Game Culture

Christmas is a great way to get some gifts. The holiday spirit is all about giving, after all. So if you’re truly hankering for some great gift ideas for gamers, or just want to stuff your wishlists with as many new games as possible, we’re presenting you with some of the newest indie games on Steam that you’ll want to receive and play through during the holiday season!

This won’t be a definitive list, but the games on this list are ones that we feel extremely positive about. We have all of these games in our wishlists too. So, in no particular order, let’s get on with the list!

Fights in Tight Spaces

The newest game on our list, and possibly the slickest looking one, Fights in Tight Spaces is a turn-based deck-building game that aims to simulate, well, fights in tight spaces. With multiple enemies coming from different angles and a huge variety of ways to outmaneuver their smooth moves, Fights in Tight Spaces is a welcome addition to any gamer’s library who loves action flicks but can’t be bothered with games that rely on fast reflexes.

If you’ve played any of the newfangled deck-building video games like Slay the Spire or Monster Train, or maybe have had plenty of experience with physical ones like Star Realms or Dominion, then Fights in Tights Spaces will be right up your alley. This game will make you feel like a badass while also keeping true to its turn-based tactical gameplay.

Let’s Build a Zoo

If action flicks aren’t your thing, then how about a wacky management sim about creating a zoo? If you’re unsure about how wacky things can get in a zoo sim, then let me tell you about Let’s Build a Zoo. This sandbox game with beautiful pixel art puts you in charge of not only creating your animal enclosures and everything in it but also splicing together the DNA of different animals to create weird combinations of animals. Whether you want a Crocoduck, a Chickow, or something else entirely, there’s a whole bunch of possible combinations to uncover!

Of course, if that was all that the game could provide, it would be special enough. But with a bunch of random events with an equally oddball nature coupled with the usual management sim tropes of keeping customers happy while raking in the cash, it truly makes for a special one-of-a-kind of experience.

Defend the Rook

Crazy antics are fun, but if you’re looking for more of an odd mixture of gameplay elements, then Defend the Rook has it in spades. It combines tactical RPGs with tower defense mechanics while also being a rogue-lite. While a combination of any two of those elements has been mixed before, none has done it in this manner. The presentation is more akin to being a battle of chess, with players being able to move their pieces across a grid and summon various types of towers and units to defend their castle.

And while that would be different enough in itself, the added layer of being a rogue-lite makes each battle unique. If you’re not particularly enamored with how rogue-lites lull you into a particular gameplay loop, this will probably leave you wanting something different. But for everyone else, Defend the Rook will keep you coming back for one last round, over and over again.

Growbot

So far, none of the games in this list presents a strong enough story. How about we change that with this entry then? Growbot is a point-and-click adventure game with very cute aesthetics and a strong visual identity. It follows the story of a young robot who is trying to save her verdant home from a dark force made up mostly of crystals. Most of the game is made up of various puzzle sections that the player must solve to progress through the story.

The one caveat that we have to give about Growbot is that its overall runtime was a bit short. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a solid adventure game to sink your teeth into throughout the weekend, we can’t help but recommend this charming little package.

They Always Run

Do you want more story than just a cutesy adventure of a little robot trying to save his home? Then They Always Run is going to be your jam. It’s got a complex story about a three-armed bounty hunter caught up in a galaxy-wide conspiracy interwoven with its tight 2D Metroidvania gameplay. The setting gives off a strong Cowboy Bebop vibe, while the gameplay feels like a more methodical version of Dead Cells’ over-the-top action sequences.

The coolest thing about They Always Run is the usage of the third arm. Rather than simply pressing a button to perform attacks with it, players need to manually aim it using their mouse, making for a surprisingly flexible attack that can be executed from any angle.

Impostor Factory

If you’ve never played any game from Freebird Games before, then Impostor Factory will surprise you with how much of an emotional gut-punch this game can be. It’s billed as a tragicomedy, sure, but when the tragedy part hits, it hits hard. There isn’t much gameplay to be found in Impostor Factory. It’s mostly a superbly written story fleshed out by having players be involved in it by having some sections of walking around, talking to people, and interacting with objects.

