How are you gentlemen! All your Toaplan shooters are belong to Bitwave. Publisher Bitwave Games recently announced that the first wave of four classic Toaplan shoot ‘em up titles is coming to Windows PC on 14 February 2023 (Yep- St. Valentine’s Day). Here’s the list of the games and Bitwave Games’ official announcement trailer from Steam: Today we’re pumped to
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Game publisher Phoenixx recently announced that twin-stick shooter NeverAwake will be released on 19 January for PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. A PC version is already available via Steam. Developed by Neotro Inc, NeverAwake is set in the psychological horror world of a young girl’s nightmares. I wish I could turn my dreams into twin-stick shooters… I’d shoot so many
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It’s short for Isabelle, methinks. Publisher Ratalaika Games recently released the retro-inspired 2D platformer Intrepid Izzy for modern consoles.* Developed by Senile Team, Interpid Izzy started its life as a small-scale indie project for the SEGA Dreamcast successfully crowdfunded in 2017. While the game is fairly light on plot, the titular “Intrepid Izzy” seems to be some kind of explorer who happens
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A totalitarian government has taken control of its people’s lives (not based on actual events)… time to start slashing! Game publisher The Arcade Crew recently announced that action platformer Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is planned to release on 12 January 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and PC. Developed by JoyMasher, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is inspired by the 2D action games of
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Welcome back to Jolly Jinglings, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of all dancing sugar plums, fairy type or otherwise. In 1992, “Batmania” was in full effect. The success of Tim Burton’s Batman film in 1989 had reignited mainstream interest in the Dark Knight, what followed was a marketing blitz of toys, school supplies, breakfast cereal, and every other piece of cinematic synergy that
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A “mostly peaceful” rampage across the city. On Friday, publisher Digerati released the retro-inspired monster destruction game Terror of Hemasaurus for Xbox consoles. The game is already available on PlayStation and PC, and a Nintendo Switch version is planned for 12 January. Developed by Loren Lemcke (Super Blood Hockey), Terror of Hemasaurus is inspired by the arcade “smash ‘em ups”
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I don’t know what she’s saying, but she’s speaking my language!
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“Dodge his punch, then counter punch!” Vanilla Gaming Company has developed a free demo for their upcoming boxing parody game VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out! To get access, you need to join the VanillaBeast Discord Channel here and type the command “!BetaKey” and a demo key will be dropped in your Discord DMs. Inspired by Nintendo’s 80s classic Punch-Out! (or Mike Tyson’s
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Why does Santa always need saving? #TropesVsSanta Indie game developer and publisher Dionous Games recently released their 2D adventure game Watch Over Christmas for Xbone, SeXbox, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The game was released on Steam PC last holiday season. Inspired by classic PC adventure games, Watch Over Christmas features point-and-click controls, a colorful, 2D art style, and fully
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Deus Vult! On Monday, the development team at Hell Yeah! released their strategy game Voyna: Virtual Holy Wars via Steam Early Access. A turn-based PvP strategy game at heart, Voyna’s most unique selling point is an original gameplay mechanic called “Contrarium.” Here’s the official breakdown of Voyna: VHW from Hell Yeah! Voyna is set in a distant future where fragments
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Death by a thousand paper cuts! On Monday, publisher Thunderful has joined forces with the developers at Space Lizard Studios to release Paper Cut Mansion for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation consoles. The game released on PC and Xbox this past October. all of the well-kept secrets in this roguelite horror puzzler. In Paper Cut Mansion, players must use their wits
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Grappling. Hook. On Monday, publisher Playism released the final demo for Rusted Moss, a “grappling hook based metroidvania game” (or “grapplevania” – kill me). Developed by faxdoc, happysquared, and sunnydaze, the full game is expected to release in February 2023. Despite the wait, the good news is that your save file for the Rusted Moss demo is fully transferable to
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Cute & Shute! Game publisher JanduSoft recently announced that the upcoming horde shooter Kawaii Slime Arena is slated to release on Nintendo Switch in North America on 22 December. The Japanese version for PS4, PS5 and Switch will release a week earlier on 15 December. Developed by Mitsuki Game Studio, Kawaii Slime Arena puts players behind the trigger finger of
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On Monday, publisher XSEED Games revealed a new trailer and additional screenshots for upcoming RPG, Loop8: Summer of Gods, which is planned to release in spring 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbone and Steam PC. Developed by SIEG Games with Marvelous Inc., Loop8 is a narrative-driven RPG with turn-based mechanics and a time-travel backdrop. Here’s the official breakdown of Loop8
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Over the weekend, publisher MUTAN released the 3 vs. 1 party game Goonya Monster for Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Steam PC. It was also revealed at INDIE Live Expo Winter 2022 that there is a special 10% launch discount for a limited time. Nothing says party like grabbing a few friends to separate the heads of the undead from their
