2021 Competition Entrants

by Darjeeling
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Website

Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective is a 2D puzzle video game in which you play Pierre, an eminent Maze detective. You will have to find your way through the immense labyrinths of Opera City to catch Mr. X, an infamous thief who stole the Maze Stone. ​Take a trip through a fantastic world of amazing cities, tree-top towns and haunted houses. During your adventure, you can explore each level to find all the collectibles, solve the mini-games, and talk to all the characters to discover their story. Designed to be played by the whole family, find your way through each maze, spot the clues, and solve the extra mystery challenges along the way.

The story of Labyrinth City begins one day when Noam is with his 2 children in a store and one of his boys finds a book : Pierre the Maze detective and decides to buy it. Funny fact to know is that Noam's girlfriend owns a bookstore and it is more than rare that they buy books!
They come back home, the 3 of them settle down with the book and start playing all together during 3 hours ! And it is at this moment that Noam calls Marc and tells him that it is absolutely necessary to make a game for the family.

by DigiTales Interactive
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A murder. A hack. A bombing. All it takes to plunge the solar system into war – unless you do something about it. Help CDI agent Neil Conrad make a string of increasingly difficult decisions in this modern dialog-driven adventure set in a gorgeous 2D sci-fi noir universe.

You are Neil Conrad, CDI agent. Awoken by the news of a murder, you rush into a case that will soon turn your life and the whole solar system upside down. Ask questions, collect evidence, and put the pieces together until the ugly truth reveals itself... or not.

by Obscure Tales
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Lamentum is a pixel art survival horror game, set in New England in the mid-nineteenth century.

Guide Victor Hartwell, a young aristocrat on a desperate journey to cure the deadly disease that afflicts his beloved wife, Alissa. Their last hope resides in the darkened halls of Grau Hill Mansion whose Earl has uncovered ancient secrets and forgotten sciences.

by Bloom Digital Media
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Introducing Later Daters, a hilarious and sentimental visual novel-style dating sim game. Play as an octogenarian and find somebody to love so you don't die alone, or just get your kicks in while the getting is good. You're the newest resident at Ye OLDE retirement community, where you'll meet a cast of sexy seniors who are all dying (not literally) to meet you. It's a lot like summer camp, but with orthopedic shoes, bridge clubs, and more jell-o. It's an adjustment as you settle in, but who knows: maybe these will turn out to be the best years of your life!

It's a story about accepting life's fragile nature and choosing to live boldly regardless. And, most importantly, that it's never too late for love.

by Christopher Cinq-Mars Jarvis with Cinq-Mars Media
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Lazy Chess: Fewer Moves. More Fun! Lazy Chess is a free game for iOS and Android created for the diffident chess enthusiast. On average, there are more than 30 legal chess moves available to a player in a turn, creating vigintillions of possibilities throughout a game. Lazy Chess compresses that by offering the best 2, 3 or 4 moves to choose in each turn. What's the catch? You won't know which move is the best!

The world's most sophisticated chess engine, Stockfish, analyzes your strategy. Stockfish consistently triumphs over many of the world's best players--human and AI. The moves provided in Lazy Chess can always win the match, but how strong are your decisions?

The board plays as a real chess game would while limiting your selections. In any turn, your options may allow you to defend, progress, capture, or even use special rules such as castling. New to playing chess? You will learn creative moves. Consider yourself a contender? See how you rate against a world-class neural network!

Compete against an AI opponent, online with strangers or friends, or through local pass and play.

Lazy Chess is open source and available on GitHub. It was developed by Cinq-Mars Media, an educational non-profit with projects and games featured at E3, PAX and festivals worldwide.

by Goblinz Studio
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Legend of Keepers is the perfect mix between Dungeon Management and Roguelite. You have been hired as a dungeon master by the Dungeons Company. Your job is simple: protect their dungeons!

by Arya Bakhsheshi
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In the middle of a lonely night, the man remembers home...

Letters To The Metro is a psychological stairway to the past. A short narrative-driven retro-style exploration game with few puzzles and old-school fixed camera.

by Butterscotch Shenanigans
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Build the level of your dreams and other people's nightmares in this award-winning platformer maker. Levehead is available on just about everything and with crossplatforminess your progress follows you wherever you go, even across devices and platforms.

Build incredible levels. Flex your creativity with more than 100 items, customizable objects, and a programmable switch system. Build a classic side-scrolling platformer, a metroidvania, or even a calculator!

Play the campaign. Take control of GR-18, a delivery robot in-training, as you run, jump, and blast your way across 90+ challenging, hand-designed Training Levels. Play with up to three of your friends on the same couch for downright hilarious entertainment.

Gain a following. Publish your level for the entire world (no matter the platform!) and watch your playtime, attempts, and followers stack up. With robust search and curation, and no platform limits, Levelhead makes it a breeze to collect followers and play endless user-generated content from around the globe.

Your Levels, Played! The Marketing Department lets you push your levels to the top of the charts just by playing the game, so you don't have to already be famous to get your levels played!

by Zuurix
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Light of the Locked World is a fantasy role-playing game.

Enter a developing world of Kayos, try to start a new life, and become entangled in a fight against an existential threat.

Planned features:

Open and atmospheric world:
Freely roam in a world with lively settlements, vast meadows, desolate deserts, and treacherous ruins.

Capable characters:
Interact with the world's inhabitants that can help and fight each other, gain experience, take and equip items, belong to factions.

Persistence:
Characters and environment are persistent, the results of your actions are preserved indefinitely.

