever wrote the dialogue in the single player campaign. It was straightforward and simple, yet surprisingly hilarious. I’m not sure it’ll add much in the way of long term value, but it certainly makes the overall package fairly enticing!

Skulls of the Shogun is currently TBA 2012. Check out the Official Site for more info.

Xenonauts

Still fresh from a fairly spectacular Kickstarter ($154,000 total raised) this faithful remake of hardcore turn-based classic X-Com: UFO Defence seems to be coming along rather swimmingly so far. As well as keeping much of the depth (and soul-crushing difficulty level) that made the original so engaging, there’s also been a fair number of significant improvements on the old formula. In particular, I can now happily report that figuring out the battle UI is no longer akin to translating 8-bit hieroglyphics. Oh, you think i’m joking? You know nothing young one.

On top of that there’s also a significantly deeper aerial combat system and a host of new weapon types not found in the original (e.g. sniper rifle, flamethrower) set to add even more layers of juicy micromanagement to an already dense title. Lead developer Chris England also mentioned he’d made a bunch of more long term balance tweaks as well, such as implementing a more ‘’realistic’ technology research tree that makes exotic alien weaponry far harder to acquire than before. Whether these changes will have a positive long-term impact is yet to be seen, but I can safely say that I’m already looking forward too missing a couple of writing deadlines in order to find out.

If you want to hear more about what makes Xenonauts tick, then stay tuned over the next few days for my interview with Chris England himself. We discuss his goals for the project, the ‘official’ X-Com remake by Civilisation devs Firaxis, the rise of alpha-funding AND get progressively more and more annoyed at random people walking in front of the camera!

You can currently help alpha-fund the development of Xenonauts over on the official site, granting you access to the current alpha build as well as a free copy of the final game when it’s finally ‘done’ (TBA).

Serious Sam 3 BFE: Jewel of the Nile

Eh, I’ll be honest here, I’ve never really been much of a Serious Sam guy. For those who don’t know, the basic gist is that it’s fast paced old school style FPS (on the same lines as Painkiller) but with the difficulty cranked up to 11. As in: Is there an enemy within spitting distance? Boom! You’re dead. This new DLC pack for BFE seems to be no different; even a small contingent of troops managed to render all the health and armor packs I’d just spend the last few minutes scavenging completely moot point. So yeah; if Serious Sam was already your joint, then I guess this thing is just more of what you’re after.

The jewel of the Nile DLC pack goes live in October 2012, price TBA.

Strike Suit Zero

Oooooooh boy. No joke, getting to finally see this game in action was one of the reasons I went all the way to Rezzed in the first place! I mean come on guys; you control a transforming giant robot/fighter craft hybrid IN SPACE. What’s not not love? Well, It sounded cool on paper anyway. The development team has been real hush-hush on details since the game got announced back in August 2011, which had me more than a little bit apprehensive about what the game was actually like outside of my wild fantasies.

Thankfully for my sanity, it turned out to be more than capable of living up to its gradnous concept. Despite still being a few months away from completion, every second of Strike Suit was an absolute visual treat. The screen was constantly filled with either ludicrous amounts of futuristic projectiles, the boundless reaches of a glowing planet Earth, swarms of awesome spaceships or various delightful combinations thereof. Together, these elements created an atmosphere that should be intimately familiar with fans of space combat stalwarts like Freespace and Homeworld; that this is a *real* war you’re in bro, one that’s far larger than just you and your sweet ride. Whether you fight or not, thousands will die and the fate of millions more hangs in the balance. Plus it’ll all look really frickin’ cool.

But Strike Suit wasn’t just a pretty face. The controls seemed fairly tight and -even with the limitations of the demo- combat proved both satisfying as well as challenging. Perhaps a little bit TOO challenging in fact, as the spaceship escort mission (cue painful Sol: Exodus flashback) they were demoing seemed to prove nearly impossible for both attendees and the PR crew alike…..

There’s no way of knowing if that was just a bit of an oversight on their part, or if it’s indicative of the difficulty in the final product. However there’s one thing I do know for certain: transforming your ship into a giant death robot and then unleashing hella’ crazy amounts of ordnance on the nearest capital ship felt rather badass, and I’d very much like to do it again sometime.

If that last sentence didn’t already sell you on Strike Suit Zero (?!?!?) then keep an eye on IGM in the coming days! We should have a pair of cool video interviews featuring both the Community Manager and Lead Developer of up soon, accompanied by some epic gameplay footage that’ll hopefully have you wanting to to get behind your own Strike Suit ASAP.

