Meditate in an ocean
Swim with turtles, do flips like a dolphin, admire schools of fish as they pass by, and explore the ruins of ancient civilizations – you can do all of that at your own pace in Abzû, the meditative diving simulator. The game’s main feature is not the story, but the atmosphere. The developers created it by combining beautiful marine wildlife with the music of Austin Wintory, the first composer to receive a Grammy nomination for a video game soundtrack for his work on Journey – a game that is very similar to Abzû in spirit.
Search for treasure in a flying city
Have you ever dreamt about being a pirate when you were a kid, collecting treasures from all over the world on your ship? The game Tread of Greed gives you an opportunity to fulfill this fantasy. It was created by the students and graduates of ITMO’s Master’s program Game Development Technologies. The game was first revealed to the public at the White Nights gaming industry conference, and in the fall of 2022 it became a part of the worldwide showcase of Unreal Engine-based student projects. Playing as the pirate Hakira, you will sail not the seas but the skies of the floating city of Ain-Assara, fighting the Egyptian guardians of the ruins and raiding ancient tombs for treasure, just like Lara Croft. But beware of the unsteady floor plates and the lurking enemies.
Show off your skateboard tricks
In case you’ve always wanted to learn a couple of skateboarding tricks, create your unique character in the 2D platformer OlliOlli World and get to skating! Your goal is to impress five mystical skate gods and prove that you are the one true king of skateboarding. The game has five different locations containing various routes on which to perform more than 30 tricks. Will you do a basic ollie, where you lift your board off the ground without the use of your hands, or a hardcore kickflip, where the board is flipped 360, 540, or 720 degrees in the air? It is up to you to decide exactly how difficult and scenic your ride will be.
Help a ghost make friends
In The Loneliest Ghost, the player takes control of an unusual protagonist – a little ghost who suffers from loneliness and wants to make some friends. To achieve this, they will have to overcome three of the game’s levels, exploring its setting and solving puzzles along the way. To help the protagonist, the developers – also graduates of the Game Development Technologies program – gave them just the tool for the job. Players have the ability to exit their body as a spirit and possess empty objects. This way, they can interact with the environment (inventory, items and mechanisms) and solve puzzles. The players first had the opportunity to check this game out during the White Nights conference, and now it is available for everyone to play here.
Save a duck from an evil curse
There once was a cute duck that lived in a black-and-white isometric world, chatting with other creatures. But one day, it found a cursed sword on the beach. Now, every 60 seconds the duck dies and is resurrected in one of its many houses. That is the main premise of the indie adventure game Minit. It is completely up to the player how they will choose to spend the duck’s time – whether they will look for treasure, explore new territories, or do side quests. Do whatever is needed to help the duck lift the terrible curse that befell it!
Swap your character traits with someone else
The desperate citizens of Victorian London are disappearing, and their souls are taken to the mysterious Library of Souls. Among these citizens are our three protagonists – each hailing from a distinct social class, their characters could not be more different. While learning the protagonists' story, the players will face the challenges of the library along with the forlorn souls lost to their inner demons. To solve puzzles and combat enemies, our heroes can swap character skills and, in that way, develop new skills. That is one of the main features of the turn-based strategy game Library of Souls. It was, too, developed by the students of ITMO’s Master’s program Game Development Technologies and has already taken first place in the Best Student Game category at DevGAMM Awards – the largest game developer conference in Eastern Europe, while also receiving positive reviews at the White Nights conference and the VK Fest summer entertainment festival. The game can be downloaded from its website.
Uncover all of the paradoxes in an office
One day, an ordinary office clerk named Stanley finds out that all of his colleagues have gone missing. He then decides to conduct his own investigation into the matter. Depending on their actions while controlling Stanley, the player can lead the investigation to drastically different conclusions. For example, one ending claims that Stanley’s company controls the minds of all of its clerks, another – that there is either a stadium or an infinite black hole underneath the office building. Sounds absurd, right? And yet those are just a few of more than 20 unique endings of The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe – a 2022 edition of the classic game The Stanley Parable. Another feature of the game is the Narrator – an ally (or an adversary), there to help (or hinder) the player on their journey. The Narrator will voice his comments on every action you take from behind the scenes.
