Cris Tales is a gorgeous, indie love letter to classic JRPGs with a new perspective. Peer into the past, act in the present, and watch as your choices dynamically change the future — all on one screen as you play! Beautifully hand-drawn 2D animations bring to life a world where your choices will change both the present and the future across more than 20 hours of gameplay.

There are several ways the team innovated on the classic formula. Players can see past, present, and future at the same time, so seeing someone in the present also allows you to see that person in the past (if said person was born at all), and how they will look in the future (or if they died). This also changes according to the player’s actions, so what the player does in the present can immediately change the outcome of a person or a place.

This also impacts the combat! Imagine an enemy that is poisoned. If a player sends that enemy into the future, all the poison damage that would have been inflicted slowly is instead dealt at once.

This is immensely cool and clearly shows that the devs built this project from sheer passion for the genre.

Modus is a powerhouse indie publisher comprised of AAA industry veterans, gamers, and developers who embrace indie’s golden age and want to produce the cutting-edge indie games from the best developers in the world.

Trine 4 is exactly that sort of magical work: a game that combines everything we love from classic platformers while brining in modern artistic and gameplay sensibilities.

The Epic Games Store has been around for a while, the lesser-known alternative to Steam, the nearly-ubiquitous platform for game purchases since it launched in 2003. But, where Steam originally existed and launched to promote Valve games, Epic Games Store launched in 2018 and quickly rose to success on the Fortnite franchise. At the time of Epic’s launch, Steam took a dramatic 30% cut from the sales of video games through their platform! This hurt both game designers and users, just wasn’t very nice. But the folks behind Epic realized something excellent: they could take a much lower cut and still have a profitable business. This led them to fast domination of the indie market, as small publishers flocked to the far better terms offered by Epic.

Mega Discounts

Epic Games Store offers some seriously incredible discounts on a regular basis, in addition to all the normal discounts one would expect on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the usual holidays. But the most exciting is their weekly free game or add-on, which simply harpoons all competitors.

When I first heard about this free game, I thought that can’t be real. They must only offer tiny indie games. Not at all, dear reader. Not. At. All. Epic frequently lists unbelievable A-lister games on their weekly deal, as well as sometimes offer two free games instead of one. In addition, just because a studio is smaller doesn’t mean the games it makes aren’t impressive. I’ve picked up some of my favorite new games, for free, from this platform, and most of them have been made by smaller studios (or as side-projects for teams from big studios).

Build a new home for humanity in Aven Colony. Discover Aven Prime – an alien planet of deserts, tundras, and wetlands light years from earth. Build your colonies into massive, sprawling cities whilst dealing with the threats faced when settling on a new world.

In Aven Colony, you take on the role of colonial governor to a human city on the wild alien world of Aven Prime. While overseeing all aspects of the economy, social welfare, construction, and defense, the player shepherds Aven Colony into a bastion of interstellar civilization while overcoming the odds of alien nature, ideological splinter cells, and the possible remnants of an alien civilization.

Aven Colony is not the top of the charts when it comes to simulation games or empire builders—but it’s fairly middle-of-the-pack, and it has some exciting differences from other games in the genre. The way relatively constant disasters and crisis appear, for one thing, ensures that players will be engaged the whole time they’re playing. The downside is that there isn’t a ton of flexibility to the game, making it primarily fun for short bursts when you just want to have some fun.

The game has some seriously lovely graphics, as well as an overall high-quality aesthetic. The designers really created a nice immersive experience with the sort of intensity that one might normally expect from a rougelike game. This combo is fun, especially in short bursts, making Aven Colony extremely worthwhile for those who like being in the thick of things while enjoying gorgeous artwork and sound.

Team17, the company behind Aven Colony, started way back in 1990 when a British and Swedish developer merged. They’ve been active ever since on the indie scene, turning out neat original games and testing the boundaries of what a small publisher/developer can do.

