August is slowly coming to a close, and we have plenty of AAA games to look forward to as mentioned last week on the Screenshot Survey. We also have several notable events going on this very moment. PAX Prime is just around the corner, so there should be a few more headlines before the winter rush. On the indie side of things, the thirty-third edition of the Ludum Dare has raged on all weekend with the theme of “You are the Monster”, and I’m sure there will be a few weird demos to check out from that in the weeks ahead. For now, let’s see what a few folks from Twitter have been up to.

EDIT: This Screenshot Survey was supposed to go up last week, but due to boring site issues and a time crunch it's going up this week instead with a few extra screenshots for good measure! Enjoy!

Here is a Saturday morning style transformation sequence provided by Qubit Entertainment and their game Qubot. Initially knowing nothing about the game, I was very pumped to know more, as any game with an effect that cool demands your attention. Turns out, it is a turn based action game coming to mobile by the end of the year. The developers are preparing to show off a lot more from the game at Tokyo Game Show in a few weeks. I'm just happy to see some of this stuff coming from Japan instead of from anime fans on our shores.

Here is the Distance cabinet that is no doubt rocking the PAX floor as we speak (are we speaking? Hmm...). For those unfamiliar, Distance is a synth infused arcade racing throwback currently in Early Access on Steam. It's one of a few neon racers out there, but it seems to be the most polished, which might be because it's the direct follow-up to the excellent Nitronic Rush. In any case, I'm now bummed that there aren't more arcades around, because lights are cheap in 2015 and more companies would have done rigs like this that would have both blinded and delighted their onlookers.

Speaking of neon and the 80s and all that was once good with the world, here is a shot from Relativity. Video gaming as perceived by M. C. Escher, Relativity is an explorative puzzle game with more than just the wonderful environment shown above. As VR becomes more of a thing in the next few years, I look forward to more and more of these games that are more about place than anything. It will truly be an age of Myst, and that will finally not be the worst thing in the world.

Sewer Monster City is a cool little action platformer with a great name that was made for the Ludum Dare recently. Having just reviewed a game that was once merely a Ludum Dare project, I do love going through the archives of recent contests to see what people come up with and what I hope will be expanded upon. The reason that game jams keep happening is that sometimes the best ideas can come from the strangest places, and nowhere is that easier to take advantage of then the world of video games.

Party Hard recently hit Steam (with a TechRaptor review coming very soon by Perry!), and tinyBuild is wasting no time hyping the free updates coming for the game. Specifically, UFOs and their alien pilots will soon randomly be invading the stealth game to make things more challenging and/or confusing. Also, it is great to see a game developer in the position to focus on updates rather than downloadable content and a publisher that thinks that is the right move.

Finally, here is a peak at Grid Masters, which hit Itch.io a few months ago. With all the Mega Man revivals going on recently taking inspiration from the original games or the Legends franchise, it was nice to see the familiar grid layout of my Mega Man of choice, the Battle Network games. It may just be the nostalgia talking, but those games were pretty alright before they were drilled into the ground. Grid Masters looks to capture a bit of that in a local multiplayer setting, and it has some great unique characters that make it more than just a throwback. Definitely worth a second look.

That's it for this fortnight's Screenshot Survey! Any games you've seen in development on Twitter or elsewhere? What would your ideal Ludum Dare theme be? How many Battle Network games did you get through before losing that game of chicken with Capcom? Answer these questions and more in the comments below!