A retro Starship Troopers shooter, a video store sim and other new indie games worth checking out

## Summary
It's for a falling-block game, but instead of filling a container to create straight lines that disappear, it's based around a pivot point. New releases Given all the bug slaughtering and the jingoistic satire, any Starship Troopers project is going to draw comparisons with Helldivers 2 . Advertisement Advertisement Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is out now on Steam , PS5 , Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 . Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator is available on Steam (normally $20, with a 20 percent discount until March 24).

## Article Content
Auroch Digital/Dotemu
Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. There are a whole bunch of neat new games out this week, as well as updates on some interesting upcoming projects.
In case you missed it, the
Steam Spring Sale
is under way. There are lots of solid deals here, and my credit card is already screaming at me. I've picked up a bunch of games from my wishlist. For instance, at just $3, I couldn't resist snagging
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate.
Meanwhile, over on Bluesky, a
prototype
from developer Freya Holmér caught my eye. It's for a falling-block game, but instead of filling a container to create straight lines that disappear, it's based around a pivot point. As tetrominos join the mass, it rotates left or right by 90 degrees, adding a new dimension to a well-established format. I'm really hoping Holmér turns this into a full game, as it's a rad concept.
New releases
Given all the bug slaughtering and the jingoistic satire, any Starship Troopers project is going to draw comparisons with
Helldivers 2
. Fortunately,
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!
is entirely its own thing.
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This is a retro first-person shooter from Auroch Digital (the studio behind
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
) and publisher Dotemu. The framing of the game is quite meta: it's based on the experiences of Major Samantha Dietz, who was on the frontlines against the bugs, and it's effectively being used as a military recruitment tool.
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!
is a blast. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. Not that I needed one, but it gave me an excuse to watch Paul Verhoeven's original film again since the game (while having an original story) hits some of the same beats.
The tone is spot on. The writing in the cutscenes, in which Casper Van Dien reprises his role as Johnny Rico from the movies, is funny. You can't tell me that it isn't a thrill to blow up a giant bug with a tactical nuke. Plus, I was tickled by the consequences of "accidentally" shooting a fellow soldier in the training base and all hell breaking loose.
Alas, the pacing feels off — there's a bit too much space between objectives in some levels — and it's a little one-note. Still, it only takes around four or five hours to beat, particularly if you don't care about hunting for secrets.
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Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!
is out now on
Steam
,
PS5
,
Xbox Series X/S
and
Nintendo Switch 2
. It'll usually cost $25, but there's a 20 percent discount until March 24.
Retro Rewind
is a solid name for a video store rental sim. You'll manage a store in the early '90s — the heyday of VHS — by doing everything from decorating the place, filling shelves with tapes and buying bootleg films to hiring staff, making recommendations to customers and collecting late fees.
My first job was behind the counter of a convenience store that had a small movie rental section, so I've got a tiny bit of experience with calling up customers who have overdue films. That part of the job wasn't exactly fun, but like the idea of running an entire rental store, an experience that's sadly
almost extinct
.
Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator
is available on
Steam
(normally $20, with a 20 percent discount until March 24). You can try it out by playing a
demo
.
In Their Shoes
looks like an intriguing spin on the visual novel. From We Are Muesli, this is billed as a mumblecore narrative vein, indicating that it's influenced by films from that subgenre (such as the works of the Duplass brothers, Lynn Shelton and, especially in the early part of her career, Greta Gerwig). Through a few dozen interactive scenes, it follows the intertwined lives and intimate moments of seven people in Milan. Each of these dialogue-focused segments lasts around five minutes. There are timed choices and you can arrange the scenes into a timeline.
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You can pick up
In Their Shoes
on
Steam
now. The full price is $13, but there's a 25 percent discount until March 31.
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For this week's dog game, here is
World's Goodest Pup
. It's another
pooch-based roguelike deckbuilder
. This time around, you'll be trying to succeed in the realm of competitive dog shows. After selecting a dog from among three breeds, you'll start building a deck of accessories, tricks and poses and combine them in strategic ways to be most effective in competitions and challenges, which are procedurally generated.
This is a cozy game first and foremost, though. You can spoil puppers in a pet resort that you'll build and treat them with a visit to a dog spa. Cute.
World's Goodest Pup
— from Pandamander — is out on
Steam
(normally $7, with 10 percent off until March 26). You can try it out via a
demo
.
The release trailer for
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime
made me chuckle, so I had to include it. The latest project from Bonte Avond (the team behind
Once Upon A Jester
) is a comedy adventure game.
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- After selecting a dog from among three breeds, you'll start building a deck of accessories, tricks and poses and combine them in strategic ways to be most effective in competitions and challenges, which are procedurally generated.
- As with many real-life trading card games, you'll buy and collect frogs to build a strong army.

### Areas for Consideration
- There are more than 300 modifiers and abilities, along with boss battles and optional time-based challenge boards.

### Implications
- Beyond Words takes that a bit further, with tiles that shift and explode, and boards that change up the rules.
- PQube is the publisher of Beyond Words, which will hit Steam , PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on April 9.
- Echo Foundry Interactive seems to be hoping that the community-driven focus will help Sound System stand out.
- When it goes into early access on Steam (October 16, $25), Sound System will have local multiplayer support.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers game, advertisement, steam topics. Notable strengths include discussion of game. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1404.