There’s also a good amount of puzzles to solve throughout the game’s runtime. The puzzles are good, but there’s nothing here that will challenge you as a gamer. If you’re looking for ways to test your skills, Impostor Factory won’t be the game you’re looking for. But it will test the threshold of your tears.

Unmetal

Do you miss the 2D Metal Gear games on the MSX2? Or maybe you want to play them but find it tedious to whip out such an old system? You’re in luck then, because  Unmetal harkens back to that good old top-down 2D stealth action of those titles and puts them into the modern era! The catch here is that this one’s a comedic romp that pays homage to the classics with plenty of humor and satire, so if you feel like you won’t be amused by a game that makes fun of the hyper serious military setting of Metal Gear games, then maybe skip this one out.

If you can get past that barrier, though, you’ll have an especially fun time in your hands. This is a great parody of the series, and even if you’re not exactly privy to any of the Metal Gear games, the humor here is still fresh and will be able to continuously deliver you solid gameplay and hearty laughs.

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

If you’re iffy about early access games, this one might not be for you. But if you’re willing to invest in a game brimming with potential, then Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator might just be your cup of tea. It’s one of those games that has a very satisfying gameplay loop and a singular focus. You gather ingredients, craft potions, then sell them off to customers. There’s very little pressure to succeed because even your failures are a big part of what makes the game enjoyable, especially given the flavor of alchemy that this game is going for.

If we’re looking to nitpick something about the game, it’s just that there’s nothing to the game that is a challenge. Everything is fun and safe, and there’s not much to it in terms of narrative too. But if you’re simply looking for a chill gaming session, then Potion Craft will be the perfect game for you.

Eastward

Flavor is the name of Eastward's game. Its world is brimming with characters that you would want to get to know more about, the locales are places that you would want to stay in longer, and the music gives each area a unique feeling to them. This game is probably the most well-known on this list, but that comes with plenty of good reasons. The story is delightful, albeit a bit slow-paced. But when it finally moves forward, it does so with plenty of gusto.

Eastward wears its inspirations on its sleeves. One look at it and you’ll know that it takes plenty of cues from Earthbound and Undertale with its charming worldbuilding, quirky characters, and colorful visuals. The gameplay treads plenty of familiar ground, but that’s such a small caveat for players to be torn away from the wonderful world presented in this game.

Log Jammers

Our last game is something that we hold close to our hearts and for good reason. Log Jammers has long been in early access, and while its fast-paced gameplay is better suited for couch sessions with friends or online multiplayer with jeers and cheers via voice chat, the current state of both the world and the game offers very few opportunities to play it as such.

Thankfully, with the upcoming updates to the game’s multiplayer code, online play will be smoothed out. Add to that the new servers that we’ll be adding to the mix, plenty of quality of life changes, and easier ways to invite friends, and we’ve got ourselves a banger of a multiplayer game to end this list.

Why Not All of Them?

And that’s our list of Steam games that we would love to see in our libraries this Christmas! If you feel like we’ve missed any game that you want to see, then go ahead and tell us all about it on any of our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! You can also head on over to our Mega Cat Discord to discuss which other games you want on your wishlist! 

Winter is coming and it’s time to dust off that old chest in the attic where your Mum keeps the old Christmas decorations, rummage through it and you just might find that video game memento you’ve been looking for all these years. Lets go ahead and open that secret wardrobe right there and let Catslan the Lion transport you to another nostalgia filled past in This Week in Gaming History.

As gamers, we’ve all asked the age-old question as to what video game is considered to be the first of its kind and a lot of people seem to agree it’s Pong. They’re not wrong but they’re also not right. See it all depends on context. 

The very first video game produced was in February 1962, made by a group of MIT engineers and was actually called Spacewar!, this was never released commercially despite its popularity in the university where it was developed. This however, inspired the creation of the very first commercialized video game called Computer Space developed by Bushnell who would later co-founded Atari. Sadly, the game never took flight as intended and Bushnell left Nutting Associates to put up Atari. 

