It's December, the time for Christmas cheer and a few thousand Ludum Dare jam entries. The theme this year is actually two-fold - "Growing" and "Two button controls" - and hundreds of developers have explored the themes in countless ways.
With almost 3,000 entries, it would be impossible to play them all, so here is a selection of twenty games that grabbed my attention with their mechanics, looks, or both.
If you like these or just want to browse the submissions yourself, you can find the entire collection of Ludum Dare 34 entries here.
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A 2 button space trading miniature. Buy, sell, dodge pirates, fling asteroids and get berated by your gran.
Reap - PC
Your ship breaks up on the rocky shores, but luckily you've made it to the island! Every action drains your energy, but the sleep you get each night revitalizes you
Forklift Man - PC, Mac
You are Forklift Man! He can rapidly grow his limbs at his will. His amazing superpower must be put in good use among various challenges and puzzles.
Cubyrinth - PC
Cubyrinth is an atmospheric Puzzle/Exploration game. The level is constructed like a Rubik's Cube, where every sections can lead you anywhere if you choose the right button to press.
Concrete Jungle - Browser
Guide the plant to sunlight above its dark and dingy habitat.
Mobsferatu - PC, Mac, Linux
Take your place in an angry mob while you climb through Nosferatu's Tower seeking revenge, avoiding traps and looking for other folks to join your crusade and your crowd will grow.
SAAM - PC
Play as a Crewmember 341 who is waking up in their cryo-stasis pod on a ship called Trieste. You will be assisted by S.A.A.A.M. (System Automation, Assistance, and Analysis Matrix). Will you do what it wants you to? Will you be obedient?
DUO - PC, Linux, Browser
We have some funky geometry for you, again. All you gonna get is two buttons and lots of deadly spikes.
CICP - Browser
aka the Center for Interplanetary Pest Control
2DOOR - PC, Browser
The game is about following the right path, guided by the form and sound of illuminated doors. Choose the right path and pass through all 6 chambers.
Alien Pathogen - PC
Alien Pathogen is Top-Down Sci-Fi Horror Shooter. Mars 2315 , Alien Pathogen control Facility - Extraterrestrial decontamination Unit.
BoltStorm - PC, Linux, Browser
Boltstorm is a game about a Knight that ventures into the dungeon to save his fellow knights, but instead he gets trapped and is attacked by merciless executioners!
Abyssal Zone - PC, Mac
Abyssal Zone is a puzzle game similar to Sokoban.
Button Simulator 2000 - Browser
You've been unemployed for a while, and by the time you applied for the job online you would have taken just about anything. The advert said "Wanted - Grower to maintain crops and ensure high yield. Must have experience using HappyTime GrowMaster 2.0 HyperTerminal growing machinery."
Stargazer - PC
Enter into a mysterious icy world on the brink of its end. Solve puzzles and unravel the story of men and stars.
Growees - PC, Browser
Help mother nature to overwhelm the wild industrialization!
Double Kick Heroes - PC, Browser
Double Kick Heroes mixes a shoot'em up with a rhythm game! You must survive on the highway to hell by killing zombies with your gundillac! Struggle throught the 4 levels of total madness and escape from this nightmare! Only the power of Black Metal can save your band!
Breathe - PC, Browser
Four hundred years ago, in an ancient forest of somewhere in Japan Ni-tsu was left by her family in an very old temple. She started a deep meditation journey in order to fulfill her loneliness and to reach the highest state of illumination, however evil spirits won’t let her in peace.
We invite you to help Ni-Tsu in this journey of self-illumination!
Unicell Manager - PC
You are controlling inner workings of a unicell organism, which is growing bigger and bigger, eating plancton, fish, and people...
White Rose - PC, Mac, Linux, Browser
In a world created by sound, play as a boy with synesthesia as he fights the ever growing darkness with music and his fists, painting the world in color with every damaging blow. Choose between 3 tracks and destroy the monsters before the song ends, or else they will overwhelm you. Turn up the beats and enjoy the visual experience.
It's that time of year again, time for a new Ludum Dare and hundreds of new game jam entries. Ludum Dare 33's theme is "You are the Monster", and developers have explored the theme in myriad ways.
It's impossible to play or see every entry, but here are some that caught my eye while browsing the submissions
You can check out more Ludum Dare 33 games here.
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Death of a Lich - PC
The grand lich is immortal and, many years after each death, returns back to the world of the living, thanks to his crown phylactery.
Play as the grand lich and journey down the tower in search of escape.
The Sacrifice - PC, Mac
The Sacrifice is a management game where you, along with the five noble families of the Village, decide on what needs to be done in order to survive the island's harsh seasons.
Alongside these tasks is a dark secret that the Village has upheld for decades, one that is more crucial to its survival than anything else. It requires an iron will to do whatever is necessary to protect the Village, its secrets, and life itself.
The Monster Inside - PC, Mac, Browser
A film noir style audio-visual novella.
A mysterious woman... a string of murders... and a man with a hidden past.
Delicious Cortex - Browser
Play a Lich King (and eat brains)
Mythos - PC, Mac, Linux, Browser
Mythos is a sidescroller platformer based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cuthulhu Mythos.
Me - PC
An intriguing story in a 2D sidescroller.
Bloodworm - PC, Mac
Be Bloodworm, and escape this place they've held you in for too long.
Grave - PC, Mac, Linux
Totem - Browser
It's impossible to play or see every entry, but here are some that caught my eye while browsing the submissions
You can check out more Ludum Dare 33 games here.
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Death of a Lich - PC
The grand lich is immortal and, many years after each death, returns back to the world of the living, thanks to his crown phylactery.
Play as the grand lich and journey down the tower in search of escape.
The Sacrifice is a management game where you, along with the five noble families of the Village, decide on what needs to be done in order to survive the island's harsh seasons.
Alongside these tasks is a dark secret that the Village has upheld for decades, one that is more crucial to its survival than anything else. It requires an iron will to do whatever is necessary to protect the Village, its secrets, and life itself.
A film noir style audio-visual novella.
A mysterious woman... a string of murders... and a man with a hidden past.
Play a Lich King (and eat brains)
Mythos is a sidescroller platformer based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cuthulhu Mythos.
An intriguing story in a 2D sidescroller.
Be Bloodworm, and escape this place they've held you in for too long.
