Week two of February brings with it more or less the same as every other week so far of 2021. It’s all getting a little bit boring in real life, and we’ll be forever grateful to video games for giving us a variety of fun things to do in the digital world – all without having to be at risk. Sure, some places are safe enough now, but large parts of the world are still not, so all hail video games for now.
Of course, that also means we’re rushing towards another week full of indie releases. While there might be 20 new games releasing every day over on Steam (it’s just a lot, don’t look), we’re aiming to pick out three that are worthy of your incredibly precious time and money. After all, time is short, and money doesn’t grow on trees.
This week, we’ve got a nice selection of games ranging from a more relaxed, castle-building game to a perplexing one where the medieval ages have been invaded by aliens. It’s a good job we’re talking about games because otherwise, that second one would feel a lot like a stranger conspiracy theory – and we’re really not into that. Anyway, let’s move away from mole people and into some video games, shall we?
Becastled
If you’ve ever wanted to live out your best and most castle-y life, then maybe Becastled is for you. It’s hitting Early Access, which means it’ll develop a lot more as time goes on and your feedback gets incorporated into the game by the wonderful developers. It can feel a little scary to buy into an Early Access game, but so many games are doing it now that it’s shrugged off a lot of the bad vibes that it used to have.
Becastled will have you not only building up your thriving castle town, but also fighting off anyone and anything that wants to try and invade it. It has a very cutesy look, but we suspect the gameplay may end up being a little harder than you might think. Hopefully you can manage to find a balance between form and function, and then you can just keep living it up.
‘Becastled’ is out now for PC.
One Shell Straight To Hell
This game is apparently a spin-off with a well-known character called Father Padre Alexander. That’s his full name, but his friends and his enemies all call him The Padre. His job is not only to be all holy and stuff, but also to hunt down all manner of demons and let them know who’s in charge here. He’s not your traditional priest either, and will be quipping about God throughout the game.
This plays out in a twin-stick roguelike that’ll have you fighting through dungeons using every ridiculous weapon you can find and upgrading yourself as you go thanks to a skill tree. There are even sections where you’ll have to defend a mansion from hordes of enemies by doing some lift tower defence. There’s a lot going on here, and a lot to dive into, but the mix of gameplay, strange setting, and the promise of chaotic action all combine into a very strangely shaped Voltron that we can’t stop looking at.
‘One Shell Straight To Hell’ is out now for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Medievalien
Medievalien is another roguelike, but this time one of the things it’s touting at the forefront of the reasons to pay for it is the fact that it’s story-rich. There was a time when roguelikes and story didn’t mix at all, but that has been slowly changing right up until Hades came out and showed everyone how it was done.
We’ve no idea as to whether or not the story here will be as good as Hades, but it is about a fantasy medieval world that’s being invaded by aliens, and that is interesting if nothing else. While the invading aliens may have the advantage when it comes to technology, you thankfully have the help of a wizard who is willing to give you some power to fight back against the extraterrestrial invaders. It all sounds like a really good set up for a roguelike, and we’re intrigued for sure, but it’s got a lot of other great roguelikes to compete with, so it’ll be interesting to see how this one fares.
‘Medievalien’ is out now for PC.