Space Run

has got to be one of the least tower defence-y tower defence games in my Steam library. It has more in common with FTL than with most other games in its genre: your aim as Captain (and certified space-postman) Buck Mann is to fly your ship as quickly as possible from collection point to delivery point, micro-managing your resources and defences in real-time to deal with the various threats that emerge during your journey. No matter the cargo – crates, nuclear fuel, or passengers – Buck Mann offers the speediest journey through what I can only assume must be the most dangerous possible routes in the galaxy. (more…)

We Happy Few [official site], you may recall, is an upcoming crowdfunded first-person social survival game from Contrast devs Compulsion Games. Besides its vibrant aesthetic, it poses an interesting premise: you’re trapped in an alternate 1960s England where everyone in town is high on a hallucinatory happy drug called Joy but you’re just coming off it. Problem is, this town hates “downers” and if they realise you’re one there’ll be hell to pay. It’s sort-of BioShock, sort-of Orwell’s 1984>, sort-of Huxley’s A Brave New World>.

We Happy Few is heading to Early Access in July, Complusion announced at E3, and they’ve shared a look at its opening sequence too:

… [visit site to read more]

What frustrated me most about Space Run was that it failed to deliver on its initial potential. Like Adam, I was taken by its nuanced slant on tower defence, as I built weapon-heavy space-trucks and hauled cargo containers to and fro hostile intergalactic thoroughfares, however I felt it became too repetitive after its first few hours. There was a good game lurking in there somewhere, but I felt Space Run just couldn’t realise it.

Its follow-up, Space Run Galaxy [official site], has released its first trailer and I’m starting to think it might right its forerunner’s wrongs. Hop below for a look.

… [visit site to read more]

Back in 2014, building up a spaceship to run cargo in Space Run [official site] renewed Adam’s interest in tower defense games. Space Run gives players a big space-truck to haul everything from plain old cargo containers to thrill-seeking tourists, and naturally they must build up the truckship with weapons and defenses if they want to complete the delivery in time – and survive. Now developers Passtech Games have announced a sequel, named Space Run Galaxy, which is due to launch later this year.

… [visit site to read more]

N.B. I’m posting this outside the paywall from the get go because I’m hoping people will add their own suggestions in the comments and it will become a Useful Resource for those who don’t know what to play over Christmas!>

Whether you celebrate or not, chances are you’ll have a bit of extra downtime in the coming fortnight and you might be looking for games to play. For me I tend to pick multiplayer things which I can use to get a chunky bit of time with friends even though we’re all scattered around the country. If I want to be on my own I tend to go for puzzles because it means I can watch Midsomer Murders at the same time.

Here’s what I’m planning to hunker down with over while the festive season is in full swing but it would be great if you share your own plans as well…

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While I’m tackling things we possibly should/should have posted about more, hey! Let’s talk about Wargame Red Dragon [official site]! Developers Eugen Systems might be working on a new RTS, Act of Aggression, but they’re still tickling Wargame gently and whispering softly in its ear then giggling. Patches. They’re releasing more patches. And more free DLC, though in my day we’d call that etc. Yesterday brought the ‘Norse Dragons’ pack with 64 new units from Nordic lands, and the game’s on sale for a few days too.

… [visit site to read more]

Compulsion – the studio behind 2013’s cabaret shadow platformer Contrast – have semi-announced their next project.

The details on offer at the moment are scant, with even the name a mystery, but the developers confirm that the game will not be a sequel to Contrast:

“We haven’t ruled out doing one in the future, but after so long working on Contrast, we wanted to make something fresh. Something new and exciting. It involves masks, drugs and memory loss, but we swear it’s not a swinger’s party.”

… [visit site to read more]

An appropriate title indeed. ‘Contrast‘ refers to the fact this platformer (of sorts) involves switching between light and shadow in order to solve puzzles, and to the disparity between the glitz and glamour of old Paris’ surface and the thuggery and domestic disharmony beneath such Moulin Rouge trappings. Sadly, and unintentionally, it’s all too easy to take it to mean the contrast between Contrast’s appealing style and concept, and its humdrum, chore-like reality. (more…)

Last time: One man. One farm. NO HOPE.>

This time: A demon payphone. An immortal lawn. Tractors that love too much.>

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It happened in a flash. No bangs. Not even a whimper. And then there was nothing.>

Nothing except a farm. >

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