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8-Bit Brigade Launches Kickstarter

8-Bit Brigade Launches Kickstarter

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Indie developers unite for 8-Bit Brigade, a Switch compilation of NES homebrew games, now crowdfunding on Kickstarter. We’ve covered the crowdfunding campaigns for several NES homebrews around here. Usually their purpose is to produce physical versions on real NES cartridges, but getting the games published on modern hardware is another matter (unless it’s Steam, then you just roll the ROM into an emulation package and hit “publish”). So, these indie creators figured, why not team up and release one massive compilation title? Thus was formed the 8-BIT BRIGADE. The campaign launched today. 8-Bit Brigade contains ten of the biggest NES projects of the last few years, from developers like Dale Coop (Skate Cat), Nate Peters (Doodle World) and YouTuber John Riggs (Yeah Yeah Beebiss II). The #1 goal is to produce a physical copy on Switch, and for that to happen a higher number of pledges has to be hit — the goal is $60,000. They’re a long way off, but with 29 days to go (and your help), they

The Challenge Of Releasing A Shantae GBA Game 22 Years Late

The Challenge Of Releasing A Shantae GBA Game 22 Years Late

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We don’t know when the next Shantae game will be announced, but we do know one nobody’s seen before is coming out. There was a long wait between the release of the original Game Boy Color game and the first sequel, and that’s because no market existed yet for a small company to release an independent creation on a modern console or handheld. What would’ve been Shantae: Risky Revolution for the Game Boy Advance initially depended on a major publisher agreeing to eat the physical production costs in hopes of sharing the profit. But due to the low sales of the original Shantae, no one was biting, and the GBA Shantae had to be scrapped mid-development. It’s only now, when the half-genie has a fervent fanbase AND Wayforward can publish games on their own, that they can think about pulling this lost chapter out of storage. Shantae Advance really is coming out, though depending which way you want to play it, you might have to wait longer. The physical GBA

Spilled: A Game About A Boat, Made On A Boat

Spilled: A Game About A Boat, Made On A Boat

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Lente, a young video game developer from The Netherlands, grew up in and around boats. While entering college, she purchased her own small boat to live on and reduce her cost of living. And while on that boat, she began work on Spilled!, a game about the floating structures that have defined her life. Now the crowdfunding campaign for the game is live. The title Spilled! refers to the fact that the boat you control has been assigned to clean up oil spills in the ocean. It’s much easier here than it is in real life: you simply steer the boat in the direction of a spill to suck it up and turn the water from brown to clear. Every time you clear one mess, though, someone’s causing another. As you play, your boat’s abilities will increase. You’ll earn money from the junk you collect and recycle, which will let you upgrade the boat and take on even greater spills. There are also two animals hidden in each area, covered

Celeste 64 Takes The Popular Platformer Back In Time…Or Forward

Celeste 64 Takes The Popular Platformer Back In Time…Or Forward

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The indie hit Celeste turned six this weekend, and as a special birthday present, Extremely OK Games (the makers of the original) have remade the game’s world in a low-poly, low-res fashion reminiscent of the Nintendo 64. However, given that the pixel visuals of the original Celeste are meant to evoke the 8-bit machines of the 1980s (and the game was originally thought up on a facsimile, the Pico-8)…is this actually a leap forward? Celeste 64 once again has you controlling Madeline, and once again tasks the player with climbing Celeste Mountain using Maddie’s handful of skills: jumping, wall-kicking and boosting in midair. However, the third dimension adds a bit of extra challenge, and the game was already hard enough (this reporter could not figure out how to scale the first wall in front of him). It’s too bad Celeste 64 wasn’t built to run on a real N64, but pulling that off would be a lot harder than it looks. Today’s programming languages are completely different from what the

