The Blackwell Legacy

The Blackwell Legacy is a 2D indie adventure game. It is also the first entry in the Blackwell series; And was designed by Dave Gilbert, creator of The Shiva. It is a good adventure game and was nominated for five AGS awards the year it was released. These awards are best character art, best dialogue writing, best non-player character, best use of sound, and best music.

The production values are quite good across the entire board. It has great low res graphics; reminiscent of older classic titles such as Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, if somewhat less detailed and not quite as good. It even managed to win an award for its art; The AGS award for Best Character Art. Additionally, It had good voice overs and sounds effects.

The story tells the tale of a young woman, Rosangela Blackwell. After the death of her aunt, she finds out about her family's history of dementia, and is soon dropped into a world she can hardly imagine, a world of paranormal activity and adventure. As such she starts off the adventure as the classic whiny protagonist, but soon after solving a few puzzles and getting a few results she begins to turn confident and competent in the face of adversity. In a nutshell the story is about ghosts and helping them find peace, and as such is a pretty standard story centred around a medium; Well done but not too inspired.

As a medium, Rosangela has a spirit guide, Joey Mallone, who gets her acquainted with the supernatural world. He also follows her around; Helping her solve a puzzles and talk to the troubled spirits they encounter. Their shared mission is to seek out tormented souls and help them find peace. This is mostly done by researching their past lives and shocking them into a lucid state by using this personal knowledge.

What makes The Blackwell Legacy unique is how the user interacts with the game world. The interaction is extremely streamlined, you cannot even use inventory items with the game world; Instead if you have the item needed on you it is automatically used. This of course prohibits most classical adventure style puzzles; Which is a double edged sword. While it is nice to be away from the often tedious inventory based puzzles; What replaces them, for the most part, are dialogue based puzzles, and as such the game is very story heavy.

In addition to the plethora of dialogue puzzles, their are a few interesting and sometimes unique non dialogue puzzles. The notebook system particularly is reminiscent of classical inventory puzzles. As you go around talking to people you collect clues in your notebook, and at anytime you can view those clues and try to make sense of them. You make sense of them by combining them, much as you would two items. In addition to all the previous mentioned puzzles types their are also are few other puzzles. These in my opinion are the best part of the entire game, and very enjoyable and unique; So I will not spoil them for you by telling you all about them; But sufficed to say their are reasons for both puzzle lovers and story lovers to play this title.

Kheops Studio

Kheops Studio is a France based independent adventure game developer. They have created many great PC games since their formation in 2003. I have played several and plan to continue playing any of their games I can get my hands on, as I have enjoyed every one.

Many of their games share some defining characteristics. They all have good conventional graphics and have a first person point of view. But the truly innovative and unique attributes that are included in many of their games are many ways to solve puzzles and the large amount of items you will have in your inventory at any time (possibly even to such an extent as to require inventory management). These characteristics are linked, as the most common way used to create multiple solutions are to allow multiple different items to solve the same puzzle. For example, creating a fire might require wooden logs or you could use charcoal.

One reason that so many items are used in the game, and a staple of the studio, are the many repeatable mundane tasks. These repeatable tasks are solvable using many different items, some unique and others common (sometimes infinite) resources. These common resources will be used often and as such you will be able to carry multiple of them in your inventory at one time. But this in my opinion is not bad or boring, the puzzles since they are recognizable are more intuitive; their is no staring at the monitor in confusion wondering what this new puzzles might want you to do or blindly trying items because you have no idea what you would use to make some exotic contraption.

SafeCracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure:
SaveCracker is a puzzle game and spiritual sequel to the 1999 game SafeCracker. The plot is sparse and does not get in the way of the gameplay at all. The basic premise, you are in an eccentric millionaire's mansion and it is filled to the rafters with unique and challenging safes and you must unlock them all. This lack of plot leaves lots of room for puzzles, and SafeCracker does not disappoint. It is full of interesting and diverse mind benders.


Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne:
Voyage (aka Journey to the Moon) is a adventure game inspired by the novels From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon by Jules Verne. Unlike the books the protagonist actually makes it to the moon's surface and finds life; Unfortunately, his two partners in adventure are killed during the journey and he does not remember how they came to die as he suffers from amnesia. The plot and challenges revolve around finding out what happened during the trip to the moon and returning to earth.

This game follows the Kheops formula. It has interesting puzzles, environments, plot, and a great sounds track. A very memorable game and a personal favorite.


