Search for:

Hades

Hades logo

While an undeniably challenging year, we can at least remember some of the great games that came out in 2020. Hades, already out on PC and released on the Nintendo Switch last September, was one of these games. Hades won IGN’s Game of the Year Award. It also won Best Indie Game at The Game Awards 2020. It was produced by SuperGiant Games, known for the successful indie title Bastion and a few others. Hades is a rogue-like dungeon crawler. This means that every time you die in the game, you start all the way at the beginning and start your journey again. However, the game is different every time you awaken. Plus, there are loads of powers, weapons, and abilities that will unlock themselves as you get farther with each run through. Hades also features a fully voiced set of characters that tell the game’s story. The art is beautiful and the gameplay is well-designed. Hades has a lot to offer.

Dialogue from the player's character
Every character in Hades is beautifully hand-drawn.

See you in Hell

You play as the Immortal Prince of the Underworld, Zagreus. The game takes lace in the mythological ancient Greek underworld of Hades. It’s you’re goal to escape this world and ascend to Mt. Olympus with the gods. But it won’t be easy, as there are countless waves of monsters blocking your path. As you attempt to escape, again and again, you’ll meet many characters. Some will help you on your journey and some will not. There are well known gods like Athena and Zeus. There are even strange underworld gods like Thanatos and Chaos. You can also find classic Greek heroes like Achilles.  Hades also features powerful bosses with strange motivations. The game’s story is slowly unraveled as you meet these characters and uncover all that this game has to offer. There are thousands of unique story events and no two runs will ever be the same.

gameplay screenshot
In Hades, no two runs will ever be the same.

Time to Go Get Killed Again

Hades is a dungeon crawler. Whenever you enter a new area, you won’t know what’s waiting for you on the other side. It could be a room full of ghosts, you might get to speak to a Greek God, or it might be a giant monster. The spontaneity of each run motivates you to keep trying to make it through the entire world, no matter how many times you die trying. You’ll want to meet every character. You’ll want to slay every enemy. But most importantly, you’ll want to keep on playing. Hades earned its accolades for a reason, so give it a try if you like dungeon crawlers. It’s 20% on Steam until January 5th.

#Hades #SuperGiant #Indie

Elliot

 

Elliot logo

Elliot is a 2D platformer developed by the Spanish studio, Plain and Game. It is currently out for PC and will be released on Xbox and Playstation on December 24th. The game features a relaxing original soundtrack and vibrant colors in the levels. But the gameplay itself is actually quite difficult. Sometimes presenting extremely challenging levels, this precision platformer can be very frustrating to gamers with minimal platforming experience. With over 60 levels, the amount of time that it will take to get through the game can vary greatly between players. It’s really dependant on how often you’ll die.

Screenshot from a snowy level
Elliot’s artwork and sound design doesn’t indicate how unforgiving the gameplay can be.

World of the Mombas

Elliot’s story revolves around uncovering the mysteries in his world. You play as the game’s namesake. He’s a bright little blue ball who lives in the woods. He has a bigger green friend, Manuel, and they both live in a forest with the other Mombas. But the rest of the game’s story will have to be uncovered by the player when they go on their adventure. There are in-game collectible that will provide insight into the story. There’s not much to this $7.99 game’s story though, the real draw for Elliot is the challenging gameplay and interesting design.

Screenshot of Elliot
When playing Elliot, you can expect to die very often.

Colorful Hell

Elliot is presented as an exceedingly difficult platformer with relaxing art and music to accompany the gameplay. There is a movement to nominate the game for the “Best Game You Suck At” at the 2020 Steam Awards. Many of the game’s mechanics are what can be found in a traditional platformer. You run, jump, and dash through the levels. But the game is somewhat unique in the fact that the original soundtrack and art have a cute and whimsical implication while the gameplay itself is unforgiving and brutally difficult. If you have a knack for difficult platformers, you might get some real fun out of this love letter to the genre from an Indie developer.

#Elliot #Indie #Platformer #Challenge

Cyber Shadow

The Cyber Shadow logo

Cyber Shadow is a platformer that will be published by Yacht Club Games  for Switch, PC, and last-gen consoles. Yacht Club is the studio that produced the Shovel Knight series, a critically acclaimed platformer that received immense praise across the industry. Like Shovel Knight, Cyber Shadow will have an 8-bit art-style and feature similar side-scrolling gameplay. The soundtrack for the game will be deeply appreciated by fans of retro games. The game’s developer, Aarne Hunziker, considers Yacht Club to be the perfect partner for his style of game development. With cut-scenes, boss fights, and even an unlockable set of abilities, Cyber Shadow is earning the hype that it’s getting from the gaming community.

Shadow battling a dragon boss
Cyber Shadow’s boss fights will likely make up some of its most memorable gameplay.

Ruins of Mekacity

You play as Shadow, a ninja who lives in a world that’s been taken over by synthetic lifeforms. You need to discover the secrets of your ninja clan and find out what sent Mekacity into ruin. There are over a dozen boss fights that include synthetic clan rivals and giant war machines alike. The game’s story is told through the action-packed gameplay and the retro-styled cut-scenes. As you progress through the game’s story, you will unlock new skills, abilities, and upgrades. These unlockables pair with how Shadow learns more about himself, his clan, and the secrets of Mekacity’s ruins.

Shadow battling enemies
Cyber Shadow’s artstyle is reminiscent to video games from the late 80’s.

8-bit Adventure

Cyber Shadow takes the player back to when games didn’t even take up 1 MB of storage space. (although Shovel Knight took up almost 300 MB) It looks and feels like an NES game but it won’t have the tedious problems that video games had 35 years ago. What will be carried over is the authentic art style, nostalgic gameplay, and memorable soundtracks that many games had from that era. The game intends to seamlessly blend hand-crafted sprites and simplicity with the modern game design that gamers have become accustomed to. If you’re a fan of retro-styled games, keep up with Cyber Shadow in 2021.

#Indie #Platformer #CyberShadow

Gaming News and the Ultimate Universe