The 32bit Game Jam is an event for indie game developers to create games inspired by the 90’s era of gaming! Besides the classic PS1 theme, there were also two alternate themes given to help out with ideas. The themes are The Ocean or Another World, and both are optional. Some games took advantage of both!
Here’s a featured list of the games that I really enjoyed. There’s far too many games for me to discuss all at once. You should check out the game jam yourself! Give them some ratings and leave some comments. It’s really motivational for indie devs. You’re likely to find many new games that might just become some of your all time favorites!
Astroman and the Planet of Crystals
Astroman and the Planet of Crystals was a super chill indie game experience. The soundtrack reflects the mood of being in outer space and exploring perfectly. It gives you a great sense of wonder and mystery. You play as the astronaut James who gets sent to the crystal planet to gather up the rare crystals there.
You drive your boat around to the nearby islands to mine for the precious rocks, and unlock the barriers holding the rarest of them all. I really enjoyed it, and didn’t find it tedious to keep mining. The soundtrack and the dark starry outer space sky really kept me going.
Rental
Rental was perhaps the best game for sticking to the 90’s theme. You play as Umi who’s moving into a new rental home near the beach with her family. You’re the first to go in and check it out. The door slams and locks closed behind you. Umi is trapped and eventually finds the rental man who says there’s no way out!
You have to find objects hidden around the house so you can perform a ritual and leave. Rental has some serious Silent Hill vibes, and this made it another one of my favorites. The silence of the house, and just the noise of your footsteps gave me that same creepy but somehow comforting feeling of the old PS1 game.
The Deep Ones
The second place winner of the 32bit game jam was The Deep Ones! If I had to decide, I’d say it was #1 though. For sticking to the 90’s theme, it’s only second to Rental. Besides that, the atmosphere, PS1 style graphics, and creativity were some of the best.
It was really fun to keep fishing to see what next random and freaky fish I might catch. One of the mythical catch’s wasn’t even a fish, it was some old man called a “shopper” which was hilarious. I kept on going until the end to catch the legendary Mind Melter. A tip for new players, you can use multiple baits! You’ll need to in order to catch the Mind Melter and some mythical fish. The spooky fishing atmosphere and neat small town kept me playing longer than I expected as well.
Kaiju Krusher
Kaiju Krusher was a hilarious and fun destructive indie game. There’s multiple levels where you get to destroy buildings by using Kaiju’s special abilities. Your power meter rises as you use normal attacks so you can breath fire and roll your way through buildings. The back and forth between the two news people commenters was hilarious. One of them horrified, while the other cheers you on. Even Kaiju’s apperance had me cracking up.
Torcurus
If we were going by N64 style graphics, Torcurus would be my pick! It still feels like mostly PSX, but with the colors and music it leans more towards N64. I had a fun time getting to play a short indie game as a sea turtle. It was neat just to explore the underwater world, the atmosphere was really well done. Although it is sort of polluted. You should check out my review on Torcurus to see more!
Regular Home Renovation Simulator
House Flipper meets extensional Haunted PS1 horror! Regular Home Renovation Simulator is a house construction game that starts off as innocent and takes a dark turn to darkness and evil. Maybe there’s a deeper story to this game? Our guy does blow off using the asbestos equipment at the beginning. Then the demon obelisk thing at the end says our business was safe, but some family paid. Maybe from our own carelessness.
Birdwatcher
Although one of the shorter games, Bird Watcher is one of my favorites. The attention to detail and PS1 aesthetic are perfect! I loved the ducks in the water and the hunt for the Mount Pallas monster. You take pictures of everything he left behind and make some short entries in your journal along the way. The scare at the end isn’t is too much of a jump scare. Expected, but still tense and spooky.
More Indie Games to Check Out From the 32bit Game Jam
There were too many games for me to possibly review at once and to play before it ended. I’d like to review them all, but sadly I can’t. I’m still in the process of playing more, and will share my favorite finds!
Some other games I really enjoyed were A Flower Field, which had an amazing story. Regular Home Renovation Simulator, which had some serious PC game vibes and had a twist I did not expect. Lastly, Pipoy’s Adventure which was a colorful platforming adventure with great music and sound effects. I’ll post more games here as I find them! Also make sure to check out the Indie Games Jam front page to see future game jam postings and reviews like this one!
