Since installing Steam on my Linux TV computer, I've been spending lots of time playing indie games. If you remember my Bastion review, you know that I have high hopes for this area of the gaming industry. Bastion is still an endeavour beyond most indie developers' capabilities, a sort of A+ title of the indie world. More often, indie games are springboards for future projects, testing the waters for style and substance. My review will include the three following games: Lume, a puzzle-game; Eversion, a platformer; and Evoland, an RPG/Adventure hybrid. I got all three of them for less than 15$. Sounds good? Let's check it out.
After their first game, Determinance, was a commercial failure, Mode7 decided to paddle in different waters. The result, Frozen Synapse, was a stunningly original simultaneous-turn strategy game that won huge amounts of awards and was fantastically in depth and psychological, forcing you to second guess your opponent at every turn. For their third offering, Frozen Endzone, they're sticking to their obvious flair for strategy - but this time, using the medium of Future Sports!
THQ's bankruptcy set gamers' hearts racing for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was a shock that a company that was putting out a lot of quality titles (Darksiders, Saint's Row, Company of Heroes) could apparently fold with such speed. Secondly, it left fans of these same series with horrible questions - would any new games be made? And who would make them? Some of these franchises are still in limbo - but thankfully, we still have Saint's Row.
For a good portion of my playthrough, Borderlands 2 felt to me like Borderlands 1.1. I didn't really see then differences at first, until I played the first one again to compare. And that's when it really hit me. Kind of like when you buy a new amplifier for your guitar or bass, and think, "Well, it's a bit better I suppose". Then you plug in the old one and say "Holy fishcakes, Batman! How did I ever play with this crap?"
Bigger for sure, but better?
Good news, fellow cheapskates! Steam is available for Linux users, and to celebrate, Valve just had a sale - sorry for the late info - on Linux compatible games. I've taken this opportunity to score Lume and Eversion on the cheap.
A Steaming pile of Linux win.