A recent success story for the company as a publisher was Hell Let Loose which debuted in mid-2021 and focused on platoon-level combat in a WWII setting.

Other games, like in-house designed The Escapists and The Survivalists have been extremely popular in niche markets with handheld fans. My Time at Portia, a role-playing storytelling game, has also been extremely popular. It will be exciting to see if Team17 comes out with more RTS or simulation games in the future, though!

Shipwrecked alone on an uncharted island, explore, adapt and navigate the land and perilous seas to stay alive.

As Kara, you are a warrior, caught at sea in a fierce storm, adrift from your tribe. Thrown from your boat, at the mercy of the turbulent waters, you are tossed on to the shores of the Forbidden Islands, a mysterious paradise. With no boat, no food or tools, just the will and skill to survive, uncover this beautiful island’s rich resources. Craft tools and weapons to hunt and defend yourself against nature itself with its wild and fantastical creatures.

Whilst exploring further islands and the scattered ruins across their lands, secrets of the past and glimpses of the future are revealed. Unravel the mystery behind them all, and you may find more than just your way home.

Windbound did not make great headway with the critics, but I feel those who panned it generally missed out on some of the subtlety. Its survival mode is definitely the only way to play the game since the story is so thin, but upgrading everything from your weapons to your boat will offer you greater chances of making it through to the end of the game.

Regardless, as a free game, there’s absolutely no reason not to pick this up and give it a go because, even if you end up hating the heavy rougelike gameplay that makes it worthwhile, you’re not going to weep at the lost cash like those poor fools who bought it brand new.

5 Lives Studios might not have hit it out of the ballpark with Windbound, but there’s no doubt that this small Australian game company has some great ideas. In their 2015 mega-hit Satellite Reign, 5 Lives Studio offered players something unique and incredible, a vibrant open world strategy game designed from a place of obvious passion for the cyberpunk genre.

Satellite Reign is a real-time, class-based strategy game, set in an open-world cyberpunk city. You command a group of 4 agents through rain-soaked, neon-lit streets, where the law is the will of mega-corporations. Use your agents to sneak, shoot, steal, and sabotage your way up the corporate ladder, and take control of the most powerful monopoly of all time. The city of Satellite Reign is one big, open playground. No individual levels to pick between, the whole world can be explored seamlessly. Uncover new missions while you explore, and pick and choose which objectives you want to tackle.

The Epic Games Store has been around for a while, the lesser-known alternative to Steam, the nearly-ubiquitous platform for game purchases since it launched in 2003. But, where Steam originally existed and launched to promote Valve games, Epic Games Store launched in 2018 and quickly rose to success on the Fortnite franchise. At the time of Epic’s launch, Steam took a dramatic 30% cut from the sales of video games through their platform! This hurt both game designers and users, just wasn’t very nice. But the folks behind Epic realized something excellent: they could take a much lower cut and still have a profitable business. This led them to fast domination of the indie market, as small publishers flocked to the far better terms offered by Epic.

Mega Discounts

Epic Games Store offers some seriously incredible discounts on a regular basis, in addition to all the normal discounts one would expect on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the usual holidays. But the most exciting is their weekly free game or add-on, which simply harpoons all competitors.

When I first heard about this free game, I thought that can’t be real. They must only offer tiny indie games. Not at all, dear reader. Not. At. All. Epic frequently lists unbelievable A-lister games on their weekly deal, as well as sometimes offer two free games instead of one. In addition, just because a studio is smaller doesn’t mean the games it makes aren’t impressive. I’ve picked up some of my favorite new games, for free, from this platform, and most of them have been made by smaller studios (or as side-projects for teams from big studios).

Dauntless is a free-to-play online action RPG from Phoenix Labs. Look forward to regular updates, seasonal events, new Behemoths, and more in a rich, evolving world.