Intense combat:
Conquer the lawless lands with the game's real-time combat system - wield magic and medieval weapons, perform and dodge punishing attacks.

Become powerful:
Equip your character with weapons and armor, master combat and crafting by leveling classes, earn faction respect, learn spells.

Play together:
The game has local multiplayer support for two players - cooperate to overcome challenges or compete for territory and resources.

by Tunnel Vision Games
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Lightmatter is a singleplayer story-based puzzle game in which shadows kill you. Think "the floor is lava" but with shadows that kill you. Starring David Bateson as Virgil, the game tells a sci-fi story about an eccentric inventor and the consequences of his ambition.

Lightmatter is an homage to first-person puzzlers with focus on the "aha" moment - think smarter, not harder!

by Robin Van de Vyvere, Mikail Karaca, Thorvald Mortele, Koen Laureys
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Lights Out! is a 4-player action game in which 1 person randomly gets "the lit ghost" assigned to him. This ghost has a light above him and his goal is to not have it, thus by giving it to one of the other 3 ghosts. If the lit ghost does not manage to give away his light in time, he dies, and the game continues with the remaining players until 1 player survives. The maps are interactive which means the player can make things move on the map and power ups are also randomly spawning on the whole map.

by Russell Quinn / False Vacuum Games
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Linda & Joan is a narrative game about a British family. You play as Russell, Linda, and Joan — son, mother, and grandmother — switching between them to help the family cope with a series of traumatic events. Based on a true story. "Four Months Earlier" is part one of the Linda & Joan story.

Linda is visiting Russell in Los Angeles, where he now lives. We join them halfway up a hiking trail. You must walk them to the top. Linda is using a stick and is unable to move as quickly as Russell. Keep them within earshot and they'll chat about Linda's visit and the past, while trying to find the right time to bring up what's weighing on their minds.

There are multiple endings based on the choices you make — one of which involves Joan, who is at home in Hereford, UK. Play in Normal Mode (walk Russell, Linda follows) then try Challenging Mode (walk both Russell and Linda).

"Four Months Earlier" is a free, standalone experience. It will take 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

by 1986 CL3
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Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bezpalov, and Boris Baranov. These three men undertook a selfless mission to drain water trapped beneath the Chernobyl nuclear reactors in the immediate aftermath of the blast, and "Liquidators" is the only game that lets players experience how they managed to contain this catastrophe. Based on true events, this first-person, survival horror experience will have you traverse the radioactive bowels of the blast site, carefully orienting your every step based on the readings of your Geiger counter. Each liquidator has their own set of skills, from stamina to crawling in vents, that gives players a variety of ways to approach the hazardous challenges between them and the valves that will drain excess water destabilizing the reactor core. Whether they all make it out, or more importantly, succeed at all, is in your hands.

Liquidators started as a USC master's thesis project in 2019, with an interactive demo completed in just 2 days by a single student. It put the player in control of a single Chernobyl liquidator exploring a section of the destroyed reactor. After struggling to garner any external funding, it caught the attention of a few passionate students who wanted to see the demo flushed out to its full potential. The goal was clear from the very beginning: to create the most intense, edge-of-your-seat gameplay through systems such as permanence and unpredictability. After a few months of development, a playable demo of one section was released. The team was determined to make a complete experience, and after a few more months, the game was released on Steam, for free, to overwhelmingly positive reception. An Xbox port is currently being worked on.

This project is dedicated to all the liquidators, first responders, and support units that responded to the Chernobyl disaster. Through interactivity, people have a fresh way to experience the danger and horrors of their mission firsthand, with this being only one of many. It is our goal to raise awareness for the people that contained the fallout, which is why we have decided to go uncredited in the game. The focus of our game is squarely on them and the organizations that support those affected by this tragic moment in history. One such charity (who we independently chose to highlight) is Chernobyl Children International, who provides ongoing access to medical services and community support for children affected by the blast. We ask that players donate to this cause and others like it in lieu of paying for the game.

by Adam D. Smith
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Venture through the depths and collect treasure in Lost Caves! After a mine collapse leaves him trapped underground, Michael Miner must find his way back to the surface! And it seems like the key to getting out, is getting rich...
Spelunk through four free-roam, exploratory levels and amass your wealth from the treasures that lay within the ruins in these caves! The wealthier you become, the further you can delve into the caves and hopefully find a way out! But be careful, you are surely not alone down here, and you are certainly not welcome...

by Gripping Tales Games
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As the Cruz family engages in horrible activities with the Norzanian aliens, they figured that they could steal all of the powerful Falserium on the planet of Terra. They were wrongly mistaken. Choose to fight along side the traitorous Cruz family, or the Stone family. These royal families have ruled their half of Terra for years until now. A war has broken out, Terra needs you to search the galaxy for more Falserium. This special and rare resource could rebuild a whole planet, and is useful for unlimited energy.

by Sketchbook Games
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Lost Words: Beyond The Page is the moving depiction of a young girl's struggle to deal with one of the hardest challenges life can throw at us. It is written by renowned games writer, Rhianna Pratchett.

The game is set in the pages of a diary and sees players using words to solve puzzles based on their meaning as well as using them to make choices that help shape the narrative.

The story is about a young girl named Izzy who is aspiring to be a writer, but when her gran becomes very ill, Izzy starts to use the fantasy world of Estoria that she's writing about as a means of coping with the issues she's going through in the real world.

by Rocketship Park
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Every life has a story. Every story has regret. But what if you could change the past? LOVE is a puzzle game about finding the things we've lost in ourselves and the people who help us find them.

