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As I dug into round two of the Indie Scene, I began to realize just how massive each letter can be. Using various resources in my search for some “B” indie games (including recommendations and The Indie Game Database), I found plenty of options across most any genre. The hard part is nailing it down to two or three. But that’s the point of this column: I’m just exploring the world of indie games one letter at a time, but with no other predetermined path. Let’s dig right in, shall we?
B:
Bango (Flash, free)
Loved this one. It’s an easy to pick up and play puzzle-platformer, and it’s just as easy to lose too much time to it. I learned about Bango from Bitmob contributor Aaron Thomas in his Download Lowdown column, and I can see why he gave it high marks: The simple premise — step on every block so that each disappears when you step off it until you clear the screen — keeps you hooked, and the game adds new tricks to keep you going, including blocks that shoot off a bullet when hit or others that start a countdown timer before disappearing.
To me, this is the ideal indie game. A quick and simple time sink. Of course, it has some problems. The momentum could be better (seems my guy stops and plummets far too easily), and the graphics have that love it/hate it appeal. I like the stick figure aesthetic, but hearing the hate people have toward N+’s graphics, I know that’s not a universal appreciation.
Regardless, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be warming up your Web browser to play this one. Hell, it’s even got achievements if you’re into that.
Broken Knuckles (PC, free)
I wanted to love this one…man, did I ever. I consider Streets of Rage 2 to be one of the greatest games of the 16-bit era, and just by the title, this game seems to be calling out toward that classic. (The Streets of Rage games are known as Bare Knuckles in Japan.) But Broken Knuckles is far too raw and rough.
It’s a beat-em-up that hearkens back to brawlers of yore, but it’s just not that good. The hit detection is loose and doesn’t give you any satisfying sense of impact. It has a bland art style devoid of personality. Fact is, brawlers have had an impact on a lot of people of the 16-bit generation, and you can see that in plenty of better free games, such as what you can find here and here.
Ben There, Dan That (PC, free)
This last game, though, is a gem. Ben There, Dan That brings wit and self-referential humor into a genre known for some great writing: the graphical adventure. This mouse-driven tales makes no bones about where its inspiration comes from, either, with posters of great LucasArts adventures (such as Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max) in the guys’ apartment, as well as plenty more references.
I haven’t finished the game yet, but it’s doing a great job of keeping me intrigued. Ben and Dan know they’re in an adventure game, often pointing out things like, “We can pick up anything we want. It’s called putting it in my inventory.”
The puzzles are never too hard, at least not yet, nor have I gotten stuck. Even the tricky ones, like when you need to light some candles in a particular order, make sense if you think about it for a minute. But the charm of the main characters and the absolute silliness of the story (alien invaders, an alternate dimension, gamemaking dinosaurs) would have me sticking through it anyway. Likewise, the backdrops keep changing — from a sadly Americanized British pub to a graveyard and church — and you’re never stuck in one location too long.
And that’s it for this week. Give the above games a try and let me know you agree with my thoughts. And please, leave suggestions in the comments for upcoming columns. I’m loving what I’ve found so far and want to keep that going.