Heroes of Hammerwatch
Steam Page
Released: March 2
Developer: Crackshell
Publisher: Crackshell
Price: $11.99
A sequel to the pixel-art dungeon crawler Hammerwatch, this outing retains the co-operative focused hack-and-slash of the original, while adding a rogue-lite twist to the formula. The theme of the first Hammerwatch was escaping, whereas Heroes of Hammerwatch shifts its focus towards building and upgrading a town -- though you’ll still spend 95 percent of the time in this game raiding dungeons and retrieving loot. As you’d expect from a rogue-lite, death doesn’t affect certain overarching progression systems, and the dungeons this time around are procedurally generated. There a 7 classes, over 100 items and a New Game+ mode.
Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2
Steam Page
Released: March 2
Developer: Crazy Monkey Studios, Claeysbrothers
Publisher: Crazy Monkey Studios
Price: $12.99
A sequel to the 2015 original, Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 is a sidescrolling run-and-gun platformer starring mobster Vinnie Cannoli, who can now aim in 360 degrees. Double jumping, kicking, dodging, dual wielding are all here too, meaning movement is much improved over the original. Apart from that, not much seems to have changed but it didn’t really need to: the lush artstyle looks better than ever and the new World War 2 setting lends itself to more over-the-top set pieces than previously. The game can be played alone, or with up to three friends both online and locally.
Apocalipsis
Steam Page
Released: February 28
Developer: Punch Punk Games
Publisher: Klabater, WhisperGames
Price: $6.99
Apocalipsis is a thoughtful point-and-click adventure which takes its inspiration from some of the grimmest 15th century European art. Oh, and significantly, the singer from black metal band Behemoth narrates the game. It’s a really good time to be playing video games, isn’t it? “In Apocalipsis you play as Harry, for whom the loss of his beloved was the end of his world,” reads the description. “Now he has to venture out into the strange, unwelcoming lands to get her back. On his journey he will meet fantastical creatures, straight from the minds of artists from the 15th century Europe, and ultimately conquer his own, personal demons.”
Squidlit
Steam Page
Released: March 2
Developer: Alex Barrett, Samantha Davenport
Publisher: Alex Barrett
Price: $2.99
Squidlit is a retro-styled platformer designed to look like a ye olde Nintendo Game Boy title. So that means: 160x144 resolution and four shades of, uh, “grellow” (the developer’s term, not mine). Judging by the trailer above the duo has done a pretty good job, and the audio in particular is enough to take me back to the ‘90s, when handhelds used double A batteries and Sliders was still on TV. At $3 it’s remarkably cheap too, so if you’re feeling nostalgic it could be worth a look. According to the description, “Squidlit strives to be the closest modern recreation of GameBoy game-design methods on the market.”
Ion Maiden
Steam Page
Released: March 1
Developer: Voidpoint LLC
Publisher: 3D Realms
Price: $19.99
...and here’s yet another game attempting to channel the ‘90s: in particular Duke Nukem 3D. Ion Maiden uses the same engine (Build) as Duke and it definitely shows, because the run speed is unrealistically quick and the level design, which reportedly much advanced compared to ‘90s Build games, still has that blocky Build-y look. This was originally a spin-off to 3D Realms’ (disastrous) Bombshell, but since then it’s been revamped and turned into a feature complete game. And people are really digging it, if the Steam reviews are any indication.
These games were released between 02/26-03/05. The first page of this list is updated every Sunday and previous weeks are archived on the following pages. Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.