LOVE is an experiment in storytelling that combines the rich experience of a diorama with puzzles inspired by point-and-click adventures. LOVE creates opportunities for empathy and reflection, as well as moments of classic head-scratching puzzle goodness.

by Aidin Zolghadr, Shaghayegh Kamyar, James Evans, polygitsune
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A game about shyness! We've tried mixing platformers with super old school text adventures.

by AkabaStudio
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Do you know what love is? This game is trying to give our answer. This game encourages people to have a sensitive and gentle heart. Enjoy!

LoveChoice is an interactive visual novel, which we try very hard to make every choice in our stories will be meaningful and reasonable. Every choice can make a difference in this game and leads to different endings.

by Chaos Minds
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In Luciform, a family of mythical creatures has been captured by the Red-Eyed Gorilla. To regain their freedom, they pool their energy together to summon Luci – the one individual who can rescue them. Thanks to a unique gift, Luci has the ability to change colors at will!

The game demands quick reflexes and nerves of steel. Timing jumps with the utmost precision is a must; the alternative is ... not pretty. Those who've mastered Super Meat Boy and Celeste will find themselves right at home.

-Play as Luci, a powerful mythical creature with the ability to change colors at will.
-Traverse the world while avoiding hazards and deadly falls.
-Time each jump carefully … because you can never slow down!
-You can only interact with the same colored platforms – so choose wisely.
-Enjoy easy, straightforward controls.

by Zwinzler Games
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Make Ends Meet is a mobile puzzle game set in the Roaring 20s — complete with smooth jazz, sleazy businessmen, and predatory capitalism! Draw your rope around different circles to collect all the colors you need to make it to the next level ⁠— but be careful, you only have so much rope!

Save up extra color for tough times ahead, or take out loans for extra rope to help when things look bleak. You might have to pay back interest, but don't worry — that shouldn't be too hard, should it?

by InnerspaceVR
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Maskmaker is the follow-up title from Paris-based InnerspaceVR, the award-winning VR creation studio behind the mind-bending escape game A Fisherman's Tale. Maskmaker transports players into a magical mask workshop to meet Prospero, the maskmaker who tasks them to solve the ultimate mystery behind his masks. Players will learn the magic of crafting masks to immerse themselves in the intriguing enigmatic beings within the game. From mask-to-mask and puzzle-to-puzzle, players will make their way through the "mask realm" to seek Prospero and ultimately unravel the secret of his identity.

by Aesth
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Surrealist point-and-click adventure game with some word play, a whole lot of escapism, a dab of humor, and a dollop of existential dread.

by Team Midautumn
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Robin Lam, a directionless college grad, has resorted to crashing in their grandmother's attic and running errands around their hometown of Nambo Quay, California. In this town, scoring a paycheck can range between blasting demons with Grandmother's dusty magic staff, and warding off attempts to gentrify the area.

Luxury condos, health-food stores, trendy bars--an influx of hip, wealthy urbanites and businesses are determined to make the historic asian town the new place-to-be.

As midautumn approaches and the spirit world's boundary grows thin, a dark ritual is befalling the town. Robin and the townsfolk must band together and together, unearth the mysteries of their ancestors, and protect the magic of their home.

by Lorenzo Redaelli / EYEGUYS
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A visual novel about an abusive relationship, idealization, and intimacy.

Live a summer of dysfunctional love through branching storylines, twists, sudden changes, and a special mechanic where you choose which senses to use with your boyfriend. In these moments, you will learn about him, his personality, and his past, making you question everything.

Milky Way Prince is entirely designed, programmed, illustrated, and scored by a very young author, Lorenzo Redaelli. The story itself is partially autobiographical.

"During my experience with a borderline partner, I thought that falling in love with him was like becoming part of a binary star system. It's the rarest, most precious thing in the universe – but the closer they get the more unstable they become. My idea was to create an immersive experience where the player is asked to try to understand the dynamics of this unusual relationship. The character you interact with adapts their behavior to yours – using academic terminology, they could set up "rage tests", "love bombing", or otherwise guilt trip you. The plot's branching storyline is guided by variables such as "submission" and "interest" that fluctuate at each interaction."

- Semi-autobiographical dark romance story
- Branching narrative paths with multiple endings
- Intimate new sensory gameplay system
- Character art inspired by Suehiro Maruo and Masaaki Yuasa
- 3D environments influenced by the stage design of Robert Wilson
- 30+ minutes of baroque electropop original soundtrack

by Studio Fizbin
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Minute of Islands is an art- and story-driven puzzle platformer, that turns the classic hero's journey on its head.

Explore strange and wonderful islands and the dark labyrinths below. Guide young mechanic Mo on her quest to repair a world on the brink of collapse. But, even with the powerful Omni Switch at her disposal, Mo may not have enough to fix the damage hidden beneath the surface ...

by Company: Mirari Games
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Mirages of Winter is an adventure game about the passing of winter to spring and the link between man and nature.

The story follows a fisherman living on an island during winter; living a simple life together with nature. By following the fisherman's footsteps, the player will uncover the hidden beauty of winter.

Mirages of Winter is a poetic journey through a mysterious island. After exploring beautiful sceneries, mesmerizing puzzles must be solved. The player will bring out the elemental essences of the world and use them to open new paths towards spring.

by davemakes
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Mixolumia is an entrancing musical puzzler where diamond blocks slide together on a gem-shaped board and explode in glittering chain reactions. A dynamic soundtrack responds and evolves as you play, with included tracks by davemakes and Josie Brechner (composer for Blossom Tales and MEATPUNKS). The game also features an open music system that has cultivated a wide range of unique community-made soundpacks. In addition, Mixolumia's color scheme can be customized from a selection of nearly fifty included palettes, or from your own imagination. Fans have shared dozens of their own color palettes in the community Discord.

