{"id":80752,"date":"2026-08-30T14:46:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80752"},"modified":"2026-08-30T14:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:46:18","slug":"pretty-metroidvanias-free-bomberman-style-chaos-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80752","title":{"rendered":"Pretty Metroidvanias, Free Bomberman-Style Chaos And Other New Indie Games Worth Checking Out"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/img\/gallery\/pretty-metroidvanias-free-bomberman-style-chaos-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out\/l-intro-1787948588.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fatal Claw | Official 1.0 Launch Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iwR5Pn82VTI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Fatal Claw<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer: Ndev Games<br \/>Publisher: Com2us Holdings<br \/>Platform: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified)<br \/>Price: Usually $25, with a 20 percent discount until September 9<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Fans of Metroidvanias have been eating well for a long time. There&#8217;s been a steady stream of them for ages, and this week is no different. Two new releases caught my eye including <em>Fatal Claw,<\/em>\u00a0which just left early access on Steam with its 1.0 release.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">As a cat named Kisha, you&#8217;ll explore an ancient kingdom that&#8217;s been revived using modern tech. It&#8217;s full of infected creatures from which you can absorb abilities after vanquishing them. There are multiple endings as well. Kisha appears to have electrical powers, so I think he should have the nickname &#8220;Pikacat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The animations in the trailer are slick and the Steam reviews are generally positive. Commenters have suggested the developers took inspiration from the likes of <em>Nine Sols<\/em> and <em>Umbraclaw<\/em>. It looks like there&#8217;s a hint of <em>Hollow Knight<\/em> in there too. Most importantly, there&#8217;s a solid pun in the title.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Divinum | Release Date Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QJjPinLi6GE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Divinum<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer\/publisher: Sigil Games<br \/>Platform: Steam (Windows, Mac; Steam Deck Verified), GOG. Coming to consoles &#8220;soon&#8221;<br \/>Price: Usually $15, with a 10 percent discount until September 11<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Divinum<\/em> is another pretty Metroidvania. It has a lovely pixel-art aesthetic and the developers took inspiration from hack-and-slash games. You&#8217;ll play as Fj\u00f8r, a young warrior who attempts to fend off an outside threat that has invaded their island home.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The combat system is built around two main weapons and a range of skills. It features parrying, dodging, blocking and combos.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You can refine your character build to suit your playstyle by equipping runes that can offer you unique bonuses and modifiers, but might have some tradeoffs.\u00a0I appreciated a note from Sigil Games on the Steam page that promises runes will do much more than simply give you a minor damage boost. &#8220;You won&#8217;t find anything this boring in <em>Divinum<\/em>,&#8221; the developer said. Bless.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Blasterbug: Last Bug Standing! | Available NOW\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6c_3l5LXOLM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Blasterbug: Last Bug Standing!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer\/publisher: Dotemu<br \/>Platform: Steam (Windows)<br \/>Price: free!<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The folks at Dotemu are back with another retro-inspired game and this one won&#8217;t cost you a penny. They shadowdropped <em>Blasterbug: Last Bug Standing!<\/em> on Steam this week. It&#8217;s a Bomberman-style party game with local multiplayer support for up to eight players.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">There are 15 characters with their own playstyles and special attacks, and just as many levels, which have modifiers of their own. <em>Blasterbug<\/em> has five game modes as well. You and your bugs (sorry, buds) can battle it out in a deathmatch, compete to earn the most coins, make a mess in Paint Battle, try to hang onto a crown for as long as possible or do all of those at the same time in the Party Battle mode.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">While <em>Blasterbug<\/em> is free, you can pony up for some DLC if you like. A $2 <em>Absolum<\/em> pack adds a character from Dotemu&#8217;s 2025 fantasy beat &#8217;em up to the mix. Galandra wields a giant sword and can send opponents flying with a Necrotic Wave attack. The DLC includes an additional arena that features geyser traps.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Blood Dungeon: Release Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rmbXDEdb6Y0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Blood Dungeon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer\/publisher: Messhof<br \/>Platforms: Steam (Windows, macOS; Steam Deck Verified), Xbox Series X\/S, Xbox for PC, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5<br \/>Price: Usually $10, with a 15 percent launch discount on all platforms except PS5. Also on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em>Blood Dungeon<\/em> was one of our highlights of the Summer Game Fest edition of Day of the Devs. <em>Nidhogg<\/em> developer Messhof&#8217;s latest game smushes <em>Spelunky<\/em>&#8216;s 2D platforming together with the chaos of games like <em>Vampire Survivors<\/em>. The art style looks straight out of MS Paint as well.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You&#8217;ll harvest blood from fallen enemies to level up and acquire new abilities and upgrades, which you may also find in treasure chests. You&#8217;ll unlock more characters as you progress through the game. As in <em>Spelunky<\/em>, there are daily dungeons with online leaderboards too.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The rounds are said to be short, which is a smart idea for this type of game. My favorite thing I&#8217;ve learned about <em>Blood Dungeon<\/em> so far is that you can play as a baby that carries a gun. That sounds so wrong, and yet so right.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lou&amp;apos;s Lagoon | Official Launch Trailer | OUT NOW\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a7D7Lk8OxNY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Lou&#8217;s Lagoon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Developer: Tiny Roar<br \/>Publishers: Megabit Publishing, Rokaplay<br \/>Platforms: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck), Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X\/S, Xbox for PC<br \/>Price: Usually $25, with a 10 percent launch discount (PS Plus required for the PS5 discount)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Here, we have a crafting and exploration game in which you&#8217;ll help restore a community while searching for your missing uncle. Crafting and exploration are the mani focuses of <em>Lou&#8217;s Lagoon<\/em>, in which you&#8217;ll use a multitool called the Swirler to collect resources and build items. It looks cute.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The idea of piloting a seaplane between islands in the archipelago of <em>Lou&#8217;s Lagoon<\/em> is enticing. More games should have seaplanes! However, one Steam review suggested the flying aspect is limited to an overworld sandwiched between loading screens in which you travel between islands. A playthrough video confirmed that. It feels a bit shallow to admit, but that&#8217;s made it less likely that I&#8217;ll get around to checking out <em>Lou&#8217;s Lagoon<\/em>. I thought it might be a bit more like the open-world nature of <em>Tchia<\/em> (a game I adore), but that&#8217;s not quite the case.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/2246749\/pretty-metroidvanias-free-bomberman-style-chaos-and-other-new-indie-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fatal Claw Developer: Ndev GamesPublisher: Com2us HoldingsPlatform: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified)Price: Usually $25, with a 20 percent discount until September 9 Fans of Metroidvanias&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[29173,9229,9042,1147,321,4706,29172,96,78],"class_list":["post-80752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-bombermanstyle","tag-chaos","tag-checking","tag-free","tag-games","tag-indie","tag-metroidvanias","tag-pretty","tag-worth","wpcat-32-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}