I nonetheless keep in mind the day I discovered that SEGA had been going to discontinue the Dreamcast. It was early 2001 and the PlayStation journal I used to be studying (we used to really learn magazines again then) lined the demise of the Dreamcast earlier than swiftly transferring on to the successes of the PS2. Because of these successes and the huge choice for PlayStation over the SEGA Saturn the era earlier, Sony had nearly single-handedly pushed SEGA out of the console enterprise leaving them to focus on software program solely from that day forth. With the Dreamcast topping out at a meagre 9 million and alter in gross sales and the PS2 hitting the dizzy heights of over 150 million items offered, the Dreamcast was destined to be little greater than a footnote within the pages of gaming historical past.
In case you’d mentioned to me on that day in 2001 that we would nonetheless be seeing new video games launched for the Dreamcast on a reasonably common foundation in 2016 I might have merely smiled and nodded whereas I backed away slowly. And but right here we’re fifteen years later and the SEGA Dreamcast has a surprisingly vibrant neighborhood of indie builders nonetheless releasing video games even if SEGA has had little to do with the console (aside from repairs) because the early ’00s. So in case you’ve nonetheless acquired a type of artful white containers tucked away within the attic someplace, and even in case you’re simply taking a look at moving into retro gaming for the primary time, there’s most likely one thing on the horizon that is price looking at.
Though we’re solely a month into 2016, the Dreamcast has already seen one console unique sport launch in Leona’s Difficult Adventures. Impressed by the Amiga puzzle sport Gem X, Leona’s duties the participant with more and more, erm, difficult color primarily based puzzles much like that handheld Lights Out sport of the mid-nineties that you simply may keep in mind. Leona’s Difficult Adventures is accessible for buy as you are studying this on Steam, however the Dreamcast model comes with a full jewel case together with art work. Which is clearly so significantly better.
Seeking to the long run, the lengthy in growth Elysian Shadows is slated to hit the streets sooner or later in 2016. After coming to the general public consciousness through a sequence of YouTube growth movies in 2007, after which a profitable Kickstarter marketing campaign in 2014, Elysian Shadows is a job enjoying sport that includes customisable characters, a dynamic day/evening cycle, and an attention grabbing 2D/3D hybrid artwork model. Set in a fantasy world akin to the one seen in basic JRPG Ultimate Fantasy VI, Elysian Shadows tells a narrative of battle between non secular zealots handed magical powers from The Creator and atheists compelled to depend on futuristic know-how. Whereas there is not any stable launch date but and growth of the sport has hit a few snags lately, developer GyroVorbis maintains that the title will see launch in 2016, and who’re we to argue?
Scheduled to come back in June of this yr, Alice Desires Match is a 2D Bomber Man-like from French builders Alice Crew. Gamers should traverse the 2D mazes utilizing their bombs to clear paths and destroy the opposite gamers within the stage, whereas additionally in search of energy ups to extend the variety of bombs they will drop or the injury their bombs do upon detonation. The sport incorporates a sturdy multiplayer mode together with seven completely different sport sorts starting from the usual loss of life matches to extra elaborate modes involving math puzzles.
Hypertension: Concord of Darkness is a horror first individual shooter that began life as an extension of the Blood franchise however morphed into it is personal story as growth moved additional alongside. After some disputes with Atari as a consequence of belongings from Blood getting used within the manufacturing of Hypertension, in addition to a quick cancellation of the undertaking due to that, growth of Concord of Darkness has progressed with the sport anticipated to see a launch sooner or later in 2016.
Hucast Video games need to launch Redux 2, the sequel to their remake of the scrolling shoot-em-up DUX sooner or later in 2016. Pre-orders for the sport are already reside and there is a fancy collector’s version which features a soundtack CD and a DVD of extras in case you’re inclined to pay up for that type of factor. The vanilla sport options seven model new levels and a two participant co-operative mode for the players that love to do their arcade taking pictures with a buddy in tow. In case you’re a fan of R-Sort or different ship shooters of that ilk then Redux 2 could be a sport price maintaining a tally of.
In case you’re in search of one thing a little bit extra out of the unusual, away from the 2D shooters and puzzle video games, then the Dreamcas t indie scene can cater to your wants with a title like SLaVE from Isotope and Jay Townsend. SLaVE makes an attempt to mesh the gaudy aesthetics of ’80s arcade video games with the addictive first individual gunplay of titles like Doom and Wolfenstein. If the mixture of eye-popping colors and punishing first individual taking pictures rubs you the best method, then SLaVE might very properly be a sport for you. In case you’re focused on it you may wish to transfer rapidly although; the sport is deliberate to be ultra-limited version with not more than 484 copies of sport destined for launch.
SEGA gave up on the Dreamcast within the face of ultra-stiff competitors from the Sony PlayStation 2 after a mere two years in the marketplace, however there is a neighborhood of devoted indie builders who simply refuse to maneuver on. It has a cult following which might be nonetheless producing new content material fifteen years after the console’s industrial demise. Because the discontinuation of the console in 2001 there have been over thirty impartial titles launched for it, together with Sturmwind, Rush Rush Rally Racing, Wind and Water, and Gunlord. So maybe subsequent time you are within the attic and you see your previous Dreamcast tucked between a Furby and a Spirograph, think about digging it out, dusting it off, and seeing what the previous woman can do in 2016.