Whether you want to chill out, or challenge yourself to intense, strategic gameplay, Mixolumia has a game mode to suit your mood. To be as accessible as possible, there are settings to adjust or turn off all of its effects individually depending on the player's needs.

by TM23
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Momentum is a fast-paced racing game in a retro 80's neon style.
Race against your friends in this easy to learn, hard to master couch co-op racing game, where you control your hover car around a gravity defying, twisting and turning racetrack.
Use your hover car's grapple hook to swing yourself around corners at full speed, take shortcuts and make various other maneuvers. Just make sure you detach on time!
For some extra speed, collect the various momentum charges found all over the track, to enable your boost to overtake your friends!

by Optillusion
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Moncage is a stunning visual puzzle adventure where the player explores the worlds trapped in a strange cube. Each face of the cube is a window into a different scene and each shares connections with the others. The connections can be linked via all kinds of optical illusions. The player will need to find the illusions to solve the puzzles and unravel the secrets behind the cube.

by Steven Denisevicz
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Mono No Aware is an intense, single-player, mature-themed, narrative-driven, RPG where players go on a journey of self-discovery to escape from the depths of an anxiety-riddled dungeon. Players take control of June as she is transported to a world where all of her anxiety has come to life. To escape this dark dungeon, players must rewire June's brain by fixing panels scattered throughout the world, each representing a painful thought or memory. Acted out as a small play by the game's over-the-top characters, these interstitials let players get a glimpse into June's mindset, telling the story of her traumatic past. The challenge of these panels is simple, guide a block through a maze, but there's a catch! Players can't choose when they move, only in what direction, causing gameplay that is chaotic and addictively challenging.

To make panels easier, players can level up by defeating 'panic' enemies throughout the dungeon in turn-based RPG combat. Here, players must use mental health strategies they've learned previously to attack and manage the player's anxiety level. Creatures can either attack the player or raise their anxiety, leaving the player weak, vulnerable, and forced to make risky decisions to survive. June and the player's journey through Mono No Aware is a coming-of-age story that challenges the player to overcome anxiety through gameplay and come out the other side better understanding themselves and others.

by Stelex Software
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Monorail Stories is a minimalistic adventure game that is more about choices and interactions than mind-bending puzzles. Ordinary people in extraordinary, everyday stories about commuting, human relations and destiny waiting to be told.

Follow Silvie, from the city of M, and Ahmal, from the city of L, as they go about their daily commute. They ride on the same monorail but at different times of the day, and going in opposite directions. They don't know it, but they're sharing the same story and their choices will affect each other.

Please get on board, enjoy this unique world and try to discover all the possible endings.

Features
- A Monorail!
- Two playable characters
- Multiple endings
- Asynchronous multiplayer mode (local/online/Twitch)
- Endless story mode
- A unique cast of travelers and their stories (Talk to other commuters, or not. The choice is up to you!)
- A deep and suggestive world
- Charming pixel-art graphics
- A groovy indie soundtrack
- Lots of cats
- A Monorail! (did we already say it?)

by The Sixth Hammer LTD
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Moo Lander is a unique blend of platforming, puzzle solving and resource management. All of this – presented in great 2D graphics, memorable environments, interesting level design and challenging combat. Your hero is operating the last viable technology of his dying civilization. His mission – gather enough of the precious milk resource in order to save the Landers' home world. This is no easy task, as the milk is guarded by the ancient might Cows of old. Each level has its own Cow guardian with different amount (and kind) of milk. You must go through treacherous terrain and all kinds of hostile flora and fauna, found throughout this terrain. Coupled with smart puzzle solving, environmental hazards and obstacles, Moo Lander provides a mash-up of gaming experience. Adding a multiplayer couch co-op with the option of playing as the cows defines the game as a family friendly, living room game.

by Hidden Fields
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Mundaun, a lovingly hand-penciled horror tale, is the first full-length title from Hidden Fields, a one-man studio founded by Swiss programmer and illustrator Michel Ziegler. Every character, scene and even environmental textures in the game are hand-penciled. Inspired by the dark, mythical folklore of the Swiss Alps, Ziegler sketches out the story of a young man who travels to Mundaun to face off with the malevolent entity that resides there and uncover the mystery of his grandfather's death. Throughout their journey across Mundaun, players will solve intricate puzzles to uncover the town's secrets, while avoiding sinister characters that trigger the game's fear system, a "cause-and-effect" feature which disorients players when facing dangerous situations.

by Mythifood team
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Chef Pierre and his assistant Alain are cooks in a very sought-after tavern deep within a mythical forest. Together they are tasked with the difficult mission to provide their customers with the wildest and freshest meal they can procure. To produce the meals the dynamic duo must venture out into the dangerous wilderness to chase, battle and search for the magical foodstuffs that have sprung to life. The fact that they are now alive, does not make them any less delicious. The two brave cooks are the only ones with the skill and knowledge to collect the ingredients to make the finest dishes on the continent.

by Hyper Games
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Test your skills and unlock the secrets of a dark world with fatal shadows in Mørkredd. Mørkredd is an innovative co-op puzzler, developed by Hyper Games and published by Aspyr.

