Lili, Dawn Of The Ronin, Pixel Detective Land On Steam Greenlight

A collection of new games have made their way to Steam's Greenlight service, where the community can look over and up-vote the games that tickle the fancy of those looking for something a little different.

These few games are definitely a step away from the norm, as we have a game where you play a shadowy ronin that has a pretty cool art-style, an adventure game where you play as a quirky adventurer named Lili and a horror-themed mystery game set within an old-school pixel atmosphere called Pixel Detective.

Lili

We kick things off with the 3D adventure title that doesn't even look like your typical indie game. In fact, just looking at the trailer it would probably be difficult for anyone to easily or readily believe that Lili was indeed an indie title. BitMonster's fantasy-adventure game sees players interacting with odd inhabitants of a fantastical island while engaging in some comic mischief and oddball hijinks. The trailer doesn't readily give away the game's plot points or character arcs, but that's a good thing since it leaves players with a since of wonder and discovery as they play. Given that it's an non-violent protagonist and a female, I'm guessing this may appeal to the crowd looking for something different in the gaming circles... and given Lili's topically appropriate attire, I'm sure it's a game that will keep some male gamers seated for lengthy play-throughs as well.

You can vote for Lili right now to appear on the Steam store by visiting the official Greenlight page.

Dawn of the Ronin

Man this game is beautiful. A lot of non-hipsters complain that indie games are always lame pixel side-scrollers, but Dawn of the Ronin is a pretty badass side-scroller with strikingly beautiful visual effects. The whole game is based on a contrasting silhouette art-style where all the moving components and characters are nothing but shadows, but the backgrounds are gorgeously rendered scenes that help bring atmosphere and a sense of geographical character to the game's play scape. I think that x35mm has done a fantastic job of combining the fast-paced hack-and-slash genre with ronin fantasy. The game seems reminiscent to a lot of Vanillaware titles such as Murasama: The Demon Blade or Odinsphere. Also, the background and art-style of the game really does fit the title Dawn of the Ronin. Such a beautiful game.

If you like what Dawn of the Ronin is selling, feel free to show your support over on the official Greenlight page.

Pixel Detective

Ah, Clocktower as a pixel-art game. That's sort of what a lot of people are calling Pixel Detective, an emergent, horror-themed adventure game where the mystery randomizes every time you play. It provides an almost endless amount of replayability for those who like horror and mystery games. 'So what's this about the horror?' you ask. Well, the horror comes from the psycho, knife-wielding killer hunting you down, ala Slender Man. The game's random generation adds uncertainty and a hint of intrigue to each play-through. Previously, I had been thinking a lot about a game of this sort: a mystery title set in an emergent gameplay environment. I'm glad to see some indie devs taking the initiative and going a step further with the idea. I know the art-style fits into the typical “hipster” category of indie games, but it's still an interesting game if for nothing more than its concept.

If you want to see Pixel Detective or games like Pixel Detective become regular entries on the Steam store, feel free to up-vote and favorite the game on the official Greenlight page.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.