Team up with millions of players worldwide to topple monumental challenges. Craft unique weapons, armour, and gear and customize your Slayer to suit your playstyle. Explore vibrant lands teeming with life, mystery, and danger above a long-lost civilization. Join an exciting adventure with regular updates, diverse activities, seasonal events, and new Behemoths in a rich, ever-evolving universe. Celebrate each passing season with in-game festivities, cosmetics, and activities in a living world.

Phoenix Labs was formed by former Riot Games developers Jesse Houston, Sean Bender and Robin Mayne, with numerous developers hailing from BioWare, Blizzard Entertainment, and Capcom. Jesse Houston said in an interview that Phoenix Labs is poised to offer “a new, unique approach to crafting AAA experiences” despite being a much smaller studio than the AAA giants that their team left behind.

Dauntless is Phoenix Labs first release and its success bodes well for the small company, suggesting that all manner of goodies awaits in the future as Dauntless stabilizes and provides a solid revenue stream.

If you want something similar to Dauntless, try out the hit game that inspired it: Monster Hunter. A new part in the series was released early in 2022: Monster Hunter Rise.

Rise to the challenge and join the hunt! In Monster Hunter Rise, the latest installment in the award-winning and top-selling Monster Hunter series, you’ll become a hunter, explore brand new maps and use a variety of weapons to take down fearsome monsters as part of an all-new storyline.

The Epic Games Store has been around for a while, the lesser-known alternative to Steam, the nearly-ubiquitous platform for game purchases since it launched in 2003. But, where Steam originally existed and launched to promote Valve games, Epic Games Store launched in 2018 and quickly rose to success on the Fortnite franchise. At the time of Epic’s launch, Steam took a dramatic 30% cut from the sales of video games through their platform! This hurt both game designers and users, just wasn’t very nice. But the folks behind Epic realized something excellent: they could take a much lower cut and still have a profitable business. This led them to fast domination of the indie market, as small publishers flocked to the far better terms offered by Epic.

Mega Discounts

Epic Games Store offers some seriously incredible discounts on a regular basis, in addition to all the normal discounts one would expect on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the usual holidays. But the most exciting is their weekly free game or add-on, which simply harpoons all competitors.

When I first heard about this free game, I thought that can’t be real. They must only offer tiny indie games. Not at all, dear reader. Not. At. All. Epic frequently lists unbelievable A-lister games on their weekly deal, as well as sometimes offer two free games instead of one. In addition, just because a studio is smaller doesn’t mean the games it makes aren’t impressive. I’ve picked up some of my favorite new games, for free, from this platform, and most of them have been made by smaller studios (or as side-projects for teams from big studios).

Obviously, we can’t add a watermark without a document to put it on!

• Click the Insert menu in the top bar of the document.
• Navigate and click Watermark, a sidebar will appear on the right of the screen.

If you want to add a watermark image, upload the file by clicking the large box labeled “Select Image”. You can change the image’s scale and whether to fade it or not.

To add watermark text, click the Text tab and type in the text box. You can customize the font, size, bold/italics/underline, transparency, and positioning.

When ready, click Done!

Both text and image watermarks will appear on each page of the document.

Obviously, we can’t add a watermark without a document to put it on!

• Click the Insert menu in the top bar of the document.
• Navigate and click Watermark, a sidebar will appear on the right of the screen.

If you want to add a watermark image, upload the file by clicking the large box labeled “Select Image”. You can change the image’s scale and whether to fade it or not.

To add watermark text, click the Text tab and type in the text box. You can customize the font, size, bold/italics/underline, transparency, and positioning.

When ready, click Done!

Both text and image watermarks will appear on each page of the document.

At the top right of the screen, you’ll find a blue Share button. Click it to open sharing settings.

In the menu, find the person you want to share temporarily with. You’ll only be able to pick an expiration date if they’re someone you’ve already shared the file with.

If you haven’t shared the file with that person yet, simply add in their email address and click Send or Share. Then re-enter the Share menu again.

Next to the person’s name, click the down arrow and choose Give temporary access.