In Mørkredd, the Orb always calls for two. This means in single-player you must master the controls of two characters simultaneously, or grab a friend for 2-player couch co-op.

by Fishing Cactus
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Nanotale - Typing Chronicles is an atmospheric typing adventure RPG set in a colorful vibrant world. Follow Rosalind, a novice Archivist, as she journeys out to explore a distant world. On her quest to gather knowledge, she collects samples of mystic natural beauties. Everything is peaceful. War is a thing of the distant past.

In the shadows, a tale of dissonant magic is spreading, instilling corruption into broken hearts.

by Route 59
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Necrobarista is a 3D visual novel about a back-alley cafe where the dead are granted one last night to mingle with the living. Necrobarista follows a dynamic and diverse cast of characters as they navigate Melbourne's hipstery coffee culture, the questionable ethics of necromancy, and the process of letting go.

by Toge Productions
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Become one of several distinct commanders, each with their own starting decks and new units. As you progress you will add powerful new units and spell cards and discover synergies that make you more deadly. or remove them to focus your deck.

Deploy your units into the right lanes to face down the forces of the living and conquer their castles. Cast powerful spells to destroy your foes or buff your troops. Don't take too long, though: the enemy's reinforcements are coming!

Necronator: Dead Wrong is a deck-building card game combined with a roguelite micro-RTS: add and remove units & spells to your deck to make powerful synergies. Your deck will evolve as you progress through the single-player campaign, encountering comedic events and challenging battles. No two campaign runs are the same, making Necronator: Dead Wrong endlessly replayable.

by Ben Thomas
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Nectar of the Gods is an unquenchable head-to-head real-time strategy / tower defense game where bugs battle over the finest beverages. You must strategically deploy a chosen bug family, nimbly navigate the countertop, and claim liquid nirvana!

In Nectar of the Gods you will embody Beetle Brigade, The Hive, and Spidey Party. Each bug family has 8 unique bugs with special abilities and quirks. Examples include a Rhino Beetle that propels fellow beetles forward with it's mighty stampede. And a Queen Bee that boosts your team's resources by producing precious royal jelly. All of the bugs have sampled the sweet sweet nectar of the drink industry and are counting on you to coordinate a winning drink against any bugs standing in your way. In order to deliver this bubbly bliss, you will need to maximize every bug's contribution, while squashing anything your opponent or the countertop can throw at you.

by Chance Agency
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Neo Cab is a narrative-driven, cyberpunk visual novel / emotional survival game. It's a branching story about finding human connection and purpose in world overcome by automation. 
 
You play as Lina, the last human cab driver. It's your very first night driving on the neon drenched streets of Los Ojos, California, and your best friend Savy has just disappeared.
 
Is Savy in grave danger... or just the flakiest friend ever? Whatever's going on, you need to find a place to crash, some cash to cover it, and some answers.
 
Your only leads are the diverse cast of passengers you choose to pick up. Each of them has a story to tell, but getting them to open up won't be easy. The anarchist punks treat you like the plague, and the techie scum act like you don't exist. You'll have to choose your passengers— and your words— wisely. If you can balance honesty, empathy, and your own emotional health, you might just earn their trust... and learn their secrets.
 
Most importantly, remember that Neo Cab drivers unable to maintain a perfect 5 star rating will be deactivated. Can you survive late-stage capitalism long enough to find your friend?
 
STAY ON THE ROAD. STAY ON THE SEARCH. STAY HUMAN.

by Rocket Juice Games Studio
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Neon Tail is an open world roller skating game where you follow a young girl's adventures and save the streets of Bluepulse City from alien invasion.
She will meet many colorful characters and explore many fantastic locations of the city, from its various districts (shopping, business, residential etc) to its subways and sewers, to the unknown planes of existence.

by Alpheratz*
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To regain the light of the village, the girl goes on an adventure. Monsters hiding in the dark are appeared by the light of a shining butterfly. Jump, knock down monsters, solve puzzles using light and shadow, and make a path and go on an adventure to the tower.

by Salem Hughes
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Experience a tragedy through the eyes of a infant in Night Dreams. A game that features minimal interactivity and a editing style that keeps jumping forward in time. The end result is an often jarring and intense depiction of a broken home.

by Lena NW & Costcodreamgurl
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Nightmare Temptation Academy is a dating-simulation/choose your own adventure/roleplaying game and rap musical. The game is set in high school in an alternate universe at the end of the world. Visual tropes from anime, videogames and early 2000's digital culture are referenced and remixed to evoke nostalgia and further allegorize the uniquely Millennial adolescent experience of apathy, desensitization, and confusion caused by first-generation internet addiction and media oversaturation. A binary dialogue decision-making gameplay expresses the protagonist's struggles with intrusive thoughts and managing impulsivity. This character-driven gameplay also explores group dynamics, relationships, morality, sexuality, consent, and manipulation. The soundtrack is original, written and performed by the developer Lena NW.

The last five half-human half-animals alive (the dominant sentient species) all go to high school together. This nameless high school is ruled by a machine; the purpose of the machine is unknown, as its creators and relevance of the machine to a larger civilization have been obliterated long ago. In fact, this high school rests on the verge of total annihilation surrounded by the endless abyss of oblivion. The machine glitches as it deteriorates. Despite the complete futility of living on; the students are forced to continue attending high school because they are brainwashed and sedated by the machine. The students are unable to fully grasp their circumstances, having no context for where they are in time or space, so they continue to enact the trifling social interactions typical of high schoolers.

You (the player/protagonist) are a depressed, anxious, suicidal, alienated 14-year-old girl. You were spawned from a post-mordial goop; the spirits, the debris, the carcasses, the residue of all that once was. The ghostly spirits that reared you, raped you in the process of creating you. You live your life carrying the weight of the trauma that is your entire existence; intrusive thoughts and impulses are ghosts that possess you. Your behavior and the relationships you form with characters as the collective crisis point culminates is up to you (unless of course... you sell your soul).

