5 Freeware Indie Games You Should Play: Batch #4

Hello friends! Welcome to week four of my freeware indie blog!

So last week I told you that I might not be able to discuss higher resolution indie games as I wasn't able to play them. This was apparently a lie, as a few days later my friend allowed me to try out Octodad on his computer (details below). So that was nice of him. Hopefully he'll be nice enough to let me try out some other games in the future. I'm still really excited to try Devil's Tuning Fork.

For now, let's continue with this week's indie picks:

depict1 by Kyle Pulver



depict1 is a neat little platformer that you can download on Windows or play in a browser, developed by the same guy who brought you Verge (which I discussed a few weeks back). The game is centered around the theme of deception, but it's a relatively straightforward game that's very easy to get the hang of and shouldn't take too long to beat. You control a hooded character who is in contact with a colleague who provides you with advice and helps you to navigate through the various levels. The game features lovely retro graphics and a haunting soundtrack. It's very clever and entertaining and is definitely a must play for any indie game enthusiast!

Octodad by DePaul University



I finally had the opportunity to play Octodad on my friend's computer, and I'm happy to say that I think it's quite brilliant. I have quite an affinity for cephalopods, so this game immediately attracted my attention. In Octodad, you play as a loving husband and father who is trying to keep his secret octopus identity from his human family. Dressed in a dapper business suit, you must figure out how to control your awkward, boneless limbs and operate them in a manner that won't attract suspicion from your family. The game has you perform various tasks such as cleaning the dishes, playing soccer with your son or putting your daughter to bed, which would seem simple to a human, but are far more difficult to perform with tentacles rather than arms and legs. The controls for the game may seem intimidating at first, but they're actually relatively simple, involving mostly the mouse and the camera control keys. The game features very nice 3D graphics and a soundtrack which is fitting for a quiet, suburban home (I also really enjoy the song used during the credits). The game is quite hilarious and original, with its witty dialogue, humorous cutscenes, squelching/gurgling sound effects and awkward controls. A must play for any cephalopod fan or anyone looking for a short, fun, hilarious game!

Mighty Jill Off by dessgeega



Mighty Jill Off is a challenging little platformer inspired by Mighty Bomb Jack (get it? Mighty Bomb Jill? Wait...) The game centers around a masochistic lesbian boot-fetishist named Jill on her quest to scale a large and deadly tower to reach her beautiful queen. Jill is a particularly talented jumper and can jump quite high, although you can't control the height of her jumps. Jill also has the ability to glide by continually tapping the jump button. You must use Jill's jumping and gliding abilities to navigate the various tower obstacles, including spikes, fire and spiders. The game features retro graphics as well as very beautiful artistic pieces used for the intro and ending of the game. Mighty Jill Off is a very interesting game due to the themes it explores. The BDSM themes can be found to influence not only the characters and story, but even the gameplay itself as Jill is repeatedly injured on her way up the tower but keeps on going without hesitation. It's a refreshing departure from the characters and themes that you usually find inhabiting video games.

Viriax by locomalito



Another game from my favorite indie developer, Locomalito (I introduced you to 8Bit Killer last week). Viriax is his most recent game. It's an arcade-style game where you control a virus on its quest to infect various parts of a human body. You have to travel vertically through randomly generated levels, defeating enemies and four bosses to reach the organ core and infect the entire organ. The thing is, with each movement you make you lose a little bit of health, which can be recovered by collecting red blood cells scattered throughout the level. There are also various power-ups and bonuses that you can find which will help you on your journey, such as a magnet to attract red blood cells, a super jump, an escort which deflects enemy attacks, etc. You can only have one power-up in effect at a time, and they disappear if you get attacked three times, so you have to decide which power-ups you'll want to take and which ones you'll want to leave behind. Planning is required to decide when you should stop and take a breather and when you should proceed through the level. There are six different levels of varying difficulties to play, starting with the heart and the lungs. Earning a large amount of points on a level will unlock more levels, and beating a level will unlock a bonus power-up which will permanently affect your virus. The game features retro graphics, a wonderfully creepy soundtrack and very simple controls (you only need to use the arrow keys). It's very addicting thanks to the randomly generated levels, and takes a bit of practice to master. I still haven't beaten the last three levels, but one day victory shall be mine. I will fully infect this human body!

Beacon by Chevy Ray Johnston



In Beacon, you play as a boy who awakens to find himself in a pitch black cavern. Suddenly, a beacon of light appears and begins to guide you through the cave. It's a relatively simple platformer in which you must jump and climb to traverse the various rooms of the cavern and keep up with the beacon of light. If you fall behind, you will be left in the darkness to die. The game is all about atmosphere, as you come across potentially hostile shadowy creatures and dangerous obstacles in a mostly dark and rather claustrophobic cavern. The game features very beautiful retro graphics and very eerie sound effects. I'm not a huge fan of the poetic dialogue and all of the various game over messages however, as they began to sound a bit too emo for my tastes. If you don't mind the poetry though, the rest of the game is really quite good. I particularly enjoyed the ending as well, it was quite a surprise!

And this ends week number four of my freeware indie blog! Hope you guys are enjoying it so far!