Weekly Overview of the Bundle For Ukraine | Gaming
Unto Us, An End Is Born: Weekly Overview of the Bundle For Ukraine 34
And it’s… not a full page. Of course.
Overview
Well. Here we are.
Unlike the other pages of the bundle, this is an ‘overflow’ page as I’ve dubbed them. Not out of malice, mind you, just that the bundle didn’t have a number divisible by 30, and these entries just happened to be added later than the rest.
That’s why we only have 8 entries on this page, with a 3/5 split for video games and software. It’s also why I have no ‘recommendations’ this time, because there just isn’t enough here to justify trying to highlight one over the others.
Then again, you may notice that there are actually 9 entries: this is because of human error. More details are below, but essentially I forgot a game.
Anyway, I’m stalling; we’ve reached the end of the bundle, and that means statistics time. I’ll be compiling the stats of the previous 17 (well, 16 and a bit) pages to give a mirrored look from the first half and the second half, and then the big finale will arrive: The Post Mortem.
It might not arrive until the end of January due to my now overly busy schedule, but with a little bit of assistance I should be able to. Besides, I always like writing these finales. They’re so cathartic.
We’ll see what we do with this series after that, but until then, enjoy our final page.
Video Games
From page 20
Final Spike
An unfortunate side effect of doing this at a faster pace is that you run the risk of missing things — which is funny because I distinctly remember forgetting more of them back on the old bundle. Nevertheless, I will now owe up to the forgotten entry.
Final Spike is a sports game created by Sean Heron, where you and one other friend (or three friends total!) will go head to head in a volleyball match. In a 1v1 setting, you’ll break the traditional rules of volleyball as you hit it over and over again until you get it just right to spike downwards, and your opponent will attempt the same after making an epic diving save.
You only need to be under the ball to hit it back upwards, whereas you can “set” it to go over the net in a lob or spike it for an aggressive attack. Jumping gives you the elevation that you need for these attacks to work, otherwise you’re just spiking it into your own dirt.
It’s meant to be simple and accessible to all with as many controller options as humanly possible. Throw it on at a mini party and see who can spike their friends the best.
Alright, back to regularly scheduled programming™
Derpy Deep Drive
Our first of three titles on this page comes from Extrone, an indie dev seen in numerous jams and in the previous bundle. This is Derpy Deep Drive, a game created for Ludum Dare 48 in which you attempt to drive a bus as far as you can while avoiding obstacles.
You only need your mouse to steer, as the bus drives at a set pace based on how far you’ve gone without hitting anything. The more you hit, the slower the bus goes, and avoiding obstacles will increase the pace. There’s not much else to it, and there doesn’t need to be. It’s just a fun game to show you are better at moving your mouse than your friends.
Captain Backwater
joemanaco is back once again for their final entry in the bundle in Captain Backwater, a puzzle game with a pirate theme. You’ll be sliding the treasures around the cave in an “ice-puzzle” way — think the sliding puzzles of Pokemon and the like — in order to hit them into each other and destroy them. The treasure needs to move at least 2 squares for destruction to occur however, so you can’t just put them side by side for an easy win.
Over the 100 levels new mechanics get added to really throw you for a loop. Combined with the aesthetic that joemanaco has refined over the years and you’ve got a solid retro puzzle game.
Note: must install outside of the itch.io client, just like most of joemanaco’s titles.
Air Dasher
Our final game of the bundle is a puzzle platformer by Anton called Air Dasher. In it you are a tiny blue bird that wants to get to the matrix showcasing the end of the level, but for some reason are unable to stop moving. The solution? Clicking! Every input you perform with the mouse does some actions, with the most rudimentary being the act of clicking to jump. The blue guy can wall jump, which is the only real way for them to turn around. After a bit you’ll gain the ability to ‘swipe’, which launches the bird in the chosen direction but can only be done twice in the air before you need to hit a wall to reset.
The levels and aesthetics aim for simplicity, but you can easily sink dozens of hours into figuring out how to finish these 60 levels. And it’s available on Android! Win Win.
Software
WIZLORDS!
WIZLORDS by Third Country Press is a “co-operative” competitive roleplaying game in which you are one of a council of wizards. Unfortunately, while all powerful and able to solve problems, you are going insane with the powers you’ve amassed. The allure of your fixations is intoxicating, but you must put up a front because the wizard viewed as “best able” will be granted the title of High Wizlord. It’s a game of bluffing and deception, where you attempt to mask your insanity as “beneficial to the realm” and convince people to vote for you. Good luck!
Oh and it’s the last “game” of the entire bundle. Who would’ve thought?
[Inkbit] Pixel Art Font Set
BSL shows up to give us one last font pack, this in the pixelated style of the 1950’s tattoo artist Norman Keith Collins, better known as ‘Sailor Jerry’. The font pack is great for those wanting to make a seafaring game, one that embraces sailors and the high seas but within a 2D pixel environment. As always, there are a bunch of extra characters outside of the latin alphabet to allow for various languages.
Monastery Battlemap [100 x 80]
The next three bundle entries (and the final three of the bundle) are all by gurkenlabs, an indie dev seen previously with their Christmas game Naughty Elves. All three are battlemaps for various uses, such as tabletop games or digital top-down games.
The first is the Monastery Battlemap, highlighting a Cathedral and the buildings that surround it to allow for the location to flourish. It is the largest of the three and great for a hub world or final destination.
Volcanic Sinkhole Battlemap [20 x 40]
The Volcanic Sinkhole Battlemap highlights a small town that was decimated by an earthquake, only to reveal volcanic activity underneath. It reminded me a bit of Phandolin from the Forgotten Realms, if Phandolin was right on top of Mount Hotenow.
Speckled Forest Battlemap [30 x 30]
Rounding us out is a glowing forest battlemap, complete with curious mushrooms that you should definitely not eat. Fantastic atmosphere and lighting makes the perfect place to get lost and ambush unsuspecting party members.
Duplicates
Nope. Statistically, though, this makes sense.
