Quoting: Purple Library GuyReally, this is so hand drawn I find myself thinking "Sheesh, isn't that a massive productivity bottleneck when it comes to creating the content?"

Exactly. It's the style that matters, not necessarily how it was done. I guess indies can do crazy things like this as they don't care about productivity.

Adventure game at least has benefit that majority of what needs to be animated is the characters. And walking and all other common things can be recycled and nobody will complain about that.

Results can look good though. Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure had quite similar claims. I watched the credits and it looks like they had benefit of having two animators. Though they did several cut scenes as well. It's bit unclear if they did anything on paper.

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Quoting: TheSHEEEPThe game definitely reminds me of Hexen/Heretic.
Especially with the regions you can go back and forth between as you find keys, etc.

At least in the demo it can get bit confusing as you can start doing things in wrong order...

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Now that the event is over, here's what I added to my wishlist. Twelve is quite a lot, so lets see how many I actually end up buying eventually. See more detailed commentary in the previous posts. I did short review on all except Potion Permit.

FPS
Anger Foot: strange humor and plays like action movie
Selaco: quite lot of interactivity for retro FPS, reminds me bit of System Shock games

Adventure games
Justin Wack and the Big Time Hack: humor and general wackiness just works in this one
Old Skies: plot and world building (though I imagine I will get stuck so many times)
Casebook 1899 - The Leipzig Murders: I seems to have soft spot for detective games (I need to check Lamplight City too)

Puzzle
Harmony's Odyssey: just right amount of difficulty to recommend to somebody who don't play more complex games
Kredolis: The Witness was too hard for me, maybe this one is easier
Find All 3: Travel: native simple hidden object games are not common and this one seems to be nice enough (I know someone who might like it, but I guess I could play the game myself first)

Simulators
Relic Space: might be good entry point to space simulators, hopefully the story is good sci-fi
Astro Colony: I skipped Satisfactory because it wasn't native, but this one might the one to scratch the 3D Factorio itch
Terra Nil: I have soft spot for games related to nature
Potion Permit: nice Stardew Valley clone, with its own unique spin

World Turtles I didn't actually put to wishlist, but following it on Steam instead.


I'm curious if anybody else found any interesting games?

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Quoting: GideonGriebenow

Quoting: AnzaWorld Turtles
Based on tutorial it seems somewhat basic city builder with animated turtle. Store description hints though that there's more to it. I might revisit this if freeplay reveals something more. I played just the tutorial.
.

Hi Anza. Solo developer of World Turtles here :) Just thought I'd let you know that the "freeplay game" has *a lot* more content than the tutorial. There are more than a dozen different buildings in the freeplay game.

Nice to see developers over here.

I played the freeplay and that's certainly true that there's more buildings. I had fun building and expanding.

The upgrade logic was bit confusing. Game tells to research this and that, but the research dialog doesn't do anything. I figured out that upgrades are done via buildings, but I was still bit confused does the green border mean that there's upgrade ready or what. Might indicate update that's ready with light bulb or up arrow.

Or make upgrades happen via the research overview screen, especially if they're global. If they're local to the building, then it makes sense to have the user interface in the buildings themselves.

The game froze, so I wasn't able to learn much more.

But certainly most complex city builder in the event that I played. Not necessarily in bad way.

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If somebody lives in suitable timezone or doesn't have work tomorrow, there might still be time to try few of these. This time around, most of these are Proton only as I tried out even more from the most popular list.

Terra Nil (Proton)
Simulation about restoring ecology. There's multiple phases and different biomes. And eventually you have to clean up all the machinery.

Last part seems to be most at mercy of the procedural generation. Cleanup happens via rivers. If the procedural generation doesn't give you good river network, creating new rivers will be costly.

Full game should have different kind of regions, so it hopefully doesn't get boring too fast.

Still good fun. Easy to recommend for city builder fans.

No indication of native release. If you want to see videos, use Proton GE.