Nightmare Temptation Academy received the "Night Games" award when it previewed at IndieCade 2019, and won the "Most Amazing" award at A MAZE. Festival 2020.

Warning: Occasional flashing/strobing images

Content Warning: graphic cartoon depictions of violence, sex, self-harm, mental illness, drug abuse, & animal cruelty, for mature audiences 18+.

by Why Not Games
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Syphilisation is a post-colonial 4X game built to eXplore the idea of what a 4X can be when built from a foundation that doesn't assume nationalism and imperialism. The winner-take-all ethos of current 4X games is unrealistic and by building a game with a different perspective, I hope to open up new space in what these games can say.

In this game, you play as a student doing a group report to highlight how we expect people to be more ethical than nations. You write about Gandhi, Churchill and the Raj so that you can understand the weight of the decisions and the complexity of the people. This is a game that wants you to think about what 4Xs are and what they can be.

by Stray Fawn Studio
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Command the Nimbatus and craft drones out of hundreds of different parts. Survive unknown threats in a fully destructible, procedural universe, compete against other players in different arenas or enjoy complete creative freedom in the sandbox.

by Humble Grove
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How do you say goodbye to a place? No Longer Home is a game about letting go of the life you've built due to circumstances beyond your control. Immerse yourself in the lives of Bo and Ao and learn about their dreams, frustrations, and fears. Welcome the magic of the everyday and somewhat extraordinary.

by Metronomik
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No Straight Roads is an action-adventure game that puts music and sound at the heart of the action. Playing as Mayday and Zuke, two members of the indie rock band Bunk Bed Junction, players must fight back against the NSR mega corporation, an EDM label that has taken control of Vinyl City and banned all other types of music. Explore Vinyl City's eclectic districts and use music to transform objects into weapons, face colossal bosses and change the world!

by Hoochoo Game Studios
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No Umbrellas Allowed is a pawnshop simulation game set in Ajik City, 2080.
Reveal the true value of the items coming into the shop, and earn your reputation as the best appraiser in town.
Haggle prices with witty, sly customers and strike golden deals.
Financial struggles aside, how will you survive the the AVAC, Fixerain, Fixies, and other perils of Ajik City?

by Monster Lab
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Nohra is a beautiful and fast paced precision platformer where you take control of Lupu, a newly awakened monster, and attempt to escape from an abandoned lab.

Created by students of the DigiPen Institute of Technology, this game is built with reaction and mechanical mastery in mind where players are expected to recognize patterns in the scenes and combine movements to advance. Set in a once proud laboratory now broken and neglected, you play as a monster who has broken its containment. Freed of your confinement for the first time in years, you scour the lab in search of an exit, and maybe something more. Something other than freedom that calls to you.

On your mission to find a way out, you will encounter many dangers. All signs of the previous inhabitants are gone, but the defenses protecting them are as vigilant as ever. However, with your ability to chain dashes together and slow down time, the defenses set up in your way stand no chance. Through sheer force of will and strength beyond normal creatures, you will prove you are what you were designed by your makers long gone to be, an apex predator.

Features:
- Chain your dashes to wind through deadly traps.
- Slow down time and enjoy the view of your beautiful prison.
- Time yourself, challenge your friends, beat the developers!

by Joon, Pol, Muuutsch, Char & Torfi
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A single-player surveillance mystery. Record the squirrels, report your findings, and piece together what's really going on in Melmoth Forest.

Gear up your research caravan, boot up your GPS, spread out your map and head for the depths of Melmoth Forest. As a rookie field researcher, you'll place cameras during the day, and watch the footage at night, tracking the movements of a scurry of squirrels.

Where do they hide their nuts? What puzzling routes do they take? And why do they behave so strangely?

INCLUDES
▪ Gameplay based around surveillance and tracking
▪ An immersive story with full voice acting
▪ Bold visuals and foley sound effects envelop the player in a vibrant forest

▶ GET TO WORK
You are a tiny cog in the ever-grinding machinery of Viago University's research efforts. As a recent graduate, you've been sent on assignment to live alone in a dinky caravan in Melmoth Forest. Your job? To figure out exactly where the native squirrels nest. But the longer you spend in the forest, the stranger things begin to seem.

▶ ARRANGE YOUR CAMERAS
Each day, your mission briefing will give you a starting point, but it'll be on you to determine the optimal layout for your equipment through trial and error. Explore the wonders and mysteries of the enigmatic Melmoth Forest at your ease during daytime, until night falls…

▶ ANALYZE YOUR FOOTAGE
… when you can review all the content you captured in your DIY control center. Comb your footage for the information needed to complete your mission and send proof to your boss Dr Nina Scholz back at the research institute. With each new day, things get weirder and weirder. But with both of you working on the case, maybe you can figure out what's really going on?

by Vincent Lo
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Nymble is a cute, turn-based puzzle-platformer mobile game where you jump over things to interact with them. Help Jack find the seedling, plant it in the soil and climb the beanstalk to the next level. Levels 1 to 60 are currently available in the browser. Play the iOS or Android version to enjoy all 100 levels (with more on the way).

