Britt’s Brief Bulletin - March Mini Review Round-up! 🍷 #indiegames #gamedev

Pour yourself a large glass of Primitivo and take a gentle sip as Britt delves into the Games Freezer games locker and digs for some Class A Indie Gold in his ‘Britt’s Brief Bulletin’ March Round-up!

Blades of Fire

(Available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5)

A game that unfortunately passed me by upon its original release window back in the Summer of 2025, developed by Spanish team MercurySteam (who I’m most familiar with through their Castlevania: Lords of Shadow back in 2010) and published via 505 Games, Blades of Fire casts the player in the role of blacksmith Aran, who is taken from his rural reclusery (definitely a word, don’t look it up) and back into civilisation when he saves a young boy from an attack. Instantly drawn into the shenanigans of this fantasy world, Aran makes it his mission to fight his way to the palace in a bid to assassinate the queen. Whilst this isn’t a flawless game by any means, it’s an accessible entry in the soul-like genre that has some lighter moments and big pluses, such as the weighty, satisfying combat, fluid animation, variety in locations, and offbeat characters. Admittedly this is offset by some parts of the game that feel a bit shoe-horned in, and the weapon crafting mini-game can get a bit laborious – although you can ‘save’ the weapons that you’ve created so that they can be auto-built when you have the right crafting items, thankfully – and the in-game quest markers may as well not exist, there’s a definite satisfaction in making your way through the world and battering all in Aran’s way.

Reigns: The Witcher

(Available on PC, macOS, iOS, Android)

From the website:

Adventure as Geralt through the ballads of Dandelion in Reigns: The Witcher, the latest mutation of the smash-hit swipe ‘em up Reigns series from Nerial and Devolver Digital, set in the merciless, dark-fantasy world of CD PROJEKT RED’s award-winning The Witcher series.

As Geralt of Rivia, legendary monster slayer, you will navigate the moral maze and fight for survival through the drunken ballads of the bard. Will you hunt monsters, upset the locals, or run a hot bath? Compose an inspiring epic to perhaps, one day, claim immortality.

Set against the backdrop of building up an epic tale for lovable rogue Dandelion to perform to rapturous applause, Reigns: The Witcher is a very simple game with the real hold here being the fact that we once again get to dive in the world of The Witcher and enjoy the quirky narrative dance that your selections bring. You’ll get hundreds of choices hurled at you that have two possible outcomes available, and as you make your selection, you’ll need to balance out the fact that the game can abruptly end should the humans or non-humans turn on you your for your choices – as well as keeping in mind the fact you need to be out there hunting monsters, you are after all...a Witcher!

A breezy game that has a great sense of humour and is perfect for short blasts, this was my introduction into the ‘Reigns’ series of games, and the rich lore of Geralt & Co is a perfect match for this style of gameplay.

ROGUEMATCH: THE EXTRAPLANAR INVASION

(Available on PC, Switch, Xbox X/S ONE, PS4/5)

Effectively a Match-3 game with a cutesy plot and a heck of a lot going on in terms of mechanics, Roguematch: The Extraplanar Invasion is, at its heart, a rogue-lite title that will rightfully chew away at your time as you incrementally level up your cute character and make your way further through the castle. I played this on Switch, and used touchscreen controls, - which always feels right with any Match-3 title, hence why I aim to play them on Switch or mobile platforms – and found it a great way to chill out as I tried to rescue all of my cat companions! My feline friends! My...well, you get the gist. 

From the website:

When a Nekomancer's curiosity drags her friends- the Binkying Bungeoneer and the Shield-Bashing Paladinu - into a hunt for the Nekonomicon, they stumble upon an army of extraplanar monsters—and now, only the most unlikely heroes can save reality! To survive, they'll need to master improvised mana tactics, because their usual swords and spells won't cut it!

MELEE, MAGIC, MATCH, OR MANEUVER:

Directly attack your foe, cast a spell, injure enemies by matching mana next to them, or dodge deadly attacks? Every turn requires careful thinking.

FACE A CASTLE OVERRUN BY VARIOUS ELEMENTS AND ELEMENTALS!

Lava burns you in the Cryovolcanic stages, but they burn enemies too!

You can get stuck in the mud in the Electric Swamp, but that protects you from electricity!

Hide in the sandclouds in the Humid Desert to ambush an enemy!

When you face Orochill, run from the ice blasts!

If you face Cathulhu, brave her air beams!

ROGUELIKE SYSTEMS

Procedurally Generated Floor maps: No two runs are the same—face different level layouts and randomised treasure drops each time.

Tough but Fair: When a run ends, the castle takes back all your items and spells you have found. You start again, with nothing.

Spells and Enemies: Use 170+ spells/items to fight against 70+ enemies and bosses, each with their own elemental weakness and strengths.

Will you outsmart the extraplanar invasion... or will your realm collapse because of one book?

Street Racer Collection

I have fond memories of Street Racer back on the SNES, far preferring it to Mario Kart at the time due to the inclusion of the colourful cast of characters,  punkier production and awesome music - who can forget the awesome character select screen music, what a beat! This collection features the SNES, Mega Drive, MS-DOS, and Game Boy versions of the game. Whilst your nostalgia may be tickled by the Mega Drive or even Game Boy versions, these are easily the weakest, with the SNES and MS-DOS flying high. As much as I love these characters, the memories and music – the sad truth is that this collection doesn’t include the Saturn or PS1 versions...which were clearly superior. It’s a crying shame that they aren’t included here as it just ends up feeling like a crushingly unfortunate missed opportunity. Still, some great times to be had – especially with four players! - ….but I’ll always be secretly yearning for the 32-bit gen iterations.

Mind Over Magnet

(available on PC, Switch, PS4/5, Xbox X/S & One,)

I only discovered this one recently, and had no idea what to expect until I sat down one evening with my four year old and we had an absolutely fabulous time working our way through the simple, polarity-changing stages that make up the game. Containing a cute friendship between a uni-wheeled mobile computer and a magnet called Magnus, the visuals and audio are superbly clean cut and colourful, the perfect backdrop for making your way through the 50-stage factory. Whilst the narrative is pretty sparse, and the difficulty curve is slight, this is a great puzzler for kids to play with their parents, and also for those that fancy a breezy puzzle game that doesn’t outstay its welcome, and is also extremely approachable and appealing - a great little game!