Strike Suit Zero has a tentative release date of Autumn 2012 for PC and early 2013 for consoles. Hopefully they’ll update the teaser site before then.

Tengami

Undeservedly tucked away in a dark corner of the show floor was the iPad based Tengami by ex-Rare developers NyanYam games. Out of all the titles I saw at Rezzed it was probably the one that felt the least ‘finished’, with many core gameplay elements and overall structure still a little on the shaky side. But to its credit, it was also by far the most visually striking thing I’ve seen on any platform in a good while.

The entire world of Tengami (including the player character) takes the form of a pop-up book made of crisp Japanese washi paper, which creates some beautiful real-time set pieces that I quite honestly can’t do justice to with words alone. It isn’t just a visual aesthetic though; almost all player interaction comes from unfolding pages or pulling tabs to reveal hidden objects or even entirely new locations explore. If I had to categorize it (which I do, it’s a game journalism law or something) I’d say it most resembles a point ‘n click adventure, albeit it one with uncharacteristically straightforward puzzles. In fact, the devs were quite keen to point out the puzzles were never meant to provide much of a challenge anyway, as the game is more about exploring the themes of life, dreams, loss and renewal. Deep bro.

If you want to see Tengami in action and hear it described by someone far more eloquent than I, then stick around for our Interview with developer Phill Tossel coming soon!

NyamYam estimate they’ll have Tengami out between January and April 2012. Check out the official site for more.

Hotline Miami

And so we finish up our little journey through the weird and wonderful of Rezzed 2012 with a high note: Hotline Miami. Man oh man, without a moment’s hesitation I’d name this my ’game of show’. Was it the prettiest game there? No. Was it the smartest game there? No. Was it the most original, did it have best music or most moving storyline? No on all accounts. Yet despite that, I had to physically tear myself away from it in order not to miss a bunch of interview appointments.

Even once my work commitments were done and dusted, the only thing that prevented me from getting right back in the hotseat was the now constant crowd of punters lining up for a turn. I should add this crowd often consisted of at least a couple Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun staffers. You know, the guys actually running goddamn Rezzed in the first place! (It would seem they shared my enthusiasm).

So then, what is it? Madness. Just complete and utter madness. In particular, the sort of madness we see hollywood all the time. You know the scene: the practically unarmed hero bursts into a den of kitted-out goons and then, through a complex array of tightly choreographed gunplay and pseudo-martial arts, all them fools be taking dirt naps and our hero is none the worse for ware. Hotline Miami is that one scene turned into a game, and then encased in a psychedelic 80’s excess themed wrapper.

Your task is deceptively simple: don an animal themed mask, enter a building and then kill every heavily armed dude you find. In any other game It’d be a cinch, but in Hotline Miami there’s two rather big problems, 1) They’re all a billion times faster than you, and 2) One hit from anything they’ve got will turn out into a bloody pulp. You get one chance at clearing a room, muck it up and it’s back to the last checkpoint for Mr MacVerydead.

I still remember exactly what the guy sitting next to me said after my first couple of instantaneous deaths in a row: “Yeah, this game makes Super Meat Boy look like…..” He never finished his sentence. He didn’t really need to, I’d already begun to realise what kind of rabbit hole I’d unknowingly leaped into, and I knew it was one with no end. Also, he was playing Hotline goddamn Miami! He’d probably died half a dozen times in the brief moment he was talking to me!

It might sound like hell, but I promise you that the euphoria of successfully clearing out a floor of goons is anything but. It’s all about planning that perfect combo, and following it up with the perfect execution: knock that guy out, steal his gun, shoot those two other guys, toss the empty gun at the patrolling guard, steal his knife, etc. When it all comes together, It feels like a near perfect fusion between tactical thinking and twitch gamer skills. And when it doesn’t? Well, I guess you better respawn and try again.

I’m not sure if my feeble mind could withstand a whole game of that intensity, but man do I want to find out…..

Hotline Miami is slated for Autumn 2012, but I -along with many others- would very much like it right now. Bloody mental official site is found here.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Rezzed 2012 Report: The Big Guns

Today’s Indie Links cover some shooters, platformers, exploration games, and more, and also include a discussion of how short games are like punk rock.

Wii U And Indies: Will It Work This Time? (Gamasutra)
“From well-known indies like Frozenbyte to the lesser-known Pwnee Studios, there is a definite indie showing for the Wii U that is yet to be properly explored, raising the question — is Nintendo once again putting its online game offerings down the bottom of the to-do list?”

