Alpha Beta Gamer

Upcoming interactive drama Herald is a point-and-click adventure with a branching story that’s dictated by player choices. As Devan Rensburg, players are the steward of a merchant ship, the HLV Herald, in a 19th century world. The game hosts a variety of characters, well-off and less fortunate than others, that make for a divided lifestyle aboard the ship.

Choosing to play by the rules will win players the favor of the authority, namely the captain, who is technically the player’s supervisor. However should one choose to side with the downtrodden and fed up side of the ship, a rebellious method can be used in the approach to game quests. Not only will the player choose what side they want to support, dialogue options available during conversation will change a character’s disposition toward the player, changing the course of the game in another manner.

Finding key items, recording events and findings in a journal, and navigating the 3D-rendered Herald are some of the core features that are already established in this early look at the game. Conversations with NPC’s, making game-altering decisions, and exploring this mysterious and obscure ship are all supporting game elements that complete a foundation that set up developer Wispfire to create an enthralling and interesting interactive narrative.

Check Out the Kickstarter & Play the Free Alpha Demo

Football Tactics is an impressive game which brings turn based tactics to the sporting genre, pitting teams against each other in strategic turn based matches as you build up your squad from division 3 losers to world conquering superstars.

It’s an interesting concept, and turn based combat translates to the football (or soccer) field remarkably well. Each team gets three moves per round, with an overall aim of getting the ball in the back of your opponents net. Positioning is key as you fight to get the ball up-field and shoot with out getting tackled.

Much like in a tactical RPG, the chances of your squad pulling off tackles, successfully passing or scoring are also reliant on your stats, so you’ll have to buy and sell players, earn experience and upgrade their stats and abilities to make your team the best in the world.

Even in these early stages of development, Football Tactics is a fun and well polished experience. Blending turn based tactics with the sports genre works surprisingly well. We’d love to see it tried with other sports too. Tactical turn based table tennis anyone?

Play The Beta Demo, Free

Pongo is a fun and surprisingly challenging game that combines extreme pogo-jumping with FPS combat to create a wonderfully quirky 3D action platformer.

You must traverse the beautiful low poly Islands of Flubber, leaping over large gaps, fighting enemies and battling huge bosses. To aid you on your journey you have your trusty Pongo – a pogo stick that turns into a gun at the touch of a button. Most of the enemies don’t present too much of a challenge, but the jumping can be pretty tough – you’ll need some precision timing if you want to avoid taking a swim in the sea. Once you master your Pogo stick though, Pongo is a fun game, with fast paced first person platforming, ideally suited to speed runs.

We’d love to see the pogoing mechanics refined a bit (perhaps so that you’re permanently bouncing a little), as at the moment it feel more like a platformer in which you can jump high, rather than an authentic ‘bouncy’ pogo experience. But as it stands it’s still a fun first person action platformer with challenging pogo jumping gameplay and joyously gleeful aesthetics. Super happy bouncy fun.

Check out the Kickstarter & Play the Free Beta Demo

Trench is a 2.5D rotary shooter that sees you piloting a transforming salvage sub, diving down into the ocean to annihilate a terrifying threat that has imposed itself upon Earth.

While drifting along in the sea, players can expect to find a wide variety of hostile alien creatures that want nothing more than the sub’s demise. Some creatures will ambush the player from any angle, mostly attacking in groups. The basic enemy type eventually gains the ability to launch projectiles later on, which adds an unexpected dimension to combat. A wall-hugger type stays stationary while birthing small enemies resembling a Pelican Eel with bio-luminescence. These creatures are attracted to light, and will quickly ignore the player if a flare is deployed to distract them with.

Depth charges can be dropped as an offensive tactic, or used to demolish areas made of weak construction. On this note, finding such exploits is made easy with the sonar and radar on the bottom of the HUD. A sonar ping will indicate points of interest, mostly ships to salvage. Finding passages has to be done manually, as the player will have to inspect areas where a tunnel is visible on the map.

Howling Hamster created a solid concept, and has only scratched the surface of what is possible with this well-crafted Pre-Alpha build.

Play the Pre-Alpha Demo, Free

Bigger in Texas is a charming, beautiful and funny pixel art action adventure about Texas and the importance of a hat.

On a seemingly normal day, you have your hat stolen from by Outlaws. These Outlaws have vowed to take all of the hats in the state of Texas. As a man who loves his hat, you must then embark on a journey to get back your hat!

As you get closer and closer to discovering the secrets of this gang of thugs, more thugs will show up looking to beat you up. With only your fist to defend you, you must defeat the leader of the Outlaw and take back what was stolen from you.

Travel across the huge state of Texas, learn about the locals, and get your hat back in this fun Texan adventure.

Play the Alpha Demo, Free

Once Bitten, Twice Dead! is a fun new low poly MMO FPS that allows up to 100 people to play together in a large zombie-infested open world.

Combining DayZ zombie survival gameplay with Minecraft-esque visuals, Once Bitten, Twice Dead! bears some similarities to Unturned. Once Bitten, Twice Dead! feels more geared towards more pure FPS gameplay than the survival-focused Unturned though.

It’s a fun game, especially in multiplayer, perfect for bouts of undead low poly mayhem.

Play the Pre-Alpha Build, Free

The Absence Of Is - Keep researchers alive while they remain in a sort of stasis-like sleep, allowing them to take a dive into visions of the afterlife. Then walk around these visions of the afterlife, examining different situations ranging in magnitude and spectacle.

Play The Absence of Is, Free

APT - a super tough physics-based first person first-person puzzle platformer that’ll test your reflexes, skill and patience as it sets you challenges of near-insurmountable odds.

Check out APT on Greenlight & Play the Free Alpha Demo

Winning Streak - Prove you’ve got balls in this silly streaking game! Run, dance, jiggle, dance, score touchdowns and avoid oncoming tackles for as long as possible to rack up a high a score for your streaking antics.

Adding to the lunacy of the game are the well voiced commentators who add some genuinely comical narration to your naughty naked rampage. Winning Streak is a fun game that will certainly make you smile as you avoid tackles while showing off your wedding tackle.

Play Winning Streak, Free

Spacejacked is a tough, fast paced and very addictive 2D pixel art shooter/tower defense hybrid in which you must manage multiple rooms at the same time to survive the alien onslaught.

You play the engineer of a ship, stranded in space, facing wave after wave of attacks from evil blob-like aliens. To stave of this threat you must build upgradeable turrets in 3 separate bays of your ship (engine room, robotics and the sick bay) and repair any damage they do to the main terminals. As a last resort you also have a blaster, which is only good for short bursts, but does come in handy for mopping up any aliens tough enough to penetrate your defenses.

The aliens come in a variety of shapes and forms, and pose a formidable treat. It’s a tough game, but also immediately satisfying. The wonderful pixel art visuals, retro soundtrack, and fast paced gameplay give Spacejacked a distinct arcadey feel, and breathe new life into the Tower Defense genre.

An addictive retro infused arcade tower defense game you won’t want to put down.

Play the Pre-Alpha Build, Free

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