SpookTube, Muddy Puppies, and Goo Colonies
The best new indie games out this week, April 5, 2024.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another Indie Release Dispatch! As I mentioned in the last dispatch, life has been incredibly busy as I plan for what my day-to-day is going to become, so my gaming time has been scant. However, I did get my hands on a copy of Pepper Grinder and I have to say, the few hours I have thrown into it so far have been incredibly fun. Stay tuned for a review sometime in the next week or so.
Also, thanks to my pal Patrick, I have fallen back down a Company of Heroes rabbit hole. I know, I know. It’s not indie, but the whole strategy genre is fairly new territory for me, so I am going back to play the classics.
Anyway, enough about that, let’s look at the new games.
What came out this week?
No Plan B
Developer: GFX47
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page
There is something just so satisfying about the concept of a tactical planning map. You’ve seen war generals pushing figures across tables with those funny sticks in movies. No Plan B is capitalizing on this, with a high-stakes tactical plan that comes to life after you queue up your actions and hit the go button.
If you are looking at this trailer and think that it looks like Door Kickers, you aren’t wrong. In fact, one of the creators of Door Kickers 2 was in the Steam Reviews singing its praises and mentioned that they were in contact with GFX47 during the development so it seems everyone is on good terms.
No Plan B features four player factions, each with different skills and missions to work through. You can play not only as a SWAT team, but also some villains as well. Plan to rescue hostages, or plan a bank heist, it’s all on the table.
Featuring a roguelike campaign with branching paths, and daily and weekly skirmish challenges, No Plan B looks like a lot of fun that will challenge fans of tactical action games, and it is getting good review from the community.
Content Warning
Developer: Skog, Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page
Content Warning is a super neat co-op game where you and your friends need to film your antics for SpookTube to earn money by going viral. You head into the Old World to find ghosties, monsters, and other spooky artefacts that will cause your heart rate to rise, and hopefully will increase that view count.
If you manage to survive the horrific caverns and get out, it’s time to upload the video to SpookTube, host a watch party, and let the view and rolls in. More views will increase your profits from SpookTube’s ad revenue, which will allow you to upgrade your gear to capture better, and spookier videos.
I am not going to lie - I really dig this commentary of the content creator treadmill, one that I was on for a long time in my life. Even if this game is not exactly saying “HEY THIS IS BAD YOU WILL DIE”, it’s kinda nice to know game devs are starting to think about these things.
Shout out to my buddy Mesmaa who put this one on my radar. Let’s check it out together soon!
From Glory To Goo (Early Access)
Developer: Stratagem Blue
Steam rating: Positive
Store page
If you are seeking a classic RTS with some neat twists, From Glory To Goo looks like it could fit that bill. With a retro aesthetic in the same vein as Starcraft, this RTS has you establishing a colony on a hostile world, where you have to defend your scientists against the ever expanding Goo.
Hold back the waves of the purple goo and then rebuild, and increase your defenses so you can keep your colony safe. The game features procedurally generated maps with different biomes to keep things interesting, and a variety of unique captain units that gain experience and level up as the game progresses. With weapons, skills, abilities, and ships to unlock along the way, it seems to already have a lot of content for an Early Access launch. I might have to check this one our myself given my recent strategy kick.
Minishoot’ Adventures
Developer: SoulGame Studio
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page
When I looked this one up I saw a YouTube video titled “What if Legend of Zelda was a bullet hell?” and that got me intrigued. Minishoot’ Adventures sets you on a journey to save the world after diabolical minions have destroyed your village and are taking over the land.
Piloting a lone ship you will be flying through the environments collecting primordial powers to increase your combat and exploration possibilities, and dealing with an ever-increasing army of foes. The animation and art of this game look pretty incredible, and with some glowing reviews, this one looks like a tonne of fun.
Oh, and if you are new to bullet hell games, the devs actively encourage to play at your own pace.
“Whether you like chill exploration or hardcore Bullet Hell, we got you covered with 3 difficulty modes, aiming assistance, auto fire and more accessibility options.”
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles
Developer: Tomas Sala
Steam Rating: Very Positive
Store page
When I initially saw GIFs of Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, I immediately thought it was a new game from the Failbetter Games team. I quickly found out that there is absolutely no relation, and instead was greeted by an open world builder game. What does that mean? I am not entirely sure!
But players will be building sprawling cities with thriving towns, strong fortresses, and spires that will become trade hubs, or a rallying ground for battles. You are tasked with rebuilding after a great war that happened 40 years ago, and to reconnect your settlement to other factions scattered across the waves.
Those other settlements will have powerful Captains and Commanders that can protect your settlement, or aid in your exploration. Or perhaps you will need to amass your own warriors to defend your lands.
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles looks pretty incredible. I have definitely thrown it on my ever-expanding Wishlist.
Doronko Wanko
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios Inc.
Steam rating: Overwhelming Positive
Store page
OK, look. I know this is not indie. Bandai Namco are certainly no small team…
BUT LOOK AT THOSE CUTE MUDDY PUPPIES! 🥰
Doronko Wanko is a silly little game where you play as a silly Pomeranian who has been rolling in the mud. Your objective? Make the house as messy as possible.
I don’t really think I need to say anything more about this game, the trailer speaks for itself. But it is currently free on Steam so if you want to get those feel good vibes from a silly game, head on over to download it.
An article about a very old keyboard
I posted something I threw together about the Z-Board, the coolest keyboard you probably never heard about, earlier this week. If you missed it, please go give it a read. I kinda want to try and hunt one of these down, but eBay prices are looking pretty prohibitive so I think it will just have to live on in my memory.
Speaking to Mesmaa we worked out he was about 3 years old when I owned this masterpiece, and that was enough to make me turn to dust.
Anyways, thanks for reading. Please share this newsletter with a friend so we can keep the good word spreading, and let me know what you plan on playing this week.
Also feel free to join our community on Discord, and if you want to support with some cash to keep the indie games flowing, we have a Patreon and a Ko-Fi page. Why both? Because Ko-Fi takes %0 but people are more comfortable with Patreon because it has been around longer, or so I am told.
See you next week!
