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Writer's pictureMagoloth
Feb 2, 20214 min read

Itch.io Showcase #1

When exploring Itch.io, there are a ton of games out there that are interesting, and worthy of a review. However, a lot of these games are very simple, and can’t be made into a full, three-page review. This is where this series of posts come into play, in order to compile a few of these games into one paper. There is nothing specific that is similar between any of these games, these are all just games I wanted to talk about. Let’s begin with the first game, Uncontrollable Dream.

Uncontrollable Dream

Uncontrollable Dream is a game made by Sagar Chauhan and is being presented by Nastro Studios. This game was made in forty-eight hours as part of a game jam. With that in mind, expectations shouldn’t be too high, but I was amazed by this one.

You play as someone who is trapped in a dream world, that honestly looks like a campsite. While in this world, you encounter these weird red monsters who are out to kill you. You have to kill these monsters, but the catch is that you have no movement controls whatsoever, your character moves in a random path. The only control you have is aiming, and shooting with the mouse. The difficulty strives from not knowing where you're going, and where the red monsters are. The game ends once you die, and the goal is to kill the most monster you can.

I enjoyed playing this for a few minutes, which is probably what is intended from a developer. The game is interesting and fun, but after a few games, it will probably get boring. I can’t say I’ll be returning to this game, however, one thing I should mention is the graphics and music. The graphics are basic, except for the lighting effects. The light given off by blue rocks, the monsters, and stars are a great touch to this otherwise bland looking game, The music is good as well, and gives a meaningful impact to the mood of the game.

Invasion Failed is a collect-a-thon shooter made by Wargon. On the surface, Invasion Failed has some great, 16-bit graphics, and a character who looks like he's from Invader Zim. This game looks fantastic, however, looks are not all that make a game. Invasion Failed has the player walk around this randomly generated level by using the WASD keys. You have a certain number of molten rocks on the ground to break. To do this you shoot down the walls using the mouse to aim and the left mouse buttons to shoot. Be careful though, because the room is exploding, and the exploding follows you, so if you stay put too long, it’s game over. The game is very simple, but that’s the first Indie game on itch.io. The game is fine, but there is one issue I have with it. I seem to easily get stuck randomly, and I can’t explain why. Maybe I’m running into a wall, but then I would say everything blends in together, making it hard to distinguish a wall, from the floor. That's the only issue I ran into, however. Invasion Failed is a fun game for five minutes and then move on to someone else. I recommend giving it a look, and Wargon, I hope you continue making nice little games.

Underpowered is a shoot-em-up made by Cudzer. The game starts with a boss fight, named The Unwinder. Beating this boss causes time to mess up, and you end going back in time to what led up to that encounter. You start as a powerful machine, but as you progress, you get weaker, hence the name, Underpowered.

Underpowered has you control a ship, through this rather generic-looking facility. You move with the WASD keys, aim by moving the mouse, and shoot by pushing the left mouse button. There are enemies to kill, which drop energy particles, which you need to collect in order to exit the level. There are power-ups to grab such as health increase, movement speed increase, bullet speed increase, and a laser. That’s the game in a nutshell. The game does play fine, but the biggest problem I have is with the randomized system. At each stage, your stats will decrease by a random matter, which to me means luck in order to beat the game. This means when you die, you have to restart at the boss. I do think this concept is interesting, having time makes you go back through the faculty while losing your upgrades makes sense, but the idea isn’t executed well, and just makes it hard to get into. The game also looks very bland, and dull, but the music is fine.

This one is going to be hard to recommend. If you enjoy top-down shooters and can get over replaying levels, then this game is for you, if not, then I would pass on trying this one. I don’t think this game is bad, but it’s not my thing.

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