Thunderful Games is a game studio and publisher behind some very cool indie games, most notably for me the Steamworld franchise of games — Steamworld Dig, Steamworld Dig 2, Steamworld Heist and Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech (which I mentioned in my last post). Yesterday, they held their first ever digital games showcase Thunderful World.

The showcase was hosted by none other than Luke Skywalker himself, the great Mr. Mark Hamill. We were promised some big new game reveals, world premieres and more news on upcoming titles and I think they did a great job. So many smaller studios and publishers have tried to put together a games showcase over the past year and we’ve seen some great, some good and some not so great. Thunderful had just the right amount of game announcements for a medium-length showcase (about 20-30 minutes total).

The whole thing started off with a silly bit, where Mark had stolen Thunderful’s book of secrets and he’s now going to share them with the world. Throughout the presentation they would jump back to Mark sharing more secrets and denying that he even had the book. When the showcase was first announced, with Mark Hamill as host, I knew this would be kind of a big deal. And it was.

Let’s see what secrets Mark shared with us from his comfy chair in Hamill’s House:

WAVETALE

Wavetale was the first world premiere to be revealed. It is a third person action-adventure game where you take control of Sigrid and explore the open sea and decaying world of Strandville. There’s a very cool reflection/shadow power that allows you to walk and run on water in Wavetale. The game features visuals that are a bit simple, but stand out and look great.

Overall, Wavetale looks to be a fun adventure game where you get to explore and jump around this whole world. This may be one of the first Stadia timed exclusive games I’ve seen in a games showcase. The cell shaded art style gives me some Breath of the Wild vibes too, which got me excited for the console and PC release later next year.

Wavetale is available now on Google Stadia and is coming to PC and consoles in 2022.

Planet of Lana: An Off-Earth Odyssey

According to Mark, Planet of Lana: An Off-Earth Odyssey is “an epic sci-fi saga where two friends must stage a rescue.” We did see this trailer a few months ago during the Xbox games showcase and I believe they showed us the same trailer yesterday. Even seeing the same trailer I’m very excited to play this game (on PC).

Planet of Lana: An Off-Earth Odyssey is a cinematic puzzle platformer where you play as a girl and her cute animal companion. The art style consists of simply animated characters with backgrounds that hold the essence of bright watercolor paintings.

Planet of Lana: An Off-Earth Odyssey is coming to Xbox consoles and PC in 2022.

INDUSTRIA

This is another one we’ve seen before (during the Summer of Gaming). In fact, this game came out on PC about a month ago. This trailer is to inform us that it will also be coming to next-gen consoles next year.

Industria is a first-person shooter exploration game, which is set on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In the game you explore through the city of Hakavik running into robots and strange technology. You play as a scientist, Nora, who is searching for her missing partner, Walter.

The game goes from walking through an empty city and buildings to some trippy scenarios. Seeing this trailer reminded me a bit of the Bioshock trilogy of games.

Industria is out now on PC and will release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2022.

Super Meat Boy Forever Mobile

I love the original Super Meat Boy, and I still haven’t had the chance to try out Super Meat Boy Forever on my Nintendo Switch. It is a slightly different game though. While the original was a super tough platformer, Super Meat Boy Forever adds an extra element to the genre by making it an endless runner.

Mobile may be a good place to finally give this one a chance. Since you only really have to control jumping (I guess punching/kicking, as well). It will be like Super Mario Run, but possibly ten to one thousand times harder. I would imagine that not much has to change to take an endless runner like this from console and PC to mobile.

Super Meat Boy Forever is coming soon to mobile.
You can also play it right now on consoles and PC.

Cursed to Golf

This is a game that I’ve been waiting for since first seeing the trailer a few months ago. I even emailed the creator to set up an interview which should be happening very soon. I’m always down for a new golf game, especially when there’s a strange twist to it — which this game seems to have. It’s a game full of mayhem, golf puns and death.

In Cursed to Golf you play as a talented golfer who has just met his demise on Earth and is now being forced to go through “Golf Purgatory” aka 18 holes of Hellish golf. Each hole is its own dungeon in this golf-like (aka rogue-like style) golf game. The game features power ups, enchanted caddies and wicked hazards.

