indie game - Mr. Dave Pizza

Moonglow Bay Tells Tales of the Maritimes in this Great Indie Catch

I'm a big fan of fishing in games, but even more so a good story involving it. Moonglow Bay has done it. It's a story about a retired fisher getting back out there. It is also about settling a community's superstitions and getting back to the foundation of their livelihood. The story takes place in a traditional Eastern Canadian seaboard fishing village in the 80s. It is otherwise perfectly afloat in its conventional timeless qualities. I related to this game on a personal level, but it floats my boat on multiple. Let's see.

Comments Off

March 16, 2022

INDIE GAMES

Pupperazzi – Cute Dog Photography Game

Dogs dashing, catching, posing, and dogs riding scooters to surfboards throughout the whole game. Pupperazzi is a comedy game with a pretty clean content concept. In all honesty, I initially wasn't too interested in the game, until I saw it was on Xbox Gamepass where I tried it for free. To my surprise, I found this game very funny, and it had enough achievement-based gameplay that it was actually quite fun. I know games like this aren't for everybody, but I thought it was a good romp that didn't require too much brainpower. So, here we go with my complete thoughts on Pupperazzi.

Comments Off

March 15, 2022

INDIE GAMES

Donut County is Definitely Immature and Has GREAT Dialogue

Forgive, me, because we're about to "dive into" some game material from the past. All the way back to the year 2018. Which isn't really that long ago, making the sentiment of that sentence nearly arbitrary actually. Donut County is on its fourth year after release, and I've been meaning to play it for about half of that time. Why did I wait so long? I have no idea, but anything that was offsetting about it has vanished from any of my pre-conceptions. Donut County is a hilarious, strategy-based game from Annapurna Interactive, a publisher of some really good indie games.

Comments Off

March 14, 2022

VISUAL NOVELS

Eternia is a Unique Visual Novel About Pets I Played For No Reason

There's a short, charming story in Eternia: Pet Whisperer. Even if you're a cockatoo/border-collie lover like me, or whether you lean more toward the exotic koala/frill-necked lizard, or rat brothers. These animals have a slight backstory, and cute appearance, plus a natural subtle wit. It's got that solo dev quirk that I love best of all, where the plot derails to form a full loopable plot-line but keep things manageable; that's a plus, folks. And I'm not going to spoil it for you, because you deserve that, but also because I think it's one of the charms of the game.

Comments Off

March 12, 2022

NINTENDO SWITCH

Inked: A Tale of Love Is a New Hand-Drawn Game (Nintendo Switch)

Well, here I am, back to keep things fresh here in the pizzeria arcade (this is a lie.) I have the privilege of receiving a review copy for what was originally a PC game, now out on Switch, Xbox, and Playstation. Today I tested out the Switch version on the handheld mode and made my way through the first couple of chapters to see how well the transition has been (plus promote it to new players!) I've seen sketch-style game graphics before, but I was curious to see what this was all about. The developer reached out to my friends at Indie Game Collective, and many of us got to try this ourselves to our utmost delight. So, in the honor of storytelling, as is this beautiful mind-sharpening narrative, I'll be taking a look at the new puzzle game Inked: A Tale of Love.

Comments Off

February 23, 2022

INDIE GAMES

Mago is a Colorful SNES Style Indie Platformer About a Sorcerer

Mago: The Villain's Burger is an adventure set in a world populated by fresh NES sprites and joyful playful storytelling. It is your responsibility as Mago (which is a perfect name for a sorcerer) to rescue the princess and do heroic things. It's filled with so many fun easy-to-learn but masterable abilities and unique mechanics that you just don't find in every game. The best way to understand it is most likely visually, but today I'll be talking about why Mago is a promising look at how its developers are creating something that is, possibly, capable of going big if they wish.

Comments Off

February 10, 2022

VISUAL NOVELS

Fayburrow is a Free Cozy Student Made Interactive Fiction

Today, I plunged headfirst into the free games pile new releases over on Steam store. On my arrival, I discovered a cozy little visual novel among the listings called Fayburrow, and I decided to take a look at it. Fayburrow is a free game created by the self-named "Fayburrow Troupe" at VIA University College in Denmark. It just hit the Steam store today. What was first intrigue, turned into a fascination with the conjunction of such delightful graphics with a genre I have not covered in far too long! So, after downloading, I fired it up and took it for a spin at the courtesy of the game's student makers and you dear reader. Let's take a look at Fayburrow.

Comments Off

February 3, 2022

INDIE GAMES

Dadish 2 is an Amazing Radish-Themed Epic Adventure

I'm spending time playing a lot of food games lately. While cooking sims are the most obvious manifestation of this, platformers like Dadish 2 are right on board too. Dadish 2 is a continuation of the original Dadish game and both are available on most platforms. You, Dadish, awake from a nap at work one day when your several radish children come to visit you for "bring your kids to work day." They convince you to leave the chainsaw and cannon-filled office building and set off into this weird world. Dadish 2 has a narrative that is humorously inconsistent but is very entertaining and quirky.

Comments Off

January 31, 2022

INDIE GAMES / NINTENDO SWITCH

Playing “Make The Burger” Because It Looked Cool, and it Kinda Was

Welcome to my post about Make the Burger. This game's release date on Nintendo Switch occurred this week, although it has a presence on Steam and ItchIO as well. This is a casual food truck sim with catchy and fun pixel environments and a line-up of hungry and paying illustrated customers. Your entire success is dependent on your ability to remember ingredient symbols and who ordered them. Take orders from customers to cook the burgers they want as accurately and quickly as possible. Upgrade your establishment each day by using funds to purchase new ingredients, furniture, and various tools of the trade. Each session starts at the beginning and it's up to you to play as casually or seriously as you'd like.

Comments Off

January 30, 2022