Cult of the Lamb (Proton)
Based on demo seems to be dungeon crawler with base builder. Combat is realtime, so good reflexes help.

At least intro pulls you right in. Things might at start feel easier than they actually are when the proper game begins. Once you see your hitpoints, be careful. Demo will end if you die.

If you're at all interested in action focused roguelites, it's worth trying out.

As far as I can see, there's no native Linux planned. Also if you want to see videos, use Proton GE.

Harmony's Odyssey (Proton)
Harmony's Odyssey is puzzle game that combines putting diorama style pictures back together, find the difference and hidden object puzzles into one game. There's also minigames (the only one in the demo seemed really easy, but I didn't achievement for completing it, go figure).

There seems to be also loose plot. Or it seems to be revolving around wacky scenarios around the premise. Which is actually nice as levels gain just little bit of depth that way.

Did I also mention that the game is overly cute? Game seems to be aimed at bit younger casual female gamers, though can be enjoyed by anybody who likes bit easier puzzles. By easy I mean that getting totally stuck is unlikely.

Linux version seems to be on the horizon, there's system requirements for it. Hexologic is actually from same developer, which I liked.

Kredolis (Proton)
This one seems to be easier The Witness. If you haven't played that, basically it's puzzle from first person perspective with environments that are nice to look at.

Easy to recommend for somebody who is familiar with FPS controls and likes puzzles.

Craftomation 101: Programming & Craft
Games title kind of says what the game is about. Programming is done using visual programming language and is useful for automating manual crafting.

So quite quickly your busy fighting freezing and trying to supply power to robots while also trying to accomplish the tutorial objectives.

I got kind of stuck with all of those things. Might have to plan things better. It looks like eventually there will be more commands for the programming, which hopefully means that all the basic things can be automated.

Worth trying, especially if you already have experience Factorio type of games. Programming experience might help a little, but doesn't seem to be requirement.

A Building Full of Cats
Hidden object game with plenty of cats. Game doesn't hint that you can scroll the screen and open doors.

There's some hidden cats which require interacting with things. Might have to keep clicking on different things as most things don't have any interaction.

If you like hidden object games, try Find All 3 first. A Building Full of Cats is bit more clunkier. There's not that many good simple hidden object games in native Linux games though, so this still might have its place. For the bit more complex ones, Artifex Mundi has pretty much covered the market.

Astral Shipwright
Seems to be loosely similar to Kerbal Space program. Due it being alpha it's confusing and buggy. Can be recommended only if you like providing feedback to indie game developers.

Apocalyptic Vibes
This one is GZdoom based postapocalyptic FPS. Steam launch script is broken as it tries to find .exe file.

Trying to launch from command line requires bit newer GLibc that I happen to have installed. Fixable things, but with bit improved Linux build, could run great.

Due technical problems, deserves place at bottom of the list. But could be higher if Linux build was tested bit better.

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This might be last batch where if somebody spots anything interesting, there's still some time to play the demo.

Anger Foot (Proton)
Very short description of Anger Foot is fast FPS with simple level design and ridiculously powerful kick.

It's one of those few games where you feel like being inside action movie. Even including the fact that both hero and the player character heal from wounds by just by taking small break. Being a game, enemies are more likely to hit though.

Which in turn means that Anger Foot is bit difficult game. Speeding through the levels without thinking at all will most likely get you killed. I completed speedrun challenge at that came quite apparent. Levels are quite short though, so having to retry them few times doesn't feel that bad.

Boss battle was actually so difficult that I gave up for now. I might give it another try if I have time.

Demo is able to throw in new things every few levels. If game is able to keep that up, it could be fun all the way to the end.

I didn't find any indication that there would be Linux native build coming.

Anger Foot is worth trying out for people who are not allergic to FPS games (or Proton).

Kandria
There's already article about Kandria from few days ago.

I actually actively tried to avoid metroidvanias this time, but because of the article and few people might have mentioned the game, I just had to try it.

