Commander Keen is a series of side-scrolling platform video games developed primarily by id Software. The series consists of six main episodes, a "lost" episode, and a final game; all but the final game were released for MS-DOS in 1990 and 1991, while the 2001 Commander Keen was released for the Game Boy Color. The series follows the eponymous Commander Keen, the secret identity of the eight-year-old genius Billy Blaze, as he defends the Earth and the galaxy from alien threats with his homemade spaceship, rayguns, and pogo stick. The first three episodes were developed by Ideas from the Deep, the precursor to id, and published by Apogee Software as the shareware title Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons; the "lost" episode 3.5 Commander Keen in Keen Dreams was developed by id and published as a retail title by Softdisk; episodes four and five were released by Apogee as the shareware Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy; and the simultaneously developed episode six was published in retail by FormGen as Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter. Ten years later, an homage and sequel to the series was developed by David A. Palmer Productions and published by Activision as Commander Keen. Another game was announced in 2019 as under development by ZeniMax Online Studios, but was not released.
Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula is a 1989 science fiction video game developed by Binary Systems and published by Electronic Arts as the sequel to the successful Starflight. It features a combination of space exploration, role-playing and strategy within a futuristic setting. The player commands a spaceship capable of traveling to the game world's 150 solar systems, communicating with or attacking other spaceships, and landing on planetary surfaces which may be explored with a crewed rover for plot clues, minerals and alien lifeforms. Game mechanics and the overall look and feel closely resemble the earlier Starflight game, but many new features are introduced including an interstellar trade-based economy, new sentient alien races, and new spacecraft accessories and artifacts. The player is tasked with discovering the ultimate source of the advanced spacecraft technology and unlimited fuel supply which provide a military advantage to the Spemin, a hostile alien race threatening to annihilate or enslave humanity. A major part of the game consists of earning enough money to pay for spaceship upgrades and crew training by engaging in interstellar trade and barter with various alien cultures at their planetary trading posts.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is a 2002 action-adventure video game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It was produced and directed by Denis Dyack. The game follows the story of several characters across a period of two millennia and four different locations on Earth, as they contend with an ancient evil who seeks to enslave humanity. The gameplay distinguishes itself with unique "sanity effects", visual and audial effects that confuse the player and often break the fourth wall.
Alien Hominid is a run and gun video game developed by The Behemoth and first released as a Flash game on the multimedia website Newgrounds on August 7, 2002. It was originally developed in Adobe Flash by programmer and Newgrounds founder, Tom Fulp, and animator and artist, Dan Paladin. It has since been re-released in several expanded and enhanced iterations for home consoles and computers.
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, and fighting fauna that are hazardous to both the player character and the Pikmin.
StarTropics is a 1990 action-adventure video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Unlike most of Nintendo's games, it was never released or intended to be released in Japan, and was released only in North America and Europe. It was produced, written and directed by Genyo Takeda of Nintendo Integrated Research & Development, who also developed the Punch-Out!! series. StarTropics was followed by a sequel, Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II, which was released in 1994.
The Daedalus Encounter is a 1995 interactive movie puzzle adventure game developed by Mechadeus and published by Virgin Interactive for Windows. The game was ported to the 3DO by Lifelike Productions and published by Panasonic. The premise of the game is that there are three space marines who have fought as part of an interstellar war. One of them, Casey, has been brought back to life by his partners after a space accident and he is now a brain grafted in a life-support system. In order to save themselves, the three characters and the player solve all sorts of puzzles.
Doom 64 is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed and published by Midway Games for the Nintendo 64. It is the second spin-off in id Software's Doom series after Final Doom (1996), and the fourth game in the series overall. A remaster was developed by Nightdive Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in March 2020, and for Stadia in May 2020.
D/Generation is an action-adventure game with puzzle elements developed for the 8-bit Apple II during the late 1980s, but instead published and released for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST by Mindscape in 1991. The game takes place in a slightly cyberpunk futuristic setting in 2021.
Laser Invasion, released as Gun Sight (ガンサイト) in Japan, is a multi-genre first-person action game released by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. The player takes control of a military operative who pilots an attack helicopter in order to infiltrate various enemy bases and fulfill his mission. The game supports the standard NES controller, as well as the NES Zapper light gun and the LaserScope, a voice-activated headset controller Konami released for the NES that was compatible with all light gun games released for the system. The American version of the game featured a rebate for the LaserScope in the instruction booklet.
