The Coral Cave: A Watercolor Adventure

The team of Atelier Sentô is currently busy developing the traditional adventure The Coral Cave with even more traditional watercolor techniques. The game will take place on an island of the Okinawa archipelago where a young girl, Mizuka, will try to save her village by entering a mysterious spirit world. The just published first video of the game showcases one of its first areas, validates the choices of the developers and confirms their artistic talent.

 

Eldritch: A First Person Roguelike

Eldritch is a first person roguelike with a setting inspired by the works of famous horror author H. P. Lovecraft, although it looks far cuter than one would imagine by this description. It's being developed by twin brothers David and J. Kyle Pittman who recently left their careers in AAA productions to form Minor Key Games and through it create the experiences they truly desire. Watch the first trailer of the game which will be released in the middle of next month, with available preorders costing $15 (about 11€) and offering access to the current beta.

Space Engineers: Space Age Construction

Space Engineers is the next project by Keen Software House, known for the Miner Wars games. According to the developers the idea has existed since 2002. At the time the existing technology was unable to support the concept, but its development is finally viable. The core of the gameplay will be the construction and maintenance of space ships and stations, which will behave realistically and even allow for their dismantling or destruction. It will also be possible to play it competitively as a tactical shooter, though ideally players will wish to avoid personal confrontations and instead rely on constructed machinery and fortifications to deal with enemies.

Descent + Quake + Diablo = NeonXSZ

Τhat's the rather bizarre formula the developers of NeonXSZ claim to have used, combining elements from all of these legendary yet very different games in order to offer a new action packed sandbox experience. Utilizing the famous six degrees of freedom it will thrust you into a procedurally generated world with four warring factions and yourself making your destiny by choosing your missions while enhancing your favorite ship with 700 different upgrades and many more weapons.

The Curse Lives

Curse started a few years ago as a Half-Life 2 mod. With a setting inspired by ancient Egypt it offered a first person adventure where combat was secondary to exploration and solving environmental puzzles. The creators now utilize the Unity Engine to redefine the experience as a full game for Windows and Mac, where a dead Pharaoh attempts to discover the truth behind a myth concerning immortality. The first teaser of this new direction is here.

Mighty No. 9: Mega Man Who?

Capcom may have been disappointing fans of the blue robot but the (among many other achievements) creator of the series Keiji Inafune wishes to please them. With his company comcept and an all star team of veterans with tradition in Mega Man games he has started a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign with the goal of developing Mighty No. 9, an all new yet familiar side scrolling action game.

XCOM: Enemy Within Trailer

XCOM: Enemy Within was recently unveiled as the first expansion to the successful strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It will be released this November for Windows, Mac, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and will include new enemies, battlefields and multiplayer content. More importantly, it will allow you to research and develop upgrades for your soldiers, either via genetic manipulation or with mechanized equipment, to give them a fighting chance against the new challenges. That's exactly what this new trailer showcases.

Red Flag!: Frags With Retro Sensibilities

Red Flag! by Bad Mouse Digital Art contains almost every feature you would expect to find in a competitive multi player FPS like Call of Duty, from varied game modes like Team Deathmatch and Domination to multiple weapons with different characteristics and usefulness, yet it is a retro style top down shooter. There's no official release date for the final game but currently another open beta test is live and you too can enjoy it for free, if only the following gameplay trailer interests you enough to download the Windows version that is on offer.

Bugbear's Next Game Needs You

Bugbear Entertainment, known for exclusively developing racing games, just revealed its next project. With the name Next Car Game it appears simple, to the point and resembles a successor of their rather popular FlatOut series, yet has its own identity that the limited media available demonstrate through the unique battered vehicles and the impressive crashes that total them. The game is planned to release in the Spring of 2014 for Windows (with the possibility of future console versions) but the developers currently wish to utilize their own form of crowd funding via preorders, which they hope will provide the necessary budget and in return offer supporters lower prices starting from $25 (about 19€), access to early versions and the possibility to affect the project's direction through their comments and feedback.

Sky Nations: The Demo

Sky Nations is a multi player game for Windows that resembles Minecraft yet offers different gameplay. It takes place on a world comprised of floating islands and includes many features, from weapons you'd expect to see in an FPS to the creation of cosmetic items. The focus that also sets it apart however is the ability to construct airships, used for exploration and impressive battles. Despite the early development phase the game's popularity is on the rise and now everyone can find out why, as the new demo version locks away many of its features but still offers a good sample of the experience. What are you waiting for?