When he assigned Allan Alcorn to make a video game as a training exercise, Pong was born! Bushnell was so surprised at the quality of the game that he decided to have it manufactured. By November 29, 1972, the game was commercially released. In a span of 2 years they sold about 8000 Pong units and it took the fledgling gaming world by storm! In fact it was so popular before its official debut that the prototype cabinet used in a local bar broke down due to the huge amount of coins inside. 

See popularity also brings with it copy-cats and Pong inspired a slew of bootlegs and ripoffs but this didn’t deter Atari and instead countered them by releasing Home Pong, a console version of Pong and in 1973 released a sequel called Pong Doubles that featured 4 players; another first in the gaming world. So again, was it the first actual video game? No. But was it the first video game that launched a whole new industry centered on entertainment and fun? Definitely!

Here’s another video game inspired by real life sports, specifically ice hockey! NHL 99 was released on November 30, 1998 for the N64 and was met with high review scores by different gaming publications with an aggregate score of 84%. To make the game more immersive, the N64 version of NHL 99,  faithfully represented the official NHL and NHLPA licence showing all teams and players, including the Nashville Predators expansion team. Talk about bang for your puck, I mean buck. 

Speaking of immersive, Daryl Reaugh returned from NHL 98 as the new series’ color commentator however, he left after NHL 99. The play-by-play commentary was done by ESPN's Bill Clement. The game also featured Eric Lindros on the cover. Lindros was with the Philadelphia Flyers when this game was released and was ultimately recognized in 2016 as an appointee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Nice, ice baby.

Here’s something to do in-game if you wanna skate on thin ice while playing hockey. If you type the word “zambo” anytime during the game, a random Zamboni will appear and start driving around on the skating rink even if a game is still ongoing! I hope that doesn’t happen in a real live game though, those things can be dangerous.

We’re all dangerously in love with the Legend of Zelda franchise cause we can’t stop talking about how awesome the games have been over the years! Released on December 1, 1988 for the NES,  Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was a direct sequel to the original Legend of Zelda however it deviated from its predecessor in terms of gameplay, introducing RPG elements and side-scrolling action. In addition to this, the game introduced elements such as Link's "magic meter" and the Dark Link character that would become commonplace in future Zelda games.It was also the first Zelda game to feature invisible enemies and also featured secrets such as being able to get past locked doors without keys by using the fairy spell and flying through the keyhole. Zelda II was slated to be released at an earlier date but due to the 1988 shortage of ROM chips, it prevented Nintendo from releasing most of its games according to their original schedules, including this one.

Despite the differences it had with its predecessor, what Zelda II shared with it was its popularity,  as the game was met with mostly positive reviews from critics and became one of the most popular NES games of 1988, with many retailers reporting that the game was selling out that year. The game ultimately sold 4.38 million copies worldwide. Now, that’s flashy! 

Speaking of flashy, the original NES/Famicom releases of this game showed a rapidly-flashing screen whenever Link dies. This was changed in the remakes to a blank screen, as the rapid flashing was known to cause epileptic seizures. Good thing they dialed down that kind of flashiness though. On a happier note, I’m glad they put Link’s name on the title, cause you know, to avoid confusing Zelda with Link. Admit it though before you got to play the game, you thought the main character’s name in the original Legend of Zelda was Zelda.

You know who are masters at confusion, deceit and stealth, though? Ninjas! And who loves ninjas? We do! They have got to be one of gaming’s best tropes and that shows in Revenge of the Shinobi for Genesis. Released on December 2, 1989, it is the sequel to Shinobi for the arcade. Revenge of the Shinobi was a masterclass in design and gameplay and a lot of gamers and gaming critics agree that it is in more ways than one, superior to its predecessor. It has received 5 stars and 9s across the board and was even inducted in a lot of greatest games list, notable of which is Gamespot’s list of the greatest games of all time. 

The game follows Joe Musashi as he finds his master bloodied and dying and his bride, Naoko, kidnapped by the notorious Neo Zeed. It is a traditional side-scrolling action platformer game that features 8 district levels, with its own set of enemies and unique bosses. Joe Musashi can also perform ninjutsu techniques and attack and jump simultaneously, hurling deadly shurikens at enemies. Now you think the game follows a serious plot line and story but wait till you hear about the bosses. 