Interview: Christine Love On Digital And Analogue Stories  (IndieGames)
“Christine Love originally impressed everyone with Digital: A Love Story and, in only a few years, has moved on to become a most succesful and unique indie game developer. One of the few game developers that can command words to do their bidding and one that has graciously provided us with the following words too:”

Letters From A New York Indie: I Like Short Songs (Hookshot Inc.)
“Among my game design buddies here in New York, music has always seemed a more vital and interesting metaphor for what’s great about games than that well worn object of envy, film. For me, the aesthetics of punk and hardcore exemplify what excites me about making indie games.”

Endless Forms Most Beautiful (PixelProspect0r)
“Endless Forms Most Beautiful is a fast paced single screen arcade platformer. Swirl around the screen, collect imps and other stuff, avoid enemies and use teleporters to jump 1 floor up (or down).”

Fullbright On The Games Gone Home Is And Isn’t Like (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“Last week, I ran the first half of my recent chat with Steve Gaynor, formerly of Irrational and 2K Marin, and now of indie studio The Fullbright Company – who are working on mysterious, ambitious, suburban-set non-combat first-person game Gone Home. Being as I am an investigative journalist par excellence, I decided that it would be appropriate to spend the second half of the interview forgoing questioning entirely in favour of simply shouting the names of other games at him. Games like Myst, Amnesia, Jurassic Park: Trespasser, Journey and Dear Esther. Rather than hanging up in disgust, he offered fascinating, thoughtful replies on the limits of interactivity in games and the sort of scale Gone Home is intended to operate on.”

The Day After #ScreenshotSaturday 2 (IndieGames)
“This week I visited reddit, TIGSource and the official Screenshot Saturday site to find some visually intriguing works-in-progress, some of which you can play now. Kicking things off, I found the lights in the above untitled game from Rob Fearon (whose lips are sealed about the details so far) hard to ignore.”

The Misadventures And Mirth Of Project Zomboid (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
“The Project Zomboid session at Rezzed was right at the beginning of the first day and yet it still managed to be extremely busy. Despite the (approximately) seven million people in attendance, if there’s even the slightest chance that one person reading this didn’t see the people of The Indie Stone talking about ‘How (not) to make a game’, I suggest you do so now. With Will Porter guiding the journey from the safety of a podium, the team talk about the origins of the game, copying Notch, living on beans and bread, and a series of extremely unfortunate events. There’s plenty of humour but also memories of robbery, death and the internet being a bastard. Then, for good measure, a trailer for the next version of the game.”

“Good Business Decisions” – Interview with Zach Gage (Made by Pixelante)
“Zach Gage is both a conceptual artist, and a game designer from New York City. I talked with him about deciphering the success behind SpellTower, the strategy of avoiding focus and why indies should act like local businesses.”

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Indie Links Round-Up: Get Out The Pitchforks

As we approach the mid-year mark, we have found ourselves assessing which indie games have impressed us so far in 2012. The most fair way to approach the task seemed to be to look back over the games we have rated the highest; at least that way the arguments would be kept to a minimum.

Of course, in doing this we have to acknowledge that we haven’t reviewed lots of indie games that have been released this year. As this portion of the site focuses on console and PC games, we could only really include what we know too. We’ll nudge mobile.indiegamemag.com to see if they’ll do a similar thing too. We’ve also written about plenty of free indie games, which we tend not to give a rating too, so many of them aren’t included in this list. So, by no means should anyone consider this list definitive in any shape or form.

The following games are just the top rated console and PC indie titles that we have got around to reviewing. Simple as that. In any case, it’s good to have a recap every now and then. The line we drew was at 85% and up. Give them a look over and tell us in the comments what indie games have most impressed you so far in 2012!

Dustforce – 94%

“Some may find that the absence of story, unlockables and achievements may feel lacking, not quite tangible enough. It is this when combined with the high difficulty of Dustforce that will unfortunately turn some players away. Aside from that, there’s no doubt that Dustforce will be revered as another icon of the platformer as it attests to its very soul, etching its design on to the foreheads of those who will eventually complete it.”

Lexiv – 90%

“I really can’t sing the praises of Lexiv enough, the game offers hours upon hours of deeply cerebral fun. It’s RPG-style player levelling gives you more than enough of a reason to come back time and time again and the game, whilst taxing, is never a chore. The satisfaction of beating a level in Lexiv is rewarding in the classic sense as well as giving you the vague feeling that you learnt something. If you love crosswords, if you love tower defence, if you feel your vocabulary is extensive, or if you just want a challenging but rewarding experience; then this is definitely the game for you.”

