Gunmetal Arcadia

A game by Minor Key Games for PC, Mac, and Linux, originally released in 2017.

Gunmetal Arcadia is the follow-up to Gunmetal Arcadia Zero. The original game was a straightforward action-platformer with gameplay reminiscent of the sidescrolling action sequences found in Zelda II. Gunmetal Arcadia, on the other hand, has a roguelike structure that sees players sent back to the start of the game upon death, with procedurally arranged environments and random loot drops altering the course of each run. Both games share the same aesthetics, with four tilesets representing each of the four geographical areas, chunky 8-bit low-color visuals, and an authentic-sounding chiptune soundtrack. The game also has an optional CRT-style display mode.

Gunmetal Arcadia once again stars Vireo, a member of a race called Tech Elves. There are two factions of Tech Elves at odds with one another, with the Gunmetal Vanguard focusing on brute strength and the Seekers of Arcadia focusing on agility. Players may choose to align themselves with either faction, which allows them to receive discounts at the affiliated shops (with the trade-off being higher prices at opposing shops), or they may choose to remain independent, which grants players a currency bonus at the start of the next run.

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 2017, Linux, Mac, Minor Key Games, PC

Gunmetal Arcadia Zero

A game by Minor Key Games for PC, Mac, and Linux, originally released in 2016.

Gunmetal Arcadia Zero is a standalone precursor to the roguelike Gunmetal Arcadia. The game features a race of beings called Tech Elves in the city of Arcadia, and two factions are at odds with one another: the warriors of the Gunmetal Vanguard and the scholars of the Seekers of Arcadia. Yet Arcadia is threatened by an even greater menace in the form of the Unmade Empire, which has unleashed terrible creatures upon the land.

The two elven factions agree that they must face this enemy, but disagree on how to go about it, with the Gunmetal Vanguard wishing to take them head-on, and the Seekers of Arcadia wishing to learn more about their enemy in order to take advantage of its weaknesses. As a young elf named Vireo, you decide which of these factions to side with, and then set out into the city, fighting monsters, purchasing equipment, and seeking treasure along the way.

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 2016, Linux, Mac, Minor Key Games, PC

You Have to Win the Game

A game by Pirate Hearts and Minor Key Games for PC, Mac, and Linux, originally released in 2012.

You Have to Win the Game is a short metroidvania platformer made up of a series of interconnected single-screen environments with the room titles on the bottom of the screen, offering a basic structure similar to that of VVVVVV, but without the gravity-flipping mechanics.

One of the things that sets this game apart from VVVVVV or other games in the genre is its lack of a map, which requires that the player commit the layout of the complex game world to memory. However, the game can be played from start to finish in a single sitting (although you’ll have to work a bit harder if you’re going for 100% completion), allowing players to keep the layout fresh in their minds.

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 2012, Linux, Mac, Minor Key Games, PC, Pirate Hearts

Super Win the Game

A game by Minor Key Games for PC, Mac, and Linux, originally released in 2014.

Super Win the Game is the sequel to the 2012 freeware title, You Have to Win the Game. While the original game hearkened back to the days of 1980’s computer games – complete with limited color CGA and EGA display modes – Super Win the Game offers up an NES-style aesthetic with an expanded color palette, a larger world, and a wider variety of themed locales. The game also features multidirectional scrolling rather than the interconnected single-screen rooms found in the original game.

Rather than presenting a single contiguous world, Super Win the Game offers individual towns and dungeons, with an overworld map to connect them all. Similar to the presentation in Zelda II, the world map is top-down with icons representing town and dungeon locations, and entering these areas reveals sidescrolling platforming environments.

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 2014, Linux, Mac, Minor Key Games, PC