Return to Mysterious Island & Return to Mysterious Island 2: Mina's Fate:
Another series of adventure games based off of a Jules Verne novel. This game, and its sequel, are based in the universe laid out in The Mysterious Island. Both games follow the Kheops formula quite strictly and have interesting environments to explore, intriguing multi path puzzles, and an interesting plot.

In the first game, the best one in the series in my opinion, Mina is stranded on a uninhabited island. She explores the island finding ruined buildings and technology. She learns that these were left by Captain Nemo and even visits the Nautilus in her quest for escape from the island.

In the second game Mini is back on the island. She is still trying to escape but a sickness has come to the island killing plants and animals, so she is also out to save the island if she can. In this game you also get to play as Jep the monkey, her constant companion.


Dracula 3: The Path Of The Dragon:
In Dracula 3 you play as Father Arno Moriani. Who in the 1920s has been sent by the Vatican to investigate a recently deceased potential candidate for sainthood. The candidate resides in a small village, still recovering from the devastation of WWI, in Transylvania. Just outside of the town is Vlad The Impaler's (Dracula's) Castle.

The investigation takes a unexpected (or I guess expected given the local) turn when the body of the saint is found to have the "Mark of Dracula" on it. But the church has already decided that vampires do not exist and are just a peasant superstition. What follows is Father Arno Moriani investigation into strange blood disorders, Vampire myths, and the strange happening surrounding the death of the potential saint, as he struggles with his belief that vampires do not exist.

While the game does have it faults, it has been criticized for a lack of vampires in the game and too many mundane puzzles, I really did enjoyed the game. It has a very good horror/vampiric atmosphere; I found the puzzles quite enjoyable overall; and I liked the scientific and rational way Father Arno goes about his investigation.

The Secrets of Da Vinci:
In The Secrets of Da Vinci Valdo, a young apprentice scholar, is exploring the late Leonardo's mansion. He is looking for a secrete hidden manuscript of Leonardo's. Along the way Valdo will have to decipher messages and puzzles left behind by Leonardo and repair some of his inventions.

Overall I really enjoyed this game: the graphics are good, the plot is interesting, and the puzzles are enjoyable if somewhat simple.

Risen

Risen is a very fun open world action RPG with elements of a MMORPG and an enjoyable hard core twist. It was developed by Piranha Bytes, the creator of the Gothic series and is available for the PC and Xbox 360.

Unlike most RPGs, Risen rightly labels magic as a rare and unique ability; And the ability to use it is guarded by a strict upper class of magicians. Fortunately, everyone is still able to use magic scrolls (they play a big part in the puzzle solving). Because of this it is hard to become a magic user, and even if you follow the strict path of a mage you will only become powerful late in the story line.

Their are three different paths you can follow through the story line. These are not strict nor do you have to pick one from the beginning, or even stay with one that you pick (up to a certain point). Every class has their advantages and disadvantages and even their unique plot and missions.
Classes, in order of difficulty to acquire:

1. Criminal - Swords and Axes
2. Warrior of the Order (Paladin) - Staff and Basic Magic
3. Mage - Advanced Magic and Basic Magic

Note: All classes are able to use the normal weapons: swords, axes, and staffs, to varying degrees of proficiency.

One big difference between normal RPGs and this one is the levelling up system. When you level up you do not get any skill/stat increases but points that allow you to pay trainers to increase your stats/skills. This was quite an annoyance to begin with, but after I got used to the system I started to appreciate the realism this added to the game. Along with the normal magic/weapon skills in the game are some MMORPG like skills including forging and skinning. They do not go into the same depth as real MMORPGs but are useful none the less.

The battle system is pretty much the same as what you would expect, but the PC version does not include a manual lock-on. This adversely effects almost every battle that includes more then one person, as you are constantly being auto-locked onto an enemy behind the one you are currently fighting.

Hammerfight

Hammerfight (formerly Hammerfall) is a physics action adventure game available for the PC on Steam. It is one of the most innovative games I have ever played, and that is saying a lot. The graphics are good, very good actually for such a small title. Additionally, it has a branching plot that is universally praised and adds quite a bit or replayability. The physics are great and quite a lot of the environment is destructible.

