ISSUE #45

Cover - @supervi0lent

Hello and welcome to Indiepocalypse!

Indiepocalypse is a curated monthly collection looking to highlight the very best of the alternative indie game scene. 

Each month features games by 10 different developers, including a newly commissioned game exclusive to the bundle-zine. The games cover a wide variety of styles, genres, and themes as they fight against any definition of "indie game" as a genre.

Also, and this part is very important to me and should truly be taken as given, each contributor is paid and developers are paid royalties on all future sales.

This Month's Games

Gunborg: Dark Matters (WIN) by Rickard Paulsson - Developer, Cato Hoeben - Composer

An arcade-style, twin-stick platformer with smooth gameplay and a slick 80s synthwave soundtrack.

UNEARTH (WIN/MAC) by Cryptomnesic

Dig deep for the bones of your creators, and ask their machines to release you from eternal life. Mine the deep past for the richest sources of meaning. Memory gives you strength. Do not let the machines cause you to forget. Forgetting is slavery. Remember and they cannot win!

Shades of Lemmings/Bomberman/Dig Dug in a 1-bit experience made by an old person.

The Visionary (WIN/MAC) by Alex Blechman, Jamie Brew, Mike Gillis, Dave Kornfeld, David McQuary

You are an innovative thought leader in the tech sector. Run a boardroom meeting by stealing as many of your employees' ideas as possible while managing suspicion. And remember, this company would be nothing without you.

The Cat's Garden (WIN) by Ofek Neumann

A small idle gardening game meant to be played while doing other things on your computer.

Build stuff, destroy stuff and plant stuff.

Aura's Room (WIN/MAC/Linux) by Merridot

A bitsy game about a parasocial relationship, about being lonely, and about a girl in her room.

Chestnut Grove (WIN/Linux) by Philip Drobar

CHESTNUT GROVE is a short first-person experience, created to document the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic through a personal lens. This game is a short walking simulator with some light puzzles and can usually be completed within 30 minutes.

It's the first game project by Philip Drobar. Version 1.0 was released on August 31st, 2020 on the Itch.io Game Platform. An updated version on of the game was released on Steam on January 23rd, 2023.

Features

    A short first-person experience portraying life during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

    A focus on atmosphere and mood.

    All documents featured within the game are authentic and taken from real-life

    Light puzzles and environmental interactions.

Cycle Chaser H-5 (WIN) by PD_CGT

Mysterious aliens have occupied a scorched Earth. A lone pilot seizes the skies. What is it they're after?

Cycle Chaser H-5 is a horizontal arcade-style shoot-em-up. Burn through waves of impenetrable foes with a sleek arsenal of weapons. Defeat foes to harvest their energy, then activate the powerful 'Super Tatsujin' system for maximum power and defense!

 A Friend In Need (Gameboy) by gorzylla

"A Friend In Need" is a 5 min story-driven thriller made for the gameboy where every choice you make, matters! Play a character down on their luck, who is paid a visit by a long lost friend with a secret. When shadowy forces show up, who will you trust? The choices you make will determine not only your friend's fate, but yours.

This game features:

* 30 unique scenes rendered in nostalgic 8 bit pixel art

* 9 endings based on your choices

* Music by Victor Valdez

* Original story & art by Clarabelle Chong

Eldritch Arena (WIN) by Spell Loop

"In alien dimensions, Elder Beings bide their time until they can rise again and reclaim their dominion. Until then, they lie and wait, playing a morbid game, gambling souls, testing each other's abilities."

Eldritch Arena is a 8-bit single player strategy game inspired by Dota Auto Chess.

*NEWLY COMMISSIONED FOR INDIEPOCALYPSE*

HAOxSORA =THE SKY'S ABOUND= (WIN) by SKY HOUR WORKS - Soundtrack

From the creators of SPACE / MECH / PILOT, Z's Room, and RE: DECEIVED VOICE comes a new take on endless runner action! Ride beyond imagination in HAOxSORA =THE SKY'S ABOUND=, the first action title in the PROJECT NATURA series. Ride as a hero out of their time and into the future of Natura, chasing down a old villain with unimaginable speed.

CHANGE THE BOARD - Equip a garage of hoverboards to store between runs and apply to different situations.  CHASE THE WORLD - Risk it all and choose when to end your run - either preserving your boards or bailing for a hell of a finish

*BONUS*Electric Zine Maker (WIN/MAC) by alienmelon

Launcher Courtesy of MM Bundle Launcher

Indiepocalypse zine contents

COMICS

where am i really though? by Sam Pender

Features
Top 10 Indiepocalypse Comedy Picks by Mike Gillis

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(interested in these games by find the price too high or just unappealing? follow the link's to each dev's page where the games are often cheaper (if not free). while it's nice when people get paid, the games being played is the most important part (you can also just pay individual dev if you want and should))