While I’ve my issues with Amazon’s global mega-monopoly, I can’t deny that the monthly sack of games that Twitch gives out to Amazon Prime subscribers is an oft-impressive bunch. This month more impressive than most – it’s a bundle of Devolver Digital’s best, including Broforce, both Hotline Miami games, Strafe (much improved by updates), Crossing Souls, The Swords of Ditto and recently lauded ninja platformer The Messenger. You can grab a month of Prime (even the free trial) and once it lapses you get to keep the games, to be launched through the Twitch desktop app.

Update: Until December 31st, Twitch Prime also gives you the SNK Bundle, Hacknet: Complete Edition, Smoke & Sacrifice and Poi, all of which you get copies for yourself to keep and a spare to give to friends. The Devolver pack doesn’t come with extra gifts, but is available until January 31st.>

(more…)

I am officially declaring this Metroidvania Month. As much as The Messenger is openly inspired by Tecmo’s merciless Ninja Gaiden games, a little ninja bird tells me that it, too, blossoms into a non-linear platform adventure, joining a long list of similar launches this August.

Out now, The Messenger is the debut game from new studio Sabotage. Players bounce and stab their way through a linear 8-bit world of demons and big boss monsters, eventually gaining the ability to travel into the 16-bit era and explore. Below, a trailer and a peek at some of Ninja Gaiden’s original developers giving it a try.

(more…)

I’ve always been a sucker for a good ninja-themed game, and The Messenger captures that Ninja Gaiden/Shinobi vibe well. Sharp pixel art, catchy chiptunes and an interesting twist define this Devolver-published platformer. While The Messenger looks like a perfectly solid Shovel Knight-esque platformer on the surface, the release date trailer below shows how players will be hopping between 8 and 16-bit versions of the game, and doing some clever things with this power. There’s not long to wait, either. The game will be launching in just under two weeks, on August 30th.

(more…)

I’ve always been a sucker for a good ninja-themed game, and The Messenger captures that Ninja Gaiden/Shinobi vibe well. Sharp pixel art, catchy chiptunes and an interesting twist define this Devolver-published platformer. While The Messenger looks like a perfectly solid Shovel Knight-esque platformer on the surface, the release date trailer below shows how players will be hopping between 8 and 16-bit versions of the game, and doing some clever things with this power. There’s not long to wait, either. The game will be launching in just under two weeks, on August 30th.

(more…)

So long as it moves and feels right and has an original idea or two of its own, I’ll always make time for an old-school platformer, especially one starring ninjas. What can I say? I grew up through the late 80s/early 90s.

The Messenger is the upcoming debut game from Sabotage Studio, and it looks, at least at first glance, more than a little like Ninja Gaiden. That alone is enough to catch my eye, but the addition of Metroid-like exploration elements built around hopping between 8 and 16-bit iterations of the game? Alright then, you’ve got my interest.

(more…)