peglin menu screen
Posted inINDIE GAMES

Peglin and its Pachinko Goblins

Peglin is a great game where you complete levels by dropping a ball into a destructible pattern of mechanic activating orbs. You can activate critical strike boosts, or replenish the board. And, before I gloss over too quickly, the purpose of this strategy is to rack up points which can then be used to attack mob health points, in effect winning the level and moving on. I was lucky enough to find the demo on Steam, although the main game has been covered elsewhere. Anyway, I'll give you a brief rundown of Peglin.
BIOTA
Posted inINDIE GAMES

BIOTA the Robot Action Monochrome Indie

I'm going to try something new here. I have been known to review demos in the past, but they get kind of buried under other projects. I really want to dedicate time to as many as I'd like to. All things relevant, I made a post on Twitter about needing to play for Game Boy style indies. I got a great tip from cshPinecone of Indie Game Collective about the game BIOTA from "small bros." It's a shmup--aka shoot 'em up.

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labyrinth city logo
Posted inINDIE GAMES

Labyrinth City – A Family Friendly Where’s Waldo? Type Game

It's been some time since a game like this has been featured on MrDavePizza, but Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective absolutely belongs. As a game that originated in a book series, the game takes many cues from the visual classics of growing up. Incidentally, I was a big fan of books like Where's Waldo? and Eye Spy, which are similar in scope and content as Pierre the Maze Detective--perhaps you remember too. So, let's get into this, what is Labyrinth City? It's a top-down puzzle game with hand-drawn characters in a visual feast of eccentric characters and scenes, through which you must navigate through a maze of people to track down the devious "Mr. X." I spent some time playing it so you can know what to expect from this delightful indie with a charming and surprising origin to a perfectly playable game form. Okay, let's have a look.
Ducksoup Dungeon Review
Posted inINDIE GAMES

Recommendation: Ducksoup Dungeon

Let's jump right into Ducksoup Dungeon. It's a free web browser playable rogue-lite on Itch.io by developer Richard Lems, also known as Blastmode Games. You might have heard of Lems' work on the game Mighty Goose. In the game I'm discussing here, Ducksoup Dungeon, you choose one of four heroes. It is playable in a web browser or can be downloaded. Starting with "Slashchicken," the first hero is a chicken. With amazing firepower at your side, you'll blast your way through and collect coins. Each play's collection can be used to unlock the other three heroes. Every level features hidden procedurally generated areas, meaning it can be a different layout every time you play. The levels, of which there seems to be an infinite number, are filled with containers destructible for coins, reached by eliminating various mobs.
Dogurai Logo
Posted inINDIE GAMES

Dogurai – Heck Yeah, a Doggo Samurai!

Dogurai by HungryBear is a Game Boy-style indie Metroidvania. I know about it through, a couple of co-creators from Indie Game Collective. Thank you, Jaunty Adventures and Pursuing Pixels. Their taste is superb, as this turned out to be an exciting game. I've covered very few Game Boy titles here, aside from Lasagna Boy and... actually, that might be it. It's a great genre if you want to get into indies. In summary, the designs are aligned with the palette and rendering of old-school Game Boy games. This one in particular is a nice platformer/Metroidvania that takes you through some moderately challenging levels. There are ruffian henchmen, shielded hulks, and old-school SMB 3-style bosses. In my video, I had to jump around like more of a ninja to obliterate the first boss.
Bumballon
Posted inINDIE GAMES

I Found the SNES Style Bumballon for Under a Dollar, and it was GREAT

I've got a great video up for Bum Ballon on my YouTube channel because I found this game on a Steam sale for 89 cents! With some investigation, I narrowed down some impulse options for pixel art platformers in the likes of some recent faves like Grapple Dog (which hopefully I'll get to) and PomPom. It's a game with unique characters and a traditional SNES-type side scroller plot--a game that personally puts me into an optimized chill mode. Basically, hop in a cannon, and, after blast-off, interact as you're taken for a ride through a colorful world with unique obstacles and moderate challenges.
Tadpole Tales
Posted inINDIE GAMES

Earth Day Game Pick: Tadpole Tales

Plot your way as a tadpole through a polluted river. When you heal corrupted wildlife with a splash of water, they move back underwater so you can navigate your way through. Some creatures are bigger than others and more challenging. Tadpole Tales is quite challenging in general though. These are occasionally known as shmup games. The developers, who are a small team under the Pinnacle Games brand publishing, have dubbed the game a "Clean-em Up." Don't you love that?
hivemind 2 stargrove scramble
Posted inINDIE GAMES

Hivemind 2: Stargrove Scramble is a Stylish & Satisfying New Indie

Hivemind 2: Stargrove Scramble is a 2D pixel art platformer part of a 2021 Newgrounds dev jam with an “egg” theme by the dev group Team Bugulon. You play a little cloaked lizard, progressing through various spring-sunset-toned environments, collecting candies that in turn give you eggs that you can use to hurl at enemies and unblock paths. The music is a touch above fun, along with the sound effects, making the game have a polished SNES quality that is so adored in these kind of games. Stargrove Scramble is a generous product as far as free games on ItchIO go in my opinion. It holds a really nice balance of ease to play with rewarding character abilities. I also couldn’t help but notice the subtle hark back to Mario 2’s “Birdo” egg sound effects, which is a nostalgic touch. The controller support is a nice plus that I always look for too. I recommend checking it out if you play ItchIO games and want a pleasant free one that seems to be a cohesive one. You can also play Stargrove Scramble in your browser if you like!