Throwback Thursday - Monumental Failure

Something I often hear from game developers is their troubles with marketing. How to get your game out there to as many players as possible? A usual follow up topic to that is, when the game gets released it has all sorts of hype/press surrounding it, but unless it really takes off, the hype dies down - how do you combat that?

Enter: Throwback Thursday - a weekly article on a game that came out from the local Toronto scene back in the day. Maybe you forgot about it, or maybe you never knew of its existence. That's what I want to do with these articles. Check out the first one below, and let me know on Twitter what you think!

First up! Monumental Failure from Scary Wizard Games. A game that just hit its 1 year anniversary recently, and is on a 35% sale on Steam.

"Monumental Failure is a historically (in)accurate physics-based monument construction simulator. The game empowers you to recreate some of the world's most impressive architectural feats using incredible, and hard-to-believe, construction techniques."

Monumental Failure is available now on Steam, Itch and the Humble store! Monumental Failure is a comedic and historically (in)accurate physics-based monument construction simulator! The game empowers you to recreate some of the world's most impressive architectural feats using incredible, and hard-to-believe, construction techniques.

Although I haven't played it (I'll be fixing this soon) - the game has received mostly positive reviews on Steam:

"This game is extremely goofy and wonderful. I love being able to build no matter how shoddy the final result is. The coop is hilarious. A great party game. May or may not cure cancer."

"8/10 - Would drop my workers out of a plane, strapped to a 40-ton slab of stone with bungie cords, without a parachute, as a delivery system for Stonehenge again."

"I don't review games usually, but this game is just so much fun/frustration to play with someone couch co-op. I genuinely recommend this game. 
The game mechanics are different from level to level so you need to learn on the fly, it's really challenging but is really satisfying when you get it right!"

So head over to Steam, pick the game up in a sale, and follow the guys on Twitter. If you have a game that would make a good Throwback Thursday - let me know on Twitter!

Toronto Games Highlight Latest Nindies Sale

Nintendo is celebrating the new year with a sale, and a couple of Toronto games are involved.

You can also check out an AMA where all the developers involved answered questions from the fans - including Vertex Pop saying they were thinking of a sequel or DLC on GEM, but are instead moving onto something new.

Toronto Developed Games Discounted On Steam Summer Sale

Our friends over at Torn Banner Studios composed a list of the Toronto developed games that are on sales during the Steam summer sale.  

It's a big list, some highlights include Torn Banner Studios own Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, and Mirage so check it out over on their website to see everything

CRYPTARK Available on Steam - Delayed A Week On PS4

CRYPTARK by Alientrap is now available to purchase on Steam, and there is a 25% off deal until July 5.

Cryptark is a 2D sci-fi roguelike shooter where you take on the role of a heavily armed privateer seeking to earn government contracts by boarding deadly alien space-hulks. It’s up to you to strategize a plan of attack, pick an equipment loadout, and destroy the central core to be victorious.

Available June 20th on Steam, June 27th on PS4 Cryptark is a 2D sci-fi shooter where you take on the role of a heavily armed privateer seeking to earn government contracts by boarding deadly alien space-hulks. It's up to you to strategize a plan of attack, pick an equipment loadout, and destroy the central core to be victorious.

Crpytark was also scedhuled for release on PlayStation 4, but was delayed until the 27th.

Yuuuuge Runbow Sale Going On Right Now

Our friends over at 13AM Games have announced a huge sale for Runbow. You can pick up the 9 player party platformer on Wii U, Steam, and Humble Bundle for 50% off.

We don't know what's next for 13AM Games, but the sale goes until April 5th. If you're looking to Switch* up your wardrobe a little, you can see similar savings on their official store.

*That's me being funny.

Alone With You Out Now On Steam

The sci-fi romantic adventure game Alone With You from Benjamin Rivers is out now on Steam. The originally PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita game is currently enjoying a 15% discount on Steam which you can check out right here.

I enjoy Alone With You when it came out last year, you can check out the video review below:

Alone With You on PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita is a fantastic game, hear my thoughts in this video, or read them here: http://www.torontogamedevs.com/reviews/alone-with-you-torontogamedevs-review

Deals: Caveman Cliff On Sale This Week

Caveman Cliff, the puzzle game from Shiny Talisman, is currently on sale right now on the iOS store

Clear off the cliff! Earn stars then find some more. Spend stars to upgrade your abilities, but watch out, the pterodactyls will upgrade as well.

You can pick up the game right here! Enjoy!

TorontoGameDevs.com Store Now Has Mugs!

Hey! Did you know there is a TorontoGameDevs.com store?

It's true! You can head over to DesignByHumans and pick up a t-shirt, or phone case, and now...a coffee mug!

Your favourite site has a store - which you can check out right here: http://www.designbyhumans.com/shop/TorontoGameDevs/ Tshirts, Phone cases, and now Coffee Mugs are avaliable to help support TorontoGameDevs.com

If you're looking for cool gear, hit up the official shop. If you want to support TorontoGameDevs.com in other ways then we also have a Patreon.

Alto's Adventure, and Sword & Sworcery Part Of Apple’s “Indie Gems” Sale

Quick heads up, but a couple of Toronto games currently have some massive discounts on the iOS store with Apple throwing a "Indie Gems" Sale.

