Come see all the games, more games than one can play. I put some of them in my special book, thinking of days distant with hours unturned.
In this episode, fourteen more games I have not played are added to the Crashbook.
300/ Full Void
Full Void is a 2D Cinematic Puzzle Platformer set in a dystopian future. A young teenager, scared and alone, must use all their skills to defeat a rogue AI that keeps mankind oppressed.
Crash notes: Really excited for this. I guess “cinematic puzzle platformer” is the term the cool kids are using to describe games in the vein of Another World. Technically, I have actually played it. But just for a few minutes at WASD. Can I please please put this in? Pleeeeease—
Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Just released
301/ Summerhill
Summerhill is a story-driven puzzle game in which you play as a young shepherd and their dog. Journey across an ancient, pastoral landscape to reunite your scattered flock, and unearth the mysteries of a long-forgotten past.
Crash notes: Know very little about this other than the screenshots. “From the BAFTA-nominated development team behind the critically acclaimed Alto’s Adventure series.”
Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Unreleased
301/ AETHERIS
Embark on a heroic quest to rescue your village from a relentless Shade. Traverse vibrant, incomparable landscapes in this captivating turn-based roguelite. Journey alone or with companions—the adventure awaits!
Crash notes: A party-based RPG. But I’ve seen the reviews call it “a challenging RTS game”. And a roguelite.
Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Early Access
302/ Dordogne
Immerse yourself in a unique narrative experience and explore the thousand summer colors of Dordogne as you revisit your childhood to uncover lost family secrets in this touching formative journey.
Crash notes: A linear narrative in watercolour.
Windows | Steam Link | Released June 2023
303/ Magicube
A magical puzzle platformer made with PICO-8. Be thinky to get the legendary treasure.
Crash notes: I hear from Corey Hardt (Thinky Games) that the developer, nebu soku, is “known for some great free puzzle games”.
Windows | Steam Link | Released June 2023
304/ Mosa Lina
a hostile interpretation of the immersive sim, where nothing is planned, and everything works
Crash notes: Has a really loose, chaotic vibe.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
305/ Elation For The Wonder Box 6000
Elation For The Wonder Box 6000 is a first-person, claymation adventure game about going into the city to try and find a game from your youth that no one else remembers.
Crash notes: All that wonderful lo-fi goodness.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
306/ Go Mecha Ball
Go Mecha Ball is an acrobatic action roguelite where you shoot, roll and boost your way through a futuristic wonderland in pursuit of an ever more glitched-out rogue AI. Augment your ball mechs using an increasingly ludicrous arsenal of weapons, abilities and upgrades to shut the glitch portals!
Crash notes: Looking for an action game that’s a little… off its trolley? Check out the trailer. A screenshot is useless for this one.
Windows, Xbox | Steam Link | Unreleased
307/ Demon Lord Reincarnation
Assemble a party, explore the dungeon, fight your way through hordes of monsters, and defeat the Demon Lord in this brutal dungeon crawler. Are you up to the challenge?
Crash notes: From the dev of Ringlorn Saga previously listed on Crashbook. It sports a different retro aesthetic to Ringlorn.
Windows, Xbox | Steam Link | Unreleased
308/ The Lost Key
The task before you is very big, but you are not one of those who give up, it is your time, get up and move and retrieve the key.
Crash notes: This appears to be some sort of platformer with combat mechanics from a Kuwaiti developer.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
309/ Withersworn
Unleash your powers as a Withersworn in this high action, high mobility, and high fantasy adventure.
Crash notes: Looks very Shadow of the Colossus to me.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
310/ Bionic Bay
A scientist uses a unique teleportation instrument to escape an ancient biomechanical world filled with imaginative technology, deadly traps, and hidden secrets.
Crash notes: Lush platformer with great animations. Player can teleport-swap position with other objects.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
311/ Roto Force
Shoot and dash your way through frantic missions! A twin-stick shooter set in a rotating world. Unlock weapons, move quickly and fight tons of bosses.
Crash notes: I’m cheating again. I did actually play this one a little in WASD, too. Intense, claustrophobic arena shooter spiced with a little bullet hell.
Windows | Steam Link | Just released
312/ Hauntii
A beguiling adventure in which you uncover the secrets of an expansive and mysterious world – haunting both the environment and its denizens to craft ingenious solutions to the many challenges that await.
