Gamasutra sister site IndieGames' co-created bundle service Indie Royale has just released its Xmas Bundle 2.0, filled with seven great indie games for the holiday season.
The bundle leads with two 'first ever bundle' games - physics-intensive puzzle title Colour Bind from Finn Morgan, and Kyle Pulver's puzzle platformer Offspring Fling! (plus an IR-exclusive bonus game, Namiko!); adorable point and click adventure puzzle game Puzzle Bots; addictive turn-based strategy land grab game Little Kingdom; and a double barrel of action and RPG in the form Serious Sam: The Random Encounter and Serious Sam Double D.
First up in this holiday bundle is devious platform-puzzler from Finn Morgan, Colour Bind - available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. Players can experience a bold color-filled world where gravity is based on color rather than mass while driving a two-wheeled space buggy to solve the physics-based challenges as quickly as possible. Offering 50 single player levels, 20 two-player co-op levels, a procedurally-generated soundtrack, and a full-blown color editor, this game offers hours of mind-bending fun. IGN says of Colour Bind: "[t]here's an abundance of clever ideas at play in this undeniably creative 2D physics puzzle platformer."
Also featured is a well-designed and cute platformer from Kyle Pulver (co-developer of Snapshot and Bonesaw: The Game) Offspring Fling! - available for Windows and Mac on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. Players must save their lost children by getting them through the exit door by any means possible by using the unique pick-up and throw mechanic, even if that means throwing the little ones through gaps to safety or across pits of acid. The game boasts intuitive gameplay, perfectly-designed learning curve, 100 levels, and huge replay value. Offspring Fling! offers a unique hand drawn art style and excellent soundtrack, too! Mash Those Buttons applauds Offspring Fling!: "Completing puzzles is funtastic. Competing against the ghost replays are even better. (...) This game will suck you in."
Also from Kyle Pulver is the exclusive debut of bonus game Namiko - available for Windows as a DRM-free standalone. Developed during a game jam at the University of Advancing Technology, this clever little game was awarded first place overall *and* first place for fun. It's a little top down defense where players use different powers and upgrades to defend against enemy waves.
Next up in the Xmas Bundle 2.0 is adorable and genuinely funny point and click adventure Puzzle Bots from Lively Ivy and Resonance/Blackwell Legacy creator Wadjet Eye Games - available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. Players control 5 different robots, each with its own abilities and quirky personalities, to help the bots work together and solve puzzles. Players will bomb, burn, push and swim their way through 17 intricately designed levels while enjoying the surprisingly human story and a sequence of clever, well-constructed environmental puzzle challenges. Gamezebo calls Puzzlebots "an incredibly charming adventure, packed with plenty of humor and some deviously clever puzzles."
Also back in an Indie Royale Bundle again by popular demand are two of Serious Sam's recent indie spinoffs from rogue micropublisher Devolver Digital: Serious Sam Double D developed by Mommy's Best Games and Serious Sam: The Random Encounter developed by Vlambeer, both Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. Serious Sam Double D is a hand drawn, side-scrolling shooter featuring over-the-top gameplay and chaotic action. Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is a refreshing take on the RPG genre that offers gameplay based on a clever pixelated hybrid of turn-based battles with real-time, run and gun offense and defense maneuvering.
Last up is turn based strategy land grab game Little Kingdom from Andreil Game, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free. By combining resource collection, territory defense, economic management, and diplomacy, players will conquer the world without war. Using a healthy dose of panoptic strategy, players will expand their territory by building towers in their own hexes and interacting with 3 different kinds of AI: Peasant, Knight and King. Gamezebo celebrates Little Kingdom: "Fun fantasy setting. Enjoyable, though familiar tower building gameplay. Great visuals and sense of humor."
Finally, those who pay $8 USD or their currency equivalent during the Xmas Bundle 2.0 will get a Chiptune album with Funk, RnB and Epic Themes Rhythm'n'Bits from Yoann Turpin. This unique album, available as part of an Indie Royale partnership with seminal chiptune label Ubiktune, is a tribute to video game soundtracks and is inspired by the RPGs from the 90's as well as Sega Mega Drive and Super NES games. VideoGameDJ.com raves "The overall level of musicianship displayed by Yoann on this album, along with the very high production value of it, is frighteningly amazing; even for the talent rich chipscene full of stand-out releases and artists, this one stands out like a 100 story unicorn made of disco balls and laser beams and EXPLOSIONS."
Those interested can find more information on the Xmas Bundle 2.0, including real-time statistics and its current price, on its official website or via its Facebook and Twitter pages.
