The Indie Insider – Hard Waveform Tail

Before I get into this edition of the Indie Insider, I want to throw a bonus game your way if you haven’t had the chance to see it yet and it’s MariO. Two very classic games in a mash up, Mario and Portal. The majority of the game is Mario based but this time the plumber has a portal gun. A ton of fun for the imaginative gamer and what’s even better is it’s a free download.

Indie Past – Hard Reset

Back in the middle of September 2011 we saw Hard Reset get released. A FPS developed by Flying Wild Hog, a Polish studio comprised of developers who came from the likes of CD Projekt Red, City Interactive and People Can Fly, the team behind Painkiller.

Hard Reset is like an old school first-person shooter. A Cyberpunk style game that brings back the good old fashioned twitch gaming. No need for a cover system, just crack open your best strafing skills and the big guns then you kill anything that moves. I love it because some of the guns are so big they block out a large area of the screen but they pack a mean blast.

Visually the game reminds me of the first time I saw the Bladerunner movie. I felt absorbed and drawn into the future. Bright lights, enemies steeped in science fiction, with surroundings that deserve to be admired even through the fast paced action.

Indie Present – Waveform

If there was ever a game that took me back to a physics class, working on an oscilloscope then it’s Waveform. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not boring like physics and it’s probably not as confusing but the first impression pulls me back to 18 years ago, pinging elastic bands at the teacher and failing the subject.

There are some great Indie titles coming out of Canada these days and Eden Industries haven’t failed to impress. Waveform is an arcade style game that places you in charge of a… waveform, funnily enough. You have to use your mouse to adjust the wave so you can pick up objects in your pursuit to save the galaxy.

It’s great in the way that you can literally pick it up as quickly as a single Wario Ware puzzle but it’s also satisfying enough to draw you in and make you strive for perfection. Initially you will only be trying to grab everything as you move along but a couple of levels in and you have to start avoiding other, slightly more destructive, objects to complete your objectives.

The games looks great and the idea may seem too simple to enjoy but it has a very original concept behind it. Background music has a very sci-fi electronica feel to it and it’s not really there for distraction. Available on Steam, it’s certainly worth a look at only £4.49.

Indie Future – Dust: An Elysian Tail

Just about to get its first public viewing at PAX East, Dust: An Elysian Tail is a 2D scroller hack ‘n’ slash action RPG (that common genre). It looks as though it’s going to have a similar flare to Devil May Cry combat with a variety of button slaps which lead to an extremely satisfying foray with chain bonuses thrown in for the hardcore. Hand animated with a delightful colour palate it appears to be very easy on the eye with a narrative that will appeal to multiple age groups.

From what I’ve read, the game has been in development for a few years and was included in Gamasutra’s list of games to look out for in 2011, so hopefully they’ve been ironing out the kinks and have some awesome footage to show at PAX. Winner of the Dream.Build.Play away in 2009 just accentuates the fact it’s been kicking around for a while.

I still haven’t figured out if the game is about a tail or a tale! Maybe it’s an Americanism that I haven’t encountered yet but for the most part it’s more about a story than the hindmost part of an animal, especially one forming a distinct, flexible appendage to the trunk. In saying all that, the protagonist could be called Elysian Tail! Let’s hope the game isn’t as confusing as the title.