It’s funny to think that a game of this caliber would actually be a huge target for copyright lawsuits from different major companies owning certain popular characters. This is because in early versions of The Revenge of Shinobi, it had you fighting Batman as a boss, but because SEGA failed to get the licensing rights for the Caped Crusader, he was replaced by a winged demon in later versions of the game. I mean good thing they removed Batman from the game though, I’m sure he was prepared to beat Joe to a pulp. 

Funnily enough too, district 7's boss was no other than the big G-man himself, Godzilla! Again it was eventually replaced by a skinless dinosaur whose name was Monster-G, which was obviously not a reference to a certain Kaiju. One of the other bosses is also very reminiscent of the Hulk. Spider-Man is also present as a boss. Like the actual Spiderman. This time though they were able to use Spiderman as a boss but was eventually deleted too as soon as the license for it expired. Serious question, who is this ninja guy? Is he like a dimension-hopping ninja Thanos-Darkseid-Ghidora hybrid? But, you know who the real boss is though? Joe Musashi is.

The next game on this list is based on another game that is set in a hybrid world with aliens and dinosaurs and involves a dimension hopping, time-traveling warrior. Sounds confusing huh? Enter, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil for the Game Boy Color. Not to be confused with the N64 game with the same title, Turok 2 for the GBC was released on December 3, 1998 with low to middling reviews. Even IGN reviewer Peer Schneider described the game as "an E-rated cookie-cutter sidescroller with decent controls and unimpressive visuals". It followed a completely different story from its N64 counterpart but was essentially  set in the same world. 

You are Joshua Fireseed a Turok or a Son of Stone tasked with protecting the Earth from multiversal incursions stemming from the Lost Land, a barbaric world that is an amalgam of all existing timelines. You are tasked to slash and gun down the Dinosoid Army in eight levels and battle four bosses using your wits and weapons like a knife, bow & arrow, pistols, shotguns and more. Schneider may not have been impressed by the game but lemme give you a very interesting tidbit about the game.

Interestingly enough, the major plot points of this game is based on a comic simply titled Turok published by Acclaim Valiant in 1997 and 1998. This follows Joshua Fireseed also known as Coyote Knight, who is essentially a new Turok after the mantle was passed to him by his deceased uncle, Carl Fireseed. Although Josh was a new Turok he had the ability to call upon the previous and future Turoks to act as his guide in a style similar to  Avatar the Last Airbender. As puzzling as the state of the GBC game was, I think this is  an awesome piece of info and it’s best to experience the game and the comics hands-on. 

Speaking of puzzling, here’s a puzzling challenge to boggle your mind on and I think you’d be interested to know it involves our favorite monsters we all aim to catch, Pokemon. This game was released on December 4, 2000 and has undergone more name changes than your favorite ninja game in Europe. It was initially announced by Nintendo employee Peter Main's "Industry Review" webcast under the title Pokémon Attack on January 13, 2000. Its name was eventually changed to Pokémon Puzzle League, but was released as Pokemon Puzzle Challenge. Puzzling ain’t it? Despite the name changes, what didn’t change was  the fact that it was a very-well made game as it holds an aggregate score of 90.20% at GameRankings, making it the 10th best Game Boy Color game and the 300th best video game on Game Rankings. 

Of course, they wouldn’t put the word “Challenge” on the game title if the game wasn’t challenging right? You can unlock two extra modes for the hardcore gamers out there by doing these button prompts. When at the difficulty screen in Challenge Mode, pressing select & A while hovering over Hard More will unlock Super Hard Mode. Doing this again while hovering over Super Hard Mode will unlock Intense Mode, the highest difficulty level available in the game. Talk about punishing yourself in a Pokemon game. 

Incidentally, there’s a secret involving the weird human-shaped Pokemon, Jynx. Her losing animation features nothing but her detached hair holding a white flag of defeat, similar to what happens when you defeat her in Pokemon Stadium.

