Azimuth

Azimuth is a really nice looking metroidvania inspired by greats such as Super Metroid. Fly around freely with your ship exploring the insides of a huge planet while fighting enemies and uncovering the story. The game is at version 1.02 and looks really polished, complete with bosses and many other challenges. A genre I really can't get enough of, so this should be worth a try!

The Dark Mod - 2.07

Impressive stealth-game The Dark Mod has got a new update. It's primarily a stability release that improves many of the new things introduced in the last release, such as soft shadows. There are also various smaller improvements to gameplay and a few new assets. As before, this is a very polished and nice looking game!

Sneaking around in The Dark Mod. Notice the impressive shadows!

Dead Ascend

I believe I have mentioned Dead Ascend a long time ago, but it has got several updates since then so I thought it deserved another post. It's a hand-drawn adventure game where zombies have got you stuck in an old radio tower which you'll have to climb in order to get rescued. Played like a classic point and click adventure you'll have to brave various puzzles on your way through the games environments. The game has got several fixes and new translations since last time, so if you missed it then here is a new chance.

Brave mind-boggling puzzles in Dead Ascend.

The Legend of Edgar

I just noticed that I have completely missed to mention the nice metroidvania-like platformer The Legend of Edgar here! This exploration-focused 2D platformer with huge persistent levels, boss battles, several weapons to wield, etc. is really well made and also has the benefit of being complete, with story and all! Also you can play with a gamepad, which I always find is a big plus.

Edgar with sword in hand on his epic quest.

The Dark Mod - 2.05/2.06

There really is something about The Dark Mod and how it is framed. The moonlit streets, the clockwork designs and the atmospheric font all resonate with me, saying "You will really like this game." And while stealth-games usually isn't my thing I have still played quite a bit of The Dark Mod due to it being so well made. It's also a project that really feels like it has high production values all the way through. Just look at the screen below! Since I mentioned it on this blog last time two new releases has come out with a wealth of improvements in each. 2.05 brought hundreds of new models, making scenes much more interesting and easier to create. There was also a new introductory mission, improved performance, a new AI opponent and loads of other smaller improvements. 2.06 comes with improved visuals, especially regarding shadows which can now be soft instead of sharp, EAX sound effects for all users, menu improvements, more new assets and a lot of other things including performance and gameplay improvements. All in all a very polished game with loads of content that needs to be experienced.

Soft shadows displayed in The Dark Mod.

OpenTomb

OpenTomb is a game engine remake for the classic Tomb Raider games. The engine re-implements game 1-5 and preserves these classic action-adventures for posterity by providing a modern and free engine to run them on. Since I don't have the original games I can't try it and comment on how complete it is. But development seems very active, so if you have one of these games laying around you might want to give it a try.

OpenTomb engine displaying trap emitters.

Planet Blupi

I read a headline saying Planet Blupi had been open-sourced, and it didn't sound familiar at all. But then I saw the screenshots of small yellow creatures exploring and building stuff and realized: I have played this! A really long time ago, but if I remember right it was quite fun... Turns out Planet Blupi is completely free now, including media assets. The game is described as both adventure and strategy. Using the Blupi-creatures you will build things, grow flowers, make food, devise traps or in other ways try to overcome the games 30-ish levels. This version seems to have many bug-fixes and code modernisations compared to the original, so if this unusual mix sounds interesting I believe it could be fun to try.

Cute animations of idle Blupies.

Flare 1.07

The excellent action-RPG engine FLARE with its included Empyrean Campaign has not only reached 1.0, but even 1.07! :) It's a very feature-filled and polished Diablo-esque RPG with a completed story campaign to play and more to download from the official page. (Hopefully more will appear soon now that it has reached 1.0). If you are curious about what happened in 1.07 you can read about it here. The game feels incredibly well made to me and is well worth a try!

Looking at equipment stats in Flares Empyrean Campaign.

