Spelunky is a 2008 source-available 2D platform game created by independent developer Derek Yu and released as freeware for Microsoft Windows. It was remade for the Xbox 360 in 2012, with ports of the new version following for various platforms, including back to Microsoft Windows. The player controls a spelunker who explores a series of caves while collecting treasure, saving damsels, fighting enemies, and dodging traps. The caves are procedurally generated, making each run-through of the game unique.
Bit.Trip Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, generally shortened as Runner2, is a 2013 side-scrolling platformer developed by Gaijin Games. The game is the direct sequel to Bit.Trip Runner and has been released as a downloadable title available on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360 and Wii U consoles, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux and on iOS, as well as PlayStation 4 in 2016. The PC, Mac, Linux, and Wii U versions were self-published by Gaijin Games, and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions were published by Aksys Games.
The year 2015 saw releases of numerous video games as well as a follow-up to Nintendo's portable 3DS console, the New Nintendo 3DS. Top-rated games originally released in 2015 included Madden NFL 16, NBA 2K16, NBA Live 16, WWE 2K16, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Bloodborne, Undertale, and Fallout 4. Sales of video games in 2015 reached $61 billion, according to analysis firm SuperData, an 8% increase from 2014. Of this, the largest sector was in computer game sales and subscription services, accounting for $32 billion. Mobile games revenues were at $25.1 billion, a 10% increase from 2014. Digital sales on consoles made up the remaining $4 billion.
Guacamelee! is a Metroidvania action platforming video game developed and published by DrinkBox Studios, initially launched in April 2013 for platforms PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita and was later ported to Windows in August and to OS X and Linux in February 2014. The enhanced Super Turbo Championship Edition was released for Wii U, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 in July 2014 and later on the Nintendo Switch in October 2018. The game is inspired by traditional Mexican culture and folklore, like alebrijes and Day of the Dead.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is an indie roguelike video game designed by Edmund McMillen and developed and published by Nicalis. Rebirth was released for Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in November 2014, for Xbox One, New Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in July 2015, for iOS in January 2017 and for Nintendo Switch in March 2017. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions were released in November 2021.
Below is an action-adventure game developed by Capybara Games. The game was announced during Microsoft's E3 2013 press event, and was indefinitely delayed in 2016. It initially released on Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on December 14, 2018, with a PS4 port released in 2020. The game received mixed reviews upon release.
17-Bit is an independent video game developer. The company was founded as Haunted Temple Studios in 2009 by Jake Kazdal, formerly an artist with Sega, to make games with a 16-bit era aesthetic. The name changed to 17-Bit in May 2012 with a logo designed by Cory Schmitz. Gamasutra described the team, based in both Kyoto and Seattle, as an example of successful indie cross-platform development for its work on Skulls of the Shogun. GungHo Online Entertainment became 17-Bit's house publisher in October 2014 as the developer worked on Galak-Z: The Dimensional.
Super Time Force is a side-scrolling action and shooter video game by Capybara Games. The game was released for the Xbox One and the Xbox 360 on May 14, 2014. The game was known for its ability for players to rewind themselves, using the "Time Out" game mechanic, back to an area where they started from when a character dies, and then resume their action alongside a ghost version of the original character. Its game mechanics and gameplay were inspired by other side-scrolling titles like Contra and Metal Slug with the abilities of time-travel.
TowerFall is an action indie video game created by Maddy Thorson through her company Maddy Makes Games. In the game, players control up to four archers in a multiplayer platform fighter. It was released on the Ouya microconsole in June 2013 and was later ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, OS X, and Windows as TowerFall Ascension and to the Nintendo Switch under its original title of TowerFall.
Rogue Legacy is a 2013 platform game with roguelike elements developed and published by Cellar Door Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and iOS. A sequel, Rogue Legacy 2, was released on April 28, 2022 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One.
Crypt of the NecroDancer is a roguelike rhythm video game developed and published by Canadian independent game studio Brace Yourself Games. The game takes fundamental elements of a roguelike dungeon exploration game and adds a beat-matching rhythm game set to an original soundtrack written by Danny Baranowsky. The player's actions are most effective when moving the character set to the beat of the current song and are impaired when they miss a beat, so it is necessary to learn the rhythmic patterns that the various creatures follow. The mixed-genre game includes the ability to import custom music, and the option to use a dance pad instead of traditional controllers or the keyboard. The game was released for Linux, OS X, and Windows in April 2015, being co-published by Klei Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4 and Vita in February 2016, for the Xbox One in February 2017, and for Nintendo Switch in February 2018. Crypt of the NecroDancer Pocket Edition, developed for iOS, was released in June 2016.
Risk of Rain is a 2013 platform game developed by Hopoo Games and published by Chucklefish. The game, initially made by a two-student team from the University of Washington using the GameMaker engine, was funded through Kickstarter before being released on Microsoft Windows in November 2013. Ports for OS X and Linux versions were released a year later, with consoles versions being released in the later half of the 2010s.
Luftrausers is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Netherlands-based indie developer studio Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It was released in March 2014 and ported to Android by General Arcade on May 28, 2015. A demake of the game, titled LuftrauserZ, was developed by Paul Koller for Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore 64 Games System, and released by RGCD and Vlambeer on December 8, 2017.
Nuclear Throne is a bullet hell roguelike video game developed by Vlambeer. Early prototypes of the game were distributed through Steam's early access program in 2013. Nuclear Throne was released for Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita in December 2015, for Nintendo Switch in March 2019, and for Xbox One in September 2021.
Aztez is a side-scrolling brawler, turn-based strategy video game by Team Colorblind. The player fights through areas within the Aztec empire prior to the Spanish invasion. Aztez was released on August 1, 2017 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Downwell is a 2015 vertically scrolling shooter video game with roguelike elements. It was developed by Ojiro Fumoto and published by Devolver Digital for iOS and Microsoft Windows in October 2015, for Android in January 2016, and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in May 2016. A Nintendo Switch version was released in January 2019. British studio Red Phantom Games developed the Switch and PlayStation ports.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a roguelike role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft. It is the fifth main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, which is a subset of the larger Mystery Dungeon series. It was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2010 in Japan.
Flinthook is platform game roguelike by Tribute Games in which the player's character uses a grappling hook to traverse procedurally generated spaceships for treasure. The developers were inspired by "rogue-lites" including Spelunky and Rogue Legacy. They said that the grappling hook game mechanic was their hardest design challenge. The game was released in April 2017 for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, followed by a release for Nintendo Switch in March 2018. Early previews of Flinthook noted the accessibility and tightness of the controls. Digital Trends and Kotaku listed the game among the best in show at the June 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo.
An eggplant run is a challenge playthrough of the 2012 roguelike-like platform video game Spelunky HD. Such a playthrough centers on carrying an eggplant item to the final boss of the game, King Yama, and tossing it into his face. This eggplant item was originally added to Spelunky as part of an easter egg pitched by the game's composer Eirik Suhrke, and Spelunky's lead designer Derek Yu decided to give it the additional function of turning King Yama into an inert eggplant monster.
BlitWorks is a Spanish video game developer based in Barcelona, Spain. Founded in 2012, the company is best known for porting several games such as Fez, Sonic CD, Jet Set Radio, Super Meat Boy, Bastion, Spelunky and Don't Starve to a wide range of platforms such as PlayStation 5, PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Steam, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, iOS and Android.
