VCMI 0.99

This one I have been waiting for: VCMI 0.99! VCMI is a Free engine that runs Heroes of Might and Magic III and it's expansions. Probably one of the best games ever made, and now you can play it with loads of improvements! VCMI has support for high resolutions, has much smarter AI than the original, has advanced support for mods and a much better random map generator. And that is only for starters. If you are even remotely interested in the Heroes series or turn-based strategy games in general, this is a must to check out!

And epic battle taking place in Heroes 3-engine VCMI.

A Dark Place

A Dark Place is a first-person survival-horror game. It focuses on exploration, puzzles and stealth and has some very nice graphics. It doesn't have a release yet, but it looks so very promising I just had to mention it here. Have a look on it's project page for some additional awesome screenshots!

An almost tangible atmosphere in A Dark Place.

ChaosEsque Anthology v.95

ChaosEsque Anthology is a crazy mix-up of all sorts of FPS-elements. There are an absurd amount of maps, weapons, vehicles, mutators and other things. Since I mentioned it last time a lot of content has been added. How about piloting a Fokker Eindecker III Monoplane or driving a A7V Sturmpanzerwagen WWI German Tank? There are also buildable Observation Towers, many new weapons - both realistic and futuristic, as well as lots of other assets and functions to play around with. This project certainly seems to have a bit of everything and I am sure some very interesting scenarios can be created with it.

Medieval weapons and scenarios are also a possibility in ChaosEsque Anthology.

Nox Imperii 0.5.1

Did I mention space exploration game Nox Imperii has very active development? I was just informed that a new release has come out since my last post. 0.5.1 has a new looting system that seems to make piracy a more viable option (Nice, I like to play pirate!), AI ships have got individual names, player progression has been re-balanced, the shipyard UI has got improvements and it's possible to purchase  maps of surrounding systems. The usual list of smaller tweaks and bug-fixes is included as well. :) This game is certainly building up to a space adventure of massive proportions - one I'd like to sink my teeth into once I get the time.

Rich space backgrounds when exploring in Nox Imperii.

Force: Leashed

Force: Leashed is described as a first person gravity fiddler. You have to use gravitational fields to affect the paths of rockets to advance through the 3D world. it's certainly a unique concept, and looks rather nice too. Something for those looking for a different and innovative puzzle game!

Crazy gravity shenanigans in Force: Leashed.

Endless Sky - 0.9.4

The very polished and well-made space exploration game Endless Sky has seen loads of development since I last mentioned it. The latest stable release is 0.9.4 and together with a few of the previous releases it comes with new ships and missions, lots of UI and engine improvements, mineable asteroids, tooltips, various improvements to graphics, sound and AI, pop-up mini-map when jumping, a dynamic economy system, new capabilities for weapons, and lots of other things. It has without doubt become a very impressive and fine game!

An epic space-battle taking place in Endless Sky.

The Yearning

Noticed this on Free Gamer and it looks so cool I had to post it here as well, even though it seems to be in heavy development. The Yearning is, cut from it's description, a hybrid singleplayer / multiplayer game about spider drones and the end of the world. And judging from screenshots and videos it looks like an impressive action game with a very unique and nice visual style!
Download can be found on it's GitHub page, though it is not a binary so you will need to compile it yourself. Hopefully a binary will come soon, I'd love to try this.

The Yearning certainly has a very special graphical style. I love those sci-fi vibes!

Pioneer 2016-10-22

Pioneer - a game of lonely space adventure - keeps it's monthly releases up. Every release has it's share of features, fixes and internal changes, and they certainly do stack up over time. Among things I see thruster upgrades, new ship textures, nav-buttons to mission screens, other GUI improvements and loads of other items. It's cool to see this keep growing - it certainly has a lot going for it!

Blazing lazers in Pioneer.

Roguebox Adventures 2.0

I mentioned roguelike-sandbox gam RogueBox Adventures a while ago, and since then much has happened. There is a new location, new dungeons and a few old locations have a new generating algorithm that will make them more natural. Monsters are smarter, decorative clothing has been added and the game is now playable on the rather cool open game console GCW Zero.

Exploring a dungeon in RogueBox Advantures.

OpenRA 20161015

Fancy a game of Command & Conquer, Red Alert or Dune 2000? Now might be the time, since the OpenRA project just released 20161015. New in this version is a much more advanced Content Installer, that can now download more content automatically as well as fetch it from more types of media. There are several new campaign-missions implemented and players in multiplayer matches are now awarded a total score based on several variables, making other things than kills and deaths count. There are also lots of fixes, re-balancing and other minor features and visual additions. It's a big release for an already very stable and complete game.

OpenRA's new score-screen in action. It certainly makes multiplayer feel more exciting and dynamic.

Burning trees is a new visual effect in OpenRA.

Nikki and the Robots

Nikki and the Robots is a retro-classic 2D-platformer inspired by the greats of the genre from the 80:s and 90:s. Besides cute and nice graphics it has a unique and interesting gameplay element: various robots in the game can be taken control of through hacking, and can then be used to solve puzzles or in other ways help the protagonist advance thorugh the stages. The game is at 1.0, so it should be finished and fully playable.

Very nice looking pixels in Nikki and the Robots.

Nox Imperii

Nox Imperii is a space exploration game that seems to be built upon the great Naev-project. Nox Imperii has many new things though, like random systems and planets, a dynamic trade system, a crew system and the ability for missions and events to affect and change the universe. Sounds really cool to me! Nox Imperii also has lots of new art and development seems highly active. I'll be bookmarking this one!

Fighting barbarian ships in Nox Imperii.

