Friday Night Indie Game Round-Up #72 – Sunday Edition

Welcome to a special Sunday edition of the Super Game Droid Friday Night Indie Game Round-Up, your weekly guide to the latest and greatest indie games available on the Android platform!

Each week our dedicated editorial team spends countless hours scouring the depths of the internet in order to bring you the best new indie Android games we can find. We then take our absolute favorites for the week and compile them all together in this handy dandy round-up so you’ll always have an easy way of discovering some awesome new indie games to play on Android!

Whether you’re looking for a challenging new platformer, an action packed shooter, or even just a good old fashioned puzzler SGD has got you covered so check out all 25 of the awesome new indie games below and make sure to vote for your favorite on the poll at the bottom of the page. As always, the game with the most votes as of Tuesday evening will be declared our indie game of the week and will be featured on our front page!

Barrel Buster from Dreamwalk Mobile

Indie developer Dreamwalk Mobile has taken the bodacious barrel breaking bonus round from Street Fighter 2 and expanded it into a highly addictive arcade action game called Barrel Buster that pays homage to the fighting game classic while injecting its own strategic physics based gameplay into the mix complete with a moonwalking protagonist. Like the legendary bonus stage Barrel Buster is based on the idea is to use your sweet kung fu moves to break as many barrels as possible however instead of fighting game controls players simply tap to both move and attack which makes for a much more intuitive experience. Throw in the ability to chain together combos with unique barrel types and you’ve got the recipe for an awesome game.

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Canopus from Whitefox

In addition to being an old school style arcade shoot ’em up with challenging gameplay Canopus also has great fully 3D graphics that help to draw players into its world. As humanities last defense against an unstoppable alien invasion force players will single handedly take the fight to them in one of several unlockable fighter craft that each have their own specs. Canopus is a satisfying old fashioned shoot ’em up that doesn’t rely on flashy gimmicks but instead concentrates on doing things right.

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Deblock from Darek Stojaczyk

This mind bending new logic puzzler from indie developer Darek Stojaczyk uses a simple premise as the foundation for its intense spatial style challenges. As a ton of different shaped blocks come flying towards a square in the center of the screen players must make sure all the blocks fit by strategically placing roadblocks that change their final layout from its original form. Things start easy enough at first but as players begin to make their way through Deblock’s staggering amount of levels they’ll soon find it pushing their analytical skills to the limit.

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Dungeon Of Slyn from Phishsoft

After gaining a bit of a cult following on the Windows Phone platform indie developer Phishsoft has brought its oldschool rogue-like Dungeon Of Slyn over to Android in all its retro glory. Essentially a fancy version of Nethack, Dungeon Of Slyn is an addicting RPG that is sure to induce nostalgia to anyone who remembers the early days of PC gaming. Don’t let the basic approach fool you though, Dungeon Of Slyn has a ton of replay value to offer thanks to its wealth of content and randomized level design.

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Flick Hero from PixelStar

With cookie clicker RPGs becoming all the rage lately it’s been interesting to see how indie devs have been experimenting with the genre. One intriguing new twitch RPG called Flick Hero is taking that concept in a slightly different direction by keeping many of the same mechanics but swapping out tapping for Fruit Ninja style swiping action which helps to set it apart from the pack. After picking one of many unlockable heroes players can either fight through traditional levels or an endless mode as they swipe at bad guys in order to earn coins and progress further through the game. Different kinds of enemy monsters help to keep things engaging and there’s even comically big bosses to fight too.

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GrottyScape from Bug-Studio

Indie developer Bug Studio is back with a followup to their space fairing roguelike CosmoLands called GrottyScape that keeps the oldschool graphics and sci-fi premise of its predecessor but takes its gameplay into a different direction entirely. That’s because although you are still exploring an alien world circumstances are a little bit different this time around considering players control a brave cave diving adventurer fighting for his life against a never ending horde of pixelated monsters while frantically searching for errant oxygen canisters in order to extend their play time. GrottyScape is a strictly old school affair but what it does it does well as its simple but challenging arcade formula offers a healthy amount of replayability.

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Helmets On Fire from Ripper Games

Originally conceived of as a test project for indie developer studio Ripper Games, Helmets On Fire is a completely free retro sidescroller with challenging gameplay and not a single ad in sight. As a burly construction worker who has just accidentally awakened an ancient deity resting beneath the city players will need to outrun their divine pursuer while dodging unfinished scaffolding and jumping over 10 story drops with ballerina-like precision. Along the way they’ll need to rescue their co-workers and pick up extra juice for enhanced mobility.

