Interesting games on itch.io: September 27

I’m a big fan of itch.io for the freedom and open platform that it allows for developers to be creative, experimental, and directly canvas the audience for feedback for games that are not yet ready for primetime on Steam and its ilk. In addition, itch.io allows you to be transgressive, subversive, and downright dangerous. It’s a true “art gallery” for game ideas and creative developers, and it should be celebrated for that.

What makes itch.io a little difficult at times is finding things that are interesting to play. Discovery is a real issue when great ideas are buried among high school projects and nasty little efforts to scam a quick buck from players. With that in mind, I thought what might be helpful to readers would be if I did a brief write-up of interesting games that I’ve come across on itch.io each week. In many cases these games will be unfinished or “in development,” but I’m highlighting them because they promise something special and are well worth keeping on the radar.

Note: I also haven’t played these games. I highlight them as interesting based on the itch.io description and concept. Where I find the time to do actual reviews or other coverage, I will compose separate articles on the game in question. These aren’t so much an endorsement (or piece of criticism) as they are a head’s up.

Naturally, if you want to pick up a couple of the Dee Dee visual novels while you’re there on itch.io to support our work here, I would be eternally grateful! There’s a new one that recently came out, Sade!

K32 Super Rocket

As the Itch.io game listing goes “we used to play games every day after school. But I’m a big kid now. I don’t play games anymore.” Having not played the original text adventure (which you can play here), I can’t add anything to that, but it seems like this is a lightly comedic adventure and something that offers up a bit of nostalgia for youth.

Glory Hunters seems to be incredibly ambitious as a Game Boy project, so much so that I had to double-check that the game was playable on Game Boy devices, which it absolutely is. It’s still in an early state (the version for download is 0.1), but the potential is massive – an open world, 200 achievements, and a pretty unique concept.

In Glory Hunters, you’re on the hunt for “glory points” which you earn by completing quests and earning those aforementioned achievements. You can use those points to upgrade health, buy items, and hire assistants for the quest. You’ll also need to gather materials and help the townsfolk around, as you also attempt to save the land by awakening a slumbering deity and delving deeply into monster-filled dungeons. This is absolutely a game I would have jumped on were it released back on the game boy, and I’m looking forward to giving this one a whirl too. Hopefully, the developer gets the encouragement they need to finish work on this chapter and continue to work on more.

If Game Boy games were being made in 2021, I think we’d get a lot of stuff like Until The Light Comes. This is a procedural platformer (procedural games weren’t that common back when the Game Boy was new), and it makes such a lot of sense given the limitations of the console.

  

The game has an aesthetic that is vaguely Metroid-like, but the gameplay is significantly different. In Until The Light Comes, you need to avoid bomb traps and swing your package like a weapon – yep, you’re a miner in this game, with the goal being to travel as far through a deadly, monster-packed cave before finally succumbing… and then you get to try it again. There’s probably a hint of Downwell in there too. It might not be the most original idea, but making it work on the Game Boy is pretty damned impressive.