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Indie Game Releases of the Week: 16th to 22nd March 2020

This week in indie games, we have the arcade shoot ’em up Super Bit Blaster XL, the retro-style RPG Pillars of Dust, and more.

Original indie games this week are an almost exclusively PC affair, as consoles content themselves with ports of classic games like La-Mulana 1 & 2. If you’re cooped up by your home computer on account of the coronavirus, then you might just enjoy these picks below, which range from escaping rooms and planning World War II strategy, all the way to fighting in basketball, shooting in space, and fantasy role-playing.

Also be sure to check out our honourable mentions, and the other releases!

Super Bit Blaster XL

16th March on PC, Switch

Super Bit Blaster XL is an arcade shoot ’em up that hearkens back to classic games that would eat up all your coins. It’s described as an evolution of the developer’s past game Bit Blaster, but this version has a co-op mode, a versus mode, better graphics, better controls, and oh, it’s got a ‘super’ in its name, so you know it’s super.

Pillars of Dust

17th March on PC

Pillars of Dust is a retro-style RPG with modern sensibilities. You play as Prince Carlton and the pauper Gregg (you can choose which order to play them in), as they embark on their respective quests. Laden with humour and old-school graphics, Pillars of Dust has snappy combat and no need for grinding at all. Wish we could go back in time and have old RPGs do that too.

Dunk Lords

18th March on PC

Dunk Lords is a two-on-two basketball beat ’em up – because why just play basketball when you play basketball and fight at the same time? The game has 16 characters to choose from and a variety of moves to execute, not to mention equipment and hazards. Seeing as NBA has cancelled the 2020 season, this might make a fine alternative.

Panzer Corps 2

18th March on PC

Panzer Corps 2 is a World War II-themed strategy game published by strategy game veterans Slitherine. The game features deep, turn-based gameplay that lets you control any of the powers involved in World War II. It boasts having the largest collection of authentically modelled World War II vehicles, and apart from a variety of singleplayer scenarios, you can also engage in multiplayer warfare. And yes, you can play by e-mail, too.

Escape First 3

19th March on PC

Escape First 3 is a multiplayer escape room puzzle game, in which you have a choice of three escape rooms to escape from. Apart from trying to get out on your own, you can play in multiplayer both competitive and co-operative. The game even has support for VR headsets (Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and HTC Vive, according to the Steam page), so you can really get into the room.

Honourable Indie Mentions

• Bone Marrow (16th March on PC)
  • Bone Marrow is a hybrid of fantasy role-playing and “2048”-style puzzle games. Like an RPG, you’ve got your gear and you’ve got monsters to vanquish, but to actually play it, you’ll have to do some puzzling and thinking.
• Battle Ram (18th March on PC)
  • Battle Ram is a cute arcade game in which you play as a secretly-engineered ram who must fight robots to pass military tests.
• Silent World (19th March on PC, Switch)
  • Silent World is a post-apocalyptic adventure game in which you must escape from mutants in a demolished city. You only get a match with which to see in the dark, so you’ll have to be careful if you want to survive.
• Plastris (20th March on PC)
  • Plastris is a casual puzzle game in which your goal is to fill up the blocks on the screen. It’s described as a fairly easy experience that won’t tax you too much.
• Night Road (20th March on PC)
  • Night Road is a top-down action-adventure game in which you travel through an overgrown forest as an alchemist. Apart from practising practical alchemy, you must deal with monsters and keep your torch lit to keep out the dark.

Other Indie Releases

16th March

• This Strange Realm Of Mine (Switch)
  • First-person shooter
• Deep Diving Adventures (Switch)
  • Diving simulation
• Chop Is Dish (PS4)
  • 2D action platformer

17th March

• La-Mulana 1 & 2 (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
  • Metroidvania-style action-platformers
• Kamiko (PS4)
  • Top-down action game
• Rainbows, Toilets & Unicorns (PS4)
  • Bullet hell shoot ’em up
• Heroines of Swords & Spells (PC)
  • Japanese-style RPG

18th March

• Explosive Jake (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
  • Arcade bomber game
• Red Death (PS4, Xbox One)
  • Vertical bullet hell shoot ’em up
• Thunder Paw (PS4, Xbox One)
  • 2D action platformer

19th March

• Ittle Dew 2+ (Switch)
  • 3D top-down action-adventure game (think Zelda)
• SeaBed (Switch)
  • Yuri visual novel
• Dezatopia (Switch)
  • Shoot ’em up
• Nerdook Bundle Vol. 1 (Switch)
  • 3 RPGs of different kinds
• Factotum 90 (Switch)
  • Puzzle game
• Ghost Sweeper (Switch)
  • Platformer with action and puzzles
• Beyond Enemy Lines: Essentials (Switch)
  • Tactical military shooter
• Dwarf Shop (PC)
  • Shop simulation RPG
• A Plunge into Darkness (PC)
  • Japanese-style RPG
• Overrun (PC)
  • Top-down shooter

20th March

• Mist Hunter (Switch)
  • Roguelike arena shooter
• Pooplers (Switch)
  • Baby-themed local multiplayer game
• Lust for Darkness: Dawn Edition (Switch)
  • Erotic horror adventure
• Diabolic (Switch)
  • Retro-style hack-and-slash RPG
• Quell Memento (Switch)
  • Puzzle game
• Return to Sender (PC)
  • Roguelike top-down shooter
• Haustoria (PC, Mac)
  • 2D puzzle platformer

Want to know what indie games came out last week? Check out our round-up here!