DeppySlide
Originally titled Stellar Wanderer, possibly retitled because of an unrelated mobile game. It shares some graphical similarities to Stellar Nexus, but this has a much more narrative focus.
This one has all of Frankie's regular collaborators involved, and I think that comes through with the presentation and depth. I can't confirm how much was updated from the original jam game - if at all - but there's an impressive amount of characters to interact with, all with unique theme songs (shoutouts to the crocodile greaser and the jetpack wrestler). I think my favorite jam games are the ones that give you a mini world to explore, and this certainly provides that; even when the planetary trips start repeating the same objects or creatures, there's always multiple interactions to play with.
Really the only part where the game suffers is in its statistical mechanics. As you go further in the game, you notice things breaking down a bit, like your torpedoes not reloading in the (fairly slapdash) battle scenes, or that selling half your treasure somehow gives you negative loot but more money. The writing has also aged pretty poorly - nothing worse than some eye-rolls, but it's a rough edge that I normally don't find in Frankie's games. Still, it's worth a half hour's playthrough, and it's nice to play a game that really makes use of Frankie's monstrous art style.
This one has all of Frankie's regular collaborators involved, and I think that comes through with the presentation and depth. I can't confirm how much was updated from the original jam game - if at all - but there's an impressive amount of characters to interact with, all with unique theme songs (shoutouts to the crocodile greaser and the jetpack wrestler). I think my favorite jam games are the ones that give you a mini world to explore, and this certainly provides that; even when the planetary trips start repeating the same objects or creatures, there's always multiple interactions to play with.
Really the only part where the game suffers is in its statistical mechanics. As you go further in the game, you notice things breaking down a bit, like your torpedoes not reloading in the (fairly slapdash) battle scenes, or that selling half your treasure somehow gives you negative loot but more money. The writing has also aged pretty poorly - nothing worse than some eye-rolls, but it's a rough edge that I normally don't find in Frankie's games. Still, it's worth a half hour's playthrough, and it's nice to play a game that really makes use of Frankie's monstrous art style.
2018
Between Macbat 64 and Toree 3D, Siactro would make his last handful of games not in the Kiwi-Toreeverse: three games for Haunted PS1, a 8-bit metroidvania level maker (that I decided to skip over), and this game. A battle royale beatemup sounds like a good time, and the graphics are pretty slick, but I think the balance is a bit off. Enemies take a little too many hits so you end up only facing about 4 of the 20 opponents, and you probably won't even see most of them since you start in a 1v1 enclosed area. I guess it's nice to see Siactro give a 2D game one more go before committing fully to 3D games (not counting Beeny since it doesn't have the pixel-art style).
2016
Maybe the most interesting of the pre-Macbat Siactro games in showing the road not taken. Unbelievably janky but still a fun riff on F-Zero X, with a bit of Sonic Adventure thrown in. Would love to see Siactro go back to this and give it the same love as Toree 2.
2016
A jokey take on the deathmatch FPS that graphically is the connective tissue between Mega Man 8-bit Deathmatch and Toree 3D. I noticed some negative comments regarding the NES comparisons, which feels like a hint of the changing winds in what retro throwback games people want to see.
2015
Listed as a collab project with Laura Bamberger, who also worked on Macbat 64 and other Siactro games. I can see the connection in the graphics and the shooting mechanic a bit, but the game itself is pretty slight. Sadly, Beeny is not present in this game.
It's several layers of polish removed from the Toree games, but the connective tissue is definitely there. I'm pretty sure those robots also make a cameo in the cowboy level of Super Kiwi 64. It's a pretty chaotic game, but that also makes it the most fun of these early games in my book.
Made for the infamous(?) Indies vs. PewDiePie game jam, which was official hosted by GameJolt! Now to just check on what he's been up to since 2014...
Made for the infamous(?) Indies vs. PewDiePie game jam, which was official hosted by GameJolt! Now to just check on what he's been up to since 2014...
2014
Made in the same game jam as the first B.O.B., this plays a little closer to Flappy Bird while still using the same movements. Makes for a more interesting dynamic but also much tougher gameplay.
2014
Lots of Siactro's games have horror elements to them, so it's interesting to see one of their projects just be a straight short horror story. You never feel like you're actually in danger of dying, but it's still an effective and moody experience.
2014
Even after Kiwi 64, Siactro hadn't settled on their current retro aesthetic, so Shootinator takes the same synthwave approach as Unicorn Senpai Slap. Even for a game jam entry, this one feels pretty one-note mechanically.
I wonder if those space ships were reused for Toree 2.
I wonder if those space ships were reused for Toree 2.
2014
Outside of Kiwi 64, this and Salt Meat Factory were Siactro's two most popular games with streamers, which is why this unicorn pops up a lot in Siactro's games.
Part of the canon of browser games about slapping along with Spank the Monkey (2002) and the Rose & Camelia series.
Part of the canon of browser games about slapping along with Spank the Monkey (2002) and the Rose & Camelia series.
