Edge Guard

This week, we enjoy the miniature lego simulation “Let’s Go Build a ______” by David King. We reminisce about the Lego of our youth and Blake shares his, uh, considerable knowledge on the subject. We also try to guess the prompt for each others’ creations (see Twitter for screenshots!).

 

Find the game here: https://dr-d-king.itch.io/lets-go-build-a

And follow the creator on Twitter: @dr_d_king

 

This week is the first of two episodes about Soon Only The Ocean, a game about climate change and rising sea levels. The game’s unusual format prompts a discussion about game mechanics like permadeath and real-time gameplay, as well as the difficulty of representing a topic as big as climate change. We’ll revisit the game in May after it has come to its conclusion.

 

You can find the game here: https://mjm.itch.io/soto

And follow the creator on Twitter: @ApparentRaisin

This week, we play Respawn Man, an original take on the puzzle platformer. We discuss platforming mechanics, puzzle games, death, and the worst puzzle of Braid. Oh, and we definitely do NOT discuss coronavirus, national politics, or the economy. No way. 

 

Find the game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/398940/Respawn_Man/

And follow the creator on Twitter: @Solidplasma

This week, we play “Oh, Snake!” by Henning Koczy, an interesting take on the endless runner genre, with a snake-inspired twist. We talk about how the mechanics of this game promote a new and different playstyle for the genre.. Blake reminisces about endless runners of yore. 

 

Find the game here: https://anomalina.itch.io/ohsnake

And follow the creator on Twitter: @statelycoach

Oh, man. I don’t even know where to start with this one. We play Terminal 64, a wild ride through Mario’s psyche by Big Bag. Yes, that Mario. We talk about what this game might be about, if anything, and also copyright law. Blake demonstrates his impeccable ability to identity to the source of references to things. Jordan coins the term “memepunk.”

 

You can find the game(?) here: https://bigbag.itch.io/terminal-64

And follow the creators on Twitter: @bigbagco

In this week’s episode, we play Featherfall, another game by our favorite Dutch game design commune, the Sokpop Collective. It’s a soulslike action RPG about a little bird fighting the undead. We talk about dual-stick controls, aim-based blocking, and why some mechanics promote cheesing more than others. 

 

Find the game here: https://sokpop.itch.io/featherfall

And follow the creators on Twitter: @sokpopco

This week, we play the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2020, a collection of games by various creators that evoke the PS1 era. It’s an impressively diverse collection of games, featuring killer bees, clockwork gods, psychedelic cats, and Finnish sauna-men. The experience prompts Blake to wax nostalgic about demo discs of yore.

 

Find the game(s) here: https://hauntedps1.itch.io/demodisc2020

 

In this week’s episode, we discover rocks in The League of Lonely Geologists by Takorii, a vaguely multiplayer game about naming and describing rocks. We talk about the many amusing rock-names which other players of the game have come up with, and speculate about why so many Itch games are experimenting with “leave your mark” mechanics. A comment about graphical fidelity prompts a long digression about the economics of videogame studios. Jordan makes a rocking pun. Thanks to listener @snivets for the recommendation!

 

Find the game here: https://tak.itch.io/league

And follow the creator on Twitter: @takorii

This week, we play “Tales from Off-Peak City, Vol. 1,” the newest game from Cosmo D. Like all his games, it’s weird-- in the best way possible. We talk about the music, Cosmo D’s vision, anti-capitalist games, deindustrialization, consumerism, sex noises, and horrible pizza toppings. Blake says that the game reminds him of a film, which Jordan successfully guesses on the first try. Not sure what that says about us. 

 

Find the game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1129920/Tales_From_OffPeak_City_Vol_1/

And follow the creator on Twitter: @cosmoddd

This week, we play Remnants, a melancholy exploration game about an abandoned world by June Flower. We talk about how the game plays with genre and tone, as well as its impressive background art, which was drawn from the ground up, pixel-by-pixel. We baselessly speculate about background lore. Blake spots a Dark Souls reference.

 

Download the game here: https://june-flower.itch.io/remnants

And follow the creator on Twitter: @juneflowa