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/nymble/id1542527234
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vincentlodesign.nymble

Play in browser: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/772884

The game is entirely a solo project done by myself. Over the span of 3 years, on my spare time, I single-handedly composed and produced all the music, designed the game/graphics/animations, and programmed the game. Please check it out and let me know what you think. Follow Nymble at @NymbleGame on Twitter and Facebook for updates. Thanks!

by Concept and Visual Design: Angeliki Malakasioti / Sound Design: Apostolos Loufopoulos
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This interactive game-poem is an ode to the struggles of human communication.
It reflects on the hardships of unfortunate dialogues, the splendor of reaching to the other side, the rise and fall of human connectedness, the agonies of stray meanings and words.
Expressed through the poetics of weather phenomena, this conceptually driven game represents the mental landscape between two lovers, acting as a parallel metaphor for the contemporary digitally mediated condition.
Early cyberspatial theories referred to an erotic ontology of digital experience. Michael Heim described the platonic dimensions of an augmented Eros. Roland Barthes on the other hand described language as the skin with which we struggle to touch the 'other'. In this game-poem, senses, meanings and ideas appear to be all permeated by the 'spell' of technology, a rhetorical as well as an erotic act of mediation through different worlds.
The reader/player is asked to become part of the lovers-dipole, to meander through minimal poetic texts and tormented emotions, at times linear, other times bifurcating, while exploring a dialogue 'atmosphere' inspired by visual poetry. Endeavoring to reach the 'other side' through the use of spoken language, this game is an affective journey to the tempests of a fallen dialogue.
​"Sometimes we make it, sometimes not, this is the melancholy of the human nature."

Created and Visual Design by Angeliki Malakasioti
Soundtrack/Sound Design by Apostolos Loufopoulos

by Capricia Productions
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Of Bird & Cage is the first ever metal music opera experience, in which narrative gameplay synchronises with a symphonic metal soundtrack. In a dark and twisted version of 'Beauty and the Beast', players take the role of Gitta Barbot, a waitress and a drug addict, as she is kidnapped by Bres Lupus, a vengeful man whose life she unknowingly destroyed. It's a deeply disturbing story that will not leave you indifferent!

Warning: themes: alcohol, drugs, violence, abuse, harassment.

This is an experimental project by a small indie studio of extremely dedicated people.

Of Bird and Cage is a musical experience like no other, an Interactive Metal Opera. You're not just listening—you're inside. Let soaring metal music captivate you.

Explore this "dark and mature version of 'Beauty and the Beast'", as the developers describe the game. The project, a gripping, twisted and disturbing story about addiction, madness, oppression, love, and fighting for oneself, adorned with a phenomenal soundtrack composed by Arnold Nesis, is the first-of-its-kind music experience in the form of a game available on the market.

Some of the acclaimed artists who took part in the recording Of Bird and Cage are Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N' Roses), Rob van der Loo (Epica), and Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation). The characters are voiced by Kobra Paige (Kobra and the Lotus), Danny Worsnop (Asking Alexandria), and Davidavi 'Vidi' Dolev (Gunned Down Horses). As a blend of two media, a game and a music album, Of Bird and Cage is one of the most ambitious, independent projects entering the market next year.

by Burgeon & Flourish, LLC
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1989, New York City. Annie, a 40-year-old psychoanalyst in a failing marriage, embarks on an affair with fellow psychoanalyst Rex. Through their rocky relationship, Annie is pushed to the brink and finally remembers—and reconciles—her own childhood trauma, which has driven her into a cycle of abusive relationships. Their affair touches the lives of their spouses, their psychoanalysts, and even new lovers, all of whom have stories for the player to uncover, ultimately revealing a story spanning the Moscow Marathon, an elaborate rescue mission, a drowning in the English countryside, and an escape from an insane asylum.

The player uncovers these stories by searching through a notebook. With each scene, the player collects new themes, concepts, and psychoanalytic terms (like "transference" and "fate neurosis" or "dog") by grabbing the words that float across the screen at relevant moments. The player selects two of these terms and uses them to search for new scenes.

by Thomas Olsson / Skeleton Crew Studio, Inc.
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Olija is a game about Faraday's quest, a man shipwrecked then trapped in the mysterious country of Terraphage. Armed with a legendary harpoon, he and other castaways try to leave this hostile country to return to their homelands.

Through adventurous exploration, narration and razor sharp combat, the player will discover a strange world and its inhabitants, including Olija, an enigmatic lady that Faraday finds himself bound to over time. Inspired by swashbuckling tales and cinematic adventure games, Olija is a story about facing the unknown in adversity.

by OMOCAT
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Explore a strange world full of colorful friends and foes. When the time comes, the path you've chosen will determine your fate... and perhaps the fate of others as well.

by Thomas Moon Kang
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Eden is the last shining beacon of hope in a plea post-war world. One Step from Eden combines strategic deck-building and real-time action with rogue-like elements, allowing your character the chance to carve a path of mercy or destruction. Fight alone or with a friend in co-op as you cast powerful spells on the fly, battle evolving enemies, and collect game-changing artifacts. Can you make it to Eden or will your destruction be imminent?

by Astro Pup Games
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In a world guided by a chaotic and destructive nature, the Druids order, defenders of balance, are going through a rough time. The Druid acceptance tests have begun, and young Oona is the new candidate. She will have to face 13 different trials in the span of one year to transform into a full-fledged Druid, thus acquiring the responsibility and power to restore balance to the world.

Join Oona in her journey and enjoy the beautiful scenario of this 2.5D platformer game featuring adventures and puzzles.

by Open Sorcery Games
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You wake up at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by your broken memories. Reclaim and compile your magic or drown in an sea of dreams.