You play as a little battle copter thing, moving it around with your mouse, with a 2D side view. You can attach various battle implements to your machine {shields, swords, maces, guns, throwing weapons} and your main attack method is flying in circles at the right speed and angle to swing the weapon and hit your opponent. Their is a lot of skill involved; It is not easy to get the weapons swinging properly and their are different ways to go about trying to do so. Additionally, your weapons can be used to disarm your opponent or to block their strikes; Hitting an enemies weapon just right and with enough power can knock it off of their ship, giving you a huge advantage; And your weapon is the most sturdy and indestructible part of your ship and is excellent at blocking and deflecting blows. Also, instead of going for a strong hit you can try to push the enemy into a wall, damaging him and lining him up for a devastating attack, or another foe, damaging and entangling then both and throwing them out of position.

The main game consists of a series of area battles, some with hordes of enemies poring into the area, others with a few hard enemies, and still others which are boss battles. Periodically you are asked to make a choice, your answer dictates which path you follow; Additionally, how you do in some battles and challenges dictate your next branch. In addition to the main game their are a few very fun mini games, that will give you weapons and upgrades if you do well in them for use in future mini games or the main game. The most notable of these mini games is one modelled after a simplistic version of baseball and another similar to soccer. And if you are interested in multiplayer you can play with up to four mouses hooked up to one computer.

The weapons are very diverse and interesting. Not only can you add singing stones to add special attributes to your weapons, but all the weapons play very differentially to begin with. The swords are very sharp but short, you need to get closer to your enemies and will not be able to build up as much energy in your swing. While conversely the maces, in general, are connected to your machine with a chain (which enemies can pass though) and are blunt and heavy (in general) allowing you to give a huge punch to anyone in a wide circle around you. Multiple weapons/armour can be attached at the same time, the limiting factor is mostly their weight, the more you pile on the heavier and therefore slower you will be. The game is moderately loot/upgrade based, you can acquire weapons and upgrades by either winning them in a match, picking them up from your fallen enemies, or buying them. These weapons are stored in your own personal armoury, with a stop for one of every weapon in the game.

Note:  A "version" of Hammerfight (Hammer Wars) has been released on the PSP, by a different developer. This game has differences from the original and I have never played it. This review is based solely on Hammerfight for the PC.

Mt.

Mt. is a free indie simplistic mountain climbing game. It is procedurally generated from the name you give it for the mountain. One interesting thing to notice is that the entire mountain it generated, not just the left side which you climb; And you can skip the end point and go to the right side if you want.

Your goal is to reach the flag on top of the mountain. you do this by jumping and use of a bungee cord. The environment is only a few very different shads of grey, minimalist to the extreme, but I still find I am interested to see what is around the next corner. It is very simple but it is quite fun.

You can stand stationary on any surface, as long as your legs are pointed towards the ground.


Controls:

• Jump - Left mouth button to jump towards the mouse cursor, the farther away it it the stronger the jump.
• Drift - When in the air the wasd keys will allow you to drift in any of those directions, note up almost cancels out gravity, but not quite.
• Bungee - Hold down the right mouse button either below your man and you will go int bungee mode. Now you can use drift to build up enough momentum to get you where you want. To exit release right mouse button.

The game can be played in a browser or downloaded here.

Note: Some of the generated worlds are more "fun" then others. The most interesting world I have seen so far is named "fun", but unfortunately it is only the right side mountain that is interesting.

Mirage

Mirage is new indie game that while it might not be technically feature complete, it could be considered a full game. It is an action exploration game, with emphasis on the exploration. Never since Knytt have I felt such joy from just exploring the game world, and Mirage is far more beautiful in my opinion.

The environment is not quite dark but more grey and alien. And it is very detailed and beautiful for a indie title. You play as a swarm of shards of glass and you fly around this environment exploring and fighting monsters.

It does suffer from some technical issues, apparently the graphics is tied in with the physics so if you set the graphics too high you might not even notice anything except that the game becomes unstable. Fortunately, it is hardly noticeable, graphically, when the setting is lowered.

Action 52

Action 52 was a cartridge containing a collection of 52 games released for the NES and Sega Genesis. It is also almost certainly the most expensive game ever released for the system. At "less then $4 a game" the cartridge totals to $199. Unfortunately, every single one of those 52 games are good examples of the worse games either system has; And that is not even considering all the bugs and similarities the games all share. In fact it is quite notorious for it poor quality and rarity, and is even sought after by game collectors because of this. For a more in depth guide into the Action 52 I would recommend the Angry Video Game Nerd's review of Action 52 (1, 2).

Currently, their is a Action 52 game remake competition and a few games have already been released. I think it was a great game collection to set a game dev competition around, it has a wide range of genres and themes to choose from and all of the games are so bland that it really leaves everything up to the developer. Quite a few of the released games are quite good and since the competition has hardly even started, I for one am eagerly awaiting the other games completions. Most prominent in the collection of currently finished remakes are the games Jigsaw and Illuminator.