Even though I’m currently obsessed with golf-sim PGA Tour 2K21, it’s always fun to have a light-hearted, fun take on golf to play too.

Cursed to Golf is coming to PC (Wishlist on Steam) and Nintendo Switch some time in the future.

Rapid Fire Trailers

Next we got some back-to-back rapid fire trailers. Starting with Laika: Aged Through Blood.

Laika: Aged Through Blood is the first “Motor-Vania” of it’s kind. You play as a gun-toting coyote warrior making his way through the desert on a dirt bike. Pull off tricks as you send tons of folks to the afterlife on your dirt bike.
(PC and Console)

Next we saw Hell Pie, where you cause chaos as a cute little demon named Nate. His ultimate goal is to create a tasty birthday treat for the lord of the Underworld. You also get to use (and abuse) Nate’s trusty sidekick Nugget. Hell Pie is a 3D platforming adventure.
(PC and consoles)

Firegirl is a roguelike hack-and-slash adventure where you try to put out fires across the city. Your high-power firehose also doubles as an explosive jetpack to help you better search and explore entire areas. Why are there so many fires in this city? It’s up to you to find out.
(PC and consoles)

Crown and Pawns is a modern day point and click adventure where you search for an inheritance from your grandfather. The game blends real world locations, history and myths to create an exciting world and story.
(PC)

Swordship is a high speed arcade-style roguelike where you dodge explosions and enemy attacks. Defense is your best weapon as you try to outsmart your enemies by turning their weapons against them and their allies.
(PC and consoles)

Tinkertown is a sandbox experience where you can play solo or with some friends. Explore this magical land filled with loot, mystery and danger. The whole thing is wrapped in an ever evolving playground.
(PC Early Access)

Source of Madness is a Lovecraftian-inspired, procedurally-generated monster fighter. Your sanity will be questioned in this dark action roguelike. Gain new skills as you battle new monsters.
(PC Early Access)

White Shadows

White Shadows is an intense black and white 2.5D puzzle platformer where you make your way through this creepy monochromatic world, trying not to get caught. While most of the games revealed have 2022 releases, this one is less than a month away.

White Shadows is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on December 7, 2021.

Togges

Togges is a colorful 3D platforming adventure where you stack adorable “togges” (cubes) to traverse this beautiful world. It looks like you’re playing as a Roomba vacuum but instead of cleaning up, you are leaving behind climbable cubes. The trailer also features some soothing music for this laid back adventure. The level design goes from the real to the unique and unimaginable.

Togges is releasing on PC and consoles in 2022.

The Gunk

The Gunk is a third-person action adventure game where you explore different lands. You play as Rani, who is part of a small team of space explorers. Rani finds herself on this new, uncharted territory where strange things are happening.

The Gunk is a PC and Xbox console exclusive being release in December 16, 2021.

Steamworld Headhunter

They definitely saved the most exciting world premiere for last, a new Steamworld game! Steamworld Headhunter. We don’t really know much about what this game is or will be, but I’m still excited.

The cool thing about the Steamworld franchise is that other than the two Steamworld Dig (1 & 2) games, the franchise has tried out different genres for each game. We go from platform mining metroidvania adventures (Dig 1 & 2) to turn-based tactical shootouts (Heist), then with Quest the franchise moved into deck-building, card-battling combat and exploration game.

It’s great to see a game franchise/collection tackle different genres, and I’m excited to see what Steamworld Headhunter ends up being whenever we get some more info and a gameplay trailer.

FULL PRESENTION

I for one was very impressed with this presentation. Yes, the whole Mark Hamill thing was a bit silly at times, but they did a very good job at pull the whole thing off. It was the right amount of silliness and game reveals.

This wasn’t your normal, “Let’s hire a celebrity host” cringe-fest that we’re used to seeing. Maybe it was because Mark felt like he belongs there, telling us about these games. Too many times celebrities are hired for showcases for the wrong reasons. It’s always better to hear it from someone who is into games or at least knows enough to make it feel that way.

I would be happy to see more of these type showcases from other studios/publishers of this size in the future. If you missed the presentation and you want to see those rapid fire games from above, you can catch the full presentation right here.

Steamworld Dig 2 was available FREE from right after the presentation until 11am on 11.11, but if you didn’t get to claim yours I definitely recommend playing through these Steamworld games.