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Hunger Crunch from Rice Bowls

It’s always great to see video games used as a way to help make the world a better place, and one terrific new level based runner called Hunger Crunch is doing just that. That’s because in addition to being a pretty awesome game in it’s own right Hunger Crunch was also developed entirely by the charity organization Rice Bowls in order to help raise awareness about the problem of food scarcity around the world. This exceptionally well animated high flying platformer turns the fight against hunger into an endearing cartoon adventure that uses wacky monsters as visual metaphors for the destruction hunger causes.

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Hunter Legacy from Cinnabar Games

Created by indie developer Cinnabar Games, Hunter Legacy puts players in the role of a young adventurer descended from a renowned lineage of world class hunters who has just inherited a plot of land from their ancestor and must venture forth to fight goblins, zombies, and even ordinary wildlife in a quest for loot and raw materials they can take back to their fortress in-progress in order construct new buildings and equipment. While the homesteading does resemble Harvest Moon in certain aspects the gameplay itself is more of a delightful RPG interpretation of The Oregon Trail as players indirectly control their character on a perilous 2D journey that boasts a staggering 36 different attack strategies consisting of a variety of arrow and melee based mechanics that provide satisfyingly deep combat.

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Jetpack Gangster from RC Games

While at first glance indie developer RC Games’ new physics runner Jetpack Gangster may slightly resemble Jetpack Joyride it is actually fairly different and a great deal more challenging as well thanks to demanding gameplay that requires players master blasting past its in-game obstacles at high speed. As a high flying gangster out robbing banks owned by cartoonishly evil top hat wearing villians players need to avoid getting kicked in the face by security or rocketing right into a brick wall while of course picking up as much loot as possible. It takes some getting used at first but Jetpack Gangster is a simple and fun variation on physics sidescrollers.

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Johnny Dash from Insane Sheep

From the indie studio behind the terrific retro strategy game Big Tower comes an addicting new endless platformer called Johnny Dash that has a lot more to its gameplay than most runners thanks to a wide variety of obstacles and traps players need to avoid. Players take on the role of a daring robber making his escape from a moronic constable who seems to be only good for making funny quips……and summoning hordes of rocket launchers. Whats great about Johnny Dash is that instead of simply making the game faster as players get farther in each run it actually introduces new challenges to overcome which gives it a really dynamic feeling that makes you want to hunt down all the unlockables.

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Luminous from Pajamas Team

Luminous is a darkly beautiful new puzzler from indie developer Pajamas Team about facing the darkest reaches of one’s own mind. With an atmosphere that at times feels reminiscent of the depressing air of The Binding Of Isaac, Luminous has players helping a young girl fight her nightmares by solving puzzles in order to find her lost teddy bear and escape. It’s pseudo-strategic gameplay evokes shades of Minesweeper as players must use a limited amount of light to inspect adjacent tiles and guide the girl to safety.

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Mate from Noxus

After working on its gorgeous 3D perspective puzzler Miika indie developer Noxus Ltd has taken things into a more arcade style direction with a minamilistic new tube runner called Mate. Paradoxically, Mate simultaneously induces a zen-like calm thanks to its surreal visuals and infuriating madness due to its inordinate level of difficulty. As players race down a 360 degree track they’ll need to avoid smashing into revolving barriers of varying shapes and sizes.

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NeonDash from Ceci Studios

This trippy new hybrid shoot ’em up from indie developer Ceci Studios mixes together several different game styles into one cohesively surreal adventure. As a butt-kicking anti-virus program it’s up to players to enter the insides of a vast supercomputer that’s been infected with circuitry destroying parasites and get it back in working order. To do this players need to tackle different kinds of challenges such as traditional shoot ’em up levels, physics puzzles, precision flying, and more which is an interesting approach that works surprisingly well.

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Nightmare from Total Battery

If you’re old enough to remember the stone age of portable gaming when cheap one-off LCD based games were all the rage, you probably saw just about every kind of game from Castlevania to Street Fighter make its way onto Tiger branded plastic handhelds that had less processing power than your typical calculator. However one game genre I don’t recall ever seeing were bullet hell shooters even though with a little finagling it may have been technically feasible at the time. A challenging new Game & Watch inspired arcade shooter called Nightmare is exploring that possibility by bringing back the beautiful simplicity of old school LCD game design in spirit with intense action that pays homage to classic shoot ‘em ups without straying too far from what would have been possible were it made back in the heyday of Tiger handhelds.

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Pavel Quest from ElevenSeventy

An addicting new Super Meat Boy inspired platformer by the name of Pavel Quest has arrived on Android that instills an interesting rapid-fire puzzle approach into the classic sidescrolling formula. Created by indie developer ElevenSeventy as their debut title, Pavel Quest gives off its own unique vibes thanks to charming retro visuals and imaginative level design supported by smooth gameplay. In this great new retro platformer it’s up to players to escape a massive fortress filled with all sorts of deadly traps and merciless puzzles.

