[This review of the Indie Royale bundle we co-run with Desura was originally written by Colin Brown on Backlog Journey.]

Zeno Clash is weird. If I ever needed to review the game in four words and a number or less, I would have to go with "Half Life 2 on acid" and be done with it. I was even ready to dismiss the game right away; my dislike of non-Valve Source games has been well documented on my own blog before and I was expecting just another product that feels too much like a mod. Boy was I ever mistaken. Zeno Clash might run on the Source engine, but it's about as far from a traditional Source shooter as possible.

Zeno Clash is the first game from ACE Team, the fellows behind the delightful Rock of Ages, and it's a first person punching... thingy. Sure there are weapons and you can occasionally play the game as a regular old first person shooter, but sooner or later you'll get a stout headbutt, drop your piece and find yourself relying on your two best friends Law and Order. Righty and Mr. Lefts. Pride and Prejudice. Shock and Awe. I think I could do this all day, but I'll save you the anguish.

Eyebrow Interactive's indie puzzle-platformer Closure took home the Grand Prize at this year's Indie Games Challenge at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, with other winners including Symphony, The Bridge, and Nitronic Rush.

Alongside the Grand Prize, the three-man team behind Closure will take also home a cash prize of $100,000. Indie Game Challenge organizers said the game stood out thanks to its stylish presentation and unique light and shadow mechanics, which allow players to erase objects from existence by shrouding them in darkness.

Symphony, a music-based shoot 'em up, won the competition's Technical Achievement award, earning the team $2,500. In addition, the game was also selected to receive promotional exposure on GameStop's PC download service -- an opportunity valued at $50,000.

The 2D logic-based puzzle game The Bridge earned both the Achievement in Art Direction and Achievement in Gameplay awards, netting the team a total of $5,000.

Finally, the DigiPen student project and over-the-top racing title Nitronic Rush won the Gamer's Choice Award, which was selected via an online public vote and also came with a $2,500 prize.

In addition, each of the ten finalists in the Indie Game Challenge will receive the opportunity to pitch their game face-to-face with a number of leading publishers and developers at D.I.C.E., giving them a chance to secure a distribution deal for their selected title.

Indie Game Challenge organizers also said that later this year they will award one of these teams with a $50,000 scholarship to The Guildhall at SMU. Other finalists at this year's competition included Atom Zombie Smasher, Paradox Shift, The Dream Machine, The Swapper, Demolition Inc., and The Fourth Wall.

[This article originally was posted on Gamasutra, written by Tom Curtis.]

An attempt to carry on with the fine old tradition started by Clock Tower, Wretcher is a somewhat unsettling little title that promises to be something pretty special when it finally reaches completion. While the demo will probably only keep you occupied for about hour an hour or so, it's a good look at what the developer has planned. In spite of the fact that there aren't all that many scares in the demo, the claustrophobic environment and foreboding atmosphere will have you nervously peering around each time you enter a room.

I won't spoil it for you. You can check out the demo here.

The demo to Instant Kingdom's top-down RPG Driftmoon is now available. The game is in a preorder phase with 5 to 10 hours of playtime already available for PC users (Wine in Linux or Crossover Games in OS X). The rest of Driftmoon will be finished in the following few months.

Developers Anne and Ville Mönkkönen describe Driftmoon as having "a deep, captivating story, and the gameplay focuses heavily on adventure and exploration. The adventure is spiced up with surprising twists, and a nice touch of humour, and the world is filled with detail."

Driftmoon is a story about someone who lost everything but his bones and still hasn't given up. Now's that's fortitude I can admire.

An upgraded, expanded version of Omni Systems' ambient real-time strategy title Eufloria (formerly Dyson) is now available for Apple's iPad.

Along with a variety of features introduced in a recent PS3 port, the iOS edition of Eufloria boasts a 25-level campaign, multiple alternative gameplay modes, and a collection of Game Center achievements. The release also boasts a touch screen-optimized interface, and the developers claim that the iPad version offers "the most comprehensive and enjoyable release of Eufloria to date."

Eufloria HD is already earning quite a following in the App Store -- the game was named Apple's iPad Game of the Week, and quickly earned a spot among the platform's top sellers following its release. Eufloria HD is priced at $4.99.

[This profile of the Indie Royale Valentine's Bundle we co-run with Desura was originally written by Colin Brown on Backlog Journey.]

MagicalTimeBean has been getting a lot of accolades for XBLIG hit Escape Goat (speaking of which, let's get a PC version of that, Indie Royale), but they have a few other titles under their belt. Soulcaster is the illustrious world PC premiere in this package making its way over from the wild wild west that is Xbox Live Indie Games, and let me just say that I'm glad it made it.

