Euclidean features all the inspiration and creativity that indie games are known for. It simply lacks the execution to be more than frustrating. Between the very slow pace of the incredibly short levels that kill the player pretty much consistently, or the fact that collision doesn't work correctly and the player can drift through other objects, there's plenty wrong with the title. There's also just not enough content to talk about in any real depth, and that's just one more unfortunate nail driven in the coffin of Euclidean.
While it's hard to find anything overtly enjoyable in the experience, Expand never feels like a complete waste of time. It's a tough game to explain on many levels. It's more of a platformer than anything else, or perhaps a puzzle game. It's not horrible, and it's not amazing.
The team over at Cococucumber should rest easily knowing they made something so vibrant and full of life. While it hits more than a few bumps towards its finale, Planet of the Eyes comes through the finish line as an excellent experience worth having. Almost like a short poem or brief jazz piece, it's an excellent way to spend an afternoon, feeling immersed in an experience that's truly one of a kind.
Gunpowder stumbles, but finds its way back with grace. Many of these hiccups are largely forgivable, and amount to minor annoyances. When the ball is served and it's time to begin, it's a title that everyone should try. Innovation is not indicative of a good product, but when pulled off, as Gunpowder clearly has done, it's beyond being a good product. Many gamers forget the personal struggles someone goes through to make a game, putting everything they have into it. Fortunately, for developer Rogue Rocket Games, that paid off splendidly.
Inside My Radio is an excellent example of taking the basic ideas of a genre, distilling them down to their most enjoyable elements, and executing it almost perfectly. While there are some hiccups, the game is still an instant piece of indie game mythology that anyone would be truly remised to skip over. What Seaven Studio comes up with next is sure to be a treat, because if Inside My Radio is any indication of their skills, they will be a juggernaut among their peers.
At the end of the experience, it's one that wouldn't be worth missing, but getting to that point could be disappointing more than inspiring.
Color Guardians is the kind of game that feels like it needs to be liked. It almost feels like it was secretly released already. It took notes, amped up what the test group really liked, and then degraded the things they didn't. While the soundtrack is great, it's also very much what would be expected. Twitchy and very demanding (in some very unfair ways, more often than not), and dull and repetitive graphics remove any good work the soundtrack does. This leaves behind a game that, for all intents and purposes, falls short of all of its goals.