Wraithkal: The Indie Gaming Corner
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‘World to the West’ on the Go: Switch Port Revealed Ahead of Nindies Summer Showcase

Earlier this year, four unlikely heroes set out on a journey, one which would not be a success without everyone somehow figuring out how to work together. As a team. As a single unit. As... well, you get the point, and even though the premise isn't the most original ever, the adventures of Lumina, Knaus, Miss Teri and Lord Clonington still managed to woo players and critics alike, across PC, PS4 and Xbox One. But hey, what about the Switch? And... dare I ask, Wii U?
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‘Epic Tavern’ Will be Built by Adventurers, Glorious Exploits and Grave Misfortune Alike

Chances are, if you've played more than a handful of fantasy RPGs, you've visited a tavern at some point, be it to grab a drink, bolster your ranks, or something else entirely. But what if, just this once, you were to stand on the other side of the bar? What if you were instead the one running the place? Because in Epic Tavern, you'll be doing just that, recruiting adventurers, sending them out on incredibly hazardous quests - all to make your tavern grow! Sounds like a grand ol' time to me...
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‘The Gardens Between’ – Time Travelling Tales of Childhood, Friendship, and… Growing Up

You know what best friends like to do? Go on adventures together, and the two in The Gardens Between - Arina and Frendt - are certainly no different. Well, except for the fact that their latest features mystical, yet absolutely beautiful, gardens and... time travel. More or less. Just don't forget about the butterfly effect (no, not the movie) as you leap back and forth while controlling this particular duo. Oh, and did I mention how lovely it all looks, not to mention... sounds?
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Fast-Paced Platformer ‘Velocity 2X’ Reaches Critical Mass and is Named Accordingly for Retail Release

The Vokh are a bunch of bastards, there's no way around that, and if Lt. Kai Tana has any say in the matter, their plans to rule the universe will be... thwarted. With authority. That said, her action platforming adventures do date back several years at the time of writing, and I doubt the exclusive content in this upcoming retail version of Velocity 2X will provide her with any actual benefits. So... what good is it then, and to who? Well, let me tell ya!
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Be the Bard: Get Ready to Spread Word of Heroes’ Heroic Heroics In ‘Forever and Ever’

When all is said and done, whichever princess managed to get herself kidnapped this time or evil demon showed up at the wrong time... who do we turn to? I mean, besides the heroes. Who indeed, but the mighty bard, chronicler of grand heroics and all such things, helping ensure we never forget about those who helped usher in a new era of peace. Or something along those lines. Oh, and you get to play as one of those guys in Forever and Ever! Groovy, ain't it?
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Yuri Game Jam 2017: Make Games Focusing on Relationships Between Women

Back for a sec-- wait, this is actually the third Yuri Jam? Crap. Missed one then. Huh. Well, anyway, it's almost time to once more embrace relationships between women - in video game form! And I'm not talking 'besties' here either. No, this is about the romantic aspect, involved parties being - as stated on the official site - "lesbian, bi, trans, non-binary, aro, ace, pan, any female-identified LGBTQIA characters". What's not to like?
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‘Exception’ Is Almost Certainly the Flashiest 2.5D Platformer You’ll Play… Later This Year

It's been almost three years since my initial coverage of Exception, at which point development was in pre-alpha stage and the game... well, let's just say it looked a lot less. Just less. I don't know how else to describe it. Or do I? Ah yes, the super flashy colorful effects are nowhere to be found! And that's just the beginning. Everything just looks more complete, more finished, more refined, more... well, crazy. Best of all, the game is finally being prepped for launch, world flipping action and all!
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(Almost) Unlimited Power: Unity Adds Xbox One X Support Ahead of Launch

Smoother gameplay, bigger worlds, life-like detail, faster load times... and so on. This is pretty much how Microsoft would describe their upcoming Xbox One overhaul/remake/revision/something, Xbox One X. Oh, and Unity just added support for it, which means - among other things - 4K HDR rendering, as well as "increased power". As for exactly how little/much, who knows? Who indeed.
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It’s Almost Time For PAX West, Which Means… Indie MEGABOOTH and PAX 10!