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Jesus Christ… video game star… Game publisher PlayWay has released a free prologue for the upcoming first-person adventure game, I Am Jesus Christ. The full game is expected to launch on Steam Early Access sometime in 2023. Originally announced in 2019 and developed by SimulaM, I Am Jesus Christ is an interactive first-person game that virtually leads players through the
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Publisher Hamster has announced that Tetris: The Grand Master is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in arcades by Arika in 1998, this is the first time that Tetris: The Grand Master will be available on a home console (though a later version – Tetris: The Grand Master Ace
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Today we’re going to take a look at Games Incubator’s Animal Shelter Simulator, which is just about as self-evident a video game title as a title can be.* It really is just that: a simulation game that gives players the chance to start and operate their own animal shelter – caring for dogs and cats, matching them with new homes,
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Never thought I’d write a headline quite like that… Microids Indie has announced the release date for Scrap Riders on Nintendo Switch and Steam PC. It’s 9 January. Developed by Games for Tutti, Scrap Riders features both point ‘n click and arcade brawler mechanics, all wrapped up in a pixel art visual aesthetic. You can check out the full breakdown
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Gesundheit. ININ Games has announced that the retro-inspired brawler Jitsu Squad will be available on 9 December for PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. A digital-only release for Xbox is planned for a later date. Developed by Tanuki Creative Studio, Jitsu Squad is a 2D beat ‘em up featuring unique character designs, a hand-drawn 2D visual aesthetic, online and local co-op
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Updated! *Update – an unforeseen delay has caused the release to be pushed to Wednesday, 30 November. Original story follows. Publisher Nami Tentou has released the run-and-gun action game Orebody: Binder’s Tale on Steam. Developed by Orebody Inc., Binder’s Tale is described as a “love letter to NES games,” complete with a pixelated art style, chiptune soundtrack, and a main
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If you were stuffed with Turkey this Thanksgiving, you may have missed that Gravity Game Arise released Arctictopia on the Nintendo eShop as part of their “Gravity Indie Games” project. Developed by Gamtropy, Arctictopia is an approachable puzzle game with no time limit designed to “soothe those who are tired of the harsh world.” Here’s the official breakdown of Arctictopia
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On Thanksgiving Day, Playmaji, Inc. announced that they are developing a 5th module in their lineup of compatible Element Module Sets for the Polymega retro gaming console. Anticipated to release in 2022, retro gamers will be able to play original N64 game cartridges on their Polymega systems region-free via the “EM05 Ultra Element Module Set.” Players can use either OEM
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NIS America recently announced that “cult classic” RPG Mugen Souls is coming to the Nintendo Switch in Spring 2023. The Nintendo Switch version of the Mugen Souls will feature all original and extra content “true to the original Japanese release”, and will include English language support for both text and audio. Mugen Souls is being developed as a cooperation between
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What makes a terrorist a “techno-terrorist”? Glow sticks? Indie game publisher Retroware recently announced that arcade-style action game Prison City is coming to both PC and consoles in 2023. Developed by Programancer, Prison City is inspired by 8-bit NES side-scrollers such as Shatterhand and Power Blade, complete with a retro, pixel art aesthetic. Players take on the role of a
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City Connection recently announced that horizontally scrolling shoot ‘em up Akai Katana Shin will be released on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Steam and Xbone on 15 December. Originally released for arcades in 2010, Akai Katana received multiple updates and a home port on Xbox 360 in the form of Akai Katana Shin. This upcoming release includes all three versions of Akai
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Publisher Hamster has announced that Metal Black (or Tokidensho Angel Eyes) is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in arcades by Taito in 1991, Metal Black is a 2D, horizontal space shooter – or a “shmup”, as you young whippersnappers call it. The game received a SEGA Saturn port
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Can you believe that The Smurfs will be 65 years old in 2023? Smurfette still looks great. On Wednesday, publisher Microids released Smurfs Kart for Nintendo Switch. The game is developed by Eden Games who has a well-established pedigree for creating racing games, including Gear Club Unlimited, Test Drive Unlimited, and V-Rally. It’s also not the first time that the
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Can somebody please buy these princesses a gun or something? On Tuesday, publisher PID Games announced that Cassiodora is coming to PC and consoles on 15 December. Developed by Void Studio, Cassiodora is a 2D action adventure game with shooter mechanics and a fantasy aesthetic. Players must select their elemental-powered knight of choice and and rescue the captured princess. Here’s
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Publisher Upoint Games recently published a release date announcement trailer for Cursed Mansion. Developed by Dragon Emperors, Cursed Mansion is a supernatural horror RPG where players must solve puzzles to survive the demon-ridden halls of the mysterious mansion. Here’s the official breakdown of Cursed Mansion from the game’s Steam page followed by the release date announcement trailer: Cursed Mansion is
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