Live Free, Play Hard: The Week's Finest Free Indie Games
LUDUM DARE LUDUM DARE LUDUM DARE LUDUM DARE LUDUM DARE LUDUM DARE
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Ludum Dare 25 is over. My sleep cycle is returning to normal. I'm gaining back weight.
The theme is You Are The Villain. Some people went cartoonishly evil, others explored themes of real world oppression.
The sheer volume is overwhelming. 1326 games total. So don’t even think this is a complete list, this is just what caught our flawed, highly subjective eye and we’ll be posting unearthed gems a while longer. Take a dip for yourself if you're inclined.
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V I L L A I N Y by chrisamaphone
Raised in a mansion with no exposure to the outside world, you bide your time and do exercises. Drawing, journal writing, and asphyxiation: the cornerstones of education. The twist is that V I L L A I N Y takes text input in a freeform way that represents the best instincts of worldbuilding--asking the player to contribute.
People are innovating in Twine well beyond mere CYOA branching and this is a great example of that.
Tiny Sorceress by Leon Arnott
An excellent companion piece to last Ludum Dare’s Terra Tam, Tiny Sorceress has you defending your lair from an invading peasant. Of course, an evil sorceress like you has the best traps and the top-notch schemes. I'm trying to think of a funnier game in the whole comp and I can't.
ASMOSNOS by Mason Lindroth
Wander a planet’s surface as the servant of some kind of orbital brain-god. A fascinating trek through an alien environment set to burbling music, over far too soon.
Responsibilities by Liz Ryerson and Andi McClure
Pure exploration in a geometric Hell with eerie/throbbing music and hateful inhabitants. Glitched out fields that obscure passage, invisible paths, increasingly fragmented territory. Perfect for those who spent their childhood trying to find the cracks in games--spots where developers had neglected to erect barriers, mountains that could be climbed if you jumped in just the right way.
Sisyphus and the Cursed Diamonds by Manu & Wan
Take turns being the adventurer and the deadly temple in this combination of platforming and dungeon building. Arrange falling blocks, hurtling spears, and deadly spikes, kill yourself, then avoid the same obstacles.
“I Never COULD Get The Hang Of Thursdays…” by DedHedZed
Soundtracks that consist of someone enthusiastically humming on their desk mic are my weakness. The absurd story and morphing gameplay are good too. Rubbing the turtle is only the beginning of your adventure...
The Quite Annoying League by Pierrec
Conversational adventure game about controlling a gang composed of public transit archetypes, all annoying ones. Small talk, seat kicking, crying babies, wield their powers wisely. Too annoying and you'll get thrown off the train, not annoying enough and your target will be happy, and we can't have that.
Villain Simulator 2000 by TheCze
Jaws, axe killer, and rolling boulder simulator all in one. If you're a good shark you get to kill someone with an axe, and if you excel at that, you evolve into your final form, an Indiana Jones-style boulder that majestically overtakes blasphemous adventurers and conveniently knows how to jump over pits.
Vixen by Bentosmile
Visual novel about bullying. I took all the worst options because I thought that was the point of the game (I'm just a puppet, I'd do anything if a video game told me to!!!) but apparently there are multiple paths that involve not being evil. Now I feel terrible.
Cat Licker by Seeminglypointless
Why can't I stop. What is this music. How many cats have I licked. It's not enough. It's never enough. Only death can free me.
Sword of Truth by Ricardo Nakamura
An evil wizard strolls through town. What he does writes the story. Are you evil or just misunderstood? Depends on whether you actually use your ability to fling balls of energy and where you fling them.
Ore Chasm by Black Ships Fill The Sky
What a massive ore chasm! It would take a very powerful mining laser to get all the precious minerals deep inside. Fortunately you can bring a friend to your ore chasm, as it supports multiplayer.
Illegal Crime Game by angrygeometry
Nonstop relentless crimefest in RPGMaker, a world of cops and criminals and stuff to steal. Are you a small-time crook or do you have the crime sense to roll with the big dogs?
Angrygeometry was suspended from Wordpress for posting his game, which obviously he deserved, I mean it’s right there in black and white, “Illegal Crime Game”, seems pretty obvious a crime is going on. I’m just happy Wordpress was there to protect me.
Heroes are so Annoying! by Knighty
Drop minions into a dungeon to stop invading, treasure-hungry heroes. When they encounter your creatures, the top-down strategic view switches to a JRPG-style battle screen with the ordinary roles reversed.
Bad Kitty by Aare
Shit fourteen times in this finely drawn house without any humans catching you. A cat that can shit fourteen times in a row...advanced tech.
Kim Jong-un's Glorious Missile to Liberate the Nations DX by dremelofdeath
Your cursor becomes a missile and you steer it across the world toward America, a fitting gift for those capitalist scum. To accomplish this righteous task you must avoid balloons and monkeys and birds, the natural predators of missiles. Don't give up missile!
Small Theft Auto by Nicolas Cannasse
A town full of people and they all have money and blood. Get their money, explode their blood, that’s city life! Use the money to buy better weapons to get more money! Ignore the blood!
Path to Death by Jeramias
Abstract tower defense where the enemy numbers flow through a series of locations. Each location is a themed skill tree, many of which affect other locations.
I like this system because your mechanical choices build narrative. Are the priests going to defend the Sanctuary Zone or flee to the Throne? Is the king a tyrant (-5 HP, +2 skillpoints) or courageous (-10 defense, +2 skillpoints)?
Double Tap by Sam Driver
An attractive game about a terrible and ongoing evil, with two possible choices.
The author wrote some criticism of their own game which I found a good read. I agree with what they're saying, but I still appreciate that they brought this subject matter to Ludum Dare.
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And a bunch of (mostly) Twine games posted before the Ludum Dare flood. What an amazing week for Twine.
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Corrypt by Michael Brough
Crate-pushing in fungal amphibian caverns that evolves into something more. Due to a tragic fictional accident my brain is permanently fucked up and unable to progress very far in games like these, but if you like puzzles, Brough has mastery of that art.
One Minute to Apocalypse by Chaoclypse
Real time text adventure where the world is ending in sixty seconds. Browse the internet? Confess love to your crush? Research protective spells? UP TO YOU BUDDY
December 5 2012 by Courtney Stanton
Another day in Courtney Stanton’s life--waiting for a pizza, pouring vermouth, and thinking about the game industry.
Fuck you, I don't have to be *profitable* in order to deserve a place at the table.
Iron Cohort by Swamp Maiden
A structural ASCII wasteland housing a ruined exhibit of iron sculptures, a sardonic history lesson on something that never existed but sounds absolutely intriguing. I’ve seen few take as big an interest in the spatial nature of Twine, the way passages can form cities and symbols, as Swamp Maiden, and this is my favorite game of theirs.
No men, no women, nothing inbetween. This Baker guy probably made an iron cohort of a whole bunch of iron white guys, and it took the fucking blitz to get him to make anything different.
They're all just screaming, molten metal now. That's pretty great.
Cove of Flies by LavosXII
Cove of Flies is a cave that leads to places that aren’t caves, a poemscape arranged along compass axis, replayable in the way running through a vast forest is replayable.
The mailman knocks once.
She slips her hand through the slot.
She lets her hand wander up the stairs.
I felt lonely when I finished playing, in a good way. The calm unfolding of the surreal lines left me feeling like I'd been dreaming.
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If you check freeindiegam.es throughout the week, you'll see our best of 2012 lists covering categories like Story, Horror, Edutainment, and other important Video Game Genres of this Millennium. Each editor is also posting their top 10 personal favorites of the year.