No More Snow: A Festive Co-op Shooter with a Dark Twist Launches on Steam

No More Snow: A Festive Co-op Shooter with a Dark Twist Launches on Steam

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No More Snow, a co-op shooter indie game with Santa and Mrs. Santa taking on Krampus across ten unique levels launches to Steam in time for the holidays. Just in time for the holiday season, independent game developer Deividas Baumilas, also known as Barzda, has released No More Snow, a captivating co-op top-down shooter game that puts a dark twist on the traditional Christmas narrative. Available on Steam, this indie game promises to be a festive treat for gamers looking for an action-packed and unconventional holiday experience. In No More Snow, players take control of Santa Claus and Mrs. Santa, who are on a mission to fight against Krampus and his army of mischievous minions. The indie game features 10 unique levels, each with its distinct challenges, set in diverse locations such as snowy mountains, a spooky graveyard, and Santa’s own workshop. The game boasts cartoony low poly graphics, adding a playful yet eerie dimension to the Christmas-themed horrors. Players will embark on an adrenaline-pumping adventure, where they’ll face an

New Games For Retro Consoles: Ploid And Reknum

New Games For Retro Consoles: Ploid And Reknum

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If you didn’t know, most video game consoles from the 80s and 90s are still getting new games added to their library every month — just not “officially.” There’s a thriving indie development community centered around the NES, Game Boy, Genesis, and the 90s’ final gift, the Dreamcast. Ploid and Reknum are two indie projects first released for the NES, but they’ll soon be getting Dreamcast releases thanks to the efforts of publisher VGNY Soft. Preorders were opened today, and here’s what each of them are about…. Ploid is a Mega Man inspired platformer-shooter where you play as a robot named Omega searching for an upgrade. “Omega must travel to the sacred ruins in search of the sacred disks files that contain the necessary information to be able to take the final step and evolve,” reads the official description. 8 worlds full of exploration and secrets! Dangerous traps and monsters Story Mode  EX-Mode 8bit music by David Ko Supports HDMI & VGA Cables REGION FREE In Reknum you are Cheri, resident

Hiboka at Play NYC | Flying Carpets Games on Malagasy Folklore Inspired Survival Horror Indie Game

Hiboka at Play NYC | Flying Carpets Games on Malagasy Folklore Inspired Survival Horror Indie Game

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We recently hit Play NYC, a New York based convention that highlights local video game and tabletop game developers. We spoke with Salim Larochelle of Flying Carpets Games on his studio’s upcoming survival horror game, Hiboka. Hiboka is the spirit underworld of Malagasy folklore. The game features two playable characters. The first playable character is Alexandre Leblanc, a wealthy teenage boy grieving the loss of his mother. The second is Ramala Fifaliana, a Malagasy girl Alexandre encounters during his search to find the entrance to Hiboka. Together, they hope to uncover the truth behind the cursed Sanatry Mansion. PopGeeks: Tell us about Hiboka. Salim Larochelle on Hiboka: Alright. So, Hiboka is a survival horror game based on the folklore of Madagascar. So, it’s about the fairy tales of Madagascar, the creatures of that area of the world. It plays a lot like old-fashioned survival horror games on the PS2, like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, that kind of game. It takes place in another era, 1942, where people are trapped inside a mansion in the

Kristala at Play NYC | Astral Clocktower Studios on Souls-inspired ARPG

Kristala at Play NYC | Astral Clocktower Studios on Souls-inspired ARPG

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We recently covered Play NYC. a two day local New York convention that spotlights New York-based indie video game developers and tabletop publishers, Nerdy Thirty Podcast co-host, Christina Crisfield and I spoke with Alexis Brutman (Studio Founder / Producer) and Sarah Schaffstall (Owner / Marketing Director) of Astral Clocktower Studios about their upcoming game, Kristala. If you’re missing a souls-inspired ARPG with badass anthropomorphic cats, Kristala might be right up your alley. PopGeeks: Tell us about Kristala. Sarah Schaffstall: So, Kristala is a dark fantasy action RPG developed with Unreal Engine 5 for PC and console. You play us like a magic warrior cat who is embarking on this epic hero’s journey. And then simultaneously you’re battling to uncover the source of a dark curse. So you kind of have like two motives if you will during gameplay. PopGeeks: What are some of Kristala’s influences? Alexis Brutman: It was definitely influenced by I would say the Soulsborne genre in general, Bloodborne in particular. But also definitely classic fantasy like Lord

