Best Of Indie Games: Swept Off Your Feet

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor 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 goodies in this edition include a unique Minesweeper remake with RPG elements, a pair of 2D platformers, a space trading game, a new iPhone game release from IGF award winner Erik Svedang, and a stealth game created by a group of Digipen students. Here's the highlights from the last seven days: Game Pick: 'Mamono Sweeper' (Hojamaka Games, browser) "Mamono Sweeper is a unique take on the classic Minesweeper game, where mines are replaced with monsters and you have RPG-like character stats to keep track of. You gain experience points by defeating monsters, although players will start to receive damage if they take on an enemy that is of a higher level than them." Game Pick: 'Orton and the Princess' (Chman, browser) "Orton and the Princess is a Flixel-based 2D platformer that features eighteen levels in total, where players are in control of a square-shaped hero on a quest to rescue the princess referenced by the title. The game was designed to be challenging and frustrating, although the difficulty doesn't quite reach the heights of Jumper and Meat Boy." Game Pick: 'Kometen' (Erik Svedang and Niklas Akerblad, commercial indie) "Kometen is a gorgeous exploration experience developed by Erik Svedang, developer of the IGF-winning Blueberry Garden. Filled with beautiful watercolour art by Niklas Akerblad, there is no real goal as such - the idea is to shoot around the universe discovering planets and seeing the sights." Game Pick: 'Subsonic' (Team Height Advantage, freeware) "Subsonic is a 2D stealth game in which you play as a test subject for Subsonic Inc., an organization that deals with the research of high-tech equipment and top secret technology. Each level is populated by guards who will attempt to apprehend you on sight, although they tend to give up the chase easily when you quickly find cover behind a wall or crawl into an air duct for safety." Game Pick: 'Voyager' (Big Block Games, browser) "Voyager is a space trading game in which you play as the pilot of a spacecraft, transporting goods for a quick profit and earning the experience needed to access other planets around the system you're in. At each port you're usually given the options of trading at the commodities market, installing new weapons or ship parts, and even talk to patrons at the local watering hole if you so desire." Game Pick: 'FiNCK' (Nifflas, freeware) "In Nifflas' 2D platformer FiNCK (short for Fire Nuclear Crocodile Killer), you play an unnamed protagonist who has the ability to pick up blocks and enemies to use for solving puzzles. There are five areas to explore in total, with additional challenges presented in the form of coins that you can choose to collect or ignore."