What are ya haulin'?

Hello friends! How has this week been treating you? I am currently sitting on the edge of the seat awaiting the arrival of our child ANY DAY NOW. Every time my wife makes an uncomfortable sound my heart skips a beat, alas we are still waiting for the main event. So as such I haven't played many games at all. I have been revisiting the original Grand Theft Auto on my handheld emulator which has been, really interesting actually. The design of that game is actually pretty solid, and has some really interesting moments for a game from that era. The way that you learn each alleyway and roadway in the small cities are you cruise around ensures that the city becomes the main character, rather than the little person you are moving around. I have always been fascinated with that in the newer entries in the series - how the city becomes more like an old friend the longer you play the game. It's kind of like real life - when I moved to our city in Japan I needed a GPS to go everywhere. Five years later I can drive around our whole area without needing a map, knowing exactly how to get to where I am going, and the various alternate routes I can take depending on traffic. It's such an inconsequential aspect to these open world games, but I truly believe it is what makes a good open world feel as though it has earned its right to be called a world. Surprisingly, the original GTA executed this so well, and despite the sexist writing that was trying to be far too edgy, I have been having a decent time playing it in small chunks between tasks.

I also played some Dune Spice Wars with JohnnieWalker and HotRice from our community. That game is seriously so good. If you have any interest in strategy games, and/or Dune, you should grab it next time it is on sale.

Anyway, let's get into what we all came here for.

And what came out this week?

Shogun Showdown

Developer: Roboatino
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store Page

Shogun Showdown is, say it with me now, "a turn-based roguelike deckbuilder". Yes, I know that I feature a lot of these games in the Indie Release Dispatch, but the mish-mash of genres is really seeing a lot of traction this year, and by all accounts a lot of them are great. Shogun Showdown looks to be another great one, that combines elements of Slay the Spire, Into the Breach, and Darkest Dungeon as you set out to face off against the Shogun.

Positioning seems to be really key here. You will move your character into position and use your attack cards to unleash devastating attacks. It seems to have a pretty neat combo system, and like all rogue-likes you will be upgrading and unlocking new cards, characters, and interesting items along the way.

It also comes from Goblinz Publishing who is really making a name for themselves in the strategy and tactics genre, so if they are involved chances are this one has legs. Might be worth you checking out.

Ale & Tale Tavern

Developer: Scienart Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store Page

There is something infinitely tantalising to me about the poor souls left behind in town while the Warrior, Mage, Cleric, INSERT CLASS FROM D&D HERE, are out adventuring. This truly came to light for me while playing Lords of Waterdeep with some folks on our Discord server a while back, and now Ale & Tale Tavern is turning that feeling into a video game.

A co-operative tavern simulator, you will need to build and manage a tavern for all the adventurers and townsfolk, while also procuring resources to keep the ales flowing. Catch fish, plant crops, go hunting for meat, and complete diverse quests around the tavern to make sure that the people are satisfied.

Of course, there will be a chance to explore some dungeons and go on your own adventures, but the meat and potatoes of it all is in the cosy tavern that you are trying to run with up to 3 of your friends.

I will be honest, the combat looks... pretty weak. The UI definitely could use some work. But there is definitely soul in this trailer, and the Steam Reviews seem to agree. If you have a few mates around this weekend, perhaps spend it building the finest tavern in all the land.

Necroking

Developer: KORO.GAMES
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store Page

Twice in one dispatch! Necroking is a turn-based TACTICS deckbuilding roguelike. See, a significant difference. But after watching the trailer and messing around with the demo a while back, and I came to find Necroking a really nice take that is worth checking out. You build your deck to raise little skeletons and other creepies to defeat settlements and expand your kingdom.

There are over 30 minion types to fill out your armies, and you will unlock a whole bunch of new skulls that will allow you to upgrade your units to handle any fight that comes your way. Die and restart, become stronger, you know the drill by now.

It's also on sale right now for ¥522 (around a bout $4.50 USD) so if you want to get one of these hot new deckbuilding rogulike strategy games, this could be a fun one to dip into this weekend.

Star Trucker

Developer: Monster and Monster
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store Page

I used to play a lot of Elite Dangerous in VR, and basically treated it like I was a long-haul trucker floating through space, listening to podcasts and dropping cargo off across the galaxy. Well now Monster and Monster want to fulfill my dreams with Star Trucker, a big-rig in space simulator that will hav you haulin' goods from one corner of the galaxy to the other.

It's not all about the drive though. You will need to make pit-stops to ensure your rig is running at full capacity, lest you get stuck out in the far reaches of the dark void without a running oxygen pump. You can also use a variety of systems to find interesting new gigs along the way, which sounds pretty neat.

Does this game have a narrative? I can't tell. The trailer makes it look like it might, but the store page and press release I received didn't really confirm that. But either way this looks like a whole lot of fun, and has been thrown onto the heaped pile of indie wishlists I have kicking about.

Megaloot

Developer: axilirate
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store Page

Have you ever played Diablo and thought to yourself "this would be so much better without the fighting"? Well now there's a game for you in Megaloot, an inventory management Roguelike that has you managing your inventory for combat bonuses and synergies. Unlike Diablo, here you simply manage the loot and combine items to make powerful boons for your hero, and the game does all the combat for you. A cool idea that seems to be executed really well.

Technically this came out last week, but I really loved the idea, so we are sneaking it into the dispatch this week!

Was You've Got Mail trying to warn us about the internet?

I have been in a rather reflective mood of late, and with the whirlwind of corps harvesting our data to fuel their AI ambitions happening more and more, I have been reminiscing about the earlier days on the internet, and reevaluating how much I am willing to forgo convenience in the name of privacy and "owning my shit". As I crawled through this rabbit warren of content, Rob Zachny from Remap Radio threw out a link to an essay about You've Got Mail, a movie that I know a lot about, but have never seen. After reading this great piece, it's queued up to watch this weekend.

In You’ve Got Mail, which depicts a society in late capitalism, going back on one’s principles seems to be the only way to find interpersonal happiness. Technological assimilation and corporate patronage alike are unavoidable and can often lead to happiness. Just as Kathleen’s former customers and even authors relocate to Fox Books with little resistance, Kathleen herself buys coffee at Starbucks more times than she is seen visiting the UWS’s European coffee shop and patisserie, Café Lalo, where she has her blind date with Joe. Birdie (Jean Stapleton), Kathleen’s beloved surrogate mother, is revealed to be independently wealthy for having “bought Intel at 6” years before.

If these vibes work for you, I suggest you go read the essay over here.

That's a wrap

Thank you as always for reading. If you enjoy the dispatch, please share it with a friend. If you want to help pay for our server costs, and some indie games for us to review, please consider dropping a few dollars in out Ko-Fi too, it really does help.

I have also had this question a few times now - Why is there a Substack and the website? Which one should I subscribe to?

Pixels for Breakfast is our official home. It has these dispatches weekly, along with any reviews, video essays (although these are very rare at the moment), random editorials, and some guest posts from other writers / creators. It is everything that we ever make, and you will receive an email directly in your inbox when a new post is made.

Substack is just the indie release dispatch. If that's all you care about, this is for you. I will link to reviews with a preview whenever I get the time to write them, but the only emails you will receive are the newsletter.

See you all next week, and let me know in the comments what you will be playing this week.