Urban Terror 4.3.1

Somewhat realistic "hollywood tactical shooter" Urban Terror got a big update a few days ago: There is a new game type called "Gun Game", where each frag gives you a new weapon, and the first person to use a knife (the last weapon you receive after all others) to defeat another player wins the game. Quite a unique and intersting setup! There is also a new instagib (one hit, one kill) mode, lots of adjustments to weapons and hit zones, two new maps, improvements to old maps, improvements to HUD and user interface and many other tweaks and fixes. A huge update to this already highly polished game!

A collage of the new maps in Urban Terror.

The Ur-Quan Masters

The Ur-Quan Masters is a Free version of the classic sci-fi game Star Control 2. This open-ended game has story-driven space exploration and a whole lot of content to discover. There are 25 different types of aliens to meet and interact with as well as loads of star-systems and planets to visit. Graphics are retro, but don't let that deter you if you fancy more modern stuff, this critically acclaimed game is very fun and well worth a try. The Ur-Quan Masters contains all data and features from the original, so it's just to download and play.

Earth as seen in The Ur-Quan Masters; not quite the color I remember...

FlightGear 2016.3.1

FlightGear 2016.3.1 is out! The changelog is still being updated, but there seems to be in-simulator GUI improvements, new scenery, a new Cessna 150 aircraft and probably many other things. A very impressive project, simulation fans should give this one a go!

The inside of the FlightGear Cessna 150. I find this extremely impressive - every little gauge and knob is modeled.

Red Eclipse 1.5.6

Red Eclipse received a smaller update today, bringing it to 1.5.6. There are mainly bug fixes, but also improvements to menus and user interface as well as an advanced tab with extra settings for the controls menu. Happy fragging!

Red Eclipse is not only fun and fast-paced but also very nice and shiny graphics-wise.

Terasology 1.2.1

Terasology 1.2.1, also known as Beta 4, was released a few days ago. As usual the changelog is long and hard to understand for us un-initiated. But I understand this game is doing some really cool and dynamic things to it's open world.

Another great Terasology-screenshot from the forum. I hope it's ok I use it. :)

OpenDungeons 0.7.1 (Also, my 200th post!)

200 posts! I wouldn't have thought they were so many already. :)
For today, a huge new release of OpenDungeons is out! This is one I'm really fond of, so for this release I will be enjoying new creatures, new rooms, new maps, new graphics, new game options, voices and better minion behaviour - among other things. There is also an online-lobby which makes it easy to find online games and talk to other players. By now this game is truly polished and highly playable - a must if you find realtime strategy games at all interesting!

A nice, dark, damp dungeon in the making.

There are skill trees to play around with - need I say more? :)

OpenMW 0.40.0

The OpenMW project has reached another milestone in it's quest to implement the classic RPG Morrowind in a modern and Free game engine. It appears that the game is basically playable in this release and focus is now on polish, fixes and optimization rather than implementing features. Click here to have a look at the entire changelog as well as a few videos from the release.

A cosy tavern with a few visitors from OpenMW.

Stunt Rally 2.6

Stunt Rally 2.6 was actually released almost a year ago, but I missed it for this blog. This excellent and impressive rally racer got a lot of new stuff in this release: five new tracks, two new cars, pacenotes (signs showing which way to turn), some improved sound and graphic details and a whole lot of more subtle gameplay improvements. It's fun and polished, and if your computer can handle it this game looks amazing with all settings on max - the twisting tracks are very impressive to behold. There is also an editor for those who want to try crafting their own tracks. Well worth a try!

Landscapes in Stunt Rally are sometimes breathtaking.

Mars Simulation Project

Here's something cool I came across a while ago: the Mars Simulation Project. Not exactly a game, but at least game like, it let's you simulate a human settlement on mars complete with exploration, advanced base-building and social interaction, resources to manage, an economy system, etc, etc. It seems very advanced yet with an accessible UI and nice graphics. There are several scenarios to run and loads of little details to track and optimize. This should be fun!

Several base-modules and vehicles in Mars Simulation Project.

The Pandoran War - 1.0

The Pandoran War has reached a major milestone: 1.0! That's right, the game is now feature-complete and contains 67 main missions spread out through a campaign, 8 training missions, 5 extra-missions and loads of challenges and throphies. There is certainly a lot of content here, and it's a highly polished and very fun game. Well worth a try!

Giant spaceships and lots of cannons and lasers in The Pandoran War.

Terasology - 1.2

Terasology is now on 1.2. This super-advanced block-building game with elements from Dungeon Keeper and Dwarf Fortress keeps stacking huge changelogs. There are rendering improvements, improvements to the user interface editor, better networking, a whole bunch of improvements to various game modules as well as a lot of other things probably best understood by the initiated. If you are looking for a new virtual world to spend time with, this might be it!

Terasology can look quite beautiful, as this screenshot proves.

Pixel Dungeon 1.9.1

If you are looking for a new roguelike to sink your teeth into, Pixel Dungeon might be the one you want. As the name implies it has some very fine pixel art and there are 4 character classes, 25 different monsters, 5 different bosses, several tilesets, 80+ types of weapons and a whole lot of other little features and details to like. While I personally feel many roguelikes are rather inaccessible and unpolished, the contrary is true of Pixel Dungeon. It's very easy to get into and feels very polished!

Pixel Dungeon also has an Android version, hence the rather unusual aspect ratio.

Tanks of Freedom - 0.5.1

Tanks of Freedom has got a whole slew of updates since I last mentioned it. This beautiful retro-themed strategy game has, among other things, received gamepad support, online map sharing, new maps, more music, etc, etc. A must-try that can be downloaded here!

Tanks of Freedom has some very awesome pixel art. Even details like the interface is made in beautiful pixel design.