Like the Legend of Zelda franchise, Mario games have been a staple for Nintendo systems ever since it was first released way back in 1983 and the next game in this list is a striking testament to that. Super Mario Strikers was released on December 5, 2005 for the Game Cube. However, this was the last Mario game to be released on the GameCube in Japan and North America. It didn’t disappoint though as it was able to reach its goal and was ultimately considered to be outstanding in its field. It sold a total of 1.61 million copies at the end of its cycle owing to its fun gameplay and tight controls. Before the game was conceived however, game director Mike Inglehart and marketing director Grace Kim revealed that Strikers was originally intended to be a more realistic Mario sports game, but the development team opted for an "over-the-top" style after numerous consultations with Nintendo. Which is a wise decision in my opinion cause Mario games have always been over-the-top. 

In a lot of firsts for the game franchise, this is the first game to feature Kenneth W. James, who temporarily replaces Scott Burns, as the voice of Bowser, a role that would become permanent starting with Super Mario Galaxy. This is also the only Mario Nintendo GameCube game to support 16:9 widescreen as well as 480p. Early concept art for the game shows Mario wearing number 10 as his team number but this was ultimately given to Princess Peach as her team number. In a first, breaking football tradition, Mario was given the number 1 as his team number which is supposed to be reserved for goalkeepers.

That is all for this week’s gaming history lesson. Which one is your favorite pick on this list? Or do you remember a different game released on these dates? Join our Discord and subscribe to our YouTube for more!

Every day is a new day for gaming and all the days that have gone have seen their share of iconic gaming moments and this week isn't any different. We're back with another week of video gaming nostalgia.

Play fighting was always a silly thing we did as kids but the way we took these things seriously would make Master Roshi proud and even if we ended up with bruises and scratches when has that ever stopped us from believing that kai could magically come out of our small puny hands or our hair standing up and going blonde while screaming at the top of our lungs this shows us how much influence dragon ball has had on our childhood and our adulthood and as kids it's hard to contain our excitement whenever a Dragon Ball Z game comes out and there's a lot of them. Dragon Ball Z Legendary Super Warriors came out on November 8th, 2002 for the Game Boy Color. Seeing that Ginyu force, the main character's super saiyan forms, as well as the Fusion characters gotence and vegito, brings back all of that power fantasy. Progress the story and unlock battles through story mode, try out the wit draining battle mode or challenge your friends in versus mode to see who is the most powerful warrior of all time, and trust me it's always Mr. Satan who comes out on top.

As for the best warrior in gaming history, nothing comes close to Master Chief. Fight me on that. This is the one game you certainly don't want to finish the fight anytime soon and you'll always want to come back for more you know just to bring the covenant back their bomb. Halo 2 released on November 9th, 2004 was the most anticipated sequel to one of the XBOX Console's most definitive first-person shooters of the generation Halo Combat Evolved. The return of Master Chief and her trusted AI waifu Cortana, sees our protagonists flying like a brick as they race to stop the covenant from wreaking havoc on earth in their bid to fulfill the great journey. This also introduced us to some of the best supporting characters in a game like Sergeant Johnson, Miranda Keyes, 343 Guilty Spark, and the biggest surprise of them all, a new playable character The Elite Alien Arbiter. This also marked the return of the dreaded flood and their introduction of new boss types and enemies like the Prophet, the Heretic Tartarus, and the Brutes. The multiplayer also saw some new changes as they featured more competitive maps and playlists as well as social playlists and also got new weapons like the Brute Plasma, Brute Shot, SMG, as well as Dual Wielding. A first in the franchise. If it ever felt like the game ended on a cliffhanger though you might be right. The game had to undergo a lot of cuts due to budget and time constraints. If the leaks at the time were anything to go by we could have seen Miranda Keyes betrayal as well as a final level on the high charity finally finishing the fight.

But not all games end up with a good sequel and it's honestly hard to break the sequel curse so a good way to circumvent this is to go and give a fresh perspective on a game via a reboot. One example is Prince of Persia the Sands of Time. This was a reboot of Prince of Persia 3D originally released on the pc and the Dreamcast. The action-adventure by Ubisoft was released on November 10th, 2003 for the Playstation 2. Swinging through bars, running on walls, climbing pillars, and rewinding time all made for a unique parkour experience. This allowed the game to reach critical acclaim a bit slowly at first but gained traction as more gamers saw its unique mechanics in play some are even claiming this to be one of the greatest games of all time. A remake of the game was announced to be released in 2022 and consider us all ready to experience the game once again in a fresh light.

