What's that, you say? You're finally done with Kingdom Rush for good and you have your life back? Oh, you fool. You poor, sweet, gorgeous fool...

News and Previews

Welp, There Goes My Productive Spring Brace yourselves, my friends, because Ironhide Game Studio wasn't content to dominate your spare time just the once. A new Kingdom Rush game is on the way, and you can expect to play it this spring! Details are scarce at the moment, though a single recent screenshot will serve to tantalize. Kingdom Rush absolutely dominated our readers, voted Game of the Year in 2011 by the community, and we can only expect that whatever comes next will be more of the addictive real-time defense strategy we've come to love!

Weird and Proud You wouldn't expect people partially responsible for the testosterone-fuelled shooter fest that was Bulletstorm to form an indie company and have their first title be slow, mind-bending mystery horror, but, well, here we are. And good news, since The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, an upcoming "weird horror fiction" adventure by The Astronauts, looks pretty darned neat. You'll play a detective able to visualise the scenes of lethal crimes as he races to track down a kidnapped boy, but soon finds his investigation takes him to the mountains where an ancient force has its own say in justice. Look for it to be distributed digitally on PC later this year, and check out the site for the official trailer!

Howdy, Hacker Best known for Atom Zombie Smasher, Blendo Games has a new title speeding straight for us and it's not what you might expect! Billed as "twentieth century cyberpunk", Quadrilateral Cowboy, out later this year for PC, says "When you have a top-of-the-line hacking deck armed with a 56.6k modem and a staggering 256k RAM, it means just one thing: you answer only to the highest bidder." Though the site doesn't offer much more info, take a gander at the trailer and it looks like you'll be playing the part of a hacker-for-hire as you infiltrate various places on foot or remote-robotically to accomplish objectives and hack your way to success. If you get all dewy-eyed at the thought of being a renegade computer-slinger, you'll definitely want to keep an eye out for this one, because it looks like it has serious "awwww, yeah" potential, though I'm personally more used to decking myself.

He Can't Wait to Meet You Warm up your vocal cords for shriekin', 'cause Slender: The Arrival is getting even closer to, y'know... arriving. Blue Isle Studios announced the game will be available for pre-order soon, which will also grant you access to the beta test! (PC only, unfortunately.) The game definitely has a lot to live up to, both through its own hype and the Slender-fever that's been sweeping the internet this past year, so time will tell whether it passes with flying colours or becomes just another bump in the night... though going by the screenshots and trailers, as well as the talent behind it, I think we can probably expect this one to be pretty darned good indeed.

Kickstarter/IndieGoGo Projects

How Can Unspeakable Evil Look So Dapper? If you've been waiting to pre-order ShadowShifter's upcoming horror adventure Huntsman: The Orphanage, now's your chance, and help fund it in the process! The team has opened up an IndieGoGo campaign, which will let you pre-order the game for $20.00USD, but all the cash raised will go towards one of the most important aspects of the game... modelling, rigging, and animating the seven-foot tall monstrous antagonist. The Huntsman is one of those inspiring sort of indie stories, with the developers rallying remarkable creative force instead of folding when their initial premise of making yet another Slenderman game fell through, and the end result is shaping up to be something truly, fantastically creepy. Have you been looking for a game that knows horror is more than violence and gore? Then this might be the title for you.

Epic Narrative Meets Action-RPG in Prague Moonbot Studios sends you to the 16th century for their Kickstarter for planned action-RPG Golem. On its way for PC, Mac and Linux, the game puts you in control of a newly created golem in the city of Prague, where you will be used to put a stop to the invasion lead by Cesare Borgia, but along the way as you grow, learn new skills, and rely on the city's guilds for repair and enhancement, you may learn there is more to you than anyone suspects. The game looks like it could be seriously gorgeous, and a minimum donation of $15.00USD will get you a copy of it when it releases.

Do you know an upcoming indie project or some community gaming related news you think deserves some attention? Send me an e-mail with LINK DUMP FRIDAY in the subject line at dora AT casualgameplay DOT com with the info, and we'll judge it with the all-seeing glare of our own self-importance for inclusion in a future Link Dump Friday article!