Some games age into curiosities. Others turn out to have been quietly ahead of everyone else. Midwinter, Mike Singleton's frozen open-world strategy game from 1989, belongs firmly in the second group. It has now returned to PC through Steam Early Access as Midwinter Fan Remaster.
For anyone who missed it the first time, this was a big deal. The original came out on the Amiga and Atari ST, picked up review scores comfortably above 90% and sold well too. That's a rare combination for a game this odd and this ambitious.
An Ice Age Worth Exploring
The premise hasn't changed. An invading army is on the move across a vast frozen landscape, and you have to stop it. The map covers a whopping 160,000 square miles of snow and ice, and you won't be doing the job alone. There are 32 different survivors to track down and recruit into a resistance movement.
BANDIT KNIGHT wants you to be a thief, and it wants you to be good at it. This stealth action adventure puts you up against corrupt foes who are sitting on valuable treasures, and your job is to take those treasures without getting caught. The playtest is now open for sign-ups, so anyone curious about a bit of pixel-art burglary can apply to try it.
On paper, it's a simple and appealing pitch. Sneak in, grab the loot, get out. What makes BANDIT KNIGHT interesting is how it lets you mess with the rules before you even pick a lock.
Some retirement plans involve golf. George's involves a record shop in the space below his home and a strange talent for climbing inside the songs he plays. That is the setup of Mr. Records, a rhythm game that Indie Games Plus got to try as a demo at Gamescom, the big annual games fair in Cologne, Germany.
From the preview, it sounds like a game with a lot of heart and a pretty clever hook.
Meet George, Retired Dreamer
George is an old dreamer who can become one with whatever music he listens to. Once he retires, he opens his little shop, and there are fresh records to sell every single day.
Some retro projects make you smile. Others make you wonder how anyone even thought to try. A developer going by indyjo is bringing Westwood Studios' 1995 real-time strategy classic Command & Conquer to the Atari ST, and this one belongs in the second category.
For anyone who missed that era, the Atari ST is a 16-bit home computer that first appeared in the 1980s. Command & Conquer is a mid-90s PC game built around base building and big army clashes. Putting the two together sounds like a stretch. The early results suggest otherwise.
Garden of Love is a romance visual novel that swaps the usual flowers-and-chocolates cliché for something a little more literal. Every love interest is a plant. Not in a weird, sentient-houseplant way, but as a symbol of who they are and what kind of relationship might grow between them and the main character.
The beta is now taking sign-ups, and anyone curious can request access ahead of launch.
Starting Over, One Bus Ride at a Time
The heroine here is Blossom, a young woman still getting over a broken heart. That setup is refreshingly grounded. There's no magic academy or royal court. Instead, the game follows her through ordinary routines: shifts at work, classes at college, and the daily commute on the bus.
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