Screenshot Survey: Yin and Yang

Different Strokes for Different Folks

It’s Saturday, and that means it’s time for another Screenshot Survey. Every week, we take a look at a few cool new games in the works by game developers tweeting with #ScreenshotSaturday. For even more games you might be interested in, check out this hashtag on Twitter.

This week we're bringing you games as different as night and day. This week we have a pulse-pumping RPG, a painterly adventure, cute frogs, and proof that ASCII games look awesome. Without further ado, check out these four games and be sure to follow them on Twitter if you're interested in these projects.

Iron Danger

Ha! You didn't expect this to happen! ;)

While playtesting the game, I noticed the face that poor bandit was giving and started to wonder what is going in his mind..

So tell us, what is the bandit thinking?#screenshotsaturday #irondanger #CaptionThis #madewithunity #indiedev pic.twitter.com/aCcMgbCZ4p
— Iron Danger (@IronDangerWorld) November 23, 2019

Here's one I've written about before, earlier this year at E3. Iron Danger was one of the games that took me by surprise. It's hard to expect anything of a game you've never heard of or seen, but I left my hands-off demo impressed. It might be hard to tell what's going on in this tweet. Don't let it fool you, Iron Danger appears to be a lot of fun; after all, look at how terrified that bandit is?

Iron Danger is an RPG where you use time manipulation to tactically lay out attacks and moves during combat. The visual UI element at the bottom shows heartbeats, and for each heartbeat you place a move on the timeline. You can tweak your strategy as you see fit—including reversing time—in order to overcome difficult combat encounters. Right now there's no definitive release date, but you can check out my preview to learn more.

Palette

#screenshotsaturday

Here's Palette running through the streets of Waterway!

(Also a sneak peek of what the room transition will look like!)#indiedev #indiegame #gamedev pic.twitter.com/GN3xxNSo26
— Palette 🎨 (@PaletteTheGame) November 23, 2019

More proof that games are art, and this next game is quite literally art. It looks like the graphics of Palette took a leap from the canvas into a video game, and I know that's exactly the aim that the developers are looking to achieve.

This charming platformer is sparse on details right now, but you can follow more on Palette via the game's official webpage. They're a frequent poster for #ScreenshotSaturday, and it's about time they get a shout-out. Everything about Palette screams "charm" and "made with love," so this is one to look out for.

A Frog's Tale

Norman the Frog visiting the village elders! #screenshotsaturday #pixelart #indiegame #indiedev #AFrogsTale pic.twitter.com/9CF3SqJndP
— NRMN 🐸 A Frog’s Tale (@NRMNmusic) November 23, 2019

Cute and colorful might just be a prevailing theme for this Screenshot Survey. Frogs, they're one of the most underrated cute critters of the animal kingdom, and look how delightful A Frog's Adventure is turning out to be. What's more, its creator is a music composer, so I suspect that a fantastic soundtrack will accompany the vibrant pixel art.

AJ Norman, creator of A Frog's Tale, is currently running a GoFundMe campaign for this project two years in the making. He says on the GoFundMe Page: "The gameplay is a mesh between traditional 2D Zelda games and the Mario RPG series (Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi). The game is presented in a top-down perspective with beautiful pixel art graphics inspired by classics from the 16-bit era." Look AJ, all you had to say was "Mario RPG series" to get me interested.

Door in the Woods

In Door in the Woods you will face undead zombies that are not afraid to share their thoughts with you .

Wishlist it on Steam: https://t.co/OGbnxhpl5O #indiegame #indiegames #roguelike #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/NCqYWqV6Ov
— teedoubleu (@teedoubleuGAMES) November 23, 2019

I lied, this next game isn't cute at all, but I'm a big fan of anyone that can pull of an ASCII art style. Many traditional roguelikes stick to this style of graphics, but despite the simplicity of the visuals, it always makes for a brutally difficult game. Door in the Woods appears to be similar, although what makes it stand apart from the rest is that the ASCII has depth.

Door in the Woods' Steam page reads, "This game is a venture into alternative timeline in which graphics and sensible game design were never invented." What's more puzzling is the features list, touting its lack of audio and sparse color palette. I don't know what kind of magic teedoubleuGAMES is working on me, but I need to see for myself what they're hiding. Thankfully, it comes out Dec. 4, 2019, so you too can uncover the conundrum of Door in the Woods' marketing.