ZCW Reviews

  A Commanding Classic-A Bit. Trip Runner Review For this week's review I decided to take a little trip back in time and review one of the earliest indie titles to gain mass appeal and gain multiple spinoffs and sequels (BTR itself is the fourth game in the bit trip series). I hope that going back in time here will help with gaining a perspective on how the indie scene has evolved and grown over the years.  Dashingly Distinct The first thing I noticed in replaying BTR is just how distinct its stylistic choices were. Remembering that it existed in a market before the oversaturation of pixel art games made me realize just how new it was at the time.  BTR, like many of my favorite games, is very simple in its mechanics, and uses the environments they throw you into to enhance the difficulty. In essence, you'll only be jumping, sliding, blocking, and kicking around obstacles in this 2D runner, yet the rhythm and scale of said obstacles keeps things fresh. There is a unique Ze...

  The Importance of Itch.io In following the recent events surrounding Apple and Epic Games and their battle for revenue shares , I wanted to take some time to examine what I deem the most influential marketplace for indie games of the 21st century, and that site goes by the name of itch.io. What Exactly Is Itch.io? Essentially, Itch.io is comprised of a similar makeup of other games marketplaces-think steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, etc.-yet it operates in a much more developer friendly manner (we will touch on specifics later). While other marketplaces claim to support their developers, the people who literally provide the content hosted on their services, many hold the grueling industry standards for things like revenue shares. On March 3, 2013, owner Leaf Corcoran launched the site in direct competition with the massive overlords of the industry. While not entirely the same, Itch.io specifically holds its niche in selling indie games and hosting game jams, the small little upstar...

  Sliding Blocks In Style-A Mixolumia Review As a huge fan of arcade style puzzle games in a similar vein to Tetris and Lumines, I went into Mixolumia excited for another peaceful time sink. For a game I only stumbled upon through a late night search on Itch.io, it was shocking to see how polished and genuinely immersive Mixolumia was.  Particulate Puzzling Mixolumia shares a lot of art style choices with that of the fantastic Tetris Effect. When you clear a patch of blocks here, a rush of particles and shockwaves erupt onto the screen, coupled with an equally powerful rumble effect. This lends to the game’s overall impact, making every single clear feel worthwhile. While not related to the particles, the simplistic colorways of Mixolumia allow for a plethora of alternate colorways to mess around with. In addition to visual effects, Mixolumia also shares a sort of dynamic soundtrack like Tetris Effect. As you clear more and more lines, the song gradually progresses and reaches...

  A Great Precedent-A Rolled Out Review Ever since Sega released Super Monkey Ball 2 and subsequently fumbled the series into obscurity fans have craved a return to form for the classics. Rolled Out sought to answer the prayers of those dear fans in a very on the nose spiritual successor to Sega’s now floundering monkey ball series. (Note that as of this review Rolled Out is currently in Early access so some parts of this review may change with time) Keeping The Ball Rolling Make no mistake, Rolled Out is a near one to one recreation of the original monkey ball physics engine, and it feels just as polished as ever. The only difference lies in the game’s one mechanic to set it apart-a slow motion meter that charges up based on how many coins (which serve the same function as bananas from monkey ball) you’ve collected. I really liked this mechanic as it helped to alleviate some of the challenges you encounter maneuvering on narrow platforms that come right over from super monkey ball...