Indie News Roundup March 20 2016 Feature

Mar. 14 to 20 Indie News Roundup

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut

Last week, WayForward announced that Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut will be coming to the European and North American Wii U eShops tomorrow, on March 24. It’ll sell for $9.99.

Here are the tweets by wayForward:

Infinity Runner

Wales Interactive recently revealed that Infinity Runner will be releasing on both the European and North American Wii U eShops on March 24. Pricing for the game is set at $6.99 / £5.89 / €6.49.

You can take a look at the gameplay through the trailer below:

Witch & Hero II

witch-hero-iiCircle Entertainment recently revised the release date for Witch & Hero II, which will now be coming to the North American 3DS eShop on March 24. I will later be released on Europe too, on April 7.

The publisher has also teased a pair of new JRPGs for the eShop, like you can see in the tweet below.

FreezeME

Freeze-2015-11-26-10-51-40-504FreezeME, the indie platformer from Rainy Night Creations, finally has release date for Europe and Australia, after being out in North America for over a month now. The game is coming out in those areas on March 31st.

RCMADIAX Q2 2016 Lineup

static1.squarespace.comRCMADIAX has outlined its full lineup of games for Q2 2016. A number of titles will be making their way to Europe, while SUPER ROBO MOUSE will also be releasing in North America.

Here’s the full lineup and release dates for each title:

SUPER ROBO MOUSE – April 7th – NOE and NOA Confirmed
COLOR BOMBS – April 14th – NOE Confirmed
TAP TAP ARCADE – April 28th – NOE Confirmed
PENTAPUZZLE – May 5th – NOE Confirmed
PIXEL SLIME U – May 12th – NOE Pending

Axiom Verge

ElsenovaAxiom Verge is making its way to the Wii U eShop later this year, at least according to creator Tom Happ’s announcement.

Here’s a brief overview of the game:

Axiom Verge is a retro-style action-platform-exploration game done in a 16-bit style and was heavily influenced by games like Metroid, Contra, Blaster Master, and other classics, but with very modern design sensibilities. It also gives you power over glitches like those found in classic games, allowing you to scramble enemies, corrupt environments, and enter hidden areas as you explore this hostile alien world and uncover your role within it.

Axiom Verge features more than 40 weapons and tools, close to 100 upgrades, over 80 creatures, nearly 1,000 rooms, and supports six languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Happ had previously suggested that a Wii U version of Axiom Verge would happen last June, and seems like he’s keeping his word. As for the 3DS, he said that bringing it to that system would be “more difficult since the hardware is so completely different”, so don’t raise your hopes.

Dan McFox: Head Hunter

Lightwood Games has announced they are developing “Dan McFox: Head Hunter” for Nintendo’s 3DS handheld. The game is planned for release sometime in 2016.

Dan McFox: Head Hunter is mainly about looking for people based on descriptions provided to the player. You can tackle various assignments and earn up to three stars based on your performance in “Mission Mode”, or catch as many suspects as you can in “Round Up” mode, which supports leaderboards. There’s also StreetPass support so that you can take on challenges from others.

You can find an introduction video for the game below:

Dex

36cc9f124c777b143f95222963757a4c_originalDreadlocks  initially launched Dex last year, and is now focusing its attention on bringing the game to other platforms, including Wii U.

Dex is nearly ready to debut on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but the Wii U version is due out later. However, Dreadlocks is planning “new features which will take full advantage of the console’s unique aspects and capabilities, such as the GamePad or Miiverse”, which the studio believes will make the Wii U version of Dex the “definitive version”.

As written in a recent Kickstarter update:

“As for the Wii U version, it will come after the PS4 and Xbox One versions, but for good reasons: we are adding several new features which will take full advantage of the console’s unique aspects and capabilities, such as the GamePad or Miiverse. We can’t tell you more just yet, but we’re all very excited about what will be the definitive version of the game!”

Midnight 2

Petite Games recently announced that Midnight 2 will be coming to Wii U as an eShop download. This will also mark the indie developer’s first release in Europe.

The original Midnight, which hit Wii U last January, had players navigating a square-shaped fairy through various levels.

Here’s the announcement:

Gear Gauntlet

Crystalline Green has teamed up with Drop Dead Interactive to bring Gear Gauntlet to Nintendo’s Wii U.

