With distinctive dark art work and challenging puzzles this platformer will either have you confused and frustrated or engrossed in its mysterious world.

The better of the two reviews on YoYo Games explains the game well:

“The game is absolutely stunning in the graphics department and the lonely, dark music only adds to the creepy atmosphere. Unfortunately, the game falls apart in the difficulty setting–monsters continuously spawn! You battle ten of them and another ten spawn right on spot! Also, when you are being followed by them, you tend to loose health when you go off screen. This game incorporates a scrolling technique where the player stops and the camera scrolls to the next screen and then the player resumes playing. Well, during this pause where the player can’t do anything, the monsters tend to get you.

Remember to read the documentation! Going into this game blind isn’t fun, so prepare to die often!

Overall, this game is moderately decent with its lonely atmosphere it sets but the extreme difficulty early on is a big turnoff for me.”
- Uin review on YYG by Joshua Green.

TimeStill II

Zack Banack and Sean Buller have released a follow up to TimeStill (GMB review).

TimeStill II is a collect and avoid platformer with the added ability to freeze time by use of the ‘z’ key. Freezing time enables you to pass obstacles when it might not otherwise be possible – it is worth noting that bullets are harmless when frozen and make great platforms to jump from.

Strangely calming music sooths you as you jump through the one-coloured levels attempting to stay away from obstacles including water, compressors, bullets and lasers.

There is an added achievement system and the levels are different but there are few game play differences from the original title.

Recently Featured: Uin, TimeStill 2 is taken from: GameMaker Blog

Xenon

Xenon is an arcade-style scrolling shooter in which you control a little ship faced with massive, uniquely-designed, enemies. The aim is simple – to destroy said enemies before they destroy you.

Xenon is easy on the eyes with simple yet slick graphics. The effects also look great when faced with a big enemy and although some look like the in-built GM effects, they are used well.

It’s a really enjoyable game and if you’re in to insanely frustrating levels then Xenon is the game for you!

However, one thing that did bug me a little was that you only got to see your highest score – previous scores to that just disappear.  Other than that, really good for killing time.

Not-So-Massive Action Game

Not-So-Massive Action Game (NSMAG) is a arcade style platform-based shooter. In game you have a choice of two modes, survival and challenge. Survival places you on a map of your choice faced by waves of enemies. You must kill as many enemies as possible to get the highest score you can, before your pretty gruesome death.
In Challenge mode however, you must try survive the never-ending supply of enemies for 2 minutes – easier said than done, trust me!

The graphics in NSMAG are pretty good, although when viewed in full-screen look pretty pixely. Game-play is the real core of this game. You have many different weapon upgrades at your disposal and also have a pretty unique grappling hook to confuse your enemies with.

The weapon choices, along with online high-scores, make this game pretty damn addictive. Also this game makes a great 2 player action game whereby you take on the same challenges but with the comfort of knowing that your buddy is getting creamed just as much as you are!

Recently Featured: Xenon, Not-So-Massive Action Game is taken from: GameMaker Blog

Globules by True Valhalla

Globules

Globules is a strategy tower defence style game which sets two players against each other as they build colonies in space.   Through harvesting resources build-up credits to construct attacking and defensive facilities and try to wipe your opponent’s settlement from space.  Special attacks are available after a certain time period.

A review on YoYo Games lists “Time consuming” and “Hard to win” as two of the cons of this game.  It’s supposed to be a challenge its a strategy game!  Playing on medium difficulty I lost my first game but managed to win the next four I played after learning how the game works.

My one criticism of the otherwise good AI is that it can construct resources quicker than you physically can move and click the mouse (unless there are keyboard shortcuts to construct each facility which I didn’t find).

LAN and online multiplayer is supported but I have not tested these.

Simple Sync

Sync Simple by p200031

Move left and right as you rapidly fly through a tunnel of pacman-style aliens in this 3D-style colourful world.

Power-ups and power-downs can be collected which alter the strength of your weapon (Z) as you weave around monsters and the bullets they fire.

It may take you a couple of attempts to get into the swing of things but once you have got the hang of it you should be able to play yourself through several levels pretty quickly. If the menu doesn’t make you sea sick. My top score so far is 54,780.

Ultra Mission by Cactus

The Ultra Mission by cactus

This resolution-changing arcade game consists of maze puzzles from which civilians being held captive must be rescued.  Along the way there are obstacles such as walls, guards and automated turrets which must be avoided or destroyed.

To complete a level you must avoid getting killed, avoid killing any of the civilians and must ‘collect’ every civilian who will then be safe.

You have at your disposal a machine gun (left click) and the ability to launch powerful missiles (right click).  It is well worth knowing that you can blast through what might appear to be an outside wall and walk around the world re-entering elsewhere.

Pretty fun if a little hard.  The only criticism the game has received on YoYo Games is that people thought it was too short!

