While much of what’s shown at shows like BitSummit are ambitious and/or exciting upcoming titles likePepper GrinderandXenotilt,there are quite a few projects that are either simple, already-released passion projects that are still flying under the radar or smaller-scale projects that just don’t garner as much hype. There were plenty of such games to choose from this year, and the following are two of the more memorable ones. Be sure to take a closer look should they manage to spark your interest as well!
Box to the Box
First, we have a straightforward puzzler by developer Derin. The goal is simply to solve all fifty of its deceptively simple challenges and flex one’s puzzle-solving prowess to anyone who cares to listen. That said, though, getting all the way through likely isn’t going to be all that easy.
The puzzles in Box to the Box all revolve around making temporal clones of oneself and carefully timing/coordinating their movements in order for the most recent clone to make it to the goal. These challenges start simply: weigh down a button, pull a lever, push a box and so one. Once the game thinks one has the basics down though, things quickly get more complicated.
Players will need to get used to precise timing across multiple copies if they want to make it through even the midway challenges. Fortunately, though, built-in rewind and quick reset functions greatly help to pin-point the errors in one’s sequences, making it all much more doable.
Box to the Box is a pure puzzler, with almost everything going to the gameplay. Presentation is overall extremely simple in the way that many old-school Flash games were, so there’s really nothing to distract from the challenge. Puzzle fans can actuallytry this one right now on itch.ioor pick it upon Steam,so why not just hop on over right now?
Everdeep Aurora
This one initially stuck out among the games surrounding it thanks to a distinctive, three-color art style. Picture Undertale’s combat screens, apply it across the whole game, and that’s basically the look we’ve got here. It’s simple, yet it has a layer of detail that keeps drawing one in as they play. The harsh palette also creates and interesting contrast with the initial story.
The player is Shell, a young kitten who’s looking for her mother amongst a civilization that’s in the process of relocating itself underground. An ongoing meteor shower is making the surface ever more unlivable, so delving ever deeper is the only way the world can endure. So naturally, digging is what players will be spending most of their time doing. The entire map runs vertically with the vast majority of it being underground, and most of the grid being occupied by rocks. Getting anywhere requires drilling, and drilling requires energy.
Fortunately, there are recharge stations scattered about, and no combat to speak of (at least not in the demo). So, players should be able to get around easily enough, albeit slowly. That initial slowness could potentially be a problem since Everdeep Aurora seems to be all about exploring and doing favors for various characters one encounters, so hopefully drill upgrades will come quickly and often once the game gets going.
Aside from this, the characters all seemed charming enough, and the story is one just about anyone could get behind. With that in mind, even a somewhat slow movement speed shouldn’t be too much of a problem for those who enjoy such things. Those interested should look for Everdeep Auroraon Steamonce it finally makes it to release.
For all the attention that the independent development space has been getting over the past several years, it still deserves more. Triple-A games might have a massive advantage when it comes to production value, but it’s in the indie sector that one tends to find the mostfun and interesting innovationsthese days. BitSummit and shows like it are all showcases for it, and the sheer number of projects presented at them are themselves the proof. Gamers tired of the usual triple A stuff really do owe it to themselves to consider these smaller games more seriously.