You can check out the full details here since there are lot of great games on sale, but the games Toronto gamers should be focused on are Alto's Adventure from Snowman, and Sword & Sorcery from Capybara Games.

Shadow Heroes: Vengeance In Flames Out Now On Early Access

Last we heard of Allied Games they were going through their Steam Greenlight campaign to get Shadow Heroes on Steam.  They've passed that, and now the game is on Steam Early Access, you can check out the full site here for all the details, as well as the Steam Early Access trailer:

Shadow Heroes is an online game where players from around the world compete in epic battles with hundreds of units using weapons, magic and tactics. Hire new units and customize their load-outs with items you have collected. Combine items together to make them stronger and give yourself an edge in combat. Can you find the enemy's weak spot and exploit it? Are you able to react accordingly to counter your opponent's strategy?

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/398670 Allied Games: http://www.alliedgames.co/ Shadow Heroes: http://www.shadowheroes.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlliedGamesInc.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/alliedgames

Make sure to follow the game on Twitter, and pick up the game on Steam, which is currently enjoying a 10% discount.

Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime Gets 4-Player Update

Developer Asteroid Base took to Twitter for a surprise (well surprise to me, they have been tweeting about it for a while now) announcement today. Their 2-player couch coop adventure game is now a 4-player couch coop adventure game! The free update is available on Steam right now, and will be heading its way to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 "soon".

To celebrate the update, you can pick up Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime on Steam for 50% off until May 14th.  I was a big fan of the game when it came to PS4 earlier this year, so if you're looking to pick up the game on the cheap, now is a better time than ever.

Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime Out Now On PlayStation 4

Indie developer Asteroid Base announced last month that Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime was headed to PlayStation 4, and that day has finally arrived!  Players can download the game on the PlayStation Store right now, which is currently on a 30% sale. Let us know in the comments if you've picked up the game!

Coming to PS4 on February 9, 2016 http://LoversInADangerousSpacetime.com Explore a neon galaxy in your very own battleship in Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, a thrilling 1- or 2-player couch co-op adventure. Use turrets, shields, engines and super-lasers to triumph over the evil forces of Anti-Love, rescue kidnapped space-bunnies, and avoid a vacuumy demise.


Alientrap Announces Maximum Override - Out Right Now

Despite working on Cryptark port to PS4, working on Modbox, Alientrap went ahead and announced and released Maximum Override on Steam.  The game is on Early Access right now, but does have a 15% discount:

Maximum Override is a chaotic city destruction game where the machines come alive. Wreak havoc in a fully destructible randomly generated city with anything you can find. Check out the system requirements before purchasing! We are still optimizing the destruction physics

  • Take over police cars, taxis, helicopters, wrecking balls, bridges, rocket cars, giant mechs, UFOs, monster trucks, big rigs, giant globe statues, fire hydrants, vending machines, tanks...
  • 2 procedurally generated fully destructible cities
  • Full Controller support
  • Game modes: Gman Elimination, Arcade score mode, and a sandbox Zen mode

http://store.steampowered.com/app/389220 - On Steam January 25th for $6.99 Maximum Override is a chaotic city destruction game where the machines come alive. Wreak havoc in a fully destructible randomly generated city with anything you can find.

You can download the game on Steam right now, with a 15% discount, but make sure to follow the developer on Twitter.

Fortified From Clapfoot Games Releases Next Month

I should of thought something was up when Clapfoot Games started posting some videos about Fortified. The Toronto indie studio went ahead and announced their 1950's inspired tower defence game will be hitting Xbox One and Steam early next month. Check out the launch trailer below!

Watch the official launch trailer for Fortified, available worldwide on Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 for Xbox One and Steam. Invasion is imminent! Steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/334210 Twitter http://www.twitter.com/clapfoot Facebook https://facebook.com/clapfoot

Fortified is an explosive strategy shooter where players will defend the Earth against a menacing Martian invasion in the 1950s. Play as one-of-four pulp inspired heroes as they fight swarms of terrifying robots with an arsenal of Cold War era weapons and experimental technology. Protect the city by building a network of defensive structures, commanding an army, and jumping into battle against dangerous sky scraping attackers. Fight for Earth alone or with up to four players for the ultimate co-op defense experience.

I got to play Fortified last year and really enjoyed my time, and was my most anticipated game for this year.  Fortified is out on Xbox One, and Steam on February 3rd. There is also a 15% discount if pre-ordering on Xbox One.


Sound Shapes Celebrates 3 Years With Sale And Bonus Albums

Sound Shapes, partly developed by local developer Queasy Games, celebrated its third anniversary this past week and is doing so in a big way.

First, if you're not aware, the game is free this month with PlayStation Plus. After the the month, or if you're not a PS+ member, the game is on a permanently sale for $9.99, which gets you the game on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation 4. There is also cloud saves, and separate trophy lists (triple platinum!).  The game's DLC is also half off for the rest of the month.

You can check out the PlayStation blog post to see some of the bonus albums by some developers and composers, as well as some tips on how to see the user generated content.  

Congrats to everyone involved! Make sure to follow the game on Twitter for all the updates.