Egress: The Test Of STS-417 – 88%

“By faithfully fulfilling its stated purpose of a “short-form sci-fi adventure,” Egress completed its mission successfully. At exploring what adventure games can make the player experience, it has charted new territory. Egress is one of the few games I’ve come across that genuinely transcend their medium, and what few gameplay problems it has seem petty to mention when looking at the whole package together. Egress may waste an hour of your time, but you’ll love it for it.”

Spirits – 85%

“Spirits takes a classic game and updates it by adding in a more serious tone, then sliming down the game mechanics to a more elegant form. The result is an engaging, challenging game that is genuinely suitable for casual and hardcore gamers alike.”

Alien Jelly – 85%

“Overall, Alien Jelly is fantastic, the game benefits from some supremely well executed level design which provides the same visceral reward that you get from games like Portal. It’s entirely possible to get stuck at points where the difficulty takes a particular spike but it’s never frustrating enough to make you walk away. Featuring 40 levels and the ability to create, publish and share your own worlds, Alien Jelly definitely has a wealth of content that could easily see you coming back to it for quite some time.”

Shank 2 – 90%

“If you enjoyed the original then you will love Shank 2; each scene appears bigger and better, there is more variety in combat and the counters feel rewarding, the survival mode is an excellent addition and the game is still true to what made the original so good. However, if you were squeamish at the amount of blood being spilled in the previous title, it is best to avoid Shank 2.”

Da New Guys: Day Of The Jackass – 87%

“Does Day of the Jackass do anything new in a genre that’s about as uniform and clear-cut as they come? No. In truth, if you weren’t a fan of point-and-click adventure games before, this game won’t provide the epiphany that bucks the trend. If, however, you’ve got a point-and-click itch that’s in need of scratching, Day of the Jackass fully deserves your full, undivided attention. A self-mocking tale of silliness carrying a laid-back attitude from the word “go,” it’s a charming adventure that makes sure never to take itself seriously, instead focusing on the fantastic pillars that have made point-and-click adventures the enduring cult entities they are.”

Journey – 96%

“It ain’t easy to put into words how I feel about this game, you know? But that’s exactly what makes it so special in the first place; it’s the kind of experience that’s only possible in this medium of interactive entertainment we all love so much. Alternatively If you were to look at it from a purely mechanical perspective, then yeah, Journey ain’t that mind-blowing. It’s fairly short too, a scant 2-3 hours if you’re not fastidious about collectibles. Normally that’d be a bit of a issue at the £10 price point, but in this case it seems absurd to boil it down to such a basic level; this game is just so much more than that. Provided you’re not dead inside and/or someone averse to the artsy side of gaming, then Journey is a unique interactive poem that’ll jettison you through the whole emotional spectrum in all but a flash.”

Lone Survivor – 95%

“With a dark atmosphere like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Lone Survivor evokes a more compelling desire to explore that is reminiscent of the recently released Journey. I have spoiled enough – to say anymore would ruin the compelling desire to learn more that drives the harrowing journey through this bizarre, captivating world. Lone Survivor is something made to be experienced for yourself.”

Legend Of Grimrock – 89%

“As a first outing, Almost Human have proved that they’re capable of great things, and the promise of editing tools and possible official expansions are sure to extend the life of Grimrock. They’ve also proven that just because a design has fallen out of vogue, it doesn’t mean that it’s inherently flawed in any way – the Dungeon Master style holds up excellently to this day, with only a few tweaks needed to make it more palatable to modern audiences. For newer RPG fans looking for something different, or old-school gamers looking to relive their formative gaming years, Legend of Grimrock is an easy recommendation.”

Fowl Space – 85%

“Fowl Space is a refreshing title that isn’t shy of pushing boundaries and using humour that is firmly tongue-in-cheek. It is certainly worth exploring to get every last drop of gaming humour and pop culture that oozes from the game. If Fowl Space was described in meme form, which is only fitting as the game is jam packed with them, it would have to be bi-winning.”

Botanicula – 92%

“If you ever wanted to be with Alice as she sang with the flowers, then Botanicula will chime with you very strongly. It will with just about everyone, adult or child, due to its fantastic presentation, simplicity and mellow joy. The game went on plenty long enough but, by its conclusion, I was left gagging for more. Part of me feels like there should have been more to the ending, but that’s probably because the rest of the game is filled with such magical content – it’s hard to top that by a game’s end. I’ve replayed the game since to not only find what discoveries I missed, but to also just relive the moments I found bizarre and the ones that made me giggle. My only disappointment is that I don’t have a young child around to play through the game; I think that’s where the game will really shine.”

