Free Itch.io Games #23

1. Chasing Birds

See Doggo Run

Chasing Birds is a relaxing little game created by davidczar, where you play as a carefree dog in a park. As a dog, you do what you do best, you bark and run, chasing the local birds. The birds fly away, and will land somewhere else in the park, for endless fun.

The graphics are nice, and the atmosphere is nicely created with the sound of the birds and people in the distance. It’s not a game that you can sit and play for hours, obviously, but it’s still nice for what it is. It was a relaxing few minutes of chasing birds. You can download it free from Itch.io *here* If you need a few moments to relax.

2. Celeste Witch

Like a Storybook!

Celeste Witch is a cute little shoot-em-up being developed by Monnotonne. You play as Celeste, and your girlfriend has been kidnapped by evil forces. So you grab your broom and give chase, off to rescue her!

This game is cute, and I had a lot of fun playing. The only issue I faced was that without any impact sounds when I fire at enemies, I never knew if I was doing damage, and this was particularly frustrating when trying to fight the boss. The same goes for when Celeste is hit. I mean, visually you lose a heart, but there is no impact or audio indicator.

You have a peashooter attack, a spread shot, a heavy mine, and then an orbiting bubble attack (like a shield, sort of). The animations are nice, and smooth, and the music is very nice, the coral level was my favorite I think. The music was relaxing. The art is cute, even the enemies look super adorable.

Overall, I think this game has potential, and I look forward to future updates. Feel free to download it free from Itch.io *here* and give it a try!

3. Trianglution

Evolve and grow

Trianglution is an evolution and survival game created by Reptoid Games. In Trianglution, you play as a triangle shaped lifeform, and your only goal is to collect nutrients, multiply, and evolve into stronger life forms.

I like this game, in theory. I enjoy survival games, and those that involve evolving lifeforms. However, this game has a few points that I couldn’t overwork. The controls really need some work, as it’s extremely hard to try to catch nutrients, and at times, the controls even seemed unresponsive. There is no “You died” or end screen, so I would be dead and in order to restart I would have to completely close the game and reopen.

There are also extinction events in the game, i.e. underwater volcanoes erupt. On the itch.io page it says that these events happen “periodically” but periodically is about every 30 seconds, which doesn’t give you any time to build any type of substantial colony of lifeforms.  This game does need improvements, but it could be worth playing if the game was refined and adjusted. In any case, if you’re so inclined, you can try the game for yourself, free from Itch.io *here*

4. Swords and Shadows

Take that, dastardly skeletons!

Swords and Shadows is a procedurally generated dungeon crawler in the works from 8-bit Ape. The game is currently in pre-alpha but shows a lot of potential as a fun dungeon exploring adventure. The game take inspiration from Zelda and Torchlight. Both are games that I personally enjoy, so I am looking forward to the finished product.

I like the design of the game; the characters are cute and I love the cute skeletons you fight. The controls were smooth and I didn’t have any issues with anything not working properly. I also enjoy when dungeons are procedurally generated, so you can get a unique experience each time. It helps give the game replayability, as well as some extra challenge when needed.

As of my writing this, the developer did just release an update that more content will soon be added to this little prototype, including a new enemy (bats) and villages are in the works also. I’m looking forward to seeing the game develop further. You can download the game to try for yourself free from Itch.io *here*.

Thank you all, once again, for spending some time with me today! Be sure to check out all of the games mentioned, and leave your feedback and encouragement for the developers! See you next time, Jammers!

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