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Religion Simulator from Gravity Software

While most god games tend to focus on unleashing players’ benevolence and creativity through glorified digital sculpting tools there are very few that choose to explore the darker, more primal aspects of what actually being a deity in an ancient world would entail. An intriguing new 3D strategy game called Religion Simulator is doing just that by putting players in charge of their own customizable religion as they aim to conquer the world before a rival god beats them to it. In order to do this players need followers which they gain by converting new regions of the globe through either force, peace, or coercion depending on what tenants they’ve chosen as the basis for their faction’s faith.

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Retro Rabbit from Gravity Games

Although indie developer Gravity Games’ addicting new pixelated platformer Retro Rabbit is extremely straightforward, it’s also a great deal of fun. As players hop along in this endless sidescroller they’ll need to make sure they either jump on the heads of oncoming birds or get out of their way entirely. Thanks to its simple but intuitive gameplay Retro Rabbit has a high amount of replay value.

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Starbit Twist from Ed Groover

Indie developer Ed Groover’s fantastic new action arcade game Starbit Twist packs a potent two for one combo with an imaginative single player mode and excellently designed single-device multiplayer. Players take control of an adventurous young star as they use the orbit of different interstellar objects in order to catapult themselves around the level with dynamic one touch controls. The single player mode is reason enough to check Starbit Twist out, but it’s neat multiplayer modes are what really knocks it out of the park.

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Survivor Silhouette from CoolPixel Games

This quirky new action platformer from indie developer CoolPixel Games plays like an interesting mashup of Sonic The Hedgehog and Ghouls ‘N Ghosts with a rather dour but nonetheless appreciable art style. Like most classic platformers the goal of Survivor Silhouette is simply to make it to the end of each level in time while stomping on any bad guys in your way and avoiding tons of traps. While not groundbreaking Survivor Silhouette is a satisfying and polished old school platformer that pays homage to the classics.

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Tap Heroes from VaragtP Studios

The cookie clicker genre is well known and occasionally derided for its ultra simplistic tendencies but here and there intriguing new examples are starting to show that maybe this nascent game style has something special to show us after all. Case in point, indie developer VaragtP Studios fascinatingly addicting new clicker RPG Tap Heroes which offers up a bevy of gameplay tweaks to the clicker formula that deliver a much more engaging experience than the usual tap ‘em up without sacrificing its carpal tunnel inducing qualities. Whereas in most cookie clicker style RPGs players simply tap their hearts out on a single static image Tap Heroes introduces many familiar traditional RPG elements such as commanding multiple party members with different abilities, albeit in clicker style fashion, to give a slight sense of strategy to the proceedings

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That Level Again from IamTagir

By looking at its screenshots you probably think that That Level Again is some kind of platformer but you might be surprised to hear that it is actually one of the most unique puzzlers on Android. That’s because of its brilliant logic based gameplay that has players trying to beat the same level over and over again but in a profoundly different way each time. And although making it from one side of the screen to the other might sound easy enough it will quickly become one of the most maddening experiences of your life as you struggle to find out what your missing.

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The Drop from Alopex Studios

We’re huge fans of fall-down games here at SGD, so as soon as we saw Chroma Catch developer Alopex Studios’ new arcade game The Drop it was like love at first sight. This minimalistic obstacle runner has players trying to outrun a huge wall of spikes falling down after them while avoiding a ton of deadly traps that lay in their path. Luckily players have the ability to brake in order to squeeze through tight turns but doing so comes with the risk of the giant wall of spikes coming ever closer.

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Tilt Ski from Secret Ingredient Games

From the folks behind the arcade style golf game Tilt Golf comes an immersive new VR experience called Tilt Ski that puts players directly behind the goggles of a world famous skier as they zoom down a mountain at break neck speeds. Rather than forcing players to fiddle about with touch screen controls Tilt Ski uses an intuitive tilt based system that lets players lean into turns as if it were really them hitting the slopes. Like its predecessor Tilt Ski also comes in an extremely impressive Google Cardboard edition for those that want a true VR experience.

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Witch Wife from Telekinetic Apps

This quirky new arcade shooter from Swipe The Walls developer Telekinetic Apps uses a wacky story as the basis for its interesting horde mode style gameplay. As the husband of a woman who has been branded as a witch by the townsfolk players must fight off all 999 of them using a combination of conventional firepower and their wife’s supernatural powers. Defeated enemies will drop loot that players can use to upgrade their weaponry and purchase helpful traps like even a Zelda inspired boomerang of all things.

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