The Watchlist: Gang Beasts

Title: Gang Beasts
Developer: Boneloaf
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Android, WiiU, PS4, XBox One
In development
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Gang Beasts is a stupidly silly local multiplayer party game with doughy ragdoll physics and horrific environmental hazards.

I'll be honest. I first saw a screenshot of Gang Beasts during Screenshot Saturday. It looked interesting but nothing really jumped out at me as amazing or something to be hyped about. And then I read this great RockPaperShotgun preview and realized that was a mistake. Gang Beasts is awesome.

Even in its extremely early playable alpha, the game is one of the most fun and funniest I've played in a while. RPS was right when they said "every fight turns into a desperate action sequence." Gang Beasts is pushing and prodding your opponent into an industrial grinder. It's having a four-way brawl atop speeding trucks. It's punching your opponent in the face while both of you dangle from a window washing platform. What's more, those exciting fights are incredibly simple to control - keys for movement, for punching and grabbing - and your cute colorful brawlers all have physics-based animations that add some satisfying yet oddly hilarious brutality to every fight.

And that's only the 0.0.1 alpha. Reading through the developer's IndieDB and Greenlight pages, they have even greater ambitions. A shopping mall with glass elevators to fight on top of. A hotel/casino featuring a bar for a good old-fashioned bar brawl. A construction site with destructible walls and floors to smash through. An amusement park with a Ferris wheel and roller coaster to fight on. Levels ranging from fights in the middle of freeway traffic to fights on top of a train. A single player mode with levels and bosses. Various moves like headbutts, elbows, and evasive dodges. It sounds incredibly promising and the alpha is a clear evidence that Boneloaf is well on their way to achieving those goals.

Gang Beasts is still in early development. You can download the alpha here; it's currently multiplayer-only, with up to four players able to brawl locally across several levels, but the developers plan to add AI bots and a Sandbox mode in the next build. You can learn more about Gang Beasts on its IndieDB page and vote for it on Steam Greenlight.

The Watchlist: Rex Rocket

Title: Rex Rocket
Developer: Castle Pixel
Platforms: PC, Max, Linux, IOS, Wii U, XBLIG,
2014
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Paying tribute to classic NES platformers like Mario, Mega Man, and Metroid, old-school platformer fans will find Rex Rocket a breath of fresh air. Rob and Tyler, two passionate indie game devs, have a mission to keep the world of retro games alive. Rex Rocket features one-of-a-kind handmade pixel art, over 100 handcrafted levels connected in an expansive starship filled with a wide variety of puzzles, enemies, hazards and bosses.

Like Rain World, Rex Rocket is another game that I've been following on TIGForums, eagerly awaiting a new update or screenshot. After a successful Kickstarter last May, the game has made great progress, now steadily closing on release. 

Rex Rocket's appeal is two-fold. The charming retro aesthetic brings its colorful sci-fi world to life and imbues it with character. NPCs roam the game's spaceship setting and myriad aliens and robots are all out to destroy you. But don't be fooled by the visuals; Rex Rocket promises to deliver a action platforming experience that mixes tough platforming, combat, and puzzles. From wall-jumping between spikes, to using your diverse arsenal of rail guns, missile launchers, and more against enemies, and evading bullet patterns, and timing energy shots between reflector pads to hit hard-to-reach switches, the game seems to offer a well-rounded challenge. Aside from your weapons and agility, you'll also have a number of different gadgets at your disposal, ranging from your trusty jetpack to a teleporter device. 

Rex Rocket continues to impress with its colorful retro aesthetic and varied gameplay. You can follow the game on TIGForums and vote for it on Steam Greenlight. A public demo will be releasing soon, so look out for more in-depth impressions of the gameplay