Rainblood

RainBlood, an RPG from Chinese indie developer Soulframe, has just been released in English translation. Bloodrain uses hand-drawn environments and characters (with a little help form RPGmaker) to create a plot-heavy RPG set in fictionalized China. In this single-player game, players will enter the town of Pang to uncover mysteries involving a plague on the city and hidden loyalties as they fight monsters and avoid would-be assassins. The game takes place in one day in Pang, but flashbacks, interior stories and a complex overall storyline promise to make the game more of an interactive novel than a button-masher.

I’m pretty excited to check it out, I love RPGs in general, and usually indie storylines prevent my friends from having to listen to me whine endlessly about how the game could have been better with more character development.  I also love Chinese myths, but after two years of living in  China, my Mandarin is still basically confined to reading a menu or buying a train ticket, so I’m pleased to see the release of the English version.

There’s also a sequel to Rainblood already in the works.

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Indie Games Updates

TayKrOn, the folks who did the PC game Slide Colors, as well as bunch of Kongregate games, announce the launch of Slide Colors for the Xbox.  I reviewed Slide Colors fir Indie Game Mag a few months ago, and my IGM review was quoted in the press release announcing the XBox version. The XBox version will cost 80 Microsoft points, which is a dollar in non-stupid currency, so it’s well worth checking out this match-three.

SubSoap, behind Faerie Solitaire (did I mention how much I liked this game?) are planning the launch of an episodic sequel.  I thought the original Faerie Solitaire was adorable and I can’t wait to see the new features.

Finally, don’t forget that Indie Game Mag is running a sale through Valentine’s Day!

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Indie Game Mag Pay-What-You-Want Sale

Want to subscribe to Indie Game Mag without paying $25 a year? As gamedrinkcode has pointed out, gamers can only spend $10 on their hobby, which is why Indie Game Mag is offering a Pay What You Want sale. Get a year’s digital subscription for $1, or $10, or however much you’d like, now through February 8th. Which Mike seems to think is Valentine’s Day.

Via The Pay-What-You-Want We Heart IGM Sale

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Best Press Release Ever

I don’t often post press releases in their entirety (and I get a bit annoyed with publicists who think I should) but I loved this one and wanted to share. The games aren’t bad, either.

Santa Claus Presents The Indie Video Games Advent Calendar 2009

Santa’s Office, North Pole (December 3, 2009) – Santa Claus announced today the indie xmas advent calendar is available for every merry indie gamer out there. Santa’s official advent calendar is featuring unique and innovate indie video games at www.indiexmas.com

The Indie games advent calendar features 24 doors, which can be opened one-by-one. Behind each door, gamers find one or more fun indie game to play, and trailers or demos to watch. Naturally, the indie advent calendar is only available in Christmas time.

When Santa was asked about the fun factor of these games, he replied with a warm “Ho ho ho!” laughter and continued eating porridge.

To follow the Santa’s official indie advent calendar, please visit www.indiexmas.com.

About Santa Claus:

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply “Santa”, is a legendary figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.

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