Jigsaw is a action platformer themed around construction. The enemies are construction tools and the player combats then using his trusty nail gun. In addition to combat the nail gun is also useful in the platforming; Up to 3 nails can be can be in play at a time and then they hit collidables they stick into them, making a small platforms and triggering the switch if applicable. This platform making and switch triggering can create some complex logic puzzles latter in the game.


Illuminator is quite unique, and does not fit well into any genre, but I would say it is a strategy action game. The game is divided into a series of houses filled with progressively harder and harder enemies; The enemies being varied demons, poltergeists, and other monsters. But the real enemy in this game is the dark. The houses all start out almost completely dark, the only light coming from windows and electronic devices. This light does not illuminate the house at all but does allow you to see any monsters passing by. To light up the house you can use your flashlight and collect numerous light making devices and plug them into electrical outlets around the house. Your flashlight's battery empties when in use and recharges when off, and has two levels of charge that when reached and activated will release progressively bigger beams of light. In addition to illuminating your enemies, light is also your weapon against them. In general, if a enemy is touched by light strong enough it will die, but some enemies take multiple strong flashes to kill, and the glowing red and blue orb enemies are rather unique. These glowing enemies are easy to see, even in the dark, but present a unique challenge. The blue ones need to have light directed at them for an extended continuous period of time to kill, while the red ones are impossible to kill and are attracted to light. To complete a house enough enemies must be killed to open up the portal to the next level.


Download links (Jigsaw, Illuminator)

Kings Quest: The Silver Lining

The Silver Lining is a free unofficial continuation to the Kings Quest series. The Kings Quest series, made by Sierra Entertainment, were classical point and click adventure games until the last instalment Mask of Eternity which was very combat heavy. The Silver Lining goes back to its roots bringing us another classical adventure.

The road that lead to the release of The Silver Lining was a rocky one, and until recently it looked like it would never be released at all. It has received two separate cease and desist notices; The first cease and desist was from Vivendi and the, after they merged, from Activision.

The Silver Lining is episodic, with What is Decreed Must Be being the only one released so far and with five episodes planned in total:

1. What is Decreed Must Be
2. Two Households
3. My Only Love Sprung From My Only Hate
4. Tis In My Memory Locked. And You Yourself Shall Hold The Key Of It
5. A Thousand Times Goodnight.

It has quite high production qualities for a indie game. The graphics are in 3D, and are quite good. The voice acting is better then some commercial games and at the lease not distracting from the overall experience. Also when wandering around looking at items/places their is always a huge amount of information/backstory that the narrator can give you if you want to sit through it all.

In general it has a atmosphere of classical adventure overhanging everything, but with more modern production values. And I think it will be a great addition to the series, and hopefully inspire more fan made additions to old, but not forgotten, IP.

Rein

Rein is a very short 2D point and click puzzle adventure game. Made by Darius Poyer using the AGS engine. When I first saw it I liked the arts style. Latter during play, it struck me with its realism.

You play how you would act in real life more then in any other game I have played. Solutions are logical, and if you already know the solution you can go right to it instead of being required to tread a narrow path dictated to you by the game.

Their is one part of Rein that in many games would be considered a bad design choice, but I think it works well in this game, and that is "random" death. Their are a few locations in the game that unless have already played the game you are pretty much guarantied to die, Luckily you always restart only a few seconds back. To me this really seemed to make the statement that in real life you are not always given fair challenges.

Teppoman 2

Teppoman 2 is a 2D stealth action platformer. It is in some Asian language, but it is OK as the plot is pretty sparse. I assume, you control a skilled commando out to kill some evil guy and find as many bananas as possible on the way. It is moderately short, but very challenging, so you will be playing it over and over again before anyone could expect to beat it. But this repetition of levels does not get boring since even level you have beat before can be challenging but still go by very fast.

The controls are the most unique aspect of the game. The player can do many complicated acrobatics, and needs to, to progress through the levels. All of them are done with combinations of the movement keys (left, right) and the jump button. But interestingly, the more complicated acrobatics can be quite hard to pull off with the simple controls. Somehow though, it is not frustrating, it is just one more skill that is fun to learn.

When encountering a level for the first time you will likely spend most of your time just studying the screen coming up with strategies and likely exclaiming, this is impossible, their is no way I can get past that; But then you do. The result is a satisfying, challenging, and very addicting game.

So if you are interested download it.