With September creeping ever so nearer, tickets to Seattle are flying off the digital shelves. Or something along those lines. What I'm trying to say is that it's almost time for this year's PAX West, and based on the Indie MEGABOOTH and Pax 10 lineups, attendees are going to have a grand time. Yes, I know that there are other things to experience at PAX West. But as you may have guessed, this isn't really about them (sorry, other events/exhibitors).
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Not Enough Steam Reviews! February ’17 Edition

Ah, February of the lovely year 2017 (depending on who you ask, of course). Winter was starting to show signs of retreat, developers returning from hibernation... and other fun nonsensical things. It was also exactly six months - and a week or so - ago, at the time of writing. What that last bit means is that it's time for me to check another month's titles on Steam, picking personal favorites from the lot. Oh, and as always, Early Access and Virtual Reality stuff won't be on the list.
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Steam Direct: 2 Months and 1000+ Games Later… (Wait, What?!)

It's been less than two months since Steam Direct launched (remember?), and if nothing else, developers are certainly embracing Greenlight's replacement. I mean, the first week of August alone saw no less than 215 additions to Valve's digital storefront, and in total, more than 1,000 games have been added. So... crazy? Ridiculous? Insane? All of the above, without a doubt? I'm going with the latter, quite frankly.
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Get Into a Colorful Speedrun Groove With ‘Super Lovely Planet’

Super Lovely Planet is a 3D platformer, one completely void of boss fights, guns to shoot, and collectibles. No wait, that's not quite right. It does actually have collectibles. Just not any of that other stuff, and yet, it looks like a game overflowing with fun times. Provided you enjoy going fast, being restricted to moving and jumping, and of course, don't mind platformers in the third dimension. Because for some reason, a lot of people really do. Big time. Their loss, though.
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‘Door Kickers’ Set to Gun Down 2D Terrorists In ‘Door Kickers: Action Squad’ Spin-Off

I love when developers post weird announcements. An example: the latest from Door Kickers developer Killhouse Games, Door Kickers: Action Squad is going to be a pixellated affair and in 2D no less, complete with suicidal terrorist bombers. Quite a change from the main game, which was a lovely, deeply tactical title with, well, fewer pixels and a lot of shooting. I think there was some exploding too. Doors were definitely kicked, though.
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Go Small or Go Home: Make a Game Sized 13kb (or Less!) for Js13kGames

These days, video games tend to take up absolutely ridiculous amounts of precious hard drive space. Take 2016's DOOM, for example: darn thing clocks in at well over fifty gigabytes! Completely bonkers and not really the reason for Js13kGames to be a thing, but the two are still related. Kinda. That said, what sets the two even further aside is that, well, Js13kGames is about making games in HTML, JavaScript, CSS and such. Small games. Incredibly small games. Bite-sized games, some might say? Eh? Eh? Anyway...
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‘Graceful Explosion Machine’ Might Make a SHMUP Fan Out of You Yet

Graceful Explosion Machine. Is it simply the name of a game, or perhaps something more? Spoiler: it's that AND the name of the ship you'll be piloting in said game. Oh, and according to the developer, it packs a "ludicrously overpowered quad-weapon array". Which, if you ask me, means it's already a pretty darn great shoot 'em up experience. And then there's the colors... the music... so groovy. So relaxing. So very... EXPLOSIONS!
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Scale It Down Once More: #LOWREZJAM 2017 Has Begun

64 by 64. That’s the core of #LOWREZJAM 2017, much like last year’s iteration. 64 by 64, as in, the resolution of whatever game you may end up making as part of this particular game jam. Yes, I am referring to the completely bonkers concept of making a game that’s only 64 pixels wide and 64 pixels tall. Not 1920 by 1080, or whatever that 4K nonsense everyone’s spouting these days is. Just plain ol’, super low-res 64×64. Why? Well, why not?
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