If you're up for a little confrontation with your friends via online multiplayer then we're sure ChuChu Rocket! made your jaw drop even if you weren't allowed to visit little Timmy because of chickenpox. Yes, you heard it right the Dreamcast game was released on November 11th, 1999 with the first-ever online support for a console. Beat your friends at the comfort of your own home while you sit on your gaming chair and breathe loudly on the mic remember that oh wait wrong timeline. Nonetheless, this gaming first gave us a glimpse at the future and showed us how a little innovation could become the biggest staple in the necessity for years to come. As for the game, players must put arrows on a board to lead cute little mice or Juju's into escape rockets while avoiding the Koopa Koopas. Who knew puzzle games could have so much bombastic action and did this variant warrant online support yes definitely.

Speaking of bombs, another accessory that made a blast during its release in 1986 was the Power Pad for the NES on November 12th the accessory made its way to Japan and was a floor mat game controller with 12 pressure sensors, made with flexible plastic kind of akin to the dance pad later used for the Playstation 2. All you had to do was lay the accessory out in front of the video display for various games and you're ready to step on the buttons. If you're ready to work up a sweat while practicing your coordination and timing then the power pad games back in the day were worth a shot.

If you love putting your gaming skills to the test then this familiar side-scrolling beat 'em up for the game boy advance will bring back good memories or bad ones if you don't like the difficulty ceiling you know what I'm talking about right. It's Double Dragon Advance the Remake was published on November 13th, 2003 where you play as Billy Lee and his brother Jimmy on a quest to rescue Marion. As with most beat 'em ups nothing is ever easy as you have to fight your way through hordes and hordes of shadow warriors defeating the shadow warriors can be a pain thankfully we've had some helpful cheats back in the day that gave us double dragon power or 10 credits because you know extra lives are hard to come by. Pressing and holding down a specific set of buttons would grant you these extra credits if you didn't want to put in the skill but if you want to make things extra harder you can unlock expert mode by pressing another set of buttons but seriously who does that I'm looking at you dark souls players.

Speaking of challenging games let's take it down a notch and allow us to introduce you to a far more relaxing game with that said it's a great time to remind you about a certain casual Disney game we all know and love released on November 14th, 2000 the Jungle Book Mowgli's Wild Adventure for the Game Boy Color is certainly a bear necessary and those are always welcome. Playing as Mowgli while traveling different jungle levels was always a treat while learning new tricks such as rolling into a bowl and performing a hand over hand climb made for a fun and engaging experience let's not forget to use coconuts and bananas when there are predators nearby I can't forget that I mean that would only make sense because predators aren't really into fruits I assume. We meet familiar faces along the way from the animated film translated into the game such as Mangira, Baloo, King Louie, Ka, and the deadly Sheer Khan.

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Hey we are here with the healthy dose of old-school gaming from Mega Cat Studios. It’s truly exciting to see the huge surge in content when it comes to anything and everything about professional wrestling. From TV shows to the actual product of sports entertainment it's no secret that 2021 has been a very stacked year despite things being far from the norm. And while 2021 has been great for wrestling, we can't help but think about yesteryear, the good old days of the classics.

If you enjoyed the WWF Wrestlefest arcade game then you’ll love the sequel RetroMania Wrestling. The main selling point is the huge cast of superstars to choose from. You have a fair selection of legends but at the same time some young blood as well. It doesn't matter if you are a casual fan or hardcore, if you are into wrestling you’ll find a whole lot of fun right here. Let's be honest though the number of wrestling games you can pick up right now can be a bit intimidating. 2K releases a new one every year and Japan’s wrestling games in different genres. More importantly, a lot of the recent games can be a bit challenging to newer players. This is where RetroMania Wrestling shines, with ease and simplicity. Pick it up, feel your way through a few matches, and next thing you know you have been playing all day. If the classic nostalgia look isn't your cup of tea you might find the game mechanics at the very least charming. Definitely worth the try. 

So are you into wrestling? Do you like to wrestle in real life? Let us know! 

For more gaming news and discussions check out our Discord channel.