What’s going on with these Belgian games?

Christophe De bont

25/07/2017

At the start of this year, we highlighted promising games being created by talented Belgian game developers. In the meantime, the Belgian games industry kept moving forward at a steady pace. A little over six months later new, exciting announcements were made, Kickstarter campaigns were organised and games have been put in the hands of players. In short: time for an update.

The Almost Gone (Happy Volcano)

Happy Volcano renamed their mysterious point-and-click adventure Winter. It’s now called The Almost Gone but that’s about the only thing that has changed. The game is still about a young girl’s spirit trying to escape from a magical afterlife, is still co-written by Flemish author Joost Vandecasteele and still looks smashingly beautiful. The change was announced by this new teaser trailer that captures the mood perfectly.

Antigraviator (Team Cybernetic Walrus)

Since last checking in with Antigraviator the youngsters of Team Cybernetic Walrus brought their futuristic racing game to Kickstarter. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to reach their goal. Even though they didn’t get funded, the campaign has helped them spread the word about their game and also helped them building a community. Nothing will stop this ambitious go-getters from releasing their game.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Larian Studios)

The sequel to Larian’s 2014 critical and commercial hit Divinity: Original Sin is nearly upon us. After spending a year in Early Access, the final version of Divinity: Original Sin 2 will release on September 14. Will this become the most succesful Belgian game of all time? Not long now before we’ll know the answer.

Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 (Crazy Monkey Studios)

Following the success of the first game, Crazy Monkey Studios announced a sequel to their frantic 2D platform shooter Guns, Gore & Cannoli. Expect more guns (dual wielding!), more gore (Nazi zombies – World War II is in full swing during the events of the game – are always better than regular ones), and, of course, more Vinnie Cannoli. The game will feature online co-op for the first time and will release later this year on pc, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Hoverloop (Not a Company)

The announcement of Hoverloop was immediately followed by a succesful Kickstarter campaign. Thanks to their backers, two-man studio Not a Company will be able to bring their fast-paced arcade arena combat game to pc and Xbox One early next year.

Hunting Simulator (Neopica)

Hunting Simulator, developed by Neopica and published by Big Ben Interactive, released last month on pc, PS4 and Xbox One. Since then, the developers have been working on updates for the game to make the hunting experience even better.

The Man Came Around (Pipette Inc.)

The Man Came Around by Pipette Inc. is yet another Belgian game that succesfully managed to secure funding on Kickstarter in the past six months. During the campaign, the game was covered by leading international game publications like PC Gamer and Kill Screen. If the developers don’t run out of pasta, this gorgeous yet deadly political fable will be in our hands sometime next year.

Mayan Death Robots: Arena (Sileni Studios)

The Mayan Death Robots also made their comeback with more intense battles than ever. Next to an Xbox One debut, Mayan Death Robots: Arena brought along a lot of tweaks and updates to the original game and, most importantly, featured online multiplayer for the first time. Developer Sileni Studios also permanently discounted the pc version as a result of the lower price point on Xbox One.

Revolve (Rusty Bolt)

Revolve, the debut game of Steven Delrue’s (ex-Guerrilla Games) studio Rusty Bolt, has been out since Valentine’s Day. The game has received some rave reviews and was the only Belgian entry to be selected for the European Developers showcase at GDC and Indigo 2017.

Shift Quantum (Fishing Cactus)

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of their first self-funded game Epistory, Fishing Cactus announced their next project back in March. Shift Quantum is a puzzle platformer where players have the ability to change what color of the monochrome rooms is solid. When the player shifts, the room flips upside down, and the opposite color becomes solid. Using this mechanic, players will have to comb their brain to obtain keys and avoid spikes in order to reach the exit of the level.

Warparty (Crazy Monkey Studios)

Next to Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2, Crazy Monkey Studios announced it’s also working on action-strategy game Warparty. Taking place in a fantasy Stone Age setting, players will have to build up their base and rally additional cavemen soldiers to tame vicious dinosaurs and fight rival tribesmen. The game is developed with pc players – WarCraft 3 fans in particular – in mind and will be out early next year.