Indie Round-Up
It’s been a pretty big week for AAA gaming and new consoles, but how are our friends in the indie scene doing? It may have gotten buried under the onslaught of PS5 and Series X info, but don’t worry! I’ve dug up some of the brightest gems from the past week and arranged them in a way that is tasteful and easily digestible for you! Let’s dig in!
Game Devs of Color Expo is Under Way!
The 5th annual Game Devs of Color Expo is showing off a ton of great games this weekend from the 18th to the 21st and will be awarding over $90,000 in grants to 6 different developers. The expo will be showing off a ton of hotly anticipated indie games including Garden Story, She Dreams Elsewhere (which I personally am super looking forward to!), and an interesting-looking game called “An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs.” The expo is also hosting a demo event on Steam called “Gradient Convergence” where players can check out demos for a ton of the games being shown off, and add them to their Steam wishlist. If you didn’t manage to snag a ticket (they’re only $5 to $10!) you can also check out a ton of the talks coming out of the conference at the show’s official YouTube Channel.
#GDoCExpo 2020 is 2 days long! ?
On Sat 9/19, watch talks & panels by @dapurplesharpie, @metasynthie, @Claude_Jerome, & more. Sun 9/20 features interviews w/ creators of @ValiDateGame, @gardenstorygame, @loveshoregame, & more #indiegames! Register now: https://t.co/t59g26yFrg pic.twitter.com/iCTp2F29ey
— Game Devs of Color Expo (@GDoCExpo) September 10, 2020
Cel-Shaded Shooter “Foreclosed” Gets New Gameplay Video
As the onslaught of cyberpunk games rages on through 2020 (seriously, there’s been so many and we’re nowhere near done yet), publisher Merge Games and developer Antab Studios has given us a deeper look at their upcoming graphic-novel inspired third-person shooter Foreclosed with a gameplay video hot off the presses. The game seems to be coming along really nicely, and the developer has revealed that the game will also be coming to PS5 and the Xbox Series consoles in addition to current-gen hardware. There’s no official release date yet as the game is set to drop in 2021, but you can check out the deep dive trailer right here:
Cuphead Toys Come to Arby’s (But Like, Actually Though)
The folks over at Studio MDHR revealed that their indie hit Cuphead is coming to an Arby’s near you earlier this week. Fans will be able to snag one with the purchase of a kids meal, which is an interesting choice because most adults I know cannot finish that game. Several of the game’s bosses are included as papercraft toys (very loose use of the word “toy” here) that you can wallop with a Cuphead token launcher. But wait, there’s more somehow! Each toy comes with a code for Cuphead camera filters that you can use through the official Arby’s Cuphead app, which I’m sure you, dear reader, already have.
The all-cartoon sensation Cuphead is launching into an Arby’s near you, for a limited time only. Collect all four hero launcher tokens and four constructible boss papercrafts today. pic.twitter.com/ciwaRPitMU
— Arby’s (@Arbys) September 14, 2020
Boyfriend Dungeon Gets Delayed
Kitfox Games made the difficult decision to delay their highly anticipated dating sim Boyfriend Dungeon into 2021. The developer released an official statement explaining that the choice was made to avoid crunch and to make sure the team is in good mental health throughout this tumultuous year. The statement also reveals that two characters who were stretch goals during the game’s Kickstarter campaign will now be paid DLC characters, but backers will still get them for free. You can check out the full statement right here:
A little bit of an update about Boyfriend Dungeon ?
Plain text version: https://t.co/xWRPP6bpYP pic.twitter.com/XA4BTXtcpE
— Kitfox Games (@KitfoxGames) September 10, 2020
Sci-Fi FPS “The Invincible” Revealed
A new indie studio composed of former CD Projekt Red and Techland devs has revealed their first title, The Invincible. It’s inspired by a novel of the same name from Polish author Stanisław Lem back in 1964. It’s about a scientist searching for the crew of their ship after a rough landing on a strange planet, and the description of the novel itself is reminiscent of a more sci-fi focused version of Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness. The game’s art style is also strongly reminiscent of the pulpy magazine and novel covers from the 50s and 60s. The developer (aptly named Starward Industries) promises a non-linear storyline as well as immersive gameplay and is currently being developed in the Unreal Engine. The game is slated to drop for PS5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC next year. You can check out the music preview trailer here:
What do you think of this week for indie games? Are you gonna try “An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs?” What do you think of the music from The Invincible? As always, let us know what you think in the comments, and be sure to keep it locked to COGconnected for all your gaming news!
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.