Dinosaur
Developer: Team Spino
Publishers: Team Spino, Boltray Games
Platform: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck)
Price: Usually $20, with a 10% discount through July 30
A pair of comments on a Reddit thread for this trailer sum up why video games are the best. “This looks so stupid,” one user said. In one reply, another wrote, “Dude, I know, it’s awesome.” I love it.
Dinosaur started life as a meme. It has its roots in a short animation that Jean Nguyen, lead animator of Sucker Punch, created based on a Spinosaurus delivering a devastating combo with a sword not unlike the one used by Cloud in Final Fantasy VII. Nguyen shared the clip on Twitter/X in 2022. It blew up and Nguyen decided to make a full game.
Spinosaurus full combo attack animation pic.twitter.com/i1KmyAmtIZ
– Jean Nguyen (@JeanAnimate) August 11, 2022
Dinosaur is an action RPG that puts you in the role of said Spinosaurus with a sword in its mouth. His goal is to prevent the extinction of his species (I wonder how that will end up happening?). Enemy dinosaurs wield weapons, and you can summon the souls of defeated bosses to aid you in battle.
The general consensus seems to be that Dinosaur is both crazy and fun, and offers fluid combat. In an age where the market is flooded with Soulslikes, it’s refreshing to see one with such a bizarre concept, especially since it seems to somehow work. My only complaint, without having played the game yet, is that I can’t really understand why it’s not called Dinosaur Sword.
Offbeat (Early Access)
Developer: Whetstone Games
Publisher: Pantaloon
Platform: Steam (Windows)
Price: Usually $12, with a 10% discount through August 1
While playing QuirkyI quickly realized that I had forgotten how to make music outside of playing a guitar. I took keyboard lessons when I was a kid but didn’t stick with it. I don’t remember the scales or anything like that. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a technically good composer to enjoy this music creation game, as long as you meet your clients’ requests. (That said, one of the goals the game sets for you is to “become good at writing music.”)
After receiving a four-track sequencer from your uncle, you begin making music using a toy keyboard that can make cat sounds. As you create jingles and songs for customers, you’ll receive money that you can use to buy more awesome instruments, like a singing gnome, and upgrade them.
I feel like I’m learning a little more about music production and programming while playing Quirkyalthough the most accomplished thing I’ve done so far was writing a version of the intro to “Welcome to the Black Parade.” My favorite aspect of Quirky is that you make real music. Your creations are saved as WAV files and you can do whatever you want with them (as long as they’re original tracks, I bet).
Quirky should be in early access for between six and eight months. The current version has two chapters and seven items with which you can make music. The three-person Whetstone Games team plans to add more tasks, instruments, and other features each month during the early access period.
Fading echo
Developer: Emeteria
Publisher: Nouveaux Contes
Platforms: Steam (Windows), Epic Games Store. Available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year
Price: Usually $20, with a 10% discount through August 2
At first glance, Fading echo It reminds me a little of last year. Eternal strands, since both rely heavily on elemental abilities. You play as a young hero named One, who is on a mission to stop something called the Corruption Paradox from destroying a desert planet.
Water can be manipulated and transitioned between liquid, gas and solid states. She can use this power to navigate environments and trigger chain reactions that can involve lava, toxic waste, and corruption itself.
I like the artistic style of Fading echo. The game is fully dubbed in English and subtitles are available in nine languages. The cast is pretty strong here. Samantha Béart (who played Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3) voice One. Well-known performers such as Laura Bailey and Matt Mercer also have roles.
Scarlet Stag Inn
Developer: Attu Games
Publishers: Attu Games, Aurakenn Games
Platform: Steam (Windows). Coming to consoles “ASAP”.
Price: Usually $20, with a 10% discount through July 28
Speaking of games with pretty graphics, Scarlet Stag Inn falls squarely into this category. Attu Games (a husband and wife team) used physical embroidery and hand-painted backgrounds to create the visuals for this adventure platformer. He describes the game as a “dark medieval folk tale” set in a village with hidden secrets. As with many beautiful stories, Scarlet Stag Inn sends a normal person on an extraordinary adventure.
This seems like a fairly short game, which I always appreciate. While searching for a trailer, I saw playback videos pop up with durations between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. Additionally, Attu says that while Valve has yet to officially verify Scarlet Stag Inn for its portable system, the game “runs great on Steam Deck”.
Survey
Developer/publisher: Adventure Works
Platform: Steam (Windows, Mac, SteamOS/Linux). Coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 later
Price: Usually $20, with a 10% discount through July 29
I love sprawling adventures, and what’s grander than one that takes you through time and space. These are all the dimensions!
It’s not really difficult to imagine what might have inspired Surveyin which you play as a reluctant adventurer whose companion is an older man with white hair and a time machine. This professor is on a mission to woo a history professor, and he recruits young Ari to do a lot of the running, platforming, and puzzle solving.
Again, Survey This seems like a pretty short game. It clocks in at around three hours, according to reviews. I’m not complaining about it. This might be as close as possible to another Back to the future project soon and I can’t wait to play it.
Tears of Metal (Early Access)
Developer/publisher: Paper Cult
Platforms: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck), Xbox on PC. Coming to Xbox Series X/S later this year
Price: Usually $25, with a 10% discount on Steam until August 5. Also on PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate
Metal Tears looks like a delicious soup of chaos. This is a hack-and-slash roguelite from the team behind the enjoyable Blood Roots. Best of all, the action takes place in a medieval version of my native Scotland.
You can choose to take on hordes of enemies yourself or team up with friends for some cooperative online carnage. Between races, you can purchase permanent upgrades. These can help with tougher challenges, and defeating them will unlock more heroes, combos, and powers.
Metal Tears is expected to be in early access for up to a year. More heroes and upgrades are in the works, as well as support for additional languages, additional voice acting, and quality of life improvements. As long as I can eliminate countless bad guys, I’m happy.
Life is too short
Developer/publisher: Pixel Ghost
Platform: Steam (Windows, Mac, SteamOS/Linux), Itch. Already available for Playdate and Game Boy
Price: Usually $6, with a 10% discount through July 29
In the previous edition of this roundup, I included a game that started as a Game Boy title before landing on PC. Life is too short took an even more interesting path to get there. It was first a Playdate game before making its way to Nintendo’s classic handheld and now on Steam and Itch. As such, Pixel Ghost remade the game twice.
“Life is too short was my very first game launch and has since become a great role model for learning and exploring new platforms,” Ollie Coe, director of Pixel Ghost, said in a statement. “We are all very excited to launch the first Pixel Ghost game on Steam and have already started work on bringing all 3 full-color sequels to the platform.”
Oh, and about the game: it’s a short adventure title in which you play as a ghost trying to settle a feud between two vampires. Cute!
