Alpha Beta Gamer

Super Chibi Knight is great new hack and slash RPG with beautiful, big cartoony graphics and a wonderful sense of playfulness, created by game developer Nick Pasto (creator of Abobo’s Big Adventure with over 8.3 million downloads) and his 8 year old daughter Bella. Coming to PC, Mac and Linux, The game has already hit it’s Kickstarter target with 12 days left to go and has been greenlit on Steam.

Throughout the game, you’ll explore the world map from a top-down, Legend of Zelda-style view, switching to a side on view when you start battles, visit shops, enter houses or any other areas. As you progress you’ll uncover quests, level up your character, learn special moves, ride on a variety of mounts and upgrade your equipment. You’ll need these upgrades, as some of the monsters you’ll meet are massive, and pretty tough!

The world that Nick and Bella have created is overflowing with colour and charm, full of big, bold cartoon-like character design, fun challenges and nice surprises. It’s an exuberant and charming RPG, so overflowing with happiness that it could make a corpse smile.

Sign up for the Beta

Tri is a first-person 3D puzzle/platformer set in an East Asian abstract world where your objective is to collect three statues hidden within the level by jumping, sprinting, crouching and using the only tool in your arsenal; that tool is of course, the triangle! While the concept may sound elementary, Tri is a great brain-teaser where you’re faced with walls to scale up and obstacles to hurtle, forcing you to create triangles of different shapes and sizes in order to reach your objective. It’s mathematical!

Currently, those that download the Beta are limited to a single tower containing some relatively easy puzzles and exploration, however Rat King Entertainment promises much more including a “freestyle” aspect that will allow you to run off walls and ceilings along with vast new landscapes and huge towers to traverse. It’s an interesting game to say the least, and if you enjoy games like Portal, Qube, or antichamber, the Tri Beta is worth the download.

Download the Beta, Free (PC, Mac & Linux)

The Repopulation is an interesting new Sandbox MMO that sees the remnants of the human race fighting for survival on the planet of Rhyldan against some rather nasty indigenous lifeforms and each other.

The game has a big focus on freedom, with no preset paths through the game and a variety of combat oriented and non-combat activities to pursue. Players can build their own cities, form nations, elect mayors, take part in multi-stranded generated missions with branching outcomes, learn and upgrade skills, fit their character with augmentations, raise pets (Tamed, Genetically Engineered and Robotic), and operate a variety of vehicles. PvP engagements can be combat and non-combat oriented, with the player base divided into 3 factions, and the 3rd faction able to splinter off into smaller factions.

The Repopulation is certainly an ambitious MMO, that looks like it might actually deliver on it’s promise of offering an amount of freedom rarely seen in gaming. With the final round of Alpha testing taking part this month, Beta sign-ups for the next phase have begun.

Sign up for the Beta

Proven lands is a vast procedurally generated science-fiction sandbox roguelike with en emphasis on exploration, inspired by Star Trek, Don’t Starve, Project Zomboid and Cataclysm.

This isn’t just another sandbox survival game, here there is an emphasis on exploration and storytelling. The story of Proven Lands unfolds in two distinct ways, one is a scripted story about friendship, bravery and even a pregnancy, while the other is generated by an AI game-master that reacts to the player, weaving a unique game-playing experience for each playthrough. Both or these options sound fantastic, though for a pure sandbox experience, the player will have the option to turn the scripted storyline off.

The planets of Proven Lands look wonderful, a lot of work has gone in to making it them feel like a real alien landscape, with diverse creatures living in their own ecosystems. As you traverse the landscape, you’ll encounter weather effects, natural disasters, a variety of topographies, enemies and AI companions (including a cat in it’s very own cat spacesuit). You’ll also build, craft, use vehicles, create outposts, progress your chosen character type, choose alliances and travel to other planets, it goes without saying that it’s a pretty ambitious game.

The Pre-Alpha is a very early build, so obviously is nowhere near fully featured. You can eat, drink, chop trees, destroy stones and kill enemies, fight hunger, thirst and diseases, all in an endless procedurally generated terrain. Although pretty basic at the moment, the Pre-Alpha does give you a basic overall feel of the game, and a sense that the finished product could be something very special. The Greenlight and Kickstarter campaigns have just started so make sure you check them out.

