SpaceChem is a clever game. It’s a phenomenally clever game. Just a few hours with it will make you feel like a moron then gradually transmogrify you into a genius as you unravel molecules and reassemble atoms using an interface that straddles the line between programming and spatial reasoning. This is a game that could make you smarter. Zachtronics Industries think that it could make the next generation smarter too. As of today and until the end of January, schools can now request free permanent site-licenses for the game.

Well here’s something interesting that I stumbled upon: Clairvoyance a delightful looking, almost chess-like, online board game but with a futuristic twist on the classic war game. I’m still not 100% sure at what I’m looking at but damn if I’m not intrigued!

Stephen “increpare” Lavelle has got a new game, and it’s out right now. His fuzzy ball-pushing abstract puzzler English Country Tune has just released, and it’s available here for $9.99 of PC and Mac, and here for $4.99 on iPhone and iPad. Read on for more details.

Originally released all the way back in 2004, it was a different world back then. Danger Mouse was just some guy who did a Jay-Z/Beatles mashup, George W. Bush has just started his second term, and the indie scene was no way near as developed and established as the what we see around us today. But out of Japan came a fabulous freeware Metroidvania platformer called Cave Story. A five years in the making labour of love, the developer “Pixel” put his heart and soul into that game, and it slowly but surely built a rabid cult following. After getting ported to every platform imaginable, largely by it’s enthusiastic fanbase, it’s also had commercial releases via WiiWare, DSiWare, and most recently a 3DS remake. Now, it’s come back to the PC, as Cave Story+, courtesy of indie publishing powerhouse Nicalis. Cave Story+ could be considered to be the ultimate, definitive edition of the game, and it’s available to buy on Steam for $8.50/£5.94 right now (regular price $9.99/£6.99). Read on for more details.

Ever wished you could play an 80′s-style RPG like Dragon Quest, but with friends? No? Well, someone else did, and then they made this game. NEStalgia is a primarily-free (more on that later) small-scale online RPG in the style of Nintendo JRPGs of old, built on the BYOND platform. It’s simple, it’s accessible and available for PC, Mac and Linux. Boasting turn-based combat, simple party mechanics, some modern MMO refinements and a whole lot of 8-bit content all controlled via an interface that could fit on a NES gamepad. After the break, a trailer and some initial thoughts on this cute neo-oldschool romp.

Niche developer collective Shrapnal Games have discounted a whole load of their games for a Holiday Sale. As of today, you can find all the participating games on this page here. It’s mostly military sims, which I haven’t got a clue about, but there’s some ace titles from Digital Eel reduced, and more.

Having originally received a web release, and recently an iPad port, Cipher Prime’s colourful chain-reaction puzzler is now getting an a wider release. It’s already available for Mac gamers via the Mac App Store, and it will be coming to Steam in “coming weeks”. Here’s the details:

Well the final tally is in. After the Humble Voxatron Bundle ended yesterday is looks like Voxatron and friends walked away with a cool $900,000 spread out over 172,269 bundles. Impressive, to say the least. In fact, I’d wager that the Voxatron bundle is the best selling, non sequential Humble Bundle yet!

Indie-Publishers indiePub today announced that in addition to the original PC release, and the already announced XBLA and PSN versions, Capsized also going to be gracing the Apple iPad early next year, with Mac and android versions also planned further down the line. Read on for details.

Perhaps you have, or perhaps you haven’t heard of BlindSide: The Audio Adventure Video Game. If you have yet to, head over to the successfully funded, still open Kickstarter page to read a bit about the project and watch the video pitch. It caught my eye originally because of the concept’s unique nature–a game to be experienced identically by sighted and visually impaired players alike–but what caught both eyes was the fact that my good acquaintance Aaron Rasmussen was part of the tandem (along with Michael T. Astolfi) developing the no graphics episodic title.

Well I just had to talk to him about it, and lucky for us he was nice enough to respond in full to my laundry list of questions regarding the game. In the following interview we discuss the upcoming title’s survival horror elements, the challenges of developing a world that can’t be seen by its players, and overall sources of inspiration. Including Aaron’s own personal brush with blindness.