Techmash

Tag: #2DPixelArt

  • Digging Into Magic: Assemble Entertainment and Half Soup Labs Announce Glintseeker Island

    Digging Into Magic: Assemble Entertainment and Half Soup Labs Announce Glintseeker Island

    Grab your pickaxe and prepare your backpack—there’s a new mystery waiting just beneath the surface. Assemble Entertainment has officially partnered with the indie visionaries at Half Soup Labs to bring you Glintseeker Island, a cosy mining adventure that blends nostalgic exploration with deep, strategic gameplay.

    If you’ve ever lost hours to the mines of Stardew Valley or felt the thrill of uncovering fossils in the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Underground, Glintseeker Island is the game you’ve been dreaming of.

    A Mining Adventure with Heart (and Hammers)

    In Glintseeker Island, you play as a “Glintseeker,” an orphan explorer determined to uncover the secrets of a changing island. But this isn’t just about swinging a pickaxe until a rock breaks; it’s about strategic excavation.

    As you descend into procedurally generated caves, you’ll encounter a unique mining minigame. Each hit with your hammer reveals layers of rock, but be careful—the walls have a limited stability. One wrong move and the ceiling could come crashing down, burying your treasures before you can haul them to the surface.

    Key Gameplay Features:

    • The Power of the Hammer: Your tools are your lifeline. Start with a basic pickaxe and unlock specialised tools like the Magnet Hammer to navigate biomes and solve puzzles.
    • Inventory Tetris: Bringing loot home is a puzzle of its own! You’ll need to manage a tile-based inventory system, carefully arranging artefacts and gemstones to fit as much as possible into your backpack.
    • Bosses and Biomes: Every 10 floors, you’ll face formidable bosses and ancient guardians. From lush underground forests to mysterious flooded biomes, each area offers new threats and even better rewards.
    • Village Restoration: Your journey isn’t just for profit. Use your finds to help the local blacksmith, trade with merchants, and complete quests to restore the island’s village to its former glory.
    • The Ultimate Question: Yes, you can pet the shadow dog.

    Why We’re Excited

    Assemble Entertainment has a long history of championing indie titles with unique souls, and Glintseeker Island is no exception. Half Soup Labs has crafted a world that feels both relaxing and rewarding, striking that perfect “cosy-but-engaging” balance.

    “We wanted to take the mining mechanics people love and turn them into a full-fledged adventure,” says the team at Half Soup Labs. “It’s about the curiosity of what’s behind the next wall and the satisfaction of bringing a heavy bag of treasure back to the village.”

    Join the Playtest!

    Can’t wait until the full release in 2027? You’re in luck. Alongside the announcement, a Steam Playtest is now live! You can jump into the caves today, test out the initial biomes, and help the developers shape the future of the island.

    Ready to start your descent? Add Glintseeker Island to your Steam Wishlist today and keep an eye out for more devlogs as we get closer to launch!

    Find out more here – https://halfsouplabs.com/

    #AssembleEntertainment #HalfSoupLabs #miningadventure #GlintseekerIsland #steam #playtest #2Dpixelart #mining #exploration #RPG #games #gaming #gamers #gameplay #videogames

  • OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 Demo: Starting From Scratch, Finding A New Home

    OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 Demo: Starting From Scratch, Finding A New Home

    The highly anticipated prequel, OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0, has just dropped a generous demo, inviting players back to the beautiful, perilous world of Orsterra. For fans of the series, this isn’t just a nostalgic return to the stunning HD-2D aesthetic; it’s a completely new foundation, introducing player customisation, a fresh narrative focus, and a surprising new gameplay loop: town building.

    Here’s a look at what the demo offers and why you should jump in—especially since your progress carries over to the full game!

    My Story, My Hero: The New Protagonist

    The most immediate change is the departure from the eight preset heroes of the mainline games. OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 places you in the shoes of a customizable protagonist, a resident of the peaceful town of Wishvale.

    The demo begins with a heartbreaking prologue: a joyous festival is shattered by an attack that leaves Wishvale in ashes. This tragedy sets your new hero on an epic dual-quest: retribution against the mysterious Masters responsible and the restoration of your beloved home. This single, focused story of revenge and rebuilding is a welcome shift from the interconnected, yet often separate, narratives of the first two games, promising a more cohesive emotional core.

    A Tale of Three Masters & Town Restoration

    The demo offers up to three hours of gameplay with full save data transfer, giving you a substantial taste of the game’s new structure.

    • Three Paths to Vengeance: Once the emotional prologue is complete, you are free to pursue the first chapter of three different story arcs, each centring on a primary antagonist: the Master of Wealth, the Master of Power, and the Master of Fame. This choice-driven structure immediately offers great player freedom and replayability.
    • The Kindlers of the Flame: In a brand-new feature for the series, you can also engage in the Town Building arc right away. This involves literally rebuilding your destroyed hometown of Wishvale, placing structures, recruiting residents, and collecting materials. It’s a surprisingly serene and engaging side-loop that provides a calmer counterpoint to the high stakes of your revenge quest.

    Evolved Combat: An Eight-Person Frontline

    The demo wastes no time in re-introducing the series’ acclaimed Break & Boost turn-based battle system—but with a strategic twist inherited from the mobile predecessor, Champions of the Continent.

