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Are there any popular indie games with a Game Boy aesthetic?

werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
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Oct 26, 2017
11,304
I can think of several games with black & white visuals that have seen a lot of success (from Obra Dinn to Downwell to Minit to Limbo), but I'm at a loss as to thinking of any indie games that have been rather success that specifically use the GameBoy 4-shade aesthetic. Am I just missing something here or is the GameBoy aesthetic just not very popular?
 
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werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
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Oct 26, 2017
11,304
Abuguet said:
Have you checked Gato Roboto?
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Gato Roboto uses a 1-bit aesthetic (as in, there's only black and white, not 4 shades).

Save Me Mr. Tako (above average) and Awesome Pea (very mediocre!)
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Judging from the very low number of Steam reviews on those 2 games, I doubt either one has sold much, unless they've sold exponentially better on other platforms.
 
onpoint

onpoint

Neon Deity Games
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Oct 26, 2017
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While not a success because it never came out, we were attempting this with our now-on-hold project Bruisin Cruisers.

The color scheme changes on a per level basis, but we were going Super Gameboy in the way that we had one of multiple 4-color palettes active at a time.

 
Finale Fireworker

Finale Fireworker

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Oct 25, 2017
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I have not played it and I seem to remember some controversy surrounding its release, but I always remember the aesthetic of the game Two Brothers: https://store.steampowered.com/app/259760/Two_Brothers/

I remember thinking back then "I would love for more indie games to look like this," but to my knowledge, there aren't many. I find the Game Boy aesthetic very... cozy.

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Capricorn

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
699
Two Brothers is the first one that comes to mind, but I don't really know how successful it was.



EDIT: Forgot to mention it was the first game of Ackk Studios, the YKII devs.
 
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werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
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Oct 26, 2017
11,304
Yeah, Two Brothers, I knew about, but again, judging from the lack of many Steam reviews, it doesn't look like it set the charts on fire.

@hangongetready Looks like a fun arcade game. Hope it does well for you when it's released.
 
LewieP

LewieP

Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,091
There's Joylancer



Although I am guessing not super popular because it was abandoned in Early Access.
 
Coinspinner

Coinspinner

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Nov 6, 2017
2,150
Dunno about popular, but there was Treasure Treasure: Fortress Forage. The "Extra Edition" on XBox Indies had a Gameboy frame and filter too.
 
onpoint

onpoint

Neon Deity Games
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Oct 26, 2017
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Moppy said:
This looks cool as hell.
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werezompire said:
Yeah, Two Brothers, I knew about, but again, judging from the lack of many Steam reviews, it doesn't look like it set the charts on fire.

@hangongetready Looks like a fun arcade game. Hope it does well for you when it's released.
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<3 thanks y'all

It'll be a minute since it's on hold in lieu of another project but I'm really looking forward to continuing to build Bruisin out someday
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

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Oct 27, 2017
30,337
It clearly does more with its visuals than a Gameboy could handle but Blazing Chrome, released today, has a Gameboy filter option in it.

y3zryFL.jpg
 
Tathanen

Tathanen

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 25, 2017
6,023
Arguably BoxBoy? It's not really "four shade" but it's certainly of a limited enough palette that you could do it on a Game Boy.
 
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werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
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Oct 26, 2017
11,304
i'm not a rob0t said:
yes, they fill my fucking steam queue all the time.
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I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying I can't think of a single one that's been a big hit. With 1-bit visuals, you have stuff like Obra Dinn & Minit that have sold respectably. For NES visuals, you have Shovel Knight as the poster child for successful indie game. But I can't think of any big hits that use a GB aesthetic.
 

Deleted member 43872

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I blame the resolution. You can do a lot in the NES's 256x240, but 160x144 is always going to feel claustrophobic unless it's displayed as intended on a tiny screen.
 

mclem

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,419
werezompire said:
Judging from the very low number of Steam reviews on those 2 games, I doubt either one has sold much, unless they've sold exponentially better on other platforms.
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Well, I picked up Save Me Mr Tako on Switch (following an OT over here on it), so it at least got vaguely noticed!

I guess the Switch is the logical platform where something of this nature *might* make an impact.
 
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werezompire

werezompire

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Oct 26, 2017
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GibdoInferno said:
I blame the resolution. You can do a lot in the NES's 256x240, but 160x144 is always going to feel claustrophobic unless it's displayed as intended on a tiny screen.
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Most indie games don't stick strictly with resolution limitations. For example, Shovel Knight's native resolution is 400x240 (aka wide-screen NES). Our last game used 480x270 and was going for a 16/32-bit visual style.