• Beside “Access expires,” select a date and time to set as the expiration date.
• Click save.

That’s it! Now whomever you’ve shared the document with will only be able to access it between now and the expiration date and time!

If you’d like to regulate even more of your Google Doc, be sure to check out our guide on how to add a watermark to a Google Doc!

In many countries, websites, social media and blogs are controlled by oppressive leaders. Young people, in particular, are forced to grow up in systems where their opinion is heavily manipulated by governmental disinformation campaigns.

But even where almost all media is blocked or controlled, the world’s most successful computer game is still accessible. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) uses this loophole to bypass internet censorship to bring back the truth – within Minecraft.

In line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes that information is a fundamental right regardless of borders, Reporters Without Borders upholds a mission that is crucial in the ever-consistent fight against authoritarianism and oligarchy. News and information is increasingly difficult to parse in our high-tech age, especially for those with limited access to the training required to pick apart the truth from the headlines. With even reputable news organizations making mistakes or outright leaning into bias, and with the figureheads of many governments considered unreliable sources of information, projects like this are more important than ever.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Vietnam, Mexico, Egypt — all countries with repressive anti-democratic systems currently restricting access to free information. Even in supposedly democratic countries like the United States, the risk of censorship is not alien. Vigilance against information censorship is one of the most vital aspects of a functional democracy, and a functional society in general.

The Uncensored Library was built by the company BlockWorks as a massive open-world information-sharing. When contacted by Reporters Without Borders, the BlockWorks team took delight in the idea of building a platform for democratic information sharing. Their work has helped offer a new medium through which censored information can not only make it through many of the barriers imposed by authoritarians, but can be interacted within an immersive and novel fashion.

“We need to defend press freedom every day.” – Hatice Cengiz, fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi

It took 24 builders from 16 different countries over 250 hours to design and create the library, which is composed of over 12.5 million blocks. With a main dome nearly 300 meters wide, this would be the second-largest such existing dome if rebuilt in the real world.

“The Uncensored Library is a bold use of Minecraft. It really encapsulates everything that is great about this game and the community it has created.” — James Delaney, Managing Director BlockWorks, Architect of the Uncensored Library

The neoclassical architectural design style was chosen because it is often incorporated in public buildings around the world as a representation of high culture, democratic principles, and historical integrity.

Originally, censored articles from five different countries and various journalist got republished in Minecraft books. These include articles from Mexican journalist and author Javier Valdez. Founder of the newspaper Riodoce, a weekly dedicated to crime and corruption in Sinaloa, one of Mexico’s most violent states, he was gunned down on May 23, 2017 at the age of fifty. His work lives on.

Also included are articles from grani.ru, where editor in chief Yulia Berezovskaia helped promote articles about protest activities, politically motivated trials and civil society activism. Cut off by Russia in 2014, these articles are now available in The Uncensored Library.

Articles by Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in 2018 after a lifetime of critical responses to the horrific human rights violations committed by Mohammad bin Salman. His murder still has not been appropriately responded to by the United States government, but his work lives on.

Divided into six sections, the library offers a way to access the articles of five prominent journalists and news sources, as well as the work of Reporters Without Borders itself. Each of the five journalist sections features a pedestal on which a book is placed that showcases the current state of government censorship in that country. This includes that country’s rank on the World Press Freedom Index, a valuable tool for seeing how poorly so many of these countries treat those who value truth.

These five archives explore the life and work of the journalists who contributed material (or whose work was contributed posthumously). But this is more than a place to read their work, it’s a place that lends to the experience of their work through clever architectural choices, building upon the wonderful interactivity of Minecraft to create a unique and immersive experience. The Vietnamese archive, for instance, features a twisting maze that players must walk in order to reach the knowledge at the center — a visceral representation of how hard it is for ordinary citizens to gain access to uncensored information.

Want to download The Uncensored Library and explore it for yourself? You can! Just go here for our quick how-to on changing your Minecraft version.