GODUS Coming to Steam Early Access

GODUS is a "God game" by 22Cans and famous creator Peter Molyneux. Funded via Kickstarter, it succeeds classics like Populous and at the same time moves forward and offers an (if you desire it) online experience where many players will be able to cooperate or compete while developing their civilizations. Even though the game will be released for Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS and Android, Windows and Mac owners will be the first to play it through Steam Early Access which starting from the 13th of September will offer an early beta version (naturally with every subsequent update until the full release) for 18,99€. For now make the wait easier, or perhaps harder, by watching the announcement trailer after the jump.

Pulsar: Lost Colony, a Promising Starship Simulator

Update: The developers of Pulsar: Lost Colony on a weekly basis upload development progress videos. I won't be writing about all of them but today's footage deserves a mention as it includes (starting from roughly three minutes in) the first sample of planet surface exploration. Despite the early development phase it already looks fairly solid and therefor makes a lot of promises about the game's future.

Rayman Legends Gets Launch Trailer

The next part of this beloved series of platform games will be released really soon, which in this case means the end of this very month for most of the platforms it will become available on. Ubisoft, in order to celebrate this event, has published a new trailer showcasing Rayman Legends and its impressive 2D visuals at their best. Enjoy it.

Always Sometimes Monsters: A Different RPG

Always Sometimes Monsters is a game whose creators focus on the presentation of a complex storyline, where relationships and emotional bonds replace battles and adventures. Its plot will set you on the way to reclaiming a lost love, while many different possibilities will be enabled by your own decisions as well as the choices regarding the sex, race and sexual preferences of your character. Watch the new trailer for an idea of what you can expect and, if you wish, pre-order the game which will be released in the spring of 2014 for $9,99 (about 7,50€).

In Torment: The Case of the Drawing Girl Released

In Torment: The Case of the Drawing Girl is a short yet fairly tough and inventive adventure that has just been released for Windows as free software. When starting, you will only know that there's a girl under shock due to an unknown event she has apparently forgotten all about.

By examining her strange drawings, which you're able to enter, and conversing with her you will have to discover the exact circumstances and the persons involved, as well as her own identity. Another element that sets the game apart is the ability to choose from three different settings that cause the story and images to be more or less disturbing. It certainly deserves a try but before that, watch the teaser.

Super Trench Attack Impressions

The just released Super Trench Attack is a top down shooter that was almost single-handedly  developed within a span of five years  by one Paul Stephen-Davis. Inspired by the first world war yet with a hefty dose of humour it puts you in the shoes of a new recruit who, due to a staff shortage after the successful invasion of the enemy, will need to complete the most dangerous missions while facing hordes of soldiers and... monkeys. Indeed.

Neverending Nightmares' Sketchy Horrors

Update: The Kickstarter funding campaign of this project is now live with a not too modest goal of $99.000. The lowest tiers that reward supporters with the game are $10 (about 7,50€) for 750 early birds and $15 (about 11,25€) for everyone else, with many more higher tiers providing additional goodies like early alpha and beta access. The game is being developed for Windows, Mac, Linux and Oura while a demo is already available for Windows.

Original report: On the heels of the financial failure that was 24 Caret Games' unique shooter Retro/Grade, Matt Gilgenbach who suffers from OCD and depression has decided to channel all that negative energy into a new and very different game, Neverending Nightmares. With only a teaser available very little is known about the game other than the simple and surprisingly effective disturbing imagery. Acknowledging past mistakes and the current situation Matt and Infinitap Games have plans for a much needed Kickstarter campaign and a fully transparent development process so we should be learning more about this project very soon.

Tropico 5 Announced

Update: The game's first nine official screenshots have been published, view them in all their glory after the jump.

Original report: The next member in the Tropico family comes from Kalypso Media and Haemimont Studios and will offer new improvements in its formula of construction and management on the homonym island. It will be released in 2014 for Windows, Mac, Linux and Xbox 360.

Octopus City Blues: Strange Adventure in Need of Help

Οctopus City Blues is a traditional adventure taking place in a city built on a giant octopus, with inhabitants as strange as you can imagine. There are few gameplay and plot details but players will be able to explore the surrealistic environments and guide dialogues through many choices based on the relations they develop with characters who will have their own likes, dislikes and rich daily schedules. Watch the trailer for a small taste of a world built with imagination and passion.

Avadon 2: The Corruption Gets a Trailer

Spiderweb Software is a small independent studio with a long history in role-playing games, which contrary to many larger companies they continue developing with the intent to offer depth in every aspect, presented in an isometric viewpoint  and with traditional yet quite often just as inventive turn and party based combat systems.

The first Avadon was released in 2011 and became one of its biggest success stories so a sequel was inevitable yet welcome, at least by genre fans who can overlook outdated graphics and recycled assets, a practice used to speed up development and significantly lower its costs. I'll now let you enjoy the first trailer of Avadon 2: The Corruption which should be released within the next few months for Windows, Mac and iOS.