The Splatters – 85%

“As you can see in the screenshots and gameplay trailer, The Splatters looks and sounds great. The sound effects are suitably squelchy, the music is enthusiastic (and affected by various time-warping effects during key moments) and the presentation achieves everything it sets out to. The gameplay – while never trying anything outside the ‘splat bombs, get points’ cycle – is tightly designed, controlled and precise, and there’s a lot of fun to be found in clawing your way up the scoreboards as you learn the ins and outs of each level and master the simple, but flexible controls. The Splatters is an easy recommendation to anyone looking for something a little different in a puzzle game, and well worth playing the demo even if you’re not.”

Fez – 94%

“With its iconic allure, interactive richness and seamless capture of human cognition, Fez is, quite simply, the gold standard of puzzle platforming today. Substantial in its lifespan and unrelentingly impactful in its execution, this is a game that will stay with you for a long, long time, potentially changing the way you perceive not only video games, but the essence of the human mind itself. For a meagre 800 Microsoft Points, its value as a purchase, and, more poignantly, an experience, just cannot be questioned.”

Awesomenauts – 88%

“Awesomenauts has its flaws; it would be great to have more maps (there’s only a handful), characters could be more balanced, and things can certainly be frustrating if you’re not on a good team. The important thing is that the awesomeness greatly outweighs the bad. The developer, Ronimo, can always add more maps, characters, and balance the game. The core game is immensely fun and offers a different type of multiplayer deathmatch game that is currently under-represented on consoles.”

Vidiot Game – 90%

“Vidiot Game is a simple, easy-to-play, and surprisingly addicting game. It’s a good game to relax with and a great game to show to your friends. There is an excellent blend of blatant and subtle humor that kept me laughing for longer than any game in recent memory (while I’d love to share my favorite parts with you, the jokes are infinitely funnier if you discover them on your own). The game also cleverly tweaks the dialogue and structure of events so that there is something different every time you play, keeping you on your toes and engaged rather than allowing you to grow bored with the same micro-games repeatedly resurfacing.”

SQUIDS – 90%

“SQUIDS is a fantastic game, which will appeal to a variety of players, skill levels and age groups. There is something for everyone in the game and players can play to their own strengths. Difficulty settings would be appreciated, but it is a small gripe in an otherwise excellent title. Players will simply have to learn how to strategise and make best use of the characters, abilities and powerups made available to them. Of course, struggling is the best excuse to yell, “Unleash the Kraken” at the top of your lungs. There are a variety of devices to play SQUIDS on and you should buy it for one of them: it would be a crime against nature not to.”

Gratuitous Tank Battles – 95%

“GTB is a natural evolution of GSB, but more than a simple sequel. Battles no longer take place in the vastness of outer space. Action is up close and personal and each battlefield has its own unique paths, choke points and environment. Fans of strategy, RTS and tower defense games will absolutely love GTB. Hardcore and action gamers may also be pleasantly surprised. GTB‘s campaign has a variety of skill levels, scenarios and is incredibly challenging. In the words of a Bostonian, the computer AI is wicked smaht (smart, if you need clarification). With attack and defense scenarios, the campaign offers hours upon hours of gameplay. If that’s not enough, GTB features the same robust online challenge system as GSB. The bottom line is that if this game tickles your fancy, prepare to lose hours in deep strategy and glorious explosions.”

The Journey Down: Chapter 1 – 87%

“All in all, The Journey Down is a fine bit of point and clickery, with a good script, solid puzzles and a fantastic sense of style. Great for old-school fans and newcomers alike, as the puzzles aren’t too wildly challenging (or unfair) but not a cakewalk either, and there’s no potential for death or time-pressure failure to worry about, so you can enjoy the comical dialogue and vividly designed world at your own pace.”

FFracer – 85%

“FFracer is a wonderful journey through the pleasant and picturesque countryside of Norway that tourist boards should consider using as a promotion tool for the country. If Google’s Street View adopted the same technology, we may never leave the comfort of our armchairs to experience a holiday again because let’s face it; the airport experience can be such a hassle.”

A Grain Of Truth – 90%

“A Grain of Truth is a fantastic game and it is refreshing to see that adventure games are still alive and well. It is a captivating universe, a unique story and strikes a balance between challenging and fun. The puzzles never appear so overwhelming that they are frustrating, but will still challenge players at times; unless you are a Mahjong expert that is. There are valuable life lessons to be learned from playing A Grain of Truth, but it is an enjoyable journey each step of the way.”

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Our Top Rated Indie Games Of 2012 So Far…