Summary
Indie gaming has come a long way since its inception, creating unique experiences that triple-A games don’t have. With their rise alsocame indie publishers, with one such publisher beingNew Blood Interactive, whose slogan is “We love you and hate money.” This mantra is best exemplified in their games, which feature bold risk-taking, interesting mechanics, and long-term post-launch support, all for a reasonable price.
This indie giant, run by David Oshry, has propelled itself into worldwide acclaim thanks to its unflinching ability to take risks, creating some of the best games in the contemporary market. While some games are still in Early Access (a model that has brought the publisher success), they are still amazing experiences, and it is exciting to imagine where these games will go next.
While the gameplay hasn’t aged all that well,Rise Of The Triad: Ludicrous Edition, a collaborative effort between New Blood, Apogee, and Nightdive Studios, is the gold standard for video game preservation. Not only does this remaster feature the usual fixings, such as better resolution and higher frame rates, but it has also restored cut content from earlier betas, online multiplayer, a level editor, and every previous expansion pack, includingThe Return Of The Triad(originally a mod) and a new episode.
The game itself isreminiscent of the 90s shooters it was originally released alongside, warts and all, but it is still a great look at the history of the genre.Rise Of The Triadshould be lauded for how many extras were added to its remaster, and other developers who remaster their games should be using this as a shining example of how to do it right.
While it wasn’t originally published byNew Blood,Blood West, developed byHyperstrange, has since been picked up by the studio. Along with this acquisition are planned quality-of-life updates and a new expansion titledDead Man’s Promise.
Blood Westis about an undead Gunslinger looking for a cure to their curse, and sees players traversing three sprawling open levels. Each one of them is comparable in size tosome open worlds in other games, and each has its own set of quests and items to find. Each level also features several eldritch monsters, which the player can either tackle head-on or use stealth to sneak past and save some ammo. A planned approach to problems is rewarded, and players who keep track of the environment, enemies, and their builds will find themselves succeeding more often than not.
Making a fantasy boomer shooter presents a unique problem for developers: How canthe weapons be appropriate for the genrewhilst still being fun?Amid Evil(developed by Indefatigable)answers with some of the most creative weapons in the genre. The starting weapon is a classic boomer shooter melee weapon in the form of an axe, and the game quickly moves on to a sword that fires bouncing energy beams, a trident that shoots lighting, and a staff that fires shrunken planets for huge damage. On top of that, there’s a special ability called Soul Mode which powers up these weapons further, giving them additional effects and dealing more damage.
As expected, the game also has well-hidden secrets that house extra pickups. For those who want even more, there’s an expansion calledThe Black Labyrinthand a VR version with its own set of features, such as giving the early-game axe the ability to be thrown and recalled, not unlike Kratos' Leviathan Axe inGod of War.
Developed by Arsi “Hakita” Patala,Ultrakillis what would happen ifQuakeandDevil May Crywere put into a blender and the resulting slurry was poured overDante’s Infernoandseasoned with the movement shooter genre. The gameplay ofUltrakillis just as crazy as its premise. Players control a robot, V1, running and gunning through the Nine Circles of Hell. Aggression is very much encouraged, as enemy blood heals V1, and players will have to kill their foes quickly to get much-needed health.
Luckily, there’s a set of crazy weapons that are more than up to the task, including but not limited to: A revolver that allows shots to be reflected off a coin, a shotgun that can eject its core for explosive damage, a railgun that can fire a drill, and an arm that can not only parry attacks but can also boost the player’s health and stamina if it is timed correctly. These only scratch the surface. Players will have to use all the tools at their disposal to get a high style rating.
Developed by a team consisting of Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Berens, and Thomas Porta,Gloomwoodis for those who are looking for an Immersive sim that scratches thatThiefitch. Aesthetically speaking,Gloomwoodgoes for a Victorian-esque horror setting with Gothic buildings and a strange plague destroying the city. Enemies also reflect the gothic horror genre, with huntsmen having glowing eyes, mutated hounds called fish dogs, and the Goatman, which is self-explanatory.
As expected from a game inspired byThief, gameplay mainly involves sneaking around, staying in the shadows, and finding creative ways to progress past obstacles. As it’s an immersive sim, the number of solutions—both conventional and unconventional—are numerous, and the game encourages experimentation. Unlikeits inspiration, combat is not discouraged inGloomwood.However, players will have to keep track of their bullets and health, asthis game also takes inspirationfrom the survival horror genre, creating a unique blend of gameplay.
Before his work onIron Lung, David Szymanski created a boomer shooter by the name ofDUSK, which became an instant classic upon release.DUSKsees the protagonist, appropriately referred to as Dusk Dude, fight his way through hundreds of cultists and monsters. Like any boomer shooter worth its salt, there’s a plethora of weapons available, such as dual-wield shotguns, meat hooks that can reflect projectiles, and soap, a throwable item that insta-gibs any enemy (excluding the final bosses of each episode) because it deals one billion damage.
Naturally, the game is rife with secret areas, hidden goodies, and extra hidden levels that are deviously tucked away in each episode.DUSKembraces the horror of its setting; each enemy is designed to be as creepy as possible, with creatures such as possessed scarecrows hiding among regular ones, humanoids with elongated features called Horrors, and Wendingos introduced in one of the game’s scariest levels.
While many might not see it at first glance, there’s a reasonable argument to make forFaith: The Unholy TrinitybyAirdorf Games as being one ofthe greatest horror games of all time. Its Atrai 2600-style graphics may look unassuming, but that’s only on the surface. The game’s effective use of music and sound design will make players feel tense, as will the way the monster’s mechanics are designed to keep their players on their toes.
One of the game’s standout achievements is its rotoscoped cutscenes. These give a great sense of atmosphere to both the gameplay and the animation style. This, in combination with how the developers juxtapose the in-game graphics, leads into the uncanny valley, which adds to the fear factor. Story-wise,Faithis just as excellent. Featuring themes of religion, regret, and death (and fates worse than that), as protagonist John Ward returns to the Martin House to finish what he started. This is only the start of his journey, and the game has multiple endings for each chapter, in addition to lore documents that give extra context to the story.
