Title: Impulse Developer: Mark Zhang Platforms: Browser ---
Yes, it's that time of year again. More than 600 games were submitted for IGF 2015 and that means dozens of interesting and intriguing indies to discover. One such game is Impulse, an unique take on the arcade shooter, revolving around pushing enemies with powerful shock waves rather than shooting them.
You control a sphere, trapped in increasingly claustrophobic arenas, hemmed in by the dark walls of the Void. Enemies encroach from all sides - homing spears, exploding tanks, and other varied foes - and thankfully, the Void is as dangerous to them as it is to you. Without any means to damage enemies directly, you must outmaneuver the incoming shapes and force them into the Void with your short-range concussive blasts. This twist on the usual shmup gameplay puts the focus on movement and positioning, as you consider the angle of your blasts and deftly evade the growing hordes to set up multi-kills and increase your score multiplier. Impulse is challenging, fun, and offers a lot of content between its main campaign and practice mode, complete with bosses to defeat and a Hard difficulty to truly test your skills.
Title: Impulse Developer: Deck16 Platforms: PC Free ---
Don't be fooled by its simple graphics. Impulse is a challenging game with fantastic level design and tons of content.
The developers describe Impulse as "Super Meat Boy and Lunar Lander" and that's probably the best summary I could think of. The controls are simple: left mouse button to thrust in one direction, right mouse button to thrust in the opposite direction, but combine those controls with the myriad obstacles and levels and "simple" goes right out the window. From lasers to homing missiles to dozens of mines that must be carefully threaded between, controlling your thrust and altitude is paramount. One hit kills but restarts are infinite and instant.
Impulse's standout is its level design. Each one is challenging and unique and some are even homages to retro classic such as Pac-Man. A level editor allows players to make their own. You can download Impulse here.