Controls:

• Arrow Keys - move
• Down Arrow Key - open chest, pick up weapon/item
• Shift - jump (start lvl)
  
• Control - shoot, stealth kill
• A - drop weapon
• F2 - reset game
• J - suicide

Moves:

• Dash - quickly tap left or right twice
• Glide - jump immediately after dashing
• Skid - press the opposite directional key after dashing
• Reverse Jump - execute skid, then press the jump key quickly
• Body Surf - execute a glide from high ground, then hold the jump button to body surf on any body of water (muddy and clear)
• Wall Jump - pressed up again wall in the air, press jump
  

Notes:

• It is possible to skid almost off a platform to get over enough for walls that go right to the edge
• It is possible to use a bombs blast to send you flying to otherwise unreachable areas, but is only needed to get one banana
• Two bananas are available on every normal level, one on boss levels
  
• You must collect enough bananas to continue playing past the two (middle of game) boss battles. Five by end of level 5, and 15 by the end of level 10
• Bullets can activate levers
• Hidden passages become gradually more visible the closer you get to them (2-3 tiles max sight distance)
• Will not grip ladder if shift is held (don't forget this when jumping up or over to one)

Coming up with the strategy is half the fun, so do not watch too much of the provided video.

Dwarf Fortress

Dwarf Fortress is a unique and engrossing indie game by Bay 12 Games. In fact it is the only game, bar World of Warcraft, that I have heard of people avoiding because they do not want to get addicted to it.

The mechanics are so diverse and involved that pretty much anything can be done in the game; Game maps can be made into computers, stories are created from gameplay sessions, and all the characters have individual personalities and relationships.

An example of possible future graphics

At its core it is a fantasy city simulation. You control a band of dwarfs embarking on a grand adventure, the creation of a dwarven fortress. Basically you designate tasks and control what dwarfs are able to do what tasks. All dwarfs can do anything, but at varying degree; Over time they acquire more skills and can do faster and better work. These tasks range from planting seeds and engraving walls all the way to patrolling caravan routes and attacking enemies, all of these tasks containing an insane amount of details.

The Ascii graphics of Dwarf Fortress

You start with seven dwarfs and over time more are born and migrate into your fortress. Your job is to manage and direct them, which is made easier with nobles. You can elect certain dwarfs to fill noble positions, these will will do a myriad of management jobs from cataloguing your inventory to issuing production orders for you.

One of the more interesting parts of Dwarf Fortress are the mechanisms. The dwarfs can set up complicated machines including floodgates, retracting bridges, and traps. In addition to the normal traps, players can set up groups of mechanisms to trap and kill the invaders using water, magma, or other more exotic means.

By default the game comes with ASCII art graphics, that I found very hard to read, but luckily their are many great graphics packs and other useful utilities and mods. As well as a many useful tutorials [1, 2] to help you get into the complex world of Dwarf Fortress.

A currently available graphics set (Phoebus)

And now for some interesting Dwarf Fortress stories:

The tragic but inspiring tale of BronzeMurder (illustrated).

An harrowing tale from the Dubious Quality blog.

Find more stories of Dwarf Fortress by looking under the category Dwarf Fortress.

Syberia Series

The Syberia series is one of the most well though of modern point and click adventure games. It was created by Benoît Sokal, author of many great adventure games, most notably Amerzone (1999). It is also worth mentioning that the Syberia series takes place in the Amerzone universe, but no characters or story cross between the two.

Currently Syberia I (2002) and II (2004) have been released and Syberia III is planned for release sometime during 2010-2011. all of the games are designed for use on Windows, additionally Syberia I and II are available on PlayStation 2 and Xbox and Syberia III may be released on the PlayStation 3. Additionally Syberia I has been released on some handhelds.

The Syberia series is known for its amazing graphics, story, and interesting characters. and I particularly love the voice acting talent of Sharon Mann, who plays Kate Walker the lead protagonist.

The graphics of Syberia are top notch, but what makes it unique is the art style. It is steampunk without the steam; Most of the devices, tools, and even a train are powered by springs and gears and are called automatons. Additionally, the game is set in Eastern and central Europe and does a wonderful job of expressing the mystery and quiet beauty of its surroundings.

The story revolves around Kate Walker's journey across Europe in the foot steps of Hans Voralberg, the famous inventor that made all of the automatons. As she retraces his travels she encounters many of his amazing inventions and some very interesting characters.

