Have a Heart, The Show Must Go On: This Week In Indie Games

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor-in-chief Tim W. will be summing up some of the top free-to-download and commercial indie games from the last seven days on his sister 'state of indie' weblog.] This week on 'Best Of Indie Games', we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week. The delights in this edition include a new puzzle game from Hoshi Saga creator Yoshio Ishii, a shoot-'em-up that features ASCII graphics, a 2D adventure game set in space, a re-release of Pixel's indie platformer Cave Story, plus a free-to-play collectible card game with Lovecraftian aesthetics. Here's some recent highlights from the site: Game Pick: 'OUKA' (Yoshio Ishii, browser) "OUKA is a simple browser-based puzzle game where players are tasked with finding ways to click on a flower blossom in every level. Many of the blossoms will try to avoid your mouse cursor, while a few will only reveal themselves once the correct action is executed or carried out." Game Pick: 'Girl with a Heart Of' (Bent Spoon Games, commercial indie) "Set within the Underfoot, a subterranean city peopled by the Dark Race, Girl With A Heart Of tells the story of a somewhat precocious 11-year old, the people around her and the perennial struggle between Light and Dark." Game Pick: 'Egress: The Test of STS-417' (Dane Krams, freeware) "Egress: The Test of STS-417 is a short but sweet 2D adventure game about a two man recon team who were sent to carry out some maintenance work on an interplanetary probe. While trying to fix the equipment, they are interrupted by the sudden appearance of an alien life form before inexplicably losing consciousness." Game Pick: 'Altcode' (Francis Coulombe, freeware) "Altcode is a horizontal-scrolling shoot-'em-up rendered using ASCII characters, featuring waves after waves of enemies to shoot at and a variety of power-up items to collect." Game Pick: 'The Show Must Go On' (Hide & Seek, commercial indie) "The Show Must Go On will have you playing as a bumbling stage manager who must ensure that the show goes on. As a result, you'll have to take on the five mini-games and accomplish them to the best of your abilities." Game Pick: 'Cave Story+' (Nicalis, commercial indie) "While Pixel's/Daisuke Amaya's original Cave Story was a freeware title, this Nicalis co-developed 'plus' version includes the ability to toggle between the original aesthetics and new HD graphics and remastered music." Game Pick: 'Treasure Adventure Game' (Robit Studios, freeware) "Created by Robit Studios, Treasure Adventure Game is a gorgeous, retro-inspired open-world 2D platform adventure game. Starring a hook-handed kid and his parrot, it will have you working with NPC sleeping schedules, hats, weather effects and a customizable boat of your own." Game Pick: 'Wordsmith' (Cheer Games, commercial indie) "Best described as a mix between Scribblenauts, Diablo and Scrabble, Wordsmith will have you murdering unfortunate fauna in an attempt to collect letters. These letters, in turn, will allow you to construct a variety of useful nouns, nouns that will result in things like armor and vehicles." Game Pick: 'Cabals - the Card Game' (Kyy Games, browser) "Cabals is free, supports cross-platform play, and has Lovecraft-esque aesthetics. Though the core product is free, additional cards and various other features will be available for purchase with the in-game currency." Game Pick: 'Where is My Heart?' (Die Gute Fabrik, commercial indie) "Where is My Heart? revolves around a family of three monsters who must find their tree home, with every stage's goal being to retrieve hearts to open up the exit."