News involving the video games developed in Canada, and the people who make them. Indie Games, AAA Games, and in between featured and reported on.
Released earlier this year on Steam and itch.io, LaPointe Joints’ (@LeBatardHarry) twin-stick shooter is coming to Switch for the very reasonable price of $5.99 in a few weeks.
Read More13AM Games, the Toronto developer behind Runbow and Double Cross have announced their next game Dawn of the Monster and will debut at this weekends G-Fest XXVI event in Chicago. Dawn of the Monsters will be a kaiju-inspired couch co-op brawler - and we’ll get our first trailer, and perhaps a list of platforms this weekend. Until then we have some screenshots to admire.
— 13AM Games 🔜 G-Fest (@13amgames) July 3, 2019
Toronto-based 13AM Games have announced a new paid expansion for their 2022 co-operative kaiju beat ‘em up Dawn of Monsters releasing in 2023.
Toronto-based 13AM Games have announced their side-scrolling, kaiju beat-'em-up game will be releasing on pretty much every platformer later this month on March 15th. Limited Run Games also has a physical edition for all platforms you can check out here.
13AM Games to Reveal Third Title Dawn of the Monsters at G-Fest XXVI
TORONTO, CANADA -- July 09, 2019 -- 13AM Games, the award-winning independent studio behind Runbow and Double Cross, is excited to announce the unveiling of their third title, Dawn of the Monsters. The official reveal will take place on July 12th, 2019 during the opening ceremonies of Chicago’s G-Fest XXVI, the world’s largest kaiju convention. Attendees of the opening ceremonies will have the chance to see an exclusive trailer featuring the first publicly-seen footage of the game. More information will follow for the general public in the coming months.
Dawn of the Monsters is a couch co-op, brawling action game that takes up to four players on a worldwide tour of destruction. Players take on roles from an all new cast of kaiju and are tasked with defeating the “Nephilim”, a horde of monsters that are destroying the planet. Conquer four unique worlds and unlock The Maw, an endless onslaught of kaiju brawls. Featuring beautiful 2.5D graphics inspired by the works of Mike Mignola, combat inspired by classics from the action and fighting game genres, and fully destructible environments, couch co-op in Dawn of the Monsters is bigger and badder than ever before. G-Fest will also feature a Dawn of the Monsters panel led by Creative Director and CEO of 13AM Games, Alex Rushdy. Alex is a longtime kaiju fanatic, and will be partnering his toy company, Seismic, LLC with 13AM Games to produce soft vinyl figures of one of the game’s headlining kaiju, Megadon. Attendees of G-Fest can visit the Seismic booth to complete a kaiju-themed survey for the chance to win a figure.
The game is currently expected to release in 2020. Platforms will be announced at a later date.
More information about 13AM Games and their titles can be found on their website or by following them on FaceBook or Twitter. More information about Seismic, LLC can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Press kit available here.
About 13AM Games
13AM Games is an independent video games studio based in Toronto, Canada. In 2015, they released their first title, Runbow, to critical acclaim, followed by their sophomore title, Double Cross in 2019. In the interim, the studio published Pirate Pop Plus from developer Dadako. 13AM Games’ members come from a variety of backgrounds and skillsets, and are always pushing themselves to make something fresh and exciting for gamers everywhere.
About Seismic
Seismic is an independent toy production company focusing on kaiju and pop culture collectibles in classic soft vinyl style. Founded by two lifelong collectors, Seismic aims to bring designer toy quality to unique IP partnerships.
Shown off at today’s Playstation State of Play, Cococucumber announced their couch-coop voxel dungeon crawler will be coming to PlayStation 4 this Summer. They then followed up saying it’ll also be out on Xbox One and PC. You can wishlist the game here on Steam.
⚡#Riverbond - Gameplay Trailer ⚡
— RIVERBOND ⚔️ (@cococucumberco) May 9, 2019
Featuring crossover skins from 8 #indiegames 😍
Coming this Summer to PS4, Xbox One & PC 🔥
RTs appreciated! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tY3XAbA1y4
In true dungeon-crawling style, Riverbond takes you on a journey through memorable worlds where you battle monsters, find treasure and become the hero. We wanted to channel the nostalgia of playing games from the 16-bit era and infuse it with fast and fluid controls for maximum action! Riverbond lets you choose your play style by letting you select from a ton of melee or ranged weapons to fight waves of enemies, take down huge bosses or completely decimate everything in sight.
It was also announced that there will be plenty of skins from other games added to the game, including Drinkbox Studios own Juan from Guacamelee, Lover Mu from Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, and Robot 5 from Cococumber’s previous game Planet of the Eyes.
Kitchener-based indie studio Fluxscopic have released their 2021 puzzle-loaded action adventure game Mayhem in Single Valley on consoles.
Toronto-based Komi Games partnered with Limited Run Games to release a physical edition of their 2021 arena fighter Mighty Fight Federation for PS4 and PS5.
Montréal-based game dev Johan Vinet has partnered with Limited Run Games to release physical copies of his upcoming 2D cinematic platformer LUNARK for PlayStation 4, 5 and Nintendo Switch- set to release later this week.