The Longest Journey and Sanitarium Review

While both of these games do fall under the same genre of point and click adventure at the core they are very different games. The Longest Journey is fantasy adventure filled with magic and wonder; while Sanitarium is a dark demented trek into the psyche of a tormented man. If this was back when they were released then I would not be combining these reviews, but now they share something unique in common. And that is that they have both weathered the test of time and come out completely unscathed.

Many old games, even very good personal favourites, who are played now seem disappointingly antiquated. But a few games manage to retain their magic and two of these games are The Longest Journey and Sanitarium. If released today I have confidence that many video game critics would rate both of these games with similar scores as they got over a decade ago.


The Longest Journey has been a favourite of mine for quite some time, and without a doubt is one of the best point and click adventure game of all time. It really does a fabulous job of telling an interesting story and drawing you into it.

In the game you play as April Ryan, a art student, who is teleported to a alternate world, a world of magic. Their she learns that her world is only one of two parallel worlds (one of technology and one of magic) and they are both in danger of destruction. So she embarks on her quest to save them both.




Sanitarium is also a very well though of adventure game, the main different being the story and general theme of the game. Where The Longest Journey is magical Sanitarium is demented, where The Longest Journey fills the player with wonder Sanitarium fills the player with foreboding and confusion.

In Sanitarium you play a mental patient "struggling with inner demons, wrestling with soul-wrenching torment, battling to regain even a slippery grip on reality"[Robert Coffey] and remember who he is and what has happened to him. The story is told like a mystery, where you slowly unfold what has happened to you, but with one key difference. At every step, after gaining just a little incite into yourself and your history, you question if what you have learned is true, or if it is just a representation of the truth, or if you are just completely insane. You play the game partly in the protagonists delusions and partly in what at least appears to be reality. In the delusions the protagonist takes on different personas, and this is not just a visual change these personas have unique powers and abilities that add some diversity to the gameplay.

Bob Came in Pieces

Bob Came in Pieces is a 2D puzzle platformer with some unique and interesting gameplay elements. In Bob Came in Pieces you play an alien from outer space that encountered a few problems and ended up crash landing on earth with a badly damaged space ship. The crash spreads parts of his ship around the planet and the game is the story of Bob the alien's search for these missing parts so that he can repair his ship.

In the game Bob solves puzzles and navigates the world using his ship. To help solve these puzzles you must find more parts and customize your ship with them and this is were the game really comes into its own. The ship customization is simple but allows you to change every single part of your ship including the structure, the thrusters, and to attach any gadgets you might need.

Pixel Art

Pixel art has always been a favourite of mine, particularly in games, and after watching a recently released short documentary about pixel art called Pixel - A pixel art documentary I decided to write about a few games and a video that I think show off some really amazing pixel art (with lots of pictures included, of course).
Note: The still images do not do any of these games justice and I encourage you to play then all.


INDEX:

1. Small Worlds
2. Canabalt
3. Cave Story
4. Hero Core
5. DAN the MAN
   

Small Worlds
Small Worlds was made by David Shute, and is a short atmospheric exploration game.
The game always shows all the uncovered map and therefore zooms out more and more as you play. The amazing art and music of Small Worlds inspire the player to explore the world. I found it very reminiscent of Knytt, and it is the only other game, I have played, capable of competing with Knytt in pure atmospheric exploration.
Images(click to enlarge):












Canabalt
Canabalt is a simple running/avoidance game. The main difference from a normal avoidance game is the number of different types of obstacles, some not even instant death if hit, and the beautiful graphics that almost seem to tell a story as you play, even with the procedurally generated environment.Images(click to enlarge):





Cave Story
Cave Story is an amazing 2D action platformer that has been ported to just about every platform. It has tons of upgradeable weapons and abilities, as well as many diverse enemies and bosses to fight. Cave Story, deservedly, has been called a perfect game. It has an amazing story, great gameplay, fantastic music, and terrific art work.
Images(click to enlarge):





Hero Core
I have already written about Hero Core is a previous blog, but I thought it had too unique of a art style to not write about it again. To reiterate Hero Core is a retro science fiction action adventure game, reminiscent of Metroid. Not only are the graphics done in pixel art style, but it is in black and white. Nonetheless, the games visuals do nothing but improve the overall enjoyment of the game.
Images(click to enlarge):





DAN the MAN
DAN the MAN is a video made to look like a video game. It has many stereotypical elements, but goes past the defeat of the final boss and rescue of the princess to the unexplored realms of living a normal life after being a hero. Dan the MAN was made by studioJOHO, who have a few other interesting videos already out.
Images(click to enlarge):