Samudai

In Brief

A 2D local multiplayer platform arena game.

I bought this via Steam when it was released almost five years ago because I liked the graphics; compared to a lot of platformers released over the past several years Samudai looked like a lot of though and effort had gone into the design. There are much better platformers game-play wise (IMO) and more beautiful graphically; for example, the Trine franchise; but Samudai is usually only a 79 pence/99cent game compared to those high flying platformers, the latest of which alone costs almost £25 when not on sale. It's a reasonable local multiplayer (called Yarnball) 2D arena platformer. It has mixed reviews from the Steam community which you can see HERE. There's also a solo mode that was recently added to the game. The key bindings are more suited to a right handed person i.e. A & S to move left and right, Space to jump, and to dash use the movement keys plus U i.e. left = A+U and right = D+U and to attack with your special ability use the O key. Each character of which there are several to choose from, has a different attack skill, (not every character is available at the beginning of the game). Personally I found it a little difficult to play due to the fixed key bindings; however, there is partial controller support and the game does suggest right from the outset that you should use a controller for this game. There is a tutorial to introduce you to the game mechanics; this is specific to a controller set up, so the keyboard keys are not mentioned in the tutorial. There's also a video of game play on the Steam page HERE. It's on sale at the moment for only £0.39. For that price and for the giveaway community its free today and is well worth downloading. It's much better and more challenging than some of the recent platformers we have been given. The Steam version can also connect to anyone in your friends list that also has the game, so effectively has been updated to include multiplayer. Today's giveaway version is not the Steam version and as far as I can tell does not have that particular multiplayer option, only the local yarnball multiplayer mode.?

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

Don't forget to check out the Epic game store HERE for the latest freebie Sundered: Eldritch Edition , (a chaotic hand­-drawn Metroidvania, where you resist or embrace ancient eldritch powers; a challenging and unique take on a classic genre from the creators of Jotun, and now including a local co-op mode!); This freebie ends later this afternoon (I think 6pm UK time). The next game will be Horace a huge platforming adventure which pushes the boundaries of the genre with a profound story of a small robot learning of life, the universe and Douglas Adams, plus there are more free games over at Indie Gala HERE.

If you are looking for a decent game bundle well worth getting that contains a decent selection of triple A and indie arcade style games check out the latest Humble Choice bundle (formerly the monthly humble bundle) HERE; it includes 12 games of which you can choose 11 for the princely sum of only $12; total worth of those games at this time (none are on sale) is over $300. This months games include Middle-Earth: Shadows of War, Graveyard Keeper, Two Point Hospital, Dirt Rally 2.0 + 3 DLC, Street Fighter V, Bad. North: Jotun Edition, Trailmakers, Unrailed, Whisper of a Machine, Them's Fightin' Herds, Mages of Mystralia and Grip Combat Racing + 1 DLC plus a DRM free game and while subscribed you have free access to a trove of almost 100 DRM free games that would cost a small fortune to buy. It's definitely a brilliant bundle and one of the best combined offers ever {apart from the THQ and Codemasters Humble bundles from several years ago when the developer THQ's and Codemasters whole catalogue of then recent games was up for grabs for $5 each; (both bundles were worth over $400 each) just before THQ went into liquidation back in 2008}.

Finally, check out Delenns thread over in the Game Discussion forums for details of other free games and offers HERE