Laundred Sheep

3D Platformers! I can't get enough of them yet so few are released. A project that tries to mitigate this fact is Laundred Sheep. A completely Free 3D platformer inspired by the Blender Open Movie Cosmos Laundromat. The game is still early in development, but there are several levels to explore, items to pick up and enemies to avoid. This project will be interesting to follow!

Dead Ascend

Dead Ascend is a hand-drawn point & click adventure game. It's also finished and looks really nice! Chased by zombies into an old radio tower, your only hope is to keep climbing and solving puzzles along the way. An action ending is also promised. :) This is another genre I can really appreciate, so it's nice to see new Free projects like this. The game is available for Android and iOS, but can also be compiled for desktop PC with the code and instructions on github.

Here the inventory can be seen, along with the nice hand-drawn graphics.

Hexoshi

I'm temporarily stepping away from my usual practice of only featuring games that has a playable release, because Hexoshi looks so cool! Inspired by the fantastic Metroid series of adventure-platformers, Hexoshi will be spanning hundreds of rooms in a huge maze-like world ripe for exploring. Collect artifacts to gain new abilities and reach new areas while fighting hoards of dangerous creatures. Work is currently ongoing for the Milestone 1 release, which shouldn't be too long away and will feature many of the games main features. If you want to support the project, check the crowd-funding campaign, where you can also read more on what's in store for this very interesting Free title.

A screne from Hexoshi, showing some really nice pixel art and character design.

GNU FreeDink

GNU FreeDink is a new engine for the classic Action-RPG Dink Smallwood. Not only does this engine recreate the game, it also has compatibility with various mods and add-ons. Most of the original data-files seems to be free, so the game should be completely playable even though the GNU FreeDink project is still working on replacing a few of the sounds. Included with the project is a front-end for loading various mods and add-ons, so it should all be easy to use. The game sure seems enjoyable and quirky. Enjoy!

Wielding a sword and casting fireballs in GNU FreeDink.

Isleward

Isleward is a moddable multiplayer roguelike. It combines elements from roguelikes such as permadeath and randomly generated worlds, with elements from mmo-games like social and tactical interaction, all playable online. It looks like a lot of work has gone into it and it has a very interesting minimalist art style. Read more about it here!

A small animation showing off the unique artwork of Isleward.

Terasology - 1.4.0

The terribly advanced organic and evolving voxel-world of Terasology has reached alpha 7, also known as version 1.4.0. The changelog is as always impressive, and both the core game and many modules have received changes and improvements. Download it now and see this virtual world come alive even more than before!

A beautiful scene from Terasology.

Tales of Maj'Eyal - 1.5.0

Pretty roguelike Tales of Maj'Eyal got a new shiny major release. The entire list of news is way to long to post here, but major features include a Stone Warden class to play, an additional new class - the Possessor - for donators, rewritten Archer and Rogue classes, reworked chant and hymn trees, a much improved infinite dungeon, new visual effects for many talents, all artifacts have unique player doll images, etc, etc.

Living in different timelines seems to be a part of Tales of Maj'Eyal. Also note the beautiful UI.

The Dark Mod - 2.05

While stealth-gaming has never been my favorite genre, I have always regarded The Dark Mod in a special light since it's such an impressive project. This new release further reinforces that belief, with a crazy changelog. How about hundreds of new, high-quality models? If you feel like creating new scenarios for the game this is a perfect opportunity with so much fun stuff to play around with. There is of course already loads of finished scenarios to play, with a brand new one included in this release. There are allo several engine optimizations and other smaller fixes and improvements.

I believe this is an older screen, but The Dark Mod has always looked impressive. Even more so in this new release.

Also, you ought to watch the release trailer:

AdaVenture

AdaVenture is a retro-styled point and click game, described as kid-friendly and inspired by a classic Atari game called simply Adventure. There is a story, set in ancient Persia, with two different campaigns. The latest release is 1.0.7 and development seems rather rapid with several releases over the last months. There is even gamepad support!

Exploring a temple and finding a key in AdaVenture.