Dr. David’s Indie Roundup: The Deer God, MouseCraft, SanctuaryRPG, and Stained

You should enjoy your summer by playing more video games. That's a fact, and the Indie Roundup is here to help you pick some games that you should either be spending some time with or spending time being excited about. On this week's edition, we've got three recent releases for you to check out if you're so inclined. There are also an upcoming Kickstarter project that's filled with lovely art, a bunch of pixels, wild animals and deep overtones.

Let's talk indie games!

The Deer God survives Kickstarter and will rise on Wii U, PC, and Ouya

Before you read any further, check out the Kickstarter campaign for The Deer God from Crescent Moon Games. Once there, watch the game's promotional video. Check back here when you've completed the aforementioned task, and then we'll talk.

Okay, ready? Wasn't that quite spectacular? The Deer God is all about beauty and life, and its themes of spirituality, reincarnation, and nature, among other things, are dripping with intrigue and mystique. The game's pixel art looks absolutely incredible, utilizing a minimalist style with beautiful colors and shades. The music is also good and offers a nice atmospheric tone. Then there are the sound effects, which are simple but totally relaxing — nothing like the sound of a galloping deer breaking through rocks!

Inspired by Metroid, Zelda, Blaster Master, and Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP, The Deer God has all the potential to be an instant hit. And hey, it reached its Kickstarter goal of $26,000, which means we're likely to see the game on the Wii U and PC in January 2015.

MouseCraft out now on the PS4, PS3, Vita, and PC

The crazy scientist cat is a concept that's not used enough in video games. Thankfully, MouseCraft employs the crafty critter in a fun way, simultaneously giving you a game that mixes in a little bit of Tetris and a little bit of Lemmings to create a fun puzzle experience. Developed by the awesomely named Crunching Koalas, the game offers up varying degrees of challenge through the use of intuitive mechanics.

Also, there's that crazy scientist cat in the background, watching your every move as you guide mice toward tasty pieces of cheese. The game consists of 80 levels, but you can create your own and share them with the community.

MouseCraft is available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita, and Steam for $14.99. For more on the game, check out my preview.

SanctuaryRPG explores Greenlight and should totally be on Steam

You should play SanctuaryRPG. No, really. That's not just a bold, pretentious statement about an indie game. The fact of the matter is that this project from Black Shell Games is a blissfully retro dungeon crawler with a wholly unique text-based look and riveting gameplay. Oh, it's also free to download, though you can be super cool and give the team a few bucks if you'd like.

SanctuaryRPG hit Steam Greenlight a while back, but the game's been making its rounds on several gaming sites as of late, garnering plenty of deserved praise. Give it a look-see, and if you dig it, why not give this endeavor a vote on Greenlight?

Stained shatters glass on Steam

Speaking of Greenlight, Stained from RealAxis Software has graduated from the user voting campaign and has officially hit the Steam storefront proper. The 2D platformer utilizes stained glass and lighting effects to create a moody vibe and ancient look that's pretty cool to witness.

Tough bosses and cool abilities make up a lot of the action in Stained. You must use stained glass to progress in different, creative ways. You can shatter windows (and enemies) to create platforms and solve puzzles. As for the aforementioned bosses, don't be surprised if they reanimate even after you've shattered them to bits a few times.

Stained is available now for $7.99 on Steam. For an in-depth look at the game, check out my preview.

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