Basically what sets it apart from most metroidvanias is while world is not in good shape, it still feels lived in.

Less good things is that combat has tricks that make it quite easy. For example single enemies are quite easy to be defeated with endless combo.

Annoying thing is that platforming is quite difficult. Demo is sliced from somewhere middle of the game, so maybe there's plenty of time to get good. I was starting to wonder if there are better gamepads out there than XBox style controller. I actually switched to keyboard as it felt just bit more responsive (though hardly comfortable).

Kandria seems to worth trying for metroidvania fans who are not afraid of difficult platforming.

Flying Neko Delivery
Flying Neko Delivery was bit of a surprise. It seems to be inspired by Kikis Delivery Service and is cute in many ways.

There are few thing to complain about though. Tutorial feels bit like controller test. In case of Linux port it's not that bad thing as at least for me, one of the buttons didn't work. I don't think the bindings are reconfigurable in the demo, so I ended up using keyboard for the not working buttons. It might have been wiser to learn the keyboard controls.

You would think delivering packages with broomstick would be boring. And you would be somewhat right. Staying in the air needs little bit of attention and there are some diversions.

For example food ingredients need to be gathered all over the map. Food and drink in turn turbocharge the broomstick.

So even with the flaws, there's something worthwhile trying out.

Boxville
Boxville is point and click adventure game mostly without dialogue (there's some, but it's based on pictures and animation). Art is quite nice and puzzles require little bit of thinking.

Seems to be worth trying out for those that have trouble following complicated plot and reading lot of text. It might be little bit difficult for people trying out point and click adventure first time around, but otherwise would be nice first entry into the genre.

The Frogs
The Frogs is kind of Monty Python style point and click adventure with art from paintings. There's already article out from few days ago.

User interface feels bit clunky and humor is quite close to being funny. Might eventually buy Procession to Cavalry instead though.

Dragon Forge
Dragon Forge (I read it as DragonForce, but that's something totally different) is city builder, but there's player character that happens to be a dragon.

Demo has quite strict 20 minute time limit, but sacrificing gems seems to be essential part of the game.

For this one might have to wait for the release and see if people like it. There's some potential.

Quant
Quant is game that teaches quantum mechanics through gameplay. It seems to need bit polishing as game doesn't tell how to dismiss dialogs (I was able to figure out that with keyboard it's the control key). Game itself is kind of almost fun, which is not bad for educational game.

Yoko Redux: Dreams of a Blue Planet
Yoko Redux is cyberpunk point and click adventure.

In one way it's opposite of Boxville. Protagonist just doesn't know when to shut up. It's like voice actor was paid by number of words. There are times where dialogue attempts to be clever, but usually it just falls flat.

Good thing is that hotspots are very easy to see. They have have red color in them and background is quite gray. Not that levels are easy to navigate. Walking around changes camera angle, so it takes a while to get yourself familiar with the level. You just need to explore all corners of the screen in case it will reveal something new.

I guess kind of positive thing is that I actually was able to finish the demo, so I don't have to wonder if the game gets any better.

With movies there's sort of tradition of watching bad movies with buddies. For that game would have to be so bad that it's funny, but I don't see that angle working here.

But if I have to be positive, it can be recommended for people who like bad games.

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Developer of Big Ambitions uploaded a fixed build. Nice to see so quick response.

It still crashes quite frequently. If somebody wants to test it, my thread is over here.

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Few more games in this batch. As usual, order is from most interesting to least interesting.

Relic Space
This one seems to getting its inspiration from Elite and similar games. There's also maybe hint of Stellaris. Instead of having long flights in hyperspace, most of the action happens on hex grid in turn based mode.

There's multiple factions, some are in war with player faction. You can do missions that help the faction or help it economically by trading. While factions do things on their own too, player actions seem to have quite big impact.

There's some procedural generation, but there's also main campaign with a plot. Demo has bit of the plot in the tutorial. It's hard to say much about the plot, but at least it has intriguing start.

