16 hours left, here are some more games I played in the bundle:
Demonizer
Fuck this game is hard, but I really enjoyed it. Great soundtrack and not nearly as horny as the premise would lead you to believe.
The main gimmick is that you get little helpers as you Succubize everyone into being your friend. It’s…not very gimmicky actually, it’s mostly just “more bullets”. This is definitely closer to a modern bullet hell than the retro aesthetic would lead you to believe though.
I got stuck on a boss in the 5th level that I genuinely have no idea how to get past so I’m done with this game, but I got a good hour+ out of it!
Lots of cute setpieces and sound effects and shit.
I didn’t take a single screenshot because the game is too hard.
Penance
Sorry to say it but this is the worst game I’ve played so far. Any retro-style shooter runs the risk of just making me ask myself “Would it be better if I just played DOOM again?” The answer here was a resounding “YES”. Great style but abysmal to play.
Throw Cubes into Brick Towers to Collapse Them
Exactly what it says on the tin - no goals, just highly customizable brick towers that you can collapse by throwing shit at them.
Maybe more artful than 95% of games though? Screenshot dump below:
Love to live in the future where this many physics objects are not just possible, but almost trivial. Worth spending 30 minutes poking at
10mg SNAAAK
What if Snake was a…puzzle…platformer?? Not sure how to describe it but it is about 10-15 minutes long (10 minute game) and pretty much exactly what I want from these kinds of bundles. A great idea that isn’t driven into the ground, some good art, and atmospheric music. Highly recommended.
Toree 2
Better than Crash Bandicoot.
Anyway this is part of the wave of PSX retro nostalgia but it’s actually a good and fun game to play? More of a straight platformer than most 3D entries, but with very few threats. Kind of a speed-running game. My only tip is to increase the camera sensitivity to the max.
I think this and Toree 3D are not like…essential? But they do exactly what they set out to do, and I got to see some cute low-poly models.
It also does that thing where it’s…a little creepy, but I don’t think it’s heavy-handed about it. The screenshot above is about as weird as it gets - it’s otherwise very straightforward.
Also you can play as Macbat who has infinite jumps
Macbat 64
A very small homage to Rare platformers on the N64, specifically Banjo games. It’s about 10% of the scope but it contains the same flavor and…I dunno, not worth writing home about exactly? But I enjoyed it tremendously.
It honestly jumps all around the N64 history, the above screenshot is from a Kirby 64 homage level, and part of it has the blocks from Mischief Makers. There are two arcade-like minigames, just like DK64, and then…a Meat Boy level?? I dunno, if any of these things stuck around for very long it’d be annoying but this game basically lasts an hour and manages to not outstay its welcome at all. Also it’s easy as hell.
Also it has a Terranigma easter egg so, that’s a win
It also does the thing where it has creepy stuff in it for no reason, but it’s a little more heavy-handed about it. There’s a level that’s just silent hill. Like, just straight-up fixed camera angles, jumpscares, low lighting, eery music, etc. It’s one of the bonus levels so it’s not part of the main game but…yeah, it’s weird. Not sure it works all that well but again, the level lasts like 5 minutes.
I would highly recommend it to anyone with the same sort of proclivities as me. It has enough cuteness to recommend it and consistently made me laugh with the little jokes and dialogue. And it’s not anywhere near as mean-spirited as Rare games on the N64 are, which is honestly good!
Also the music sounds remarkably like something Grant Kirkhope would compose.
Kill the Superweapon
Part of the “Tales of the Renegade Sector” universe. A twin-stick shooter that does the sinistar thing of having an unkillable boss that follows you around until you collect the right items. I like it a lot stylistically but it feels kinda like poop to play, unfortunately. Also one level had two different softlocks in it so I did not finish this.
Still, I love love love to see these kinds of “connected universe” things made by amateurs, and I adore the art style tremendously. It’s not a punishing game (except for the softlocks), and it’s probably worth playing just to get more of those colors into your eyeballs. I want to make it a project to go and play the rest of these games, because the last one I played (And All Would Cry Beware!) is genuinely great.