A text-based adventure-puzzle game that explores the Web: an ocean-web of relationships and emotions that exists below our world.

by Clever Plays Studio
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Operation: Tango is an espionage-themed cooperative adventure challenging you and a friend to complete dangerous missions across the globe in a high-tech near-future world.

As an exclusive team of two, you and your partner will become AGENT and HACKER, working together to infiltrate, investigate, and eradicate the forces threatening the free world. Work in tandem from two different points of view with only your voice to link you. Teamwork is crucial, and communication is key!

NOTE: Operation: Tango requires both players to have access to a working PC-compatible microphone.

Superior Teamwork - Be observant, keep talking, and make sure nothing explodes. Combine complementary skill-sets to overcome intense challenges against "impossible" odds.

Authentic Espionage - Exotic locations filled with thrilling scenarios create classic "Hollywood" spy moments. Experience the ultimate secret agent fantasy!

Technological Toys - Enjoy the visual splendor and technological advances of a fully-connected augmented world.

Innovative Brainteasers - Overcome obstacles in ways you've never dreamed. Each mission features unique challenges, keeping you and your partner on your toes while delivering some of the most satisfying "eureka!" moments in modern gaming.

by Smokestab
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Kill. Die. Modify.
Orbital Bullet is a fast paced 360° action-platformer with rogue-lite elements, where all actions take place in a circular pattern. Fight your way through a variety of procedural planets and use body modifications, crafting and heavy weaponry.

Features
360° Combat: Shoot around the world! Make the most satisfying long-range curved snipes you have ever done or blast and shred enemies with a load of your hyper shotgun.

Automatic Transitions: You cleared all enemies on the floor? Get automatically launched straight back into the action and keep shooting enemies.

Dynamic skill tree: Build your own skill tree, make clever decisions to empower skills and reach new power spikes while the tree changes every time you play.

Mixed worlds: Handcrafted and challenge-oriented levels that have underlying procedural system to guarantee a good experience while also creating a lot of variety and secrets for you to discover.

ORX

by johnbell
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ORX is part-tower defense, part-deck building card game, set in a beautifully drawn world of dark fantasy. Expand your territory, call soldiers to arms and fortify your castle with every card that you play!

As you progress through the game's sprawling Campaign, you'll unlock new cards for a grand total of more than 300 - all of which can be used to bolster your kingdom's defenses. And with the powerful items, known as Artifacts, which can be found throughout the world, you can enhance your deck in game-changing ways!
Every level, tougher and more relentless enemies will assault your kingdom - and it's up to you to pick the right strategy and rid your realm of the green-skinned menace once and for all!

by IDEA Games
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Sharpen your mind, relax your soul, and showcase your vocabulary.

Enter the vast cosmos of OtherWordly, a mesmerizing word game that combines the cleverness of a crossword puzzle with the agility of a matching game. Each level has a sun containing core words, and it's up to you to fling those core words into related orbiting words. Along the way, help friendly robots, aliens, space slugs, and other celestial creatures by harvesting life-giving energy to restore their galaxy of words.

* BOOST YOUR VOCABULARY – This peaceful puzzler adapts to your knowledge of English, making it perfect for everyone from children and non-native speakers to puzzle enthusiasts and expert wordsmiths. Learn about any word by viewing an example quotation drawn from literature.

* CHALLENGE YOUR MIND – Each level involves matching words with a synonym or related word while avoiding orbiting obstacles and ever-shifting letters that appear and disappear. Can you match FRUIT to A★PLE? Or FINESSE to EL★GAN★E?

* IMMERSE YOURSELF – Enjoy over 20 hours of gameplay and 180 levels while exploring 15 uniquely-themed chapters, each with its own ethereal soundtrack and helpful hero sidekick. Further challenge yourself with timed quick-association levels, antonym matches, and 3 bonus challenges per level.

As you progress, you'll win gifts for your lovable alien and robot sidekicks (such as a cool hat or a pizza), unlock useful power ups, and unravel a deepening galactic mystery.

Put on your thinking cap for this cosmic adventure.

by Rewrite Games
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Ourea is a Cinematic Puzzle game about discovering the harrowing past of a long-forgotten world. Play as the last of the Oreads and unravel the mysterious history of your people. Uncover the mysteries of Ourea as the game unfolds through a single, unbroken shot.

by Heart Street
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Out For Delivery is a playable documentary shot with a 360° camera. The 42 minute slice-of-life experience follows a food delivery courier in Beijing, China on January 23, 2020, the day before Lunar New Year's Eve and the day Wuhan shut down due to COVID-19. It captures the brink of the global watershed moment in 2020—a turning point in which the world followed Wuhan into lockdown—and simultaneously focuses an incredibly personal lens on the specific, local labor enacted by an everyday serviceperson.

by Behold Studios
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Out of Space is a co-op multiplayer game about living together in a house in space.

You and your friends are about to move into a house in space, where you will have to deal with a deadly alien infestation and face the challenges of building a sustainable spaceship, all to make your new place feel as cozy as home!

by DoctorShinobi
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A lost girl named Lumi appears outside the game bounds directly on your desktop. She has no memories of how she got there and no way to get back home. As the master of your own computer, you help her recover her memories by finding her scattered memory files, do various interactions with your computer, and fighting platforming bosses from her past memories.

by Modus Games
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Override 2: Super Mech League is a competitive, 3D mech arena brawler. Duke it out with a tuned-up roster of returning robots and new mechs across various versus and co-op game modes of up to 4 players online and locally. Defeat your opponents using an arsenal of unique moves including super-charged ranged attacks, metal-busting combos, or an arena-shattering ultimate attack!