The game is a neat fusion of dungeon crawling bits, roguelike elements and tower defence with cool retro graphics and a very good soundtrack. You are a wizard, but not just a regular wizard: you're a Soulcaster! Your wizard comes across the spirits of three long dead adventurers, and using your magic you can summon copies of them to protect yourself from the hordes of undead. In layman's terms, you run around the map with a limited number of available units (up to five) and try to keep the enemies from attacking you by blocking off chokepoints and setting up defensive perimeters.

Charlie's Games' "pretty, accessible, fun and really rather good" arena shooter (and Indie Royale star) Scoregasm is out now on Steam.

Boasting a wide variety of objectives throughout its 43 included stages, Scoregasm features branching level progression and seven possible endings. The journey won't be easy, though; Charlie Games warns that the game's challenges include "achievements that you actually have to achieve!" which, while bad news for collectors of easy Steam achievements, should be a boon for hardcore shooter fans.

Scoregasm is definitely worth a look if you haven't checked it out yet -- we named it our arcade game of the year for 2011. The Steam edition is priced at $8.99 in its first week of release, and will be available for $9.99 afterward. A soundtrack bundle is also available for $11.69 (regularly $12.99).

[via @shmups]

UFH02 is Tiny Colossus's turn-based strategy game and it works something like this: you and your opponents must ooze through the various rooms set within a hexagonal maze in order to collect a variety of bright blue gems. The tricky part is that anyone can suddenly decide to rotate a room, something that can suddenly make life exceedingly difficult.There are also a whole host of power-ups, various stories to pursue, multiplayer options and a bunch of other things to poke at. A pre-alpha build is available for those curious about the game.

UFH02 is pretty close to their goal so if you feel inclined towards helping out, check out their Kickstarter page here.

Given that this is the Internet, we don't normally report on the manifestation of a website. However, an exception is being made for the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, one of the most terrifying games ever. Unfortunately, Frictional Games is a little more cryptic than most developers. Instead of endowing us with a name, they've chosen to call the website 'nextfrictionalgame.com'. Yeah, I know. However, the splash page suggests that we'll eventually see a sequel to Amnesia.

There's also a small chance that this might be set somewhere in China. At least, that's the impression I'm getting here. When you click on the image in the website, it'll send you to Google Maps. The search word that's been keyed into it? China. Yes, I'm a little perplexed too. We'll keep you updated on the subject matter.

For now, just bookmark the site.

Source: IndieGameMag

The Indie Royale game bundle site returns with the Valentine's Bundle, offering five stellar titles gamers can enjoy now, or gift to their Valentine to arrive on Valentine's Day.

A particular highlight of this bundle is Ace Team's fantastical first-person action-adventure Zeno Clash (on Steam for PC). Using Valve's own Source engine, and dubbed as 'Dark Messiah meets Double Dragon', its unique first-person fighting gameplay and exotic setting helped earn an Independent Games Festival nomination for excellence in visual arts in 2009.

Another visually stunning, IGF-nominated game in the Valentine's Bundle is State of Play Games' beautiful puzzle adventure Lume (on Steam for PC and Mac, Desura for PC and Linux, DRM-free PC, Mac and Linux download). Lume was filmed on a real-life set built entirely out of paper and cardboard. In this first episode, players navigate their way through puzzles to restore the power to grandfather's house and uncover a deeper mystery behind the town's blackout.

Moving on, a Valentine's bundle wouldn't be as hot without some fire. Therefore, Big Sandwich Games offers its scorching single and multiplayer arcade-strategy game Hoard (on Steam for PC and Mac). Players control a fire-breathing, high-flying dragon whose job is to hoard as much gold as possible, while destroying merchant wagons, buildings, and anything else that attempts to steal its stash. Making this Bundle even sweeter, two extended-play Hoard DLC packs (individual Steam codes for both PC and Mac) are unlocked at bundle start. Dynamite Roll! and Flame-Broiled SANDwich! offer players lots of new maps, enemies, powerups, achievements, and even an entirely new desert continent to scorch and scour.

Finally, Indie Royale is presenting the world premiere PC versions of retro RPG-defense games: Soulcaster I and II (on Desura for PC, and DRM-free PC download). Acclaimed indie developer MagicalTimeBean offers up two fast-paced dungeon adventures, where players tactically summon the powers of immortal warriors to battle hordes of monsters, discover secrets, collect treasure and buy powerful upgrades for their immortal allies.

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