Still can't believe my eyes as I try out games with 3dSen PC, with it converting classic NES games into 3D and it just feels like magic.

Currently in Early Access, this amazing emulator is truly like no other. In real-time it converts your favourites into full 3D with a properly adjustable camera. In action it's pretty incredible to see and far more than a fun gimmick, it really does make games look and feel different.

Due to how it works, game support is limited as each needs to be setup so that 3dSen PC can understand what it needs although the list is growing. As of the latest release the developer has hooked up official profiles for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Solomon's Key and Fire 'n Ice.

Here's a quick look at Castlevania II: Simon's Quest in 3D using 3dSen PC just to demonstrate:

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It's not perfect of course and accuracy can be improved further, along with stuttering issues at times when new scenes are loaded in but it's not finished and will no doubt improve during Early Access.

You can find 3dSen PC on Steam . Additionally, you can attempt to make your own 3D profiles using the free 3dSen Maker standalone companion app on itch.io .

Made in the spirit of the classics like Chip's Challenge, Adventure's of Lolo, Sokoban, and Zelda and following a successful Kickstarter the upcoming Akurra has a demo now.

"Push blocks into holes, over pits, avoid spikes, explore caves, and ride sea turtles in order to find keys, gems, and stars that unlock new paths and friends to aid you as you explore a collection of islands chock-full of puzzles and secrets. The puzzles in Akurra build complexity over time as you unlock new areas and islands with new puzzle pieces and mechanics."

Back in June, developer Jason Newman managed to get over $20K in funding from the Kickstarter so there's a lot of interesting in these retro-inspired puzzle games it seems. As of the latest update on Kickstarter, they've now put up an initial build of the demo for Linux too!

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Feature Highlight according to the info from the developer:

• Open world puzzles. Each “level” is an interconnected screen in a world of scattered islands. The player can explore and complete puzzles in a non-linear fashion.
• Beautiful, atmospheric music.
• Secrets! The game is chock full of hidden items. Getting 100% completion rate even in the demo is not an easy task!
• Story. Many puzzle games do not have a story. Akurra will tell a meaningful story through gameplay and visuals, as there is no text in game.

Nice to see them getting some proper external testing done early, it's the easiest way to ensure you get a smooth release. Head over to the itch.io page to get testing.

The Linux demo will eventually come to the Steam page too, when it's had some more testing.

Acting as a prequel to Camp Sunshine, Fossil Games have announced the 8-bit blood-soaked Horror RPG Sunshine Manor.

You play as Ada, dared to spend the night in the haunted Sunshine Manor where Ada encounters ghosts, demons, blood-soaked horror and more. Unlike the previous game, Fossil Games will be supporting Linux directly this time and they've just released a free version with Sunshine Manor Prologue so you can try it right now to get a feel for it.

The game takes inspiration from movies such as From Beyond, Friday the 13th, and The Nightmare on Elm Street, while mixing gameplay mechanics from games such as the beloved – and long-running - The Legend of Zelda, Resident Evil and Silent Hill series. Check out their Kickstarter trailer below:

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What it will feature:

• A brand new engine written just for Sunshine Manor.
• Discover and explore the ever-changing haunted Sunshine Manor.
• Transport yourself to the Demon Realm and banish Demons!
• Beautiful hand-drawn 8-bit graphics.
• A deadly game of Cat & Mouse where the Demon can be anywhere.
• An 80s Soundtrack written just for Sunshine Manor.
• Harness Ada's Psychic Powers.
• A fantastic story-driven narrative.
• Free the trapped Ghosts and enter the Demon Realm
• Lots of scares, spooky scenes and nods to famous franchises.
• Devious puzzles to tax your brain box.

The kickstarter has a goal of £20,000 and of that they've already managed to gather £7,643 in around a day so it looks like it's quite popular. It does sound like a lot of fun, with an unusual protagonist who certainly isn't a damsel in distress with their psychic powers that can be used to fight off demons.

You can help fund it on Kickstarter , follow the game on Steam and try the free Prologue right now.

I almost can't believe it. The retro console Atari VCS might actually be shipping soon, as their initial production run sounds like it went well.

After so many delays, a lack of clear communication often and still next to no games actually announced for it, IndieGoGo backers on the original campaign will get it in their hands first as they originally announced. In the post on IndieGoGo , it wasn't made entirely clear how many units have been produced so far but they called it the "Indiegogo production run" and that "Mass production is almost complete". From the wording it sounds like anyone who has pre-ordered the console are not included just yet but presumably that's all ongoing.

They showed off more production pictures on their Medium Blog too.

We've had many doubts, still plenty left but either way, it's quite nice to know that there's real movement going on with the first set of consoles actually on the way to the Atari VCS team and then backers shortly after.

They're still saying other pre-orders will ship this year, with the full bundle of the ATARI VCS 800 model with both modern and retro pads for $389.99. This comes with Atari World, their Linux-based operating system with a custom user interface designed for big-screen play although the system will support running other operating systems too which is one of the reasons we were initially interested.

See more on the official site .

Vecter from developer Taranasus is a free infinite racing game all about lasting as long as possible and destroying anything in your way. The idea in Vecter is that it constantly tries to destroy you while you race. There's obstacles, enemies, power-ups sometimes to help and more on the way as it's further developed.