Download the Pre-Alpha, Free

Storium is an online storytelling game that allows players to create a story through a series of scenes, reacting to obstacles and people as you come across them. It’s played with 3 people, with one person playing as the Narrator, and the other 2 playing as the characters.

The Narrator chooses the world that the story is set in (with choices such as ‘occult pop horror’, ‘medical drama’ and ‘cyberpunk’), then starts each scene, using cards to give the players challenges to overcome. The players will then try to overcome these challenges as they see fit, progressing the story in fun and interesting ways.

There are a few more rules, but it’s remarkably easy to pick up and is only limited by your imagination. Storium is a fun and fluid way of storytelling, with players reacting to each other and no-one being fully in control, it can lead to some VERY interesting stories.

Our attempt was an occult pop horror called ‘The Badgers of Doom’, they’re black, they’re white, and they bite! Coming soon to cinemas near you!

Sign up for the Alpha

UPDATE: Alpha Sign-ups are now closed, but you can now get immediate access to the Beta by backing the Storium Kickstarter

20,000 Leagues above the Clouds is a beautiful new Studio Ghibli inspired game that sees you captaining a steampunk airship across the seven skies. It features Diablo-esque point and click controls and Sid Meyers Pirates!-style battles between ships, all set in a beautiful enviroment, reminiscent of the floating islands of Avatar.

As you play the game you’ll upgrade your ship and equipment, allowing you to travel deeper into the seven skies. Your actions throughout the game will define your characters personality, allowing you to rule the skies through fear, or by turning on the charm.

The visually stunning world of 20,000 Leagues above the Clouds is inspired by Studio Ghibli (My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away), with an aim to create an adventure game in a similar style where you are the main character. It certainly looks like the devs are achieving this aim, with both the piratey gameplay and the steampunk sky-world looking wonderful.

At 20,000 leagues above the Clouds the view is stunning, we feel sorry for anyone who has to walk the plank!

Sign up for the Beta here

Eat Drink Slay is a great little retro hack and slash RPG, designed to be played during short breaks, a coffee break RPG. It features some wonderful retro visuals, lots of loot, a choice of 5 different character classes, shops, a nice selection of enemies and some nice little touches, like the C64 loading screen. It’s a fun little game and an excellent use of your coffee break!

Download the Alpha, Free

Copod is a vibrant 2D top-down exploration roguelite, set in a colourful, beautiful, organic feeling world. All you have to do is impress your mate by finding a flower and bringing it back to her. However, it’s a dangerous place to be exploring, and you’re only a little Copod, you’ll have to use your wits to survive.

This isn’t a fast and frantic shooter, things are a bit more sedate and all the better for it. There are no time limits so you’re free to explore the world as you see fit, uncovering lots of wonderfully animated (though usually deadly) creatures. Adding to the relaxed atmosphere, your Copod can be controlled entirely by your mouse, move with the left button, attack with the right and select weapons with the roller. There’s a nice selection of power-ups available and the ability to hatch Copod eggs, with the youngsters then following you and attacking enemies, or you can sacrifice them for more health.

With a colourful, well crafted world that feels like it’s part of one big ecosystem, it’s a joy exploring the world of Copod, a wonderful, chilled-out roguelite with a very organic feel.

Download the Alpha, Free

alpha-beta-gamer:

Classroom Aquatic is a ridiculous game where you take on the roll of a foreign exchange student in a school of dolphins.
Unfortunately for you, your class is doing a test, which you’re you’ve got no chance of passing unaided as you don’t know any of the answers. This means if you you’re going to pass the test you’re going to have to use stealth and sneaky distractions to sneak a peak at the other students answers. You’ll have to be careful though, as you really don’t want to get caught. Getting told off in first person, by your dolphin teacher is a strange and rather terrifying experience!
Classroom aquatic is a great game that takes a simple, unique idea and runs (or swims if you prefer) with it. It’s a wonderfully fresh take on the stealth genre. You’ll never look at dolphins in the same way after you’ve been told off by one.
Download the Alpha Demo, Free (Win, Mac, Linux & Oculus Rift)

FInal 12 hours of the Kickstarter! With $25500 already pledged, classroom aquatic only needs another $4500 to complete it’s goal of abusing cheaters with angry dolphin teachers!

Visit the Kickstarter page here to show your love for our flippered friends!

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