Leave it to one Shaun Cichacki to throw off this week’s roguelike vibes! I jest — he knows I love ’em. Plus, “roguelike” has become so delightfully broad that it’s merging with subgenres I never would’ve thought would make sense. On this week’s Indie Invasion, the VICE Games squad has mostly been bitten by the roguelike bug!
let the indie invasion commence!
dwayne jenkins — managing editor

I played Caves of Qud for all of half an hour, and already, I knew something special was going on. My first real run after the tutorial training wheels were off lasted 10 minutes. However, in those 10 minutes, I had a hell of a story to tell. This is cited as the actual Rogue successor. While I never had the honor of playing its forebear, I now understand why people quickly flocked to and supported this one.
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I’m still debating whether I’ll meticulously detail future runs on here (if even one person requests it, I will). But, I look forward to hopefully not dying horribly at the hands (or teeth, rather) of a bunch of angry primates during my first quest. The PB bar is low, though, so really, anything past 10 minutes is progress!
matt vatankhah — contributor

My indie love this week goes to Heroes of Hammerwatch 2. I remember enjoying the original Hammerwatch back in 2013 but hadn’t revisited the series since. When I convinced a few buddies to jump into Heroes 2 with me this week, I don’t think any of us expected to have as good a time as we did.
Heroes of Hammerwatch 2 is an old-school ode to Gauntlet if there ever was one. Seven fantasy archetypes, each with three unique specializations to unlock, make classic dungeon crawling more fun than ever. Throw in a dash of roguelite elements to the mix, and hey, you’ve got my jam to a tee.
anthony franklin II — contributor

I’m ready to dig into more Sworn. Now that Demon Dwayne [Editor’s Note: Hehehehe] brought this game to my attention, my Hades brain is active (I was saving it for Hades II, but NOOOOOOO). So now, King Arthur and his court must get their asses beat repeatedly. As always: GO, BIRDS.
shaun cichacki — contributor

Oh yeah, we’re back in this indie thing. The Cichacki Family House Flipping Business (LLC) has never been better, and House Flipper 2 has become a nightly occurrence in this household. We’ve been buying houses. Flipping houses. Taking on odd jobs. It doesn’t matter how big or small the job is, Shaun and Katie WILL be there. After getting our Perks up to nearly the highest level, we’ve become machines at making sure houses are ready to rock and roll before the night is over.
To be fair, there are still plenty of nights when we go past our bedtime. We can’t help it; House Flipper 2 is just too good, and it’s even better with co-op. I’m hoping that even more content arrives in the future because at the rate we’re going? Every house is bound to be flipped sooner rather than later.
indie invasion has reached its end… for now
There sure was quite a bit to roguelike there, eh? …Anyway, that concludes another eventful Indie Invasion! I’ll admit, though, I now have to play House Flipper 2 so I can endlessly obsess over every nook and cranny. Until next week, gamer pals. Don’t forget the most important lesson. “A friend in need is a friend indie’d!”
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