After launching into Early Access in November 2019, it's now officially on Linux too. Curiously, the developer mentioned in their release announcement how they're actually using Linux themselves now as Manjaro is the main system on their laptop.

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There is a small difference in the Linux build, which is how it won't play YouTube videos because for some reason Unity is really lagging behind on cross-platform codec support. Linux with Unity is still only able to use three video codecs. Hopefully one day the Unity team can sort that, as it keeps causing issues. Apart from that, it seems to work perfectly.

A fun little detail went into the leaderboard, as they added in platform icons. It's a small bit of fluff but I really love little things like this:

There's another fun feature included that allows you to change the colours of everything, for people who are colour blind that will probably be really nice.

While it's currently in Early Access they have said a full release is planned for October 15. You can play it right now officially on Linux direct from Steam .

With a detailed hand-crafted world, Shadow of Aya is a pixel-art adventure that looks and sounds pretty epic.

"Master the elements of poison, fire, ice, and meteorite in Shadow of Aya, a top-down action adventure ode to the 8-bit classics. But beware—as your powers grow, so do the forces that conspire against you. The journey downward is choked with shadow, and the creatures who slumber among them."

There's no trailer yet so here's a few shots:

Feature Highlight:

• Discover a Handcrafted World: Every rock is carefully placed, so leave no stone unturned. Shadow of Aya is meticulously designed to evoke the “gotta find every secret” vibes of the old-school titles.
• Nonlinear Progression: An interconnected overworld and underworld mean that as you gain abilities, you also gain choices. Set out in whichever direction you favor, filling every corner of your map.
• Explore the Mysteries: Secret paths, endless staircases, forbidden forests, hidden graveyards—the world bristles with relics, riddles, and rare powers to aid you on your quest.
• Use Elemental Types: Every element has its weakness. Learn how to exploit them to blast, melt, burn, slash, and freeze your way through waves of unwitting enemies.
• Evolve Your Combat Style: The classic two-button A + B control style is easy to learn, challenging to master. Each elemental power gives access to a new pair of moves, unlocking an entirely different style of play.

We spoke with the developer, Incoming Games, who mentioned to GOL that their current plan is for a simultaneous launch across Linux, macOS and Windows for both the upcoming demo and full game. Once we get some more information on a trailer, demo and/or release date we will let you know as we're now following along.

You can follow Shadow of Aya on Steam .

Much like the upcoming Gravity Ace , we have another new take on the classic gameplay found in the likes of Lunar Lander & Thrust with Rocket Shipment.

All the classic gameplay elements are there having you fly, grapple, puzzle and refuel all while exploring caverns and fighting gravity in this physics based delivery game. There's also confirmed be a level editor, which will have Steam Workshop integration to create and play content from the community.

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According to the latest announcement, they will have a demo up for the next Steam Game Festival happening in October.

Their current plan is to enter Early Access later this year, with a tentative date for the release being in December. They're saying Early Access could last until Q3 2021. During that time, they will be looking to add in more levels up to at least 50, a ton of new level components that can also be used in the level editor, ship customization, controller support, cloud saves and much more.

You can follow Rocket Shipment on Steam .

Something for the weekend perhaps, as the excellent first-person dungeon crawler Delver has been released DRM-free on the indie game store itch.io. What can serve as a great reminder for a game you might have missed, more options on where to pick up games absolutely a good thing.

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Seems they did well, at least going by user reviews on Steam with over two thousand giving it a Very Positive rating. Our contributor Samsai took a look years ago and liked it even when it was in Early Access back in 2015. Seems it came a long way since then.

Want to know what else is sweet about Delver? The source code is also available to view, although not under an OSI approved "Open Source" license so it's technically more like Source Available. It was originally GPL but they moved over to a Zlib style with a couple extra clauses, which they called the "Delver Open Source license".

You can now grab Delver on itch.io and Steam as before.

More retro original PlayStation-style horror experiences? Say no more, sign me up. Cursed Letters is another coming to Linux PC later in 2020. In development by Letters Team and Flow Studios with a focus on providing a distubing horror experience that bring together PSX (original PlayStation) style with some modern mechanics.

Check out their first teaser:

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Feature Highlight:

• Impersonation - Mobility, vision, all your senses will be at stake. Getting caught means suffering, and exchange in order to stay alive.
• Survival - Leaning, Hiding, Running, Throwing... Resort to everything you can.
• Explore - Understand the rooms around you, navigate through them, and find a way out...
• Death - Prepare yourself against an enemy that will leave traps, search every room you go, and listen closely to the sounds you make. Just to finally catch up to you.
• Brutality - You will always feel unprepared for the challenges you will face, you must search every room, improvise on your options to simply stay alive.
• PSX Aesthetics - A horror experience heavily inspired by PSX games.
• Puzzles - Heavily inspired by 80's horror movies.
• Fail Fast - There is no failure except in no longer trying.

I'm really not sure who kickstarted this surge of classic styled horror games but I'm all for it. Just like the upcoming release of Alisa , I'm interested to see how this does at release because this style has a lot of charm to it and an atmosphere that so many "realistic" games can't match.

You can follow Cursed Letters on Steam .