Relic Space seems to be slightly less complex space simulator (I think biggest ones are quite massive). Also gameplay seems to be faster, paradoxically there seems to be less waiting even when its turn based.

Old Skies
Another point and click adventure from Wadjet Eye Games. While they're known for their pixels, Old Skies is their most ambitious game yet. Resolution has been bumped to full HD and voice acting cast should be bigger than previous games.

User interface is quite simple and intuitive, even web search interface has been simplified.

As for the plot itself, time travel is in heart of it. World building is quite nice. I got bit stuck on one puzzle, so I haven't finished it yet.

Based on what I have seen so far, it's good pick for sci-fi point and click adventure fans.

Metal: Hellsinger (Proton)
In short, this is Doom 2016 the rhythm game. Looks as great as Doom 2016. Because of the rhythm game component, it's harder to get into flow. It's possible though, seems to require bit of practice. Especially with shotgun as it seems to be annoyingly bit slower than beat.

This one didn't work with the default Proton version. Proton Experimental did the trick though. No Linux version promised as far as I could find out. There's PC version though, but I assume it means Windows.

If you like FPS and rhythm games, this one might be worth trying out. If you like metal music, even more so. For me it caused small itch to start up Doom 2016 though (I don't have Doom Eternal because of Bethseda account requirement).

Tyrant's Blessing
Imagine Into the Breach, but in fantasy setting. Tyrants Blessing fits that description quite closely. There are small differences though. One of the major ones is that moving out of the harms way is not as effective.

Characters leave in most cases ghost in the original tile, which relays damage to the character. I guess that's there to have something similar to the buildings that can't move in Into the Breach. Without it, it mechanic for moving enemies would be useless most of the time.

Once you figure out the basics, demo throws in quite varied levels.

I didn't have patience to play the demo all the way to the end, but Tyrant's Blessing seems to be good game for tactical turn based games fans, if Into the Breach influences are not too distracting.

Alchemia: Creatio Ex Nihilo
This one has also quite clear influence: Slay the Spire. Largest difference is that instead of cards, there's ingredients for alchemy components. Game gives few recipes for free, but rest you have to figure out on your own. You can find hints for general ingredient layout or exact recipes.

I guess biggest flaw in the game, alchemy is not fun as core gameplay mechanic. You just have to keep trying things out until you accidentally get things right. Store description hints that the recipes might be unique for each gameplay.

At least once you upgrade recipe once, you don't have to manually place the ingredients.

I guess this could be recommended for people who have appetite still for one more Slay the Spire inspired game.

Poly Skies
This one is is city builder, but people are on floating islands. Based on the demo and store page description there's not much more to it and release is scheduled for this summer.

Demo is bit too basic to be interesting and some of the basic city builder things are not there. There are better city builders out there.

Legacy of Sin blood oath (Proton)
This one seems to be have kind of Plants VS zombies style gameplay, just less cute. Can't say much more as demo seems to be broken. So if it for some reason seems interesting, only option right now is to watch gameplay from stream.

I didn't spot any promises about Linux version.

Big Ambitions
Based on description, this is some kind of rags to riches simulation.

Demo is broken though. People are commenting about the gameplay, so it might work better with Proton.

For me all texts were placeholders and button that's supposed to start the game didn't work.



I have also bit odds and ends. I tried Hands of Necromacy again and it being metroidvania makes more sense now. I was doing things in wrong order, but after backtracking I found more of the multipart key fetch quest. Maybe bit complicated for FPS, but quite norm for metroidvania.

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Todays batch. I'm again arranging them from most interesting to least interesting.

Justin Wack and The Big Time Hack (Proton)
This one is point and click adventure inspired by the LucasArts classics. This one has has pixelated graphics too, but only to censor certain area. Game seems to be fully voice acted too.