Crash notes: Steam page indicates you can use your haunting powers to “craft an array of solutions to puzzles, and devise various approaches to combat scenarios”.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
313/ Silence of the Siren
Turn-based sci-fi strategy game that combines exploration and exciting clashes on the battlefield. Take control over several different species, raise powerful armies and destroy your opponents!
Crash notes: Looks like a lot going on from the screenshots, but screenshots have been known to deceive me.
Windows, Linux | Steam Link | Unreleased
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I remember Jakob Wahlberg sharing his first video of the Go Mecha Ball idea/prototype with a sort of realisation that he’d found/created some magic. Needless to say it’s come a long way since then and looks ace!
I think Dominic Tarason mentioned Aetheris recently; I recall that really dense and distinctive artwork!
Elation For The Wonder Box 6000, oh yes! There’s a big thread on the Babbdi Steam forum that’s just basically a dumping ground for all kinds of weird first-person exploration games and it’s so great. https://steamcommunity.com/app/2240530/discussions/0/3764481749064724565/
Bionic Bay looks nifty and the little platforming guy reminds me of Benefactor on the Amiga!
Ooo, Roto Force and Hauntii are going on the wishlist, thanks!
Gregg, I’m terrible. I think most of the reasons these games go into Crashbook is nothing other than “looks cool yo”. But, wow, that Steam thread! Looks cool, yo!
I should divulge that I am playing Magicube for the Thinky Games stream this weekend. And the stream will also be going out on the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase stream on Steam.
Silence of the Siren will look *very* familiar to anyone who has played the Heroes of Might and Magic or King’s Bounty games. I adore HOMM, so I’ve popped SotS on my wishlist to keep an eye on its progress.
Thanks, as always, for compiling these intriguing roundups! 🙂
Three Mac games! All looking pretty interesting! The blurb for Summerhill made me look up Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey, which look like the sort of thing I might like playing to unwind. And Alto’s Odyssey is also claimed to have a Mac port! On the… Mac App Store? What sorcery is this? But it needs OS 11.0 and I haven’t upgraded my system and I’m afraid that upgrading my system will break all my other games, the way it did with NightSky.
The Aetheris trailer with the four characters walking in a line between turn-based combats made me say “Darkest Dungeon!” but the combat looks nothing alike, hex-based instead of two lines squaring off against each other. “Roguelite” seems to mean that if you die you start over with more resources, which is fair. But I would really like to know who called it a “challenging RTS” because that seems kinda incompatible with the whole turn-based thing?
I never played much Darkest Dungeon but sometimes I like to say “Ruin has come to our family!”
If anyone saw me stream last week, they’ll know it took me 20 minutes to finish TWO levels of Magicube.
Glad people are still finding some value in these weird collections, Shaun. The rule permitting Crashbook inclusion is so fuzzy: “There’s just something about it.” Often I’ve barely looked at a game.
Matt, I always feel happy when Mac games are in the mix, because it makes you happy. “Challenging turn-based RTS!” Put that on the box and it will sell a million copies.
“Challenging turn-based RTS!” That’s basically Gladius, right Shaun? 🙂
@GreggB – hmm… I guess you could argue that yeah, since Gladius is a Civ-like that is very much about smashing units against each other over and over again, which I think is pretty much the classic RTS formula! Also, real time passes when you take your turns, so.
Yeah I know the folks over at Qt3 are big fans of Gladius. Many of them say it’s like a turn-based RTS, which, as someone who is pants at real RTS, sounds interesting. I’ve seen you playing it on Steam recently and also noticed your blog update with the Tyranids. I’ve only briefly fired it up but hope to give it a proper go at some point in the future.
Heh! Well, you can take your time with figuring out your actions, which takes some pressure off relative to an RTS. But it’s a very very challenging game as soon as you start to raise the difficulty, and figuring out your faction rules and how to balance and grow their economy whilst never slowing down unit production can be quite complex. It’s common to hit massive midgame problems as your economy buckles. All that said, do give it a try, as it’s a good game and fun in multiplayer too. 🙂
idea for a game about setting up the video for Kylie Minogue’s “Come Into My World”
The first ever video compositing horror game.
Well Bit.Trip Runner is already Star Guitar: The Game.