After years of Steam being the defacto platform for PC gaming, we've started to see an uptick in competition. Epic Games has swung big since The Game Awards, grabbing enough exclusives to fill their calendar for the year. Discord has taken to the same strategy with its burgeoning business, although to a lesser degree. Kongregate launched Kartridge in November of last year, and they're now looking to secure their own exclusive reasons for you to use their platform. Three games will soon "premiere on Kartridge", with more likely joining them in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxOMgBlmZOE&feature=youtu.be

The games in question are as follows.

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is the sequel to Analgesic Productions' 2013 16-bit Zelda-lite. This new game will move the series forward in time from pixels to polygons, taking inspiration from the halcyon days of the original PlayStation. While Anodyne 2 does include 2D Zelda sequences, you'll reach them by navigating the game's fully 3D low poly world.

does include 2D Zelda sequences, you'll reach them by navigating the game's fully 3D low poly world. Hell is Other Demons takes the crimson graphics of something like Downwell and combines them with bullet hell platforming. Choose between jumping on foes to move forward or blasting them with a varied arsenal. The end result is a devilish creation from Cuddle Monster Games that should satisfy anyone looking for an arcade thrill.

Swords & Souls: Neverseen follows up on its browser game roots, blending combat with RPG elements and plenty of minigames. While combat appears to be pretty run of the mill genre fare, the game's graphics have a very distinct look. You can tell it comes from browsers, but it looks better than any Flash game I've played.

In addition to these three exclusives, Kongregate also announced that they're publishing a sequel to Wonderputt currently in active development. All four games will be hitting Kartridge exclusively on PC in the coming months, although Hell is Other Demons has secured a launch on Switch as well. Kongregate confirmed to us that any game in the "Premiering on Kartridge" program will stay solely on their storefront for at least 30 days on PC.

Quick Take

It's encouraging to see yet another player step in to help solve the problem of indie game promotion. While exclusivity deals aren't always popular amongst a subset of players, they can offer untold promotional benefits and let promising titles stick out from the crowd. Hopefully, those who balk at Epic's yearlong buyouts will be happier with Kongregate's shorter windows. Considering the impact (or lack thereof) that Kartridge has made so far, it will be interesting to see if any of these games can boost awareness for this indie-focused platform.