review - Mr. Dave Pizza

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

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:April 30, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES

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.

Recommendation: Ducksoup Dungeon

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:April 27, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES

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 – Heck Yeah, a Doggo Samurai!

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:April 25, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES

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.

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

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:April 23, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES

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.

Village Monsters: A Pleasant Town Sim Borrowing From Made Up Myths

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:April 13, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES

Village Monsters is a solo dev project from Josh Bosser. It's a pixel art town sim that departs from conventional titles with an alternative community of friendly monsters. The game plays on similar genre themes as Stardew Valley but the content goes into the outsider/quirk genre of games with its monster acceptance communicated in each character's unconventional friendliness. It departs from too much comparison by offering a vast amount of exclusive unique story concepts in each characters' backstory and dialogue. Players can also enjoy activities like treasure hunting, fishing, exploring, working, and contributing to the town itself. Village Monsters is pleasantly surprising and the subject of this indie game collective showcase/review post. So, let's see what's inside!

Pompom is A Challenging, Colorful Hamster Platformer

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:April 10, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES

The recently released pixel platformer Pompom: The Great Space Rescue ran across my desk as a showcase opportunity through my friends at Indie Game Collective. It's a precision platformer, sort of, with a feature I've never seen before this involving time slowing AND improvised platform placement. You can play with a controller, or you can play it with a mouse (or hamster actually, since that is Pompom's main character you play as.) The game balances innovative gameplay, a moderate learning curve, and generous leniency to keep your gameplay flowing. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, at the level of some other top precision platformers like Celeste. From the pleasant pixel art to the rewarding gameplay, this game earns every slice in the Mr. Dave Pizza pie. So, let me do my duty and share with you some information about this excellent game. Also, I made a cam appearance for the first time on this game's video--with my favorite hat! Not sure why, just felt like doing it.

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

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:March 16, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES NINTENDO SWITCH

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.

Pupperazzi – Cute Dog Photography Game

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:March 15, 2022
Post category:INDIE GAMES

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.

Looking for deals on video games & accessories? Go to Mr. Dave's Video Game Shop on eBay!

Looking for deals on video games & accessories?

Go to Mr. Dave's Video Game Shop on eBay!