Montréal-based Paper Cult Games have partnered with Limited Run Games to release a physical edition of their “one-hit kill die-retry murderballet” game for PlayStation 4 and 5.
Artist-run, Montréal-based indie game studio KO_OP announced a new release date for their cinematic narrative adventure game about some teenage dinos dealing with the end of high school and the world.
Toronto-based Torn Banner Studios has revealed their 2023 roadmap for the beloved 2022 jolly good medieval slapstick simulator Chivalry II, which will bring a much-requested (by us as well) feature: cross-platform parties.
Vancouver-based indie game powerhouse Extremely OK Games have announced a new physical copy of their hit 2018 indie platformer Celeste for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in collaboration with Fangamer.
Blackbird Interactive announced during today’s Xbox Direct that their upcoming RTS Minecraft Legends will launch in April for all major platforms.
Eidos-Montréal’s beleaguered 2020 live-service game Marvel’s Avengers is ending official support later this year.
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Nobody Saves the World’s release, Toronto-based Drinkbox Studios has added a new dinosaur form and a carnival-themed “endless” dungeon.
Certain Affinity the Austin Texas based developer who have worked with some of the major studios and franchises including Halo, Call Of Duty, and Doom have announced they’ll be opening up a studio right here in Toronto. The new studio, which opens this month, will be support the Austin studio which is currently working on an original IP, a sci-fi co-op FPS titled ‘Last Expedition”. You can check out all the details in the press release below.
CERTAIN AFFINITY ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF A NEW TORONTO STUDIO
New Studio to support AAA development of Certain Affinity games
January 30, 2019 (Austin, TX) – Certain Affinity, the largest independent video game developer in Austin, today announced that it will be opening a second development location in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Certain Affinity has a proven track-record developing innovative, triple-A action games, including both original titles and co-development of games in blockbuster franchises like “Call of Duty,” “Halo,”, “DOOM,” and “Left 4 Dead.” Certain Affinity’s new studio will be opening in February in the Fashion District in the heart of downtown Toronto. To select the right location for its new office, Certain Affinity worked closely with Toronto Global, a team of experienced business advisors assisting global businesses to expand into the Toronto Region.
Certain Affinity recently celebrated its 12th anniversary; during its history it has developed or co-developed 29 products across 12 different franchises, with more than 100 million units sold. The new Toronto location will support the Austin studio currently developing an ambitious original title as well as an original IP game, “Last Expedition,” which is a sci-fi co-op FPS.
“Toronto is becoming a hub for game development with its progressive and multicultural environment and its thriving design and technical talent pool,” said Max Hoberman, Certain Affinity’s President and Founder. “We have built a company not only with top talent and benefits, but also with one of the game industry’s most inclusive and diverse cultures, and we look forward to bringing this mindset to our new Toronto studio and to being a positive member of the Toronto business community.”
The new studio, which is expected to ramp up to 60 developers later this year, will be a fully integrated extension of the Austin office, which currently has more than 170 full-time employees. Historically, Certain Affinity has been known for development and co-development on other studios’ titles. While maintaining its core co-development business, the company has recently shifted its focus to lead game development, with a model of developing games as a service, available online and continuously updated with new features and content.
“The Toronto Region is drawing the attention of the world for its emerging digital media and game development sectors, its diverse and welcoming community and dynamic cultural scene,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “I’m thrilled that Certain Affinity will call Toronto home, create jobs for our talented residents and contribute to our reputation as a global centre for innovation, creativity and economic growth. Welcome to the Toronto Region!”
Certain Affinity is seeking a variety of skilled and passionate team members to join the company in Austin and Toronto, including artists, engineers, designers, producers, and more. Anyone interested in joining this growing independent AAA game developer can see a list of current job openings at certainaffinity.com/careers.
About Certain Affinity
Certain Affinity (CA) was founded in 2006 as a bootstrap startup with the goal of creating innovative, top-quality action games. CA brings together an exceptionally experienced, unusually talented group to form one of the largest independent game developers in Austin, Texas. The company’s 170+ full-time employees include veterans from dozens of successful game studios, with Max Hoberman, CA’s founder and former Multiplayer and Online Lead for the Halo series, serving as President.
If you’re still in the holiday spirit then you should check out A Christmas Peril (itch.io here, or Steam here) which is a simple-to-pick-up snowball fighting multiplayer game with 100% of proceeds being donated to local Toronto charity LOFT Community Services. The game features four holiday level, easy controls, and customizable settings for each fight.
You can check out the trailer and screenshots below - but make sure to check out Steam or itch.io page. For a few bucks you can get a fun winter-themed multiplayer game, and donate to a good cause.
Celebrate the holidays with an easy-to-pick-up snowball fight between you and the rest of the kids in the schoolyard. Fight against AI opponents or your friends via local co-op to determine who will come out on top this holiday season.
Released earlier this year on Steam and itch.io, LaPointe Joints’ (@LeBatardHarry) twin-stick shooter is coming to Switch for the very reasonable price of $5.99 in a few weeks.
Way of the Passive Fist came out earlier this year, we even spoke to Jason Canam shortly after it released, and now the game has been updated with the "New Dawn" update.