The X-Files: Resist or Serve is a 2004 survival horror game developed by Black Ops Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is based on the television series The X-Files (1993–2002), and is the third game based on the series, after The X-Files: Unrestricted Access (1997) and The X-Files Game (1998). The game is set during the seventh season of the television series, and the story is presented as three new "episodes" in which FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigate mysterious deaths in Colorado, where they learn about an alien artifact used to resurrect deceased people. The agents' investigation ultimately leads them to Tunguska, Russia, where they discover a spaceship that crashed there nearly 100 years earlier.
De Blob is a puzzle-platform game developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment and published by THQ for the Wii. Players explore and liberate an alien city from the evil, monochromatic INKT Corporation that has taken over the city and outlawed all color and fun from daily life. Playing as Blob, players embark on a quest to re-animate the fictional Chroma City and free it from the INKT Corporation by splattering buildings, landmarks, and citizens with color.
Touch Detective 2 ½JPNEUR is an adventure game for the Nintendo DS, iOS, and Android. It is a sequel to the Nintendo DS game, Touch Detective that is centered around the titular character, Mackenzie. It features 5 chapters that each have a case to be solved. Like its predecessor, this game is a point-and-click game that utilizes the device's touch screen. Its release sparked the development of many Funghi based spin-off games for mobile devices. The game was released in Japan for Nintendo Switch as part of a compilation video game titled Touch Detective: Rina and the Funghi Case Files in October 2022 and worldwide in March 2024.
Professor Layton is a puzzle adventure video game series and transmedia franchise developed by Level-5. The property consists primarily of seven main video games, a mobile spin-off, an animated theatrical film, and an anime television series, while additionally incorporating an array of secondary titles and media, including a crossover game with Capcom's Ace Attorney series.
Lifeless Planet is a 2014 puzzle adventure developed by independent American company Stage 2 Studios and published by Serenity Forge. The game was released on June 6, 2014 for Microsoft Windows and on June 23, 2014 for OS X, and has been ported to the Xbox One on May 13, 2015, Linux on March 25, 2016 and to the PlayStation 4 on July 19, 2016. A version for Nintendo Switch released on September 6, 2018. Lifeless Planet was in development since 2011 and is primarily the product of the one developer, David Board.
Affordable Space Adventures is a puzzle adventure game developed and published by NapNok Games in collaboration with Nifflas' Games. The game was released for the Wii U via the Nintendo eShop download service on April 9, 2015. The game's main gameplay feature is its unique use of the Wii U GamePad to control a spaceship by using the controls shown on the touch-screen including two different engines and other controls.
Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons is a three-part episodic side-scrolling platform video game developed by Ideas from the Deep and published by Apogee Software in 1990 for MS-DOS. It is the first set of episodes of the Commander Keen series. The game follows the titular Commander Keen, an eight-year-old child genius, as he retrieves the stolen parts of his spaceship from the cities of Mars, prevents a recently arrived alien mothership from destroying landmarks on Earth, and hunts down the leader of the aliens, the Grand Intellect, on the alien home planet. The three episodes feature Keen running, jumping, and shooting through various levels while opposed by aliens, robots, and other hazards.
Starlink: Battle for Atlas is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft. It was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 16, 2018, and for Microsoft Windows on April 30, 2019. The game also features optional toys-to-life elements. It received generally positive reviews from critics, while not meeting sales expectations.
No More Heroes is an action-adventure hack and slash video game series developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and was created by Goichi Suda, also known by his nickname Suda51. The series' title comes from the album title No More Heroes, which was released by the British punk band The Stranglers. The games follows Travis Touchdown, a fan of video games, anime, manga and wrestling who wins a beam katana in an auction, through which he inadvertently becomes involved in the United Assassins Association and is forced to kill assassins higher in rank to prevent other assassins from targeting him.
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is a role-playing video game developed by Panamanian independent studio Moonsprout Games and published by Dangen Entertainment. It was released on November 21, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, on May 28, 2020, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and on July 1, 2021, for Amazon Luna. Taking inspiration in art and gameplay from the first two Paper Mario games, the game's plot centers around three bugs as they search the mythical land of Bugaria in pursuit of the Everlasting Sapling, an item capable of eternal life. Along the way, they meet rival teams, past traumas, and other roadblocks hunting for the titular sapling. Bug Fables received positive reviews from critics, who praised its characters, combat system, presentation, and amount of content, but criticized its control issues.
