Ball x Pit Mobile, Double Piece by Piece, and Other Must-See Indie Games

Welcome to our latest deep dive into the vibrant world of indie gaming. This week brought a wave of intriguing new titles, including a highly anticipated mobile adaptation of a game I've found incredibly engaging for years, alongside a curious case of two distinct games sharing the same name. Let's start by highlighting some projects recently showcased at the Future Games Show.

Featured in the Future Games Show

Hyperwired (from SidralGames and SelectaPlay) is a 2D roguelike shooter that introduces an innovative resource management mechanic. To power up your weapons and systems, you must connect a trailing cable from your spaceship into a socket. This tether restricts your movement based on its length but significantly boosts your firepower. Players can experiment with a wide array of upgrades and bullet modifiers, including an always-available slow-motion system. Hyperwired is scheduled for release this summer on Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Clean Up Earth offers a cooperative experience where players work together to restore polluted environments. While solo play is an option, larger maps necessitate teamwork to tackle substantial pieces of junk. A unique feature of Clean Up Earth is that in-game actions automatically trigger micro-donations from developer Magic Pockets and its partners to environmental organizations. Clean Up Earth arrives on Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on April 2, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version planned for the future. A demo is currently available on Steam.

Mr. Magpie’s Harmless Card Game presents a Minesweeper-inspired take on popular titles like Inscryption and Buckshot Roulette. Similar to other roguelike deckbuilders, players find themselves in a unsettling predicament, with their only escape relying on gambling and accumulating enough money to meet quotas. Success hinges on manipulating the odds by building multipliers and synergies. Powerful cards can be purchased from a shop to enhance your deck. However, dangerous "JERRY" cards on the board can lead to ruin if revealed. Hints and strategies are available to help players identify and avoid these perilous cards. Developed by Giant Light Studios, Mr. Magpie’s Harmless Card Game currently has no release date, but playtest access can be requested on Steam.

A press release enthusiastically described Herdles as "Spyro meets Breath of the Wild, with a dog," an immediate selling point for many. Players embody Snoopy, a magical version of creative director Christian Hübel’s own dog, embarking on a quest in this open-world platformer to "restore balance to a fracturing world." Your journey involves rescuing "Herdles," or corrupted creatures, which in turn unlocks new abilities such as gliding, breaking through walls, and swimming up waterfalls. This game prioritizes puzzle-solving, experimenting with physics-based abilities, and exploration, eschewing combat or death. It also promises extensive accessibility and customization options. From Fire Sword Studios and One More Journey, Herdles has a live Steam page but no announced release window.

New Releases to Play Now

I eagerly tried the mobile version of Ball x Pit (from Kenny Sun and friends and Devolver Digital) on its release day. This game is an absolute delight, and I'm thrilled it runs flawlessly on my iPhone, offering a perfect antidote to endless scrolling. It's the same fantastic Ball x Pit experience; the touchscreen dual-stick controls work surprisingly well, especially with the auto-fire option engaged. For optimal play, however, I find a mobile controller like OhSnap's MCON or the Backbone Pro offers a superior experience. Now available on iOS and Android, Ball x Pit offers the first level for free, with the full game unlockable for $10.

Fans of brick-breaking roguelites have another treat this week: ITER-8 (by fluckyMachine and Fireshine Games), which ingeniously combines mining and tower defense elements, reminiscent of Dome Keeper. Your mission is to gather resources from a colossal monolith situated above your base, then transport them back to upgrade your character, ship, shield, and weaponry. Discover relics that can be exchanged for defensive installations like lasers, barriers, and cannons. Puzzle-based segments occasionally require your character to exit their ship for direct mining and upgrade collection, transitioning the action from 2D to 3D. As the monolith emits an ominous thrum, it signals an impending alien attack, prompting a rapid return to base (via a fast-travel system) to defend against enemy waves. The two core mechanics of ITER-8 blend effectively, providing an overall relaxing experience despite the tower-defense aiming feeling somewhat less precise than desired. ITER-8 is available on Steam for $13, with a 25% launch discount until March 23.

Piece by Piece, billed as a cozy repair shop game from Gamkat and No More Robots, offers a charming aesthetic. Players can personalize their shop, create a warm atmosphere by cleaning, keeping the fire lit, and ensuring the cookie jar is full. Naturally, you'll also be restoring customer heirlooms and antiques. It's currently out on Steam for $12, featuring a 20% discount until March 25.

Remarkably, another game titled Piece by Piece also launched this week. This version, from Neon Polygons, is a literal puzzle platformer where players manipulate levels by shifting puzzle pieces. This innovative concept has certainly piqued my interest. It typically costs $13 on Steam, with a 15% discount available until March 27. The simultaneous release of two games with the exact same name is quite a coincidence, but credit to both development teams for embracing the humor and even creating a joint bundle, offering an additional 10% off if you purchase both.

Here’s another puzzle-focused adventure: Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times. In this game, inspired by titles like Baba Is You, you'll creatively discover and combine spells to solve intricate riddles. With every spell interacting with any object, the game boasts over a million ways to combine magical keywords and more than 102 million possible configurations – an impressive feat! Solo developer Alice Jarratt of SlugGlove dedicated three years to Rhell, meticulously drawing over 10,000 frames of animation. The game is available on Steam for $15, with a 20% launch discount until March 26. A demo is also accessible.

Upcoming Titles to Watch

Having had Hoa on my wishlist for ages, it seems high time to play that puzzle platformer before its sequel arrives later this year. Hoa 2 (from Skrollcat Studio and PM Studios) maintains the original's exquisite hand-painted art style but transitions to a 3D environment. Set long after the first game, the titular fairy returns to a world transformed by time. Many of her old friends have passed, leading Hoa to seek a new purpose. Alongside platforming and spatial puzzles, Hoa 2 will feature secrets and mini-games. It’s slated for release on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

What I’ve seen of MotorSlice looks promising, blending Mirror's Edge-style parkour action with a much grittier aesthetic. Developers also cite inspiration from the Prince of Persia series and Shadow of the Colossus – the latter making sense given that players will scale colossal bosses. This action-adventure tasks you with destroying every piece of machinery within a ruined megastructure. MotorSlice, from Regular Studio and Top Hat Studios, is coming to Steam this spring, with a demo available now.

As a lifelong soccer fan, I'm drawn to Kitman, a game focusing on perhaps the sport's least glamorous role: the equipment manager. This sports management game, offering co-op for up to four players, places you behind the scenes of a soccer team. Your duties involve cleaning locker rooms, polishing boots, ensuring correct uniforms, and managing match-day logistics. A clever twist allows you to secretly undertake some manager responsibilities, like scouting players and adjusting formations – perhaps explaining some recent real-world team performances! Kitman, from Outlier, is expected on Steam later this year, and you can currently sign up for a playtest.

For those who, like me, adore Astro Bot, keep an eye on Astrolander. This 2.5D platformer boasts beautifully rendered 3D environments. Players control Feedback, a robot embarking on a journey with a rocket-powered sidekick named Haptic (a clever nod to PlayStation's DualSense controller, perhaps?) to rescue "Most Valuable Programs" (MVPs). A second player can join to assist in controlling Feedback. Astrolander is the creation of 16-year-old Max Trest of Lost Cartridge Creations. The PlayStation team, including former head of indie games Shuhei Yoshida, played Astrolander at an event years ago and offered Trest the opportunity to bring his game to PS5. Astrolander is also coming to Steam and is set to arrive later this year.