Sleight of Hand: Dominion – Gift for your Valentine

Sleight of Hand: Dominion – Gift for your Valentine

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After celebrating a day of love and friendship, it will be time for war with Sleight of Hand: Dominion. Evil Bunneh will launch its CCG wartime game on February 15, 2023. The game is set in a realm driven by war and players must create an army and confront their enemies on the battlefield. Sleight of Hand: Dominion Sleight of Hand: Dominion is a CCG-type turn card game with a relaxing gameplay mode in PVE mode as well a thrilling online multiple-player mode. enhanced by the gothic graphics and war zone soundtrack, the game is an exciting venture. With over 80 cards at your disposal, you are well-armed and ready to face your opponents. dominate the most brutal warriors, outsmart the gruesome and cunning rogues, and surpass the valleys filled with fearsome mages. The fun goes further as you lead a variety of support units as you plunder through the battlefield. Play your hand strategically and claim victory of the realm. Uniqueness Sleight of Hand: Dominion does pattern the familiar cards transformation

Developer-Friendly Publisher Null Games Announces First Title

Developer-Friendly Publisher Null Games Announces First Title

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One of the most annoying things about human society is the disconnect between those who make games and those who supply the money for those games to be made. The developer has one goal in life: to make a good game, something they can be proud of. The publisher also has one singular goal: to make money, and in the pursuit of that goal, doesn’t care whether the games are good. Unfortunately the developer very rarely has the cash to produce their dream game themselves and must rely on someone who does — the publisher. But when the publisher gets in the way, the games aren’t very good and the production process isn’t very fun. Like we said: annoying. Chris Wanstrath, one of the founders of the software development platform GitHub, thinks he can make a difference here. “In the world of indie games, the publishers have all the power and they know it. Contracts are often one-sided, as is the risk. We think there’s a better way.” So…introducing Null

Join The Inkulinati This Winter

Join The Inkulinati This Winter

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It takes a lot to stand out in the crowded indie game scene these days. When we say a game has a “unique look,” that means a lot, and well…this one does. Of all the visual styles that are now out there, “medieval parchment” is not one we can say we’ve seen before. That’s the setting for Inkulinati, the strategy battle game coming from Poland-based Yaza Games this winter. You are the hand drawing up an army on a 2D battlefield, making moves against rival Inkulinati for domination of the scroll. There is strategy not just in the placement of monsters and the moves you make them take, but in the art itself: if you draw too many of the same figure, the hand will get “bored” and produce a weaker army. We can’t describe it as effectively as the video below can — it’s just something you have to see for yourself. Take your turn in Inkulinati duels filled with unexpected tactical depth (and humor). Embark on an ever-changing

New For Game Boy: Glory Hunters

New For Game Boy: Glory Hunters

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Ever since GB Studio was first released, retro gaming enthusiasts have been crafting new and exciting titles for the obsolete system. One of the more interesting is Glory Hunters, a game that is currently funding its own physical release on Kickstarter. Glory Hunters patterns itself after the original Legend of Zelda, but adds in a bunch of extra twists. The light plot involves a meteor heading for your world; your quest is to find and awaken one of the four gods that can stop it. From there, you have many choices to handle the situation. You can play the pacifist way, gathering items and unlocking puzzles, or the aggressive way by slashing at monsters. The unique “achievements” mechanic awards you points for doing pretty much anything, and you trade in these points to open new areas, unlock minigames and other content. The only imperative is that you awaken a god; you can tackle it any way you want. Since there are many different ways to finish the game, it’s impossible

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