PC Review #130: Cryptark

Title: Cryptark
Developer: Alientrap
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Price: $12.99
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Massive derelict space ships drift through the black abyss, filled with valuable alien technology to pilfer. But the ultimate prize is the mysterious Cryptark and its advanced cargo. To find the titular vessel, you'll need to scour intel from other ships. It won't be easy.

In this new rogue-lite shooter from Alientrap, you're a commissioned alien privateer, scavenging abandoned space hulks as your team closes in on the Cryptark. But while vessels may be abandoned, they certainly aren't empty. The security systems of these ships are still active and alien entities lurk within. The only way to disable a ship is to destroy its central core, and that's where you come in.

Piloting a heavily-armed mech suit, you must explore hazardous ship interiors, choosing which defenses to disable before launching your assault on the core. From shield generators and repair systems that fix destroyed systems to turrets and map jammers, these defenses can easily overwhelm you if they aren't dealt with. You don't have to destroy every system though; choosing which to prioritize and which order to disable them is the key to success in Cryptark.

The security systems aren't the only dangers. Mechanical organisms roam the vessels, ranging from massive sawblades to shielded Juggernauts that unleash powerful scatter shots. However, you're more than capable of matching enemy firepower with your own arsenal.

Your mech has four weapon slots, four items slots, and an extensive array of equipment to mix and match. Smart machine guns whose bullets can curve around corners, nuke rockets, slime mortars that unleash corrosive fluid, EMP shotguns, lightning guns, lasers, flamethrowers, shields, and much more. You can dual- or even quad-wield weapons too, unleashing a storm of lead to annihilate your enemies.

It's in the midst of that chaos that Cryptark shines. Your firepower feels heavy and powerful, and deftly evading projectiles, lasers, and charging enemies is just as satisfying. Visually, the action pops with vibrant colors and lighting, illuminating the dark interiors with explosions and flames and lasers.

The pre-assault planning is engaging too: weighing the cost of your equipment against the payout of the ship you're going to scavenge, molding your loadout to best deal with the defenses and enemies onboard, scanning ships to see which systems are present and deciding which to tackle first, from what entry point.

Cryptark is currently on Early Access, but it's easily one of the most polished and content-heavy Early Access releases I've played yet, on par with the gold standards like Prison Architect and Darkest Dungeon. The developers plan to expand the game with persistent upgrades, new mech suits and weapons, more enemies, systems, and ship designs, an expanded narrative, and even co-op.

You can purchase Cryptark on Steam, Humble, or directly from the game's site.

Quick Fix: Screenshot Saturday 10/10

Title: Klang
Developer: Tinimations
Klang is at its core an evolution of traditional rhythm games. Where previous games in the genre has mostly focused on pressing buttons in correct timing with the music, Klang expands upon this with adding the flair of exploration and platforming.

Title: Archaica
Developer: Two Mammoths
Archaica: The Path of Light is a puzzle game “lasers and mirrors” type of game that has been enhanced with a storyline and some gratifying graphics.
During the game we become the Chosen One, who has to chose a legendary Path of Light and save the world from destruction, by reviving ancient mechanisms once more. Yet we explore secrets hidden by the Ancients and discover true destiny of The Path along the way

Title: Hybrid Beasts
Developer: BeastBits
Hybrid Beasts is a unique cross-genre game that brings together strategic turn-based action and open-world exploration and adventure. At its heart, teams of never before seen creatures battle against each other to conquer and defend regions of a mysterious world full of secrets, quests and adventures that are being discovered in the process.

Title: Castles
Developer: Whoot Games
Castles is a multiplayer puzzle-action game. In a medieval setting 1 or 2 characters have to push or drag blocks to unite them in rows of 3 or more of the same colors (materials) or figures (tools). The player doesn't take direct control of the blocks but instead controls engineers who are tasked with the movement of the blocks, giving a unique twist to the gameplay.

The Watchlist: Indivisible

Title: Indivisible
Developer: Lab Zero Games
Platforms:PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One
Releasing 2018
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Indivisible is a side-scrolling RPG in the vein of Valkyrie Profile, spanning a huge fantasy world inspired by our own world’s various cultures and mythologies

Lab Zero's Skullgirls was a gorgeous fighter with incredible hand-drawn animations, and now they're applying that artistic approach and polish to the RPG genre, with their next project Indivisible.

Indivisible follows young Ajna on her journey to learn the truth behind both a devastating attack on her home and a mysterious mystical ability awakened within her. Ajna's quest will take her across the globe, through lands inspired by Japanese, Central American, and other mythologies and architecture.

Indivisible is split between two types of gameplay. Exploration revolves around Metroidvania-esque platforming, as you wall-jump and dash through towns, temples, and other varied locations. As you progress, Ajna will gather new items and skills to traverse the environments in new ways, from clambering up walls with your axe to swinging across gaps with a rope dart.

But you're not the only one roaming these locations; dangerous enemies lurk as well. Running into them or getting attacks seamlessly shifts the gameplay to Valkyrie Profile-inspired combat. Ajna has the ability to absorb special individuals and manifest them as incarnations in battle.

From the master archer Zebei to the sword whip-wielding Tungar, you'll be able to fight alongside three companions, each tied to a face button. Like a fighting game, combat features combos and specials, blending each incarnation's moves to stun, slow, and damage your foes. Lab Zero's signature art style brings those battles and locations to life with beautiful details and fluid animations.

Indivisible is slated for release in 2018 and is currently seeking funds on Indiegogo. You can support the game, and download the surprisingly lengthy and incredibly polished prototype, here.