Recently Featured: Globules, Sync Simple and The Ultra Mission is taken from: GameMaker Blog

Dubloon by Banov (large download)

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An excellent pixel art point-and-click pirate exploration RPG.  Explore ships avoiding or fighting bad guys, opening chests and collecting items.

You are introduced to new items as they appear in the game by messages in the corner of the screen and instructions are fully documented within the game.  This tutorial style introduction ensures you know what you are doing without overwhelming you with information when you first start playing.

Persistent rooms might get annoying but the route to take is usually pretty obvious thanks to a lot of messages etched into the deck.  If anything perhaps the path through the game is too narrow – I didn’t see any irrelevant items or unconnected quests (though perhaps there are some further on in the game).

A walk-through is also available though I found fighting the bosses harder than solving the puzzles.

Rather amusingly if your name contains a ‘P’ and you choose to type it in rather than the select each letter invidiually you pause the name entry screen.

This game really does have me gripped and is well worth the ~30MB download.  It is the last of this selection I played and the one I enjoyed the most.

Rainy Day – Treasurehunt by Jeff Jensen (first game)

In Rainy Day you play as a blue blob who must find the treasure at the end of a rainbow for your Granddad.  Jump on mushrooms, climb up leaves, squish ants and use umbrellas to parachute downwards safely as you search for the end of the rainbow. Rather worryingly given the rapid rainfall your character can’t swim but water can be avoided by means of floating leaves or by taking a detour.

With colourful well-polished graphics, simple controls and cute characters including a flying ladybird the game must surely be a hit with young children although the second level where you dodge wasps is quite tricky. One annoyance is the sheer number of story messages you receive along your journey but these can thankfully be skipped by pressing [Esc]. The variety of different actions which must be performed to complete your task and well designed graphics ensure you are gripped though the music may just drive you mad!

Remaddening by Andrew McCluskey

Take a successful and already featured circular arcade game and add more game modes, colours and variety and you’ve got Remaddening.

If you have nothing better to do with your time than run around in circles away from an ever faster approaching line then this game is for you!

Recently Featured: Remaddening, Dubloon, Rainy Day – Treasurehunt is taken from: GameMaker Blog

Hero Core by Daniel Remar

You might find the retro graphics take a little time to get used to, I still hadn’t managed to fully acclimatise to them by the time the tutorial was over, but once you’ve started playing you will be immersed in this two-colour world. You navigate yourself through rooms in the game world avoiding being shot or zapped at or overheating, kill the bad guys and unlock doors to continue your journey.

Working only with two colours Remar has managed to animate a variety of different bullet and explosion animations. Each zone has its own ‘big boss’ that must be overcome and save points handily let you respawn not far away if it all gets too much.

Tower Bombarde by CRYSTALL_m

You are effectively the bait moving between shooting towers, avoiding bullets, whilst trying to trick the towers into shooting at, and eventually destroying, each other.

You need to have quick reactions to succeed and plan ahead – the closer you stay to a tower the more likely it is to shoot at you. Whilst you have no weapons at your disposal you do have health (dubbed ‘stability’) and a shield both of which can be recharged in certain zones. It is worth noting that bashing into towers whilst activating your shield is often the most effective tactic if you are prepared to sacrifice, and can quickly recuperate, your stability level. Very fluid and well put together.

Recently Featured: Hero Core and Tower Bombarde is taken from: GameMaker Blog

Assault on Planet Equidon by Frosthart

2DCube is a co-designer of this bizarre My-Little-Pony meets stoned accountant game which starts with a beautifully detailed graphical cut scene.

In a land of purple trees and magical ponies you are the last accountant alive your seeking revenge against equine beings to collect crystals.  At over 30MB this is one of the larger games on YoYoGames.com due to its graphics and ambient music which give the game an air of professionalism. The controls (Z,X,C,[space] and arrow keys) felt awkward and even after a couple of games I still ended up confused and needing to look down at my keyboard.

Ruthless Quest Online by ChoclateSailor

Annoying music and a challenge in the form of an (unskippable) marquee message appear when this fortress themed platformer. The objective is to collect keys to escape a castle and to beat the “Victory Tower”. Once you have beaten the game you receive rewards including a suit apparently enabling you to kill other players.

There is an multiplayer option but I haven’t been able to test it upon a single unsuccessful connection the game simply terminates. I wasn’t particularly impressed but the game has a high rating and positive reviews – perhaps the most enjoyment comes from online play.

Descent by rotten_tater

You don’t want to discover what’s at the bottom of the cave.  When curiosity gets the better of you you’ll want to get back up very quickly.

This dark and challenging fast paced platformer features various forms of jumping, ledge grabbing and requires quick thinking and rapid tapping of keys.  Simple concept, brilliantly implemented and fun to play.

If you play just one of these games this should be your pick.

Recently Featured: Assault on Planet Equidon, Ruthless Quest Online, Descent is taken from: GameMaker Blog