Epic's barrage of freebies continues today with GoNNER and Offworld Trading Company, both scratching very different itches. GoNNER is a procedurally-generated roguelike platformer, while Offworld Trading Company is an economic RTS set on Mars.
Offworld Trading Company is very much my jam, even though it makes me feel dirty. It's an unconventional RTS where battles take place in the marketplace, with corporations trying to muscle each other out of the lucrative planet. Even without armies, it's still a fast-paced, competitive affair, and somehow watching market fluctuations is just as exciting as watching armies colliding. OK, almost as exciting. The AI is fine, but it's made even better by sneaky human opponents.
I try to avoid torturing myself with roguelike platformers, so I'll let Phil Savage's GoNNER review fill you in.
Despite GoNNER's difficulty, aesthetic and mystery, there isn't a whole lot to it. It doesn't take long to work out an enemy's patterns, and there's isn't much variety within the level generation. While loadouts offer some tactical planning, the range of equipment isn't as diverse or significant as, for instance, Nuclear Throne. GoNNER doesn't offer the longevity of the best roguelike shooters, but it's nonetheless a stylish, weird and entertaining action platformer.
They're both free until March 12 at 3 pm GMT/7 am PT, when they'll be replaced by a trio of new games: Anodyne 2, A Short Hike and Mutazione.
