Undead Legions - Top down arena shooter with tons of upgrades. Reminds me of Crimsonland, even though the artstyle is a bit crappy. Super cheap (1$), trying later.
http://www.desura.com/games/undead-legions
These type of games always, always, always stumble over the legacy of the game they are trying to imitate: Crimsonland (Which is currently on Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=93065738, the devs plan on adding higher resolutions and fixing some other minor annoyances if it works out.) That game was simply perfect, and even though Undead Legions is technically "working", its simply not as fun. I want a campaign with interesting level setups. I want multiple weapons. I want random effects. I want RPG elements. I want blood on the floor. Undead Legions is a competent highscoring game with serviceable controls, but its just not good enough to stand out in the huge crowd of top down arena shooters.
Zeitgeist - Puzzle game where you manipulate the rolling spheres.
http://www.desura.com/games/zeitgeistpuzzlegame
As I already guessed, this game got a bad rating because its really lacking decent production values. The graphics seem cluttered at first, and its a bit tricky to learn how the game actually works. There are no sounds and no other extras to speak of. There isnt even a proper campaign, only a few horribly executed (because its a wall of text, then an example which you cant influence) example missions that show you the elements of the game and then you can jump into the challenge pack.
However, its definitely a pity how much value we put onto stuff like sound etc. The game mechanics are actually surprisingly clever. You have a few tools at your disposal that you need to use on the map to alter the path of the balls. Which include switches, direction changers, blocks, teleports, other ball spawns and much more. The interaction between the different actions of the balls (think SpaceChem Waldos) is really quite intricate. The game offers an edit function at least to create and share your own level once you are done with the challenge levels. The game is free, so people interested in these kind of games definitely should check it out. Fair warning: The game definitely isnt aimed at people that need to be slowly introduced to puzzle games. The small percentage its aimed at probably enjoys tinkering around with it (I did).
Boredom - Seems to be one of those ass hard 2d platformers. But its free, so why not check it out.
http://www.desura.com/games/boredom
Yup, hard ass 2D platformer, but before you stop reading: Its worth it. I mean its free, so theres that, but its actually fun, especially due to the "narrative", which is very well integrated. I really laughed hard at a few points because the developer knew how the player would react in some cases and made comments in regard to that. On top of that, the actual gameplay is damn fun and well made too. Simple graphics, but quite imaginative game design in which the narration is an integral part of the player experience (for me it was at least). Definitely enjoyed playing it earlier, unfortunately I cant pick up where I left off, but you should definitely give it a try until you beat the first boss. (Do it! Do it!)
From Pulse - Rhythm game with included soundtrack, watch the video review here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQwQogpswnk
http://www.desura.com/games/frompulse
Inexpensive (3 bucks?) rhythm game. This game has a neat art style, an interestingly told story, good music (a rhythm game with good music, hooray!), a good amount of polish, a free soundtrack with the purchase of the game and I overall really enjoyed the game. Only issue: Its was over way too soon. Granted, I havent beaten NG+ yet (but will do so soon), but the only reason for replays is reading the story (your highscore is tied to how much of the story you can read - cute idea) and I managed to read the whole story in every stage except 1 on my first try, so the main part took me.. 30 minutes maybe? NG+ will probably put me at 1 hour and you can extend that by beating your own highscores in 3 different speed settings. For me, the price of admission was worth it for playing a unfortunately too short, but well made rhythm game with good music and the attached free soundtrack, but I can see how it might not be worth the same for others. Damn shame though.
Endgame:Syria - Endgame Syria is a card based free interactive exploration of events unfolding in Syria today.
http://www.desura.com/games/endgamesyria
http://gamethenews.net/wp-content/games/endgamesyria/
[Quick note: Desura version doesnt work for me, try the flash version web browser link]
Smart, smart. This looked like a normal card game at first with a real life background, but actually its an educational game with a pro rebel agenda in the syria conflict. The actual card game rules are rather simple. Each round is divided into two phases:
1. Support phase (where you play cards to affect the combat phase) and
2. Combat phase (where you play cards to shield yourself from the enemy attacks and try to attack yourself).
Despite having simple rules, the game is not "easy" however. You fight as the rebels and starting the game thats also how the odds are stacked. The regime (your opponent) and the rebels (you) both have a number of supporters, which basically represents your life points. Since you are the rebels, your odds are unfavorable and you have a worse starting position than the regime does. Every turn you and your opponent lose lives and its in your best interest to save as many of your own people, and "convert" the supporters of the opponent, as possible to achieve victory. The really interesting touch here, is that every card has a description of what that action means in context, educating people on the fly about actions taken by the government and groups/warfare elements that you find in syria (I havent fact checked, I simply assume its true). Smart, smart. Smart enough to deserve a small thread actually.
Draconian Wars - A well rated non-booster, non-F2P based Card game for 3 bucks:
http://www.desura.com/games/draconian-wars
Weeeeeeeeee, this is a game I need to properly dive into. I am going to sink my teeeeeth into this. Its an inexpensive (3 bucks?) Collectible Card Game without ANY sort of microtransactions, which allows for free deck building, SP matches and Online play! Take that you greedy wizards of the $$$ coast! (I still love you <3). I think I read that there are currently about 150 cards in the game and they plan on adding more over time. The game in its current state is already PLENTY deep with tons of stuff to take care of and lots of different cards abilities. Other than being generally rather complex, it also has some interesting mechanics that set it apart from other trading card games: The biggest and most interesting dynamic is probably how your card library doubles as life points (attacks mean a player need to discard = losing life) and triples as the resources (tough to explain, but basically you set aside a certain number of cards each round which allows you to decide between drawing, or "using" these cards as "mana" to cast other spells). Another interesting difference would be the "flanks", which are basically 3 different fighting places that you need to take care of.
You can win cards ingame by losing or winning, but winning nets you better cards. I think my biggest gripe currently is that you can "cheat" your way into winning many low rank cards by entering and immediately conceding an SP match. But other than that this seems to be a really, really well thought out card game that I'll definitely play some more. Actually deserves a thread to be honest. I wish I knew how much the developer considers to support the game, but for that price, its so totally worth it if you know your way around TCGs.
