Hello indie gaming friends!
How are you going after the absolute influx of amazing games that were released in September? I started getting decision paralysis because there were just so many games to choose from.
Did you have the same issue? What did you end up playing? Reply and let me know!
Even though there were a lot of games to play this month, I did actually get a chance to play all of my suggested September releases(below). I think it's the first time that has happened!
Recently I've been playing... Well Dweller
If you've been here for a while now, you'll know I typically play combat free cozy games, but I do love a good metroidvania. And Well Dweller is a good metroidvania. An excellent metroidvania even. In fact, it might be one of the best metroidvanias I've ever played.
Well Dweller has a fairy tale theme, which means it's a little grim and creepy, but also incredibly beautiful and charming. Developer Kyle Thompson sure knows how to pair challenging gameplay with sweet, hopeful characters and stories. I reviewed one of his other games, Islets previously.
In Well Dweller, life is dangerous for birds. The wicked queen has ordered all birds be brought to her to make a feather cloak. For that reason, birds are almost extinct in this world. Except for one family who live deep in the well.
Glimmer is the eldest chick so it's up to them to go out and get some food for the family. Mama bird has heard The Hunter has some particularly tasty berries. So, armed with a matchstick, we go to forage some food!
Things... don't go well. So, now it's time to explore the world and find your family before they're added to the cloak.
The map is large with multiple beautiful biomes and scary bosses, but you'll also meet some lovely little critters on your journey.
I know a few people who want to play Well Dweller, but are concerned it will be too difficult. Well Dweller can be challenging, but I thought it was well balanced.
It isn't difficult for the sake of being difficult like other metroidvanias can be. There are also some 'assist' options where you can make the game easier (or more difficult) if you want to. I didn't need to change any of the combat difficulty, but I did increase the Time Trial time limits. I really dislike time trials, but I didn't want to miss out on the cool items locked behind them.
I'd love to recommend this game to everyone. It's creepy, cute, challenging and rewarding. and I had a lot of fun playing. However, there is a lot of platforming, which I love! But if you don't, I'd probably give this one a miss.
Everyone else should play it now!
I played on Well Dweller on PC Game Pass, but it's also available on most platforms.
Super September releases!
Cloudscrapers is a vertical roguelite builder puzzle game. Sounds like a lot, but it works!
Start at the bottom and build to the sky to see what mysteries it holds. As you build you'll find that things are a bit... strange.
This made be curious enough to have "just one more run" and see if I could get any higher, and closer, to solving the mysteries of the clouds.
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Foxy is a chronically online teen who has been sent off to a distant relatives farm for the summer. There is no wifi! What is she doing to do?
Piece together dioramas to learn more about the summer that changed her.
Woodo was a day one buy for me! It's incredibly well made and just beautiful! So relaxing that my health tracker kept asking if I was having a nap when I played it.
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It's time to grab your backpack and camera and take another adventure in TOEM 2.
The structure is very similar to TOEM. Help people out, collect stamps and jump on a bus to the next destination.
There have been some neat little tweaks though!
I loved getting to jump back into this world and see what fun we'd get up to.
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Less than 10 - Paperlands
Did you know that the majority of games released each week have less than 10 reviews? That is hundreds of games with reduced visibility on Steam! Let's change that with this featured game.
Paperlands is an incredibly neat little puzzle game! Enter a paper world and change the scene with colours. Initially, you start with three colours but as you complete quests you'll get more colours (and locations) added to your palette.
Colours don't only look cool, but they're functional too! Some items just need colour, others need specific colours. When you get a new colour, paint the scene door and discover another location complete with new puzzles, quests and people to meet.
Paperlands was a really cool find for me. I've played quite a few games that use colour in interesting ways, but this is the first one I've found where everything can change with a splash of paint on a door.
Paperlands is available on Steam including a demo to try.
Do you know a game with less than 10 reviews? Reply and tell me about it!
One last thing!
I regularly post on Bsky. Are you over there too? Be sure to follow me for even more indie gaming discussion, and check out my combat-free games starter park to find some awesome accounts to follow.
You've made it to the end of the newsletter! Have you found something excellent to play this month? Let me know what it was!
Until next time,
Sarah
