Flame Over

Flame Over

Running around as a firefighter extinguishing flames and rescuing civilians is a lot more fun than it sounds and Flame Over packs quite a challenge to boot. It is definitely a little frustrating at times, but the randomized levels and addictive gameplay will keep you coming back for more after every rage quit. The game made the transition from PS Vita to PC very well and comes highly recommended.

Gameplay: Fun, sometimes frustrating, very challenging and definitely addictive.

Graphics: Four different environments and some very nice fire effects.

Sound: Very catchy and fits the theme of the game perfectly

Crimsonland

Crimsonland

If you played Crimsonland before, the updated version is definitely a nostalgic blast from the past. It still has enough to offer new players as well with a multitude of modes, weapons, perks and achievements to keep things interesting. As long as you don’t expect a deep plot or anything beyond killing every monster in sight you will have fun with Crimsonland.

Gameplay: A simple, yet addictive top down shooter which is enhanced with some great perks.

Graphics: Improved over the original version, but still pretty basic.

Sound: Suits the game nicely, but doesn’t really stand out

The Culling Of The Cows

The Culling Of The Cows

The Culling of the Cows is an action packed arcade experience with a nice visual style. Blasting the enemies requires a quick trigger finger, but the inclusion of assists and upgrades ads a strategic element to the gameplay as well. If you can appreciate a good shooter with a rather dark sense of humor you will find a lot to like about The Culling of The Cows.

Gameplay: A challenging arcade shooter that requires some strategic thinking as well.

Graphics: Nice hand-drawn visual style with plenty of detail.

Sound: The music and sound effects match the gameplay perfectly.

Heroes of Loot

Heroes of Loot

Heroes of Loot is a great title for when you need a quick action fix and don’t want to get bogged down with small details like inventory management or stat allocation. You simply race through dungeon floors, killing everything in sight and grabbing whatever loot you can find. It doesn’t have a lot of depth, but since dungeons are randomly generated and increase in difficulty the more you play the replay value is quite high. It is also very reasonably priced, which means there is no excuse for not giving it a shot.

Gameplay: The focus is very much on action and there isn’t much that gets in the way of that.

Graphics: Some lovely pixel art visuals with nice enemy designs.

Sound: Decent, but the sound effects are a little underwhelming

Mystik Belle

Mystik Belle

Mystik Belle features an addictive blend of classic platforming Metroidvania-inspired exploration and a healthy dose of point-and-click adventure-style puzzles. The beautiful pixel art visuals are a definite plus, and the charming characters, as well as varied locations, will keep you hooked. The puzzles and limited inventory might not appeal to players looking for a more traditional Metroidvania-style platformer, but Mystik Belle is definitely worth checking out.

Gameplay: Mystik Belle has many areas to explore, many clever puzzles, and some huge bosses to defeat.

Graphics: The game boasts beautiful pixel art visuals with large, detailed sprites and memorable backgrounds.

Sound: The audio is impressive and features a catchy chiptune soundtrack

Rebel Galaxy (Double Damage Games)

Rebel Galaxy (Double Damage Games)

After being given the opportunity to check out a preview build of the upcoming Rebel Galaxy by Double Damage Games I jumped at the chance as I loved the premise of the game. However, even I was surprised by how well the developers pulled off their take on the whole swashbuckling space adventure genre. My love for the genre stretches back to Star Control II, Frontier and Privateer, but after a couple of hours with Rebel Galaxy I have no doubt that it will be joining the ranks of those titles

Poöf

Poöf

Poof VS The Cursed Kitty is one of those games that start of relatively simple and before you know it you are fighting for your life. The arcade style gameplay shows no mercy and finishing the game is not for the faint of heart. While it requires quick reflexes and lots of luck the addictive gameplay will ensure that you keep coming back for more.

Gameplay: Very hard but very rewarding.

Graphics: Colorful and cartoony Flash style visuals.

Sound: Fits the frenetic pace of the game

Don’t Shoot Yourself!

Don’t Shoot Yourself!

Don’t Shoot Yourself bills itself as a puzzle shmup, which is quite accurate as the focus is on carefully maneuvering your spaceship around different arenas while avoiding your own bullets. There are no enemies to defeat or power-ups to collect, but don’t think that this makes things any easier. Each arena offers a new challenge thanks to its size, shape and type of walls, which makes the game challenging and entertaining from start to finish.

Gameplay: Easy to play, but tricky to master.

Graphics: Simple, but colorful and unique.

Sound: Some nice background tunes

Stick It To The Man!

Stick It To The Man!

Stick It To The Man is one of those titles that are so much fun to play that you don’t want it to end. Everything from the visuals to the audio is in a class all by itself and the superb humour is just the icing on the cake. The puzzle solving, while not very taxing, is still a blast and the quirky combination of platforming and point and click adventuring makes this a stand out title.

Gameplay: Inside the platform framework beats the heart of a point & click adventure.

Graphics: Fantastic visuals with plenty of memorable scenes.

Sound: Great music and even better voice overs

Not The Robots

Not The Robots

I wasn’t sure if Not The Robots would live up to its wacky concept but it turned out to be much more addictive than I anticipated. Clearing out a level without taking damage is a rush and the stealth mechanics make for plenty of tense moments. It is not the easiest of games and it has to be completed in one sitting as there is no save feature but trust me it is worth it.

Gameplay: Eating furniture has never been this much fun!

Graphics: Nothing spectacular but gets the job done.

Sound: Good tunes and solid sound effects