PC Review #129: Snakebird

Title: Snakebird
Developer: Noumenon Games
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Price: $6.99
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If there's one thing more satisfying than a tough puzzler, it's a seemingly simple puzzler surprising you with its secret depth and challenge. The minesweeper/picross hybrid Hexcells is probably the current poster child in that department, but I think Snakebird's charming cutesy facade usurps it. Because beneath the colorful aesthetic lies one devious puzzle game.

The basic idea is simple: you control a titular snakebird through each stage, eating fruit to unlock the exit. Each fruit you eat increases your length, like the classic Snake game. Sounds easy enough; you don't even have to worry about a game over if you run into your tail.

But very quickly Snakebird reveals its brain-breaking nature. Soon you're navigating cramped areas, carefully contorting your snakebird to reach platforms above and not fall into the surrounding abyss. Then you're moving around spikes, falling through portals, and pushing blocks. Each movement must be considered; thankfully you can easily undo a move if you find youself stuck.

And then on top of all those elements, the game plays its trump card: controlling multiple snakebirds. Puzzles can be tricky enough with merely one, but with several to move and twist, they gain a new level of complexity. Learning how the birds can interact is key to making sure you get all of them to the exit.

You can use birds as staircases or bridges across spikes for others. You can push one bird with another. Birds maintain their shape when falling from above or through portals, challenging you to consider how birds could mesh together from various angles.

Snakebird never evolves beyond moving and twisting those colorful birds, but uses that seemingly simple mechanic to deliver an incredibly tricky puzzler. A single puzzle could take an hour or more, but it's always satisfying to figure out the game's spatial challenges.

You can purchase Snakebird from Steam, Humble, and itch.io.

IOS Review #104: hocus

Title: hocus
Developer: Yunus Ayyildiz
Platforms: IOS Universal
Price: $0.99
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Earlier this year, developer Yunus Ayyildiz released the challenging shape-crafting puzzler rop. Its simple mechanic of manipulating ropes and nodes to mirror shapes was used to offer quite tricky and complex spatial conundrums. Now Ayyildiz's next game hocus is also about spatial conundrums, but rather than recreating shapes, you're navigating them,

Each level in hocus presents you with an impossible Escher-inspired structure. You guide a red cube along the perimeter of the shapes, traveling along the odd shapes towards the waiting exit. Forced perspective allows you to travel along planes that appear to touch, letting your cube navigate each impossible maze to reach your destination.

It may sound complicated, but hocus is actually a pretty laid-back puzzler. There are no timers or move counters, so you can access each level at your own pace. While the shapes grow more complex and intricate, the core mechanics remain the same and the game even has a compass that lets you know which directions the cube can move at each junction.

Every new level in hocus is a pleasure to study and navigate, especially if you're a fan of Escher-style illusions and impossible shapes. The game's minimal aesthetic complements its simple yet increasingly challenging puzzles.

Hocus currently features 50 levels, with more to come. You can purchase the game for $0.99.

Quick Fix: Screenshot Saturday 10/3

Title: "Gabraham Lincoln" (Working title)
Developer: Spiffing Games
A sidescrolling beat’em’up inspired by the Devil May Cry series with a good dose of humour and narrative to give the player a compelling journey through Gabe’s world. The story is based around the end of the Civil War in 1865 when Gabe won. Little did he know that his confederate opponent’s were still a little salty and had revenge on the mind.

Title: Chicku
Developer: Gatling Goat Studios
Chicku is a crazy local multiplayer platformer in which the player has to escape the evil Barrington chicken nugget factory, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. The player will be forced to dodge saws, spikes and other deadly traps in order to set the other chickens free. There will be a lot of cartoon voilence throughout the game with limbs flying all over the place!

Title: Cold Seep
Developer: Cowardly Creations
A Lovecraftian horror adventure game containing giant creatures, underwater deep sea exploration and Cthulhu!

Title: Captain Kaon
Developer: Engage Pixel
Revisit the classic ‘Thrust’-style gameplay from the golden age of Atari, evolved for modern gamers as a twin-stick shooter. Negotiate the twists and turns of tunnels and caverns under the surface of Mars, Ceres and many more planets across the solar system.
Engage with swarms of enemy Laser Pods in bullet-riddled combat. Rescue hostages before they can be turned into Brain Drones that swell the ranks of Doctor Quantex’ army. Deploy Marines, turret guns and other assets to turn the tide of battle. Recover fuel, data chips and other resources to aid you in victory.

The Watchlist: Verreciel

Title: Verreciel
Developer: Devine Lu Linvega
Platforms: IOS Universal
Releasing January 2016
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A virtual space exploration project

Devine Lu Linvega is known for his enigmatic abstract puzzle games, from the Myst-esque Hiversaires to the dimensional-hopping Oquonie. For his next game, he's taking that approach and applying it to space exploration, in Verreciel.

Verreciel sits you before the control consoles of a Glass Ship traversing the cosmos, surrounded by screens on all sides. By connecting different parts of the ship, you'll be able to power thrusters, autopilot, weapon systems, oxygen levels, shields, radio scanner, and other modules. The tactile UI looks perfect-suited for touchscreens.

In your travels, you'll discover extraterrestrial structures like the Prismatist and venture into the ashen Opal dimension. You'll collect batteries, ammo, warpgates, cloaking devices, and other items in your cargohold. You'll set autopilot coordinates to follow NPC travelers. To survive the dangers of space, Verreciel will challenge you to reroute and manage your systems amidst dangerous weather systems and hostile events.

Verreciel is slated for release on January 10th, 2016; you can learn more about the game on the developer's site and see gameplay clips on Vine..