The New Dawn update is a free download and includes a new Epilogue campaign "New Dawn" which has 5 stages, a new rogue-like Survival Mode, as well as some revamped story and difficult adjustments..
#WayOfThePassiveFist is BIGGER and BETTER than EVER with our greatest update yet: NEW DAWN!
— Household Games (@HHGamesInc) June 21, 2018
NEW DAWN is live on Steam, and is coming soon to consoles!https://t.co/YOS063pNEw pic.twitter.com/MAn3FKLWIH
If you own Way of the Passive Fist then you can download the free update now. If not, the game is currently on sale on Steam.
Toronto GameJam was a few weeks ago, and friend of the site Tabby let me know that most of the games from the event are up on itch.io - you can check them out right here.
Make sure to also check out our Discord which has active chats about gamedev related things :)
A couple weeks ago Ludum Dare 41 happened, and lots of local devs took to their computers for 2 to 3 days to make some fabulous games!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ludum Dare, it is a very popular online game jam with two competitions: compo, in which you make a game in 48 hours solo, and jam, where it's 72 hours with teams.
This Ludum Dare's theme was "combine two incompatible genres". It was a tough design challenge that lead to a bunch of interesting and fun games!
I'll be highlighting some of the games made for Ludum Dare here in Toronto. Be sure to check them out!
Click on the image previews of the game to visit their respective Ludum Dare pages!
Combinations: Racing & Walking Simulator
JAM GAME by Lameosine, YinTing He, E Sarkis, Jake Butineau, and John Wang
Combinations: Turn Based & Real Time Action
COMPO GAME by Potondo
Combinations: Turn Based & Top Down Shooter
JAM GAME by gi11
Combinations: Not Stated
COMPO GAME by Gabe
Combinations: Match 3 & Action
JAM GAME by sebastianscaini, Del Nordlund, Flatterp, and aceofhearts
Disclaimer: this is my game.
If I missed anyone's games send me a DM on Twitter (@sebastianscaini) and I'll update the post with your game!
Our friends over at 13AM Games announced their newest game today - Double Cross, which was announced for Nintendo Switch and PC. Double Cross is a 2D platformer, where you're also given a "proton slinger" which let's you grab onto objects as you traverse through the level - but you can check that out in the trailer below.
Developed by 13AM Games, the studio behind award-winning Runbow, Double Cross features an adventure-game style investigation crossed with an intense action platformer. Players are also free to customize Zahra's play style in order to become the top RIFT agent. official site: http://www.13amgames.com/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/13AMGAMES twitter: https://twitter.com/13amgames
"Double Cross is an exciting action adventure game that has players take on the role of Zahra,
an agent of RIFT—Regulators of Interdimensional Frontiers and Technology— whose job it is
to maintain peace and order between all dimensions. A recent attack on RIFT headquarters
thrusts players into a thrilling new case where they must use their RIFT-developed gear to sling,
swing, fight, and investigate across distinct dimensions. During their travels players will gather
clues to bring themselves one step closer to finding the identity of RIFT’s attacker and save every variation of the universe."
Double Cross is announced for Switch and PC with a planned release date of this year. If you're at PAX this weekend you can also check it out.
Welcome to the world of Double Cross! A high-flying platformer/adventure game hybrid coming to #NintendoSwitch and #PC later this year! Come check it out at #PAXEast2018! : https://t.co/u2N49tXU88
— 13AM Games ✈️ PAX EAST (@13amgames) April 3, 2018
Toronto-based 13AM Games have announced a new paid expansion for their 2022 co-operative kaiju beat ‘em up Dawn of Monsters releasing in 2023.
Toronto-based 13AM Games have announced their side-scrolling, kaiju beat-'em-up game will be releasing on pretty much every platformer later this month on March 15th. Limited Run Games also has a physical edition for all platforms you can check out here.
Manimal Sanctuary is one of the more unique games I've come across in a while, and it takes place in Toronto (specifically Toronto Island, and more specifically in a post-apocalyptic setting). It's described as a "VR lurking simulator" and you can check out the official description from the iTunes store:
Manimal Sanctuary is a virtual reality lurking simulator that uses mobile technology to enable every player's ultimate fantasy: to play a creature -- part coral reef, part Cthulhu -- who consumes human emotions. Set on the Toronto Islands after the rest of the world is devoured by gibbering monstrosities, you eavesdrop on the survivors and their everyday dramas involving things like bad potato crops and graffiti tags. And if those emotions aren't delicious enough, you can compel them to tell devastating secrets.
You can check out the trailer and screenshots below - also make sure to download the game for free on iOS and Android. I was able to play a bit of the game even without the mobile VR unit thing, so give it a whirl!
Play a creature part coral reef, part Cthulhu, who consumes human emotions. Free demo at http://postopian.games Set on the Toronto Islands after the rest of the world is devoured by gibbering monstrosities, you eavesdrop on the survivors and their petty dramas involving things like bad potato crops and graffiti tags.
I was just mentioning on this weeks podcast that VR appears to just be full steam ahead right now, with Bloxiq VR shown last week, here comes Mervils, a fantasy VR game from London developer VitruviusVR.
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