If I was going to make a Game Boy style game, I think 320x180 would work well. Widescreen, scales cleanly to 1080p/4k and gives you a little more real estate to work with while still clearly low-res.
 
VileZero

VileZero

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
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Maryland/DC
werezompire said:
I can think of several games with black & white visuals that have seen a lot of success (from Obra Dinn to Downwell to Minit to Limbo), but I'm at a loss as to thinking of any indie games that have been rather success that specifically use the GameBoy 4-shade aesthetic. Am I just missing something here or is the GameBoy aesthetic just not very popular?
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I would play a Cosmic Star Heroine sequel with a GameBoy aesthetic in a heartbeat... although to be fair, I'd play it in a heartbeat with or without the GameBoy aesthetic. Sorry I don't have more to add, just saw this post and wanted to say thank you for CSH!
 
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werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
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Oct 26, 2017
11,304
VileZero said:
I would play a Cosmic Star Heroine sequel with a GameBoy aesthetic in a heartbeat... although to be fair, I'd play it in a heartbeat with or without the GameBoy aesthetic. Sorry I don't have more to add, just saw this post and wanted to say thank you for CSH!
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We actually mocked the game up as a Game Boy game for an April Fool's Day joke a while ago.

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Hailinel

Hailinel

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werezompire said:
Yeah, Two Brothers, I knew about, but again, judging from the lack of many Steam reviews, it doesn't look like it set the charts on fire.

@hangongetready Looks like a fun arcade game. Hope it does well for you when it's released.
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From what I recall from a thread a while back, the game apparently ended up getting pulled from Steam because of too many game-breaking issues. But that aside, it kind of got screwed by coming out around the same time as Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The devs are supposedly working on an updated version with the title Chromophore (said devs were also behid YIIK, so...)
 
Hella

Hella

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Oct 27, 2017
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I thought for sure I was the only one that knew about Two Brothers. I should have more faith in Era.
ghostcrew said:
It clearly does more with its visuals than a Gameboy could handle but Blazing Chrome, released today, has a Gameboy filter option in it.

y3zryFL.jpg
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Oh wow, this is bananas.

GB filters are awesome.
 
Silius

Silius

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Dec 10, 2017
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Tacoma, Wa
MarcelRguez said:
There's Pirate Pop Plus, but I'm unsure of how successful it was.
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This game is legit! Arcade game with cool gravity mechanic and power ups. It's like 5 or 6 bucks on switch and goes on sale every once in a while. Pallets swaps, characters with different stats, music. Has a cool little unlock loop too.

Also Warlocks tower on mobile, came out on switch recently too.
 

Tiggleton

Banned
Apr 25, 2019
457
Surprised nobody has mentioned Anodyne. Its inspired by Link's Awakening even sticking with the terrible resolution. I like Anodyne but its not fun to play tbh.
 
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werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,304
Tiggleton said:
Surprised nobody has mentioned Anodyne. Its inspired by Link's Awakening even sticking with the terrible resolution. I like Anodyne but its not fun to play tbh.
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Yeah, Anodyne is an odd one in that it clearly has some GameBoy inspiration even though the color palette is much bigger. So I guess more Game Boy Color than original Game Boy.

Another interesting game is Pocket Rumble in that it's got a clear portable aesthetic, but it's trying to look like a game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color (a personal favorite).
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

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Oct 26, 2017
24,905
Pirate Pop Plus is great. Andonyne and Save Me Mr Tako were good but didn't hold my interest until the end.

I don't think there's been a Big Hit for a title like this yet. Tetris 99 and Tetris Effect both had GB skins though, that's probably the closest.

BTW I would buy the fuck out of CSH Legend. đź‘€
 

Mudo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,114
Tennessee
I have Save Me, Mr. Tako on the Switch and it is GB style with different color palette options. Game got mixed reviews but I really enjoyed my time with it
 
thepenguin55

thepenguin55

Member
Oct 28, 2017
11,793
So Return of the Obra Dinn has an art style and customizable color schemes that are meant to be reminiscent of old PC games but I'm pretty sure it has a color scheme that will scratch that GameBoy itch. Another thing that's not quite what you're asking for is the Castlevania & Contra collections which both have GameBoy games on them that have classic GameBoy color schemes you can use.
 
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