Game devs step up as potential COVID lockdown looms

To help support and encourage people who are self isolating, some game devs are giving away their games for free.

Let’s not beat around the bush; over the next few months, we’re probably all going to be spending a bit more time inside than usual. Our hearts have been warmed by the way that Australia’s creative communities have come together to support one another during COVID. The game dev community is no different; after some bigger names in indie games gave away download codes to some of their games, devs from Australia and New Zealand took up the cause, offering their games for free to those who wanted them in this isolating time. Here are some of our picks:

WitchWay 

This gorgeous platformer lets you travel through a series of enticing pixellated dungeons as a cute little witch! While away the hours saving bunnies and searching for your wand. It’s free until the end of March!

Paint Game 

This 3d colouring book is sure to delight and confuse people of all ages. if you want to spend some meditative time doing something gently creative, or dive right into the chaos of a game designed to help you get creatively messy, this is the game for you.

Mini Metro 

Here’s a wondrous little infrastructure game from across the pond! NZ devs Dinosaur Polo Club have made their popular mobile game, Mini Metro, totally free for the time being. This game, billed as a ‘sublime subway simulator,’ is sure to get you thinking.

Library of Babble 

Here’s another beautiful game from NZ, with quite a different energy. Library of Babble is less of a game, in strict terms, and more like a social experience. This is a gentle, networked game where you can leave messages for other users around the world, or find secret messages they have left in turn. The perfect salve for anyone feeling blue, in a particularly lonely period of history.

Jini Maxwell is a writer and curator who lives in Naarm. They are an assistant curator at ACMI, where they also host the Women & Non-binary gamers club. They write about videogames and the people who make them. You can find them on Twitter @astroblob