Puzzles in the demo are relatively easy if you think what would be the wackiest solution. For this kind of game, humor can be be quite hit and miss, but I might have chuckled out loud few times.

I actually wishlisted this one. System requirements include Linux, so native version is most likely coming.

Casebook 1899: The Leipzig Murders
Another point and click adventure. This one is more serious and is pixelated all the way. Voice acting is in German, but text has English translation.

What makes this one interesting, is somewhat serious tone (there's humor, but it's not wacky) and low tech detective stuff. User interface takes moment to get used to (scroll wheel opens either inventory or notebook). Speaking of notebook, it's similar to Blackwell series (which in turn must be inspired by something else).

Basically clues are collected mostly by talking with people and combining clues start building up the case. Final conclusions require some deduction, paying attention is needed. Game hints if you got things wrong, remember to save before start arresting people.

Demo has one full case, final game should have more cases to solve.

In the end bit clunky, but does have certain charm. I wonder if there are more good murder mystery games out there.

Dome Keeper
Dome Keeper has actually article already. Basically it's mining game mixed with dome defense. For roguelike it might not have enough variety, so you'll better get good in order to start exploring the upgrade tree bit further. Trailer sure has some interesting things.

Arcane Waters
This one is sort of Stardew Valley inspired MMORPG with pirates. You can enable single player in the settings, but setting is not sticky. It seemed though that only multiplayer thing you'll encounter is global chat, but based on that there were at least few players.

Fights are kind of somewhere between turn based and realtime. There's visible and invisible cooldowns, so instead of using the most effective attack, it's easier to just spam whatever is not in middle of cooldown. It's possible that eventually there's more attacks to choose from, so multiple choices could even be available.

I didn't feel like grinding quests outside the tutorial, but it seemed that demo might have bit more content.

If you're interested in this type of game, you could have more fun than I did.

World Turtles
Based on tutorial it seems somewhat basic city builder with animated turtle. Store description hints though that there's more to it. I might revisit this if freeplay reveals something more. I played just the tutorial.

Rogue Warlords
Game about building massive army and slowly defeating your opponent. Basically you spend gold that you divide between recruiting units and purchasing upgrades. Battle itself mostly doesn't need that much interaction.

I wonder how fun replaying this is, but still: massive...armies.

Walk Hero (Proton)
Is Loop Hero too complicated for you? Walk Hero replaces loop with direct path and throws most of things from Loop Hero away. Still, it's oddly satisfying. Store page promises different characters, so there should be some meta progression.

Still, there's risk that it gets boring quite fast.

Words Can Kill
Kind of Slay the Spire style roguelite game. Cards are replaced with letters and longer words you can form, more attack or defense you can get. It gets bit more complicated than that. I guess only fault is that it doesn't feel fun. But it might be just me.

Fech The Ferret
Runner game. Running seems bit pointless as game doesn't guide where you should go. Music is supposed to get more exciting if you run faster, but at least the demo doesn't tell much how to run faster. If remember correctly, game is still in alpha, which could explain things. It's still missing the fun.

Blank Space (Proton)
Twin stick shooter where you clear rooms. I guess what killed this for me was the weapon reloading. Hard to get into flow when you have forced break like that.

Graphically looks good though and maybe there's good game in there somewhere.

Dino Mercs (Proton)

This one is broken, didn't work even with Proton Experimental. Could be fun, if you like debugging Proton. Based on the discussions, it works at least on Windows. There's system requirements for native build, so maybe that works better if it turns up.

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Quoting: Philadelphus

Quoting: PhlebiacWhat happens when the host creature gets an itch, and rolls over to scratch all those pesky parasites on its back?

Given its biology, I'm not sure it can roll over.

I'm kinda interested in how your villagers get up there in the first place though—the game kinda glosses over it.

Initially they could get up there when creature is sleeping. After that there's gradually more options like making the creature lie down or building some kind of lift system.

I don't remember game explicitly telling those things. Patrols just somehow return and get wood and stone up there.

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