E3 Indie Game Goodies at OGA's The Mix
After day two of E3 wrapped, I made my way to the rooftop Target Terrace across from the convention center for the Open Gaming Alliance's "The Mix." The sweeping views of downtown LA were broken up by a ring of monitors and VR headsets hooked up to a colorful array of fun indie games. While I unfortunately didn't get the chance to play all of them, here were some of my favorites!
Squares by Leap Game Studios
The only title at The Mix showing the PS Vita some much needed love. Squares is a game with a simple concept that is incredibly challenging. There are blue squares on your screen, and it's your job to make them grey. You do so with a variety of motions such as tapping the screen, sliding your finger along them, pinching them using the rear and front touchpads, and shaking the console in certain directions. It is a fast-paced and challenging game. And with a custom level builder it has a lot of replay value. A fun pick up and go game for your handheld device.
SMS Racing by Turbo Button
There were a surprising number of VR titles at this indie scene. One really fun and silly game that ran using the Gear VR and a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 was called SMS Racing. The premise is that you are in a professional race, but you want to make sure you still have friends after you cross the finish line to celebrate with. So while you race you have to make sure to keep texting your friends back, meaning you're physically looking back and forth from the road to your phone. As someone who generally obeys the rules of the road, I was awful at it, but the game was hilarious and a lot of fun!
Death's Gambit by White Rabbit
Do you like Dark Souls? Of course you do! Do you like awesome retro-style sprite animation? You're reading an article about indie games, so of course you do! Then you're going to want to get your hands on Death's Gambit. It is a challenging side scrolling adventure game where you're going to die, and you're going to do so frequently. The gameplay is amazingly fluid and whenever you die it feels like your fault, not the game's fault. The short level I got to play had me clamoring for more. It ended with an awesome boss fight where the level shifts back and forth, so you have to be on the high ground while still being aware of your enemy. It was awesome, and I can't wait to explore more of this beautiful world!
Bunker Punks by Ninja Robot Dinosaur
I don't want to say this game was my favorite of the night, because I'd had a blast with all four of these titles, but I may have had the most fun with this one! Bunker Punks is an awesome retro-style FPS game with elements of base building and resource management built in. You progress through a world map level by level, similar to classics like Doom. Each level is procedural generated and littered with cool aliens thirsty for blood. The build I played only had a few classic weapons, such as the pistol and the shotgun, but the developer, Shane Neville, let me know that there are over 20 coming to the finished game. I had so much fun with this title! It took me back to gaming on my dad's old laptop playing Heretic for DOS. Just needed me some orange soda and cartoons on in the background. You're going to want to play this game, and you can quote me on that.