It’s back! Did you miss it? I sure did. A major gaming convention and some server-side kerfluffles later, Screenshot Saturday has returned to us. We may once again bask in its indie glow and soak up the work in progress screenshot goodness it provides. If you watch carefully, you might spot the next great developer spilling visual beans on the brain-child that’ll brook their fame.
Keyhole by Czarcade
A difficult to define game from at least one man who doesn’t “generally enjoy working on or playing games that fit nicely into any one category.” Its best if awkward fit would be the puzzle genre. From what I gather, you’re a kind of time traveler who’s made it his business to transplant relics from one age into another with the ultimate intent of freeing a couple trapped in the mountains. Manipulating the rotation of the planet to influence time and purposefully pulling and placing objects will interlock into some sort of solution to your goal, presumably through the sway the discovery of such items will have on the world’s inhabitants. Peculiar, to say the least, but definitely interesting.
Hive Jump by Graphite Lab
Space-faring mankind has a pest problem. They’ve stumbled upon a nasty swarm of insects ranging from the size of large dogs to compact cars and upwards. So vast are their numbers that humanity’s only hope is to send space marines to blast, hop, and co-op their way into hives to break the bugs at their source. Hive Jump sports procedural level generation, weapon upgrades, resource collection, and the potential for complete annihilation of your respawn point (that means game over, man). And wouldn’t you know it, they’re running a Kickstarter campaign as we speak!
McDroid by Elefantopia
“Imagine that the Lorax is a cute robot. That’s McDROID.” A doggy robot and her shuttle friend return home to find their home of Planet M, a sentient giant, overrun with alien species. Restoring the world to mint will involve a fusion of arcade top-down action and tower defense as you push against the corrupted and mutated flora and fauna with healthy greenery. Plant trees, harvest, build bases, and fend off waves of enemies. You can tackle the campaign alone or with a friend, or bring in three others for an arena mode. If this piques your interest, you’re in luck: McDroid is slated for release early next month.
Moon Hunters by Kitfox Games
One evening, the moon didn’t rise. When this source of magic and spiritual power failed to appear, it stole with it the safety and peace it once provided. Now chaos reigns and monsters roam, and the chosen children of the moon must restore what was lost. That means you and, potentially, your friends. Moon Hunters looks like a top-down action-exploration game with a heavy emphasis on the exploration, as well as an element of legend-building as you make decisions. It’s pick-up-and-play and family friendly, sounding more like a delightful bout of whimsy than a white-knuckle slashing frenzy.
Dead Cells by Motion Twin
Last man standing atop the tower wins. Classic, right? Well, no. See, if you off your buddy outright, who is going to help you fight off the waves of oncoming zombies? Surviving longer means better loot, of course but it’s not so easy by yourself. Each passing minute, though, feeds the likelihood of the “friend” who’s “got your back” leaving a dagger instead of a comradely pat. Compete for the best spot on the tower, plant traps, barricade doors, and generally wonder who the real threat is in this game of, as the devs put it, coopetition.
