Gamasutra sister site IndieGames' co-created bundle service Indie Royale returns with its Back to School Bundle featuring seven indie games, including an exclusive debut for Bunny Must Die! from Rockin' Android.
First up is Ronimo Games' side-scrolling real-time strategy game, Swords & Soldiers and its Super Saucy Sausage Fest DLC, available for Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. [NOTE: Super Saucy Sausage Fest DLC is not available for Linux users.] This beautifully crafted game offers wit and solid gameplay while controlling the Vikings, the Aztecs or the Chinese in their global quest to win the favor of the Gods. The Super Saucy Sausage Fest DLC offers ten new campaigns, an improved challenge mode, and plenty of new spells and units. GameSpot praises Swords & Soldiers: "its simple controls and abounding good humour are likely to engage even those who have never dipped their controllers into the strategy pool."
Next up is a space simulation game from Shovsoft, Lunar Flight, available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. This full 3D game is a re-imagining of the classic Atari game Lunar Lander and offers mission types involving transporting cargo, acquiring data at survey locations and locating lost cargo. DIYGamer raves about Lunar Flight, stating that it "sets the bar for Lunar Lander-likes (...) Shovsoft have created a fresh-faced and wonderfully playable space simulator that I urge everyone to try."
The bundle also features an exclusive debut of exploration-based platformer Bunny Must Die: Chelsea and the 7 Devils, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free. This Japanese Metroidvania-esque game from Platine Dispositif and Rockin' Android features Bunny as she explores the Devil's Labyrinth, using magical items like a Sylph Shooter and Hyper Heels to manipulate the fabric of time, solve puzzles and survive. Bunny Must Die! also offers a comical style, hand-drawn 2D graphics, a charming storyline and an unlockable character.
Also included is rhythm-action and RPG game Sequence from Iridium Studios, available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. Players assume the role of Ky, after he awakens imprisoned in a tower and has to ascend 7 levels of the tower guided with the help of a mysterious girl named Naia. Along with a standout in-game soundtrack to fight along in time to, TruePCGaming praises Sequence for its dialogue, calling it "one of the funniest, well-written scripts that has ever graced a computer game."
This bundle includes two more games from Rockin' Android never before available in a bundle - Japanese shmups Flying Red Barrel - Diary of a Little Aviator and Qlione, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free. Orange_Juice's Flying Red Barrel offers colorful graphics, innovative scoring mechanics, and violent bullet hell shooting. Shindenken's Qlione is a unique and equally challenging 2D shooter game that's based on a lone amoeba and offers psychedelic vector backgrounds and splashy explosions.
Last up is the violent yet goofy Cute Things Dying Violently by ApathyWorks, along with its OST, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free. Previously a critical hit on Xbox Live Indie Games, it offers 60 challenging levels, six unlockable special levels, and, according to Joystiq, is a "delightful puzzle game."
Those who pay $8 USD or their currency equivalent during the Back to School Bundle will get the 18-track chiptune album 'BIAS'. The album is $5 if purchased elsewhere and features the work of minusbaby, best known for "exploring the diversity of a lo-fi, compositional aesthetic." It's been praised by fellow chiptune notable 4Mat as "the first chip album for me where there's no gimmick - it's a serious piece of work that's not ruled by the hardware it's made on."
More information on the Back to School Bundle, including real-time statistics and its current price, is available on its official website, its Facebook, and Twitter pages.
