Simply keeping on top of the steady release of “AAA” game is challenging enough these days, with a larger market than ever before, and a massive number of devs and publishers trying to sate that demand. Unfortunately, that often means far too many good indie titles fly under the radar without the recognition they deserve. This weekly post aims to highlight some of those games we’ve got around to playing but never got around to reviewing.

Project Warlock

The game that kickstarted this feature is an excellent homage to retro FPS games of the ‘90s, like DOOM, Hexen, Blood, and a bit of Serious Sam. It shamelessly emulates the classic feel of movement, shooting, and the key-hunting gameplay, while using those games and classic movies as inspiration for the level and monster design. It’s not a pure classic shooter however, with its own (somewhat undercooked) spell system, weapon upgrades, and four stats that can be boosted every time you level up. The game also has, in theory, permadeath. Die and you must restart the level - which are never more than 5-10 minutes long - and you’ll want to keep an eye out for extra lives (I never came close to running short).

If you ignore those modern additions, you can still swiftly lose yourself in a blur of winding corridors, multicoloured keys, horrific enemies, booming gunfire, and gratuitous gore. The visuals are distinctly retro, with some great sprite-based objects and monsters, but the “modern” lighting and particle effects enhance the experience (primarily by splattering the walls and floors with the innards of your demonic foes).

There are a dozen levels in each of the five acts - bookended by simple walls of text describing your continued quest to hunt down all evil - ranging from Antarctic research bases (with creatures straight out of The Thing and Cthulhu stories), to modern industrial complexes (with robotic foes similar to the Strogg in Quake 2), to Hell itself (with no shortage of DOOM-inspired denizens). The levels are well-designed, often looping back on themselves, hiding monsters around corners and secrets in plain sight, while the final level pits you against a suitably challenging boss. The exploration and gunfire is backed up by incredible soundtrack - again emulating classic MIDI tracks - that always seems the thump along in sync with your shots (and it's free to download for those who pick it up on PC).

What I didn’t expect was the ability to play this from the couch with excellent gamepad support that feels better than the DOOM and DOOM II ports for consoles; I completed the game on “Hard” without ever feeling the controls were a source of frustration. This is a game that started as a high school project, before generating enough profit on an early prototype to fund a small team for Project Warlock, and I’m disappointed it’s not gained more traction and exposure, given how damn good it is. I’m hoping that we’ll see some console ports in the near but, in the meantime, you can pick up Project Warlock cheaply on GOG or Steam.

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood

This was a game I finally got around to playing thanks to an Xbox Game Pass subscription; an indie title from Press Play and - temporarily - an Xbox One exclusive around launch. In it, you play as the titular Max who, after Googling ("Giggling") how to make his younger brother disappear, has to travel to a fantasy world and rescue him from a villain looking to transplant his consciousness into the young Felix. With the help and a grandmotherly guide, it’s a nauseatingly-charming story about Max realising his responsibility towards his brother that I begrudgungly enjoyed, despite the less-than-subtle storytelling.

The game plays as a simple 2.5D platformer-puzzler, taking a lot of inspiration from PlayStation One classic Heart of Darkness, with one-hit deaths (but no particularly gruesome animations to accompany them). You run, jump, climb, swing, and manipulate objects to get through 20 levels {there’s no direct way to defeat your foes}, all with the help of a magic marker pen that can create pillars, branches, swinging vines, and eventually fireball-infused branches(?). There are auto-running sections, platforming puzzles, and a few complex boss encounters, making the game tougher than I expected given the audience.

It’s a pretty game, albeit not technically so, and the writing, voice acting, and music ensure the atmosphere and tone is consistent throughout. The biggest problem with Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is that the gameplay often feels as dated as its source material, making for an enjoyable but shallow experience - with too many trial-and-error moments - though at only 6-7 hours long, it doesn't overstay its welcome. You can pick up Max: The Curse of Brotherhood on Xbox One (and on Xbox Game Pass), PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.



Headlander

Another game I finally got around to playing thanks the Xbox Game Pass, Headlander is a 2.5D Metroidvania-style game was developed by Double Fine Productions; so you can expect fun gameplay paired with a ridiculous setting, narrative, and quirky characters. Waking from cryosleep, as one of the few surviving humans from some prior catastrophe, you find yourself trapped as a disembodied head in a rocket-propelled device, which allows you to connect with several robotic bodies. Initially trapped in a giant space station orbiting the Earth, you’ll explore a retro-futuristic setting in which an AI called Methuselah now traps uploaded human consciousnesses in their robot bodies, forcing them into a life of submission and passivity. Eventually teaming up with the “resistance”, you set out to overthrow the AI and find other surviving, whole-bodied humans.

Gameplay is an eclectic mix of conventional 2.5D platforming, bullet hell-style firefights when things become intense, some out-of-place cover shooting, and a whole bunch of door-puzzles that usually rely on taking over appropriate robotic bodies. Boss fights crop up occasionally, with an emphasis on puzzling your way to victory, rather than pure shooting. The world is sprawling but you’ll quickly learn to tear through the game once you’ve mastered the controls and earned a few upgrades and skill points, switching between bodies on the fly, while blasting away at enemies with multi-coloured laser beams. As with all games in this genre, you’ll be backtracking to hunt down secrets and upgrade points as you unlock new story-related skills.

Headlander is fast, fun, and fluid, helped no end by the great writing, music, and garish visuals. You can pick up Headlander on Xbox One (or on Xbox Game Pass), PlayStation 4, and PC.



Let us know in the comments below what you think of our choices, or if you’ve been playing an indie game this week you’d like to promote to the community.

Follow the link to see more of our picks for Indies of the Week.