Gear Gauntlet is an “action packed, and sometimes rage inducing 2D action arcade game”. While playing, you’ll be dodging spinning blades, navigating labythinth mazes, and finding secret treasure chambers. You’ll also “race against the creeping wall of death across lava floes, under ice caverns, through twisted forests”.

Here’s a trailer from the game’s previous release on XBox so you can get an idea of what the gameplay looks like.

VoxelMaker

SI_WiiUDS_VoxelMakerNostatic Software has recently shared that the studio is in the process of preparing an update for its Wii U eShop title VoxelMaker. In a recent tweet, the studio said that some new features are in the works, and that users can expect a faster, GPU-based rendering as well as glow and transparency effects.

Here’s the tweet mentioned above:

Hive Jump

hive-jump-2A few days ago, Graphite Lab recently shared in a podcast that its upcoming sci-fi action-platformer, Hive Jump, will not offer online multiplayer on the Wii U.

Due to the fans having some questions and concerns regarding this decision, Graphite Lab director Matt Raithel actually took some time to explain the decision further on Nintendo Everything’s comment section for those new.

According to him, Graphite Lab looked into the possibility of including online multiplayer in the Wii U version extensively, however, after careful consideration, they had to decide to remove the feature as it “was going to be beyond our scope for this release due to time and budget constraints placed on our team”.

Here’s Raithel’s explanation:

Online play for Wii U has been an interest for Hive Jump, but not something we could guarantee at the onset. So, we listed that as one of the first FAQ we posted on our campaign site. We explored it thoroughly and deeply over the last year. We’ve refactored our code several times to optimize and improve – to explore this feature. We looked at other titles and we talked to fellow devs about their own struggles with online play. We evaluated other tools to provide any efficiency we could uncover. In the end we had to make a tough choice about a stark reality. Online MP for the Wii U was going to be beyond our scope for this release due to time and budget constraints placed on our team.

Sadly, all of the effort that went into this decision was shortened to a snippet which excluded the good stuff: our level generation system, the weapons, the aliens, the lore, GamePad support, the bosses, relics, and all of the other great systems we’re proud of on Wii U.

Rest assured, there will be a robust and worthwhile local co-op experience as well as single player mode on Wii U. We’ve also reserved focus for other features exclusive to the platform such as the gamepad controller, amiibo support and special relic rooms which you will only get on Wii U.

Those of you that have played the game at PAX Prime and Indiecade, who have jumped the early levels of the hive with your buddies nearby, we hope you agree that Hive Jump still has a lot to offer Wii U players.

Thanks for hearing me out!

Raithel also shared the following answer, after being asked about the possibility of adding online play to the game via a future update:

And, thanks, everyone, sincerely, for your comments. We’re doing our best to communicate the reasons behind our decisions as clearly as we can – and you will see us online all day answering questions so people know our reasoning.

We know not everyone will agree with the decision, but hopefully they can get a better idea of what we’re facing in making it and understand in some part, that we have to make tough calls.

I can’t answer the ‘future chance’ question right now – we’re laser focused on the initial release and don’t want to give unfair consideration to that question just because were deep in development at the moment.

All in all, even though Hive Jump may not have online co-op on Wii U, Graphite Lab will still be looking to make the Wii U version special in its own way, through features like being able to look at the mini-map on the GamePad or amiibo support.

Aqua Moto Racing Utopia

Zordix has shared a new gameplay video for Aqua Moto Racing Utopia in celebration of GDC 2016. You can find it below:

https://youtu.be/HVJfd8Wa-mY

Sneaky Ninja

Starfall Studios has debuted a new trailer at GDC 2016 for its 2D stealth-platformer Sneaky Ninja. The video unveils several new worlds that players will encounter too. You can watch it below:

The Deer God

Mobot Studios has released an official trailer for The Deer God for Wii U. Take a look at the trailer below:

Mutant Mudds Super Challenge

In celebration of the recent launch of Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, Renegade Kid has created a new promotional video starring the studio’s own Jools Watsham. Check it out below:

RIVE

RIVE was on display at GDC 2016, so GameSpot caught up with Two Tribes for a gameplay demo. You can take a look at the gameplay footage below:

Bird Mania Party

Bird Mania Party hit the European Wii U eShop earlier this month, and the North American one last week. Due to that, we now have a few minutes of footage below, courtesy of NintenDaan.

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