Hollowed
Steam Page
Released: November 3
Developer: Project Polish Productions
Publisher: Project Polish Productions
Price: Free
Hollowed is a pleasant 3D platormer with a meditative, evocative mood similar to Journey or Abzu. According to the studio, it “tells the story of a woman who will do anything to bring her perished loved one back to the world of the living”, and this presumably involves running from left to right while solving any puzzles that get in the way. While the game is 3D, it appears to have a fixed side-on camera, and you’ll also be controlling two characters simultaneously. For this reason, a gamepad is required. Games in this mould need to work hard to pull your heartstrings, but there’s not much risk in trying Hollowed, since it’s free.
Midnight Ultra
Steam Page
Released: October 31
Developer: Forward Instinct
Publisher: Forward Instinct
Price: $3.33 / £2.09
Here’s an FPS with an interesting, albeit garish, retro sensibility. Set in the American Southwest, you play as a witch hunter tasked with decimating cultists. As you’ll see in the trailer, the game has a (switchable) colour palette which will either make or break your experience, but I think we can all agree that using a pentagram and crucifix as a reticule is insanely good and worth the price alone. This will take you around three hours to complete but it’s only three bucks so… the price is right?
Ebony Spire: Heresy
Steam Page
Released: November 2
Developer: Bearded Giant Games
Publisher: Bearded Giant Games
Price: $6.99 / £5.19
...and while we’re talking retro-styled first-person games, Ebony Spire: Heresy is a ‘90s style grid-based dungeon crawler. It's inspired by roguelikes, with turn-based combat and a fair bit of leeway when it comes to improvisation. The one twist on the roguelike genre is that the 20 levels aren’t procedurally generated, though a forthcoming update will add an “infinite dungeon”. The developer also points out that this title is best for quick “coffee-break” sessions, so don’t come in expecting Morrowind or something.
Animal Super Squad
Steam Page
Released: November 3
Developer: DoubleMoose Games
Publisher: DoubleMoose Games
Price: $9.99 / £7.19
An Early Access physics-based platformer starring a gaggle of super-intelligent animals. As far as platformers go it’s pretty straightforward, except the animals spend most of their time – if not all – in various vehicles, hurtling rightwards towards their victory (or downwards towards their demise, if you flubb it). The game is Early Access but it won’t be there for long, with the period set to be used for fine-tuning the level editor. If you must play this, now is probably a better time than ever.
I Am Overburdened
Steam Page
Released: November 3
Developer: DoubleMoose Games
Publisher: DoubleMoose Games
Price: $4.99 / £3.99
It’s another rogue-like, with a charming top-down pixel aesthetic and procedurally generated levels. The twist (because there always needs to be one) is that the protagonist has a “surprisingly large carrying capacity”. I don’t know whether this measurably affects how the game plays, but in any case, if you’re after short bursts of retro-RPG gameplay this is yet another artefact to add to your wishlist.
These games were released between 10/31-11/06. 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.
