Indie Arcade #3: To The Moon and Back

This is week three of the ongoing Indie Arcade, where I tell you about all of those fantastic indie game titles you may have missed. We’re going to the moon, becoming ninjas, and bending time in this week’s installment.

To The Moon

Take the movie Inception and add a slight Kevorkian reference to it, and the result will be this game. To The Moon follows the story of two doctors hired to enter and alter the memories of a dying man under the pretense that the procedure will kill him upon completion. The dying man want to go to the moon, and it is your job as the two doctors to change his memories so that he believes he actually went to the moon before taking his final breath. To The Moon looks very much like an SNES-era game that uses point-and-click actions to progress through the various puzzles within this indie masterpiece. The storyline is so amazing that our very own Casidee gave To The Moon a perfect score in her review. You can purchase To The Moon on Steam for just $9.99.

Bastion

Bastion was hands down one of the absolute best games I have ever played, and if that’s not enough to convince you to play this game, go to YouTube and listen to the game narration. I agree with Jake in that, at the very least, you should purchase the soundtrack. I mean, the music and narration are really just that good. You won’t find me gushing like this over most games, but this one really blew my mind with how good it is. Who knew such a simple beat-em-up action RPG would have an amazingly compelling story and music that will make you eargasm? I don’t want to tell you much more because I don’t want to spoil it for you, but if there’s one game you actually play out of any previous or future Indie Arcade, let it be this one, because Bastion is truly the posterchild of everything an indie game has the opportunity to aspire to. Pick it up on Steam for $14.99 (also available on XBLA, iOs, and Chrome), and I can guarantee it’ll be the best $15 you’ll ever spend.

Mark of the Ninja

If you’re at all a fan of games like Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid, or Hitman, You need to check out Mark of the Ninja. It’s a stealth-based 2D platformer wherein you are a ninja seeking out revenge against a group of people who ransacked your ninja clan’s base and kidnapped your master. Mark of the Ninja is one of those rare ninja games where you actually do ninja things like throwing smoke bombs to confuse enemies, sneaking through vent shafts, and destroying the lightbulbs in lampposts so that nearby enemies don’t see you. You even have the capacity to choose whether or not to kill your enemies or sneak past them. It’s fun, intense, and it definitely isn’t Ninja Gaiden. Mark of the Ninja can be yours today for only $14.99 on Steam (also available on XBLA).

Braid

Braid is one the most impressive indie games in all of video game history, and it’s highly likely that you’ve heard of it even if you aren’t an indie gamer. Take puzzle-based platforming and add in time manipulation to get Braid. It’s a genius combination of simplistic gameplay, incredible innovation, and beautiful art with one of the best storylines out of nearly every game I have ever played. Braid begins as a simple “find the princess” Mario-style storyline that nosedives into one of the most powerful messages in a videogame that destroys everything you thought knew about Braid. I can’t say anymore about it. Braid is a fantastic game, and I couldn’t justify spoiling it for you. Grab it for $9.99 on Steam (also available on XBLA and PS3) and good luck finding those stars.



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