2014
Pretty explicit Blade Runner parody, it's a fun little game jam concept where you have to chase an NPC around and "clear" crowds by firing a bullet in the air. Unfortunately it's too stiff to be worth playing more than a couple rounds.
Interesting to see the retro 3D aesthetics starting to appear in Siactro's games, albeit only through set dressing and fake scanlines.
Interesting to see the retro 3D aesthetics starting to appear in Siactro's games, albeit only through set dressing and fake scanlines.
2014
To my knowledge Siactro's first released 3D game, and appropriately it's more of a physics toybox. It's a faux job sim that's got lots of blood and object ragdoll physics, so no surprise that this broke into the Let's Play ecosystem.
I find it kind of interesting that this and Kiwi 64 are the only two of these early games that were not made for a game jam.
I find it kind of interesting that this and Kiwi 64 are the only two of these early games that were not made for a game jam.
Made for The Buswick 2013 game jam, this is Siactro's earliest game still available to play (on IndieDB of all places) unless you know how to emulate XBLIGs. It's an overhead puzzle game in the Zelda vein with a time-clone gimmick, but since it's effectively a prologue you're not getting anything complicated. Still an interesting proof of concept and interesting to think if Siactro went a different direction with his games.
2011
This review contains spoilers
I wasn't planning on going through another indie dev gameography so soon, but Stellar Nexus happened to be one of the games on the SRG Mixtape, and I had already been thinking of going through Frankie's games, so here we are. This isn't Frankie's first game, but I'm starting my reviews with this one because, based on a blog post, this is really where Frankie's oeuvre as an independent game dev starts. (I did review some of their earlier projects though, which I'll link here.)
As for this game, it's a firefighter sim in the same vein as The Firemen series but reframed as a sidescrolling platformer. That is, until you reach the 6th citizen in danger, when an alien invasion shows up and you have to fend off against the many horrific creatures while rushing back to your station. I'm marking this as a spoiler because nothing on the game's page, old website, or even within the game itself hints at this twist, so I think people deserve to go into this game blind.
Before this point, it was a bit of a hassle going through Frankie's old 2000s work, as it was spread over websites and forums (many no longer available); ultimately, the work I was able to play felt divorced from Frankie's strongest pixel artwork, as many of his projects simply never materialized. With Station 37, I finally get to see his gruesome creature designs put to good use, backed up by a mechanically refined game and excellent soundtrack, both with help from his TIGSource/Poppenkast buddies. (The soundtrack is in fact by ChefBoyardee of Barkley's Shut Up and Jam! Gaiden fame, and Frankie would be on the team for the unfortunately mismanaged sequel.) Even as "just" an (enhanced) game jam game, it's a great game on its own and the best introduction to Frankie's work from their earliest days, and I'm glad that it recently got readded to itch.io.
As for this game, it's a firefighter sim in the same vein as The Firemen series but reframed as a sidescrolling platformer. That is, until you reach the 6th citizen in danger, when an alien invasion shows up and you have to fend off against the many horrific creatures while rushing back to your station. I'm marking this as a spoiler because nothing on the game's page, old website, or even within the game itself hints at this twist, so I think people deserve to go into this game blind.
Before this point, it was a bit of a hassle going through Frankie's old 2000s work, as it was spread over websites and forums (many no longer available); ultimately, the work I was able to play felt divorced from Frankie's strongest pixel artwork, as many of his projects simply never materialized. With Station 37, I finally get to see his gruesome creature designs put to good use, backed up by a mechanically refined game and excellent soundtrack, both with help from his TIGSource/Poppenkast buddies. (The soundtrack is in fact by ChefBoyardee of Barkley's Shut Up and Jam! Gaiden fame, and Frankie would be on the team for the unfortunately mismanaged sequel.) Even as "just" an (enhanced) game jam game, it's a great game on its own and the best introduction to Frankie's work from their earliest days, and I'm glad that it recently got readded to itch.io.
Originally a 2010 freeware game. I feel like the earlier wave of NES-inspired games were a lot more faithful to the difficulty of an actual NES game than, say, Shovel Knight. That's not a retvrn thing though, because I'm probably not going to complete this game unless I'm in the mood to bash my head against a wall. Also, it drives me nuts that this game has a dash move that you cannot use in the air (unless that's what the dash upgrade does) and that muscle memory caused a lot of deaths.
Still, while it's a bit sluggish, I did like seeing all the different enemy types, and there's a lot of secret (genuinely hidden) stuff to find if that's your thing. I assume the upgrades also make the game more tolerable over time, so it's not entirely unforgiving. It honestly makes me a bit surprised that this game has been so overlooked, but that seems to happen to a lot of freeware not available on a browser I suppose.
Still, while it's a bit sluggish, I did like seeing all the different enemy types, and there's a lot of secret (genuinely hidden) stuff to find if that's your thing. I assume the upgrades also make the game more tolerable over time, so it's not entirely unforgiving. It honestly makes me a bit surprised that this game has been so overlooked, but that seems to happen to a lot of freeware not available on a browser I suppose.