#ios
#ios
By Amr (@siegarettes)
Fallen Knight begins contradicting itself from the moment it begins. Equipping you with high speed dashes, air dashes and wall runs, it’s a game that feels most natural when moving fast. Then your stride is immediately broken by the combat–which not only steals away your movement options after the intro stage, but asks you to slow down even more to get them back.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
From the Souls-esque mechanical trappings to the Metroidvania style maps, Grimvalor screams familiar. But what it doesn’t have in originality it makes up in an incredible moment to moment action. It streamlines the layouts and mechanics of its inspirations for portable play, then adds on top of it high speed movement that allows you to move fluidly through both stages and enemy hordes.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Venture Kid is a Mega Man inspired platformer. Retro style action games aren’t exactly the rarity they used to be, and you’ve absolutely played a game in this style already. Thankfully, Venture Kid at least nails the core action, with responsive controls that provide the kind of strong feedback that other retro games lack, which counterbalances its more strict damage requirements. Unfortunately, Venture Kid also chops of the framework of the series it takes inspiration from, and puts the pieces back together in a form that doesn’t make sense.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Sometimes a game can get by on a little bit of charm and simple fun. Dig Dog just about does. It’s a small game from Rusty Moyher and Matt Grimm, who brought us the excellent Retro Game Crunch and Astro Duel. Both of those felt like strong executions on existing concepts, backed by a lot of charm.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
Have you ever imagined falling down into the abyss only to find yourself in the arms of a humanoid that does nothing with their time other than play the piano? I haven’t – but I’m pretty sure someone out there has imagined that before. For those who wish to live that life, Deemo has you covered, and it also happens to be a rhythm game as well.
By Omar (@siegarettes)
Single Press is a series of short writings on small games. It is made possible through the support of our Patreon.
In some ways, technology has become invisible to us. In our tech centric world, where computers and digital devices have become ubiquitous, we’ve stopped thinking about the devices that we operate on an everyday basis. Instead these machines have become interfaces to the world, connections with people, and pockets of personal expression. But when we leave them behind, what kind of personal detritus do we leave with them? What’s in your old family computer, those discarded thumb drives? What’s in the phone that you just lost?
by Omar (@siegarettes)
“Downwell is a game about a young person falling down a well, battling enemies with gun boots, and sometimes visiting shops.” -Downwell Official Site
I’m generally not one to use the game’s tagline, but that’s about as succinct as summary as you’ll get. Developed by Ojiro Fumoto, Downwell is most aesthetically confident and complete game I’ve played since FOTONICA. That extends from the artwork all the way down to the feeling of each moment of play. I first witnessed it at Chicago Bit Bash, and even within the truncated time I spent with it felt GOOD.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Let’s be real here. When Canabalt released in 2009 it redefined a genre, creating a new one in its wake. The monochrome style, pulsing music, and endless obstacles created something immediately compulsive. Every game in the genre has been chasing it ever since.
Enter FOTONICA. Originally conceived as Tales of an Unspoken World for a TIGSource game jam, it evolved and iterated upon until it reached its current state. FOTONICA mixes washed out low poly landscapes somewhere between Rez and Vib-Ribbon, a driving soundtrack, and Santa Ragione’s sharp design sense to create something distinct.