Lesbians, dog photos, card collection, public school and gnomes.
Indie gaming platform itch.io offers a Halloween Selects bundle. The collection includes five indie games from various genres for $10.
Launched in 2013, itch.io has stood out in recent years for raising funds for various social causes in the United States through specially curated bundles. This summer, itch.io offered nearly 800 games in the Independent Bundle for Abortion Funds to raise funds for the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF). In 2020, itch.io promoted the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality to support the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Community Bail Fund. Along with these advocacy-focused bundles, itch.io also offers seasonal sales. With the Halloween Selects Bundle, itch.io gives gamers the chance to find discounted indie games to enjoy on a dark and spooky night.
The Halloween Selects Pack includes five games: Get in the Car, Loser!, An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs, Kardboard Kings: Card Shop Simulator, Perfect Tides, and Guardener. It may surprise some that none of the games are horror or supernatural. Get in the Car, Loser!, a role-playing game inspired by classic and modern JRPGs, follows a diverse cast of characters on a road trip. The protagonists must battle “cultist shiplords” who aim to summon the devil machine. Kardboard Kings is a simulation that puts players in the shoes of a game store owner embroiled in mystery. Guardener is a real-time strategy game where a gnome must defend a garden against wildlife. As a gnome, the player aims to survive until winter by building an army of vegetables.
Two of the collection are adventure games: An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs and Perfect Tides. The former is an open-world sci-fi comedy featuring pictures of dogs, including one named Chad Shakespeare. The latter is a point-and-click adventure centered around the coming-of-age of a teenage protagonist while attending public school.
Bundles like this give selected developers increased visibility because indie games are created by small teams with limited budgets. By including their game in an official bundle, itch.io brings to light exceptional games that PC gamers might never have heard of. Indie game enthusiasts also benefit from the greater accessibility offered by the collection.
Besides the Halloween Selects pack, many indie developers have their own Halloween sales. The Strangest.io studio has launched a Shadow Halloween Playdate Sale 2022 for the Necrocrisis shooter and the Shadow Gadget simulation. Developer Julian Palacios’ Halloween sale puts surreal adventure Promesa and maze game CUCCCHI at half price. These games also get more visibility on the itch.io sales page.
The itch.io Halloween Selects Bundle is available until November 2, 2022.