    In OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0, you can field a party of up to eight characters in combat, split between a four-person vanguard (frontline) and a four-person rearguard (backline).

    • The Backline Advantage: Characters in the rearguard are protected from attack and naturally recover HP and SP each turn. This new system adds an exhilarating layer of on-the-fly strategy, forcing you to constantly manage your party’s health, resources, and attack rotations.
    • More Boost Points, More Damage: With eight characters contributing to BP accumulation, the pace of battle is faster, and the satisfying “break” moments—where you stun an enemy by exploiting their weaknesses—feel even more explosive.

    Final Thoughts on the Demo

    OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 is not resting on the series’ laurels. It takes the beloved HD-2D art style and phenomenal music and pairs them with significant, story-driven improvements. By giving the player a personal stake in the world through character creation and the Wishvale restoration, the narrative feels more focused and intimate.

    If you enjoy classic, tactical JRPGs or simply the gorgeous visual design of the series, this demo is a must-play. It offers a promise of a more unified and emotionally resonant adventure when the full game launches on December 4, 2025.

    OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 – https://www.square-enix-games.com/games/octopath-traveler-0

    #OCTOPATHTRAVELER0 #jrpg #tactics #2dpixelart #demo #trailer #SquareEnix #NintendoSwitch #PlayStation #Xbox #PC #Steam #games #gaming #gamers #videogames

  • Lotus: Lost Memories Visual Novel Official Trailer

    Lotus: Lost Memories Visual Novel Official Trailer

    Welcome to historic Japan, which is ruled by the swords of the samurai. This is the Lotus: Lost Memories game with its classic look and retro feel. The game will take players on a journey of discovery, adventure and to find out the truth. The Lotus: Lost Memories game will soon be available on PC through Steam, along with a free public demo game.

    To find out more about the Lotus: Lost Memories game, go to the games page on Steam here https://shorturl.at/Ikuz9

    #LotusLostMemories #Lotus #LostMemories #japan #games #gaming #gametrailer #2Dpixelart #retrogame #classicgames #newgames #samurai #FenyxDigital #demogame #history

  • Be My Horde Welcome To Hell Update

    Be My Horde Welcome To Hell Update

    Demons, the undead and a magical Lich are what players can expect to find in the Be My Horde game. The game has that classic 2D look to it, which actually adds to the atmosphere and feel of the game. The Be My Horde game is available right now on PC via Steam Early Access.

    To find out more about the Be My Horde game, go to the official game website here https://bemyhorde.com or go to the games page on Steam here https://shorturl.at/XTfPH

    #BeMyHorde #WelcomeToHell #games #gaming #newgames #gameupdates #2dpixelart #survivors #PolishedGames #indiegames #Roguelite #inferno #zombies #undead #demons

  • Tombwater demo launches on Steam

    Tombwater demo launches on Steam

    If you are never sure about a game, then getting the demo is a great idea, so now anyone interested in the Tombwater game can head on over to Steam and play the demo version of this game. Set in the wild west, players visit an abandoned town, but there are shadows and voices coming from the silver mines that were once a massive part of the landscape. The Tombwater demo is available now and the game will be launching on Steam later this year.

    To find out more about the Tombwater game, go to the official game website here https://shorturl.at/JDQep or go to the games page on Steam here https://shorturl.at/hi5qT

    #Tombwater #rpg #pc #western #2dpixelart #classicgames #games #gaming #newgames #MothAtlas #MidwestGames #steam #horror #monsters #mines #Tombwater #wildwest #horrorgames

  • Knock on the Coffin Lid the Nightmares of Millenis DLC is coming

    Knock on the Coffin Lid the Nightmares of Millenis DLC is coming

    With a title like Knock on the Coffin Lid, you just know that this game is going to be a bit scary and dark, which of course it is, but now there is a new DLC coming with the equally scary title of the Nightmares of Millenis that introduces some new chapters to the on-going story that are bound to test the skills of even the most experienced of players, so this is going to be good. The Knock on the Coffin Lid – Nightmares of Millenis DLC will be coming out in early April.

    To find out more about the Knock on the Coffin Lid game go to the official game website here https://redboon.net/ or go to the games page on Steam here https://shorturl.at/GDQNM

    #KnockontheCoffinLid #NightmaresofMillenis #DLC #Games #SciFi #Gaming #RedBoon #DarkFantasy #TarotCardMode #Roguelike #2DPixelArt #KarmaSystem

  • The Abandoned Planet out on mobile now

    The Abandoned Planet out on mobile now

    Welcome to The Abandoned Planet, where an astronaut finds herself all alone on a strange planet after being pulled into a wormhole. The game has a retro look and feel to it, but that all adds to the whole game experience. All players need to do is survive on an alien planet until they are able to return home. The Abandoned Planet game is available now on iOS and Android.

    To find out more about The Abandoned Planet game go to the official game website here https://www.dexterstardust.com/

    #TheAbandonedPlanet #Snapbreak #DexterTeamGames #iOS #Android #2DPixelArt #ClassicGames #MobileGames #Games #Gaming #Gamers