Riff: Everyday Shooter is a simple game at heart but it has done a great job combining music with a fresh take on the somewhat overkilled thumbstick shooter genre.

There are only a handful of stages but the experience is remarkably similar to that of listening to a music album in many ways. Every stage (a.k.a track) has its own time limit, displayed at the bottom of the screen by a progression bar, and it's down to you to rake in as many points as you can before the end.

By shooting whilst moving around the cell shaded environments you will find ways to trigger delightful mini supernova like chain reactions. Each stage features its own unique way to initiate these chain reactions and it's up you and your thumbs to figure it out. You can either play it safe by mowing down your foe or risk waiting for more to infest the screen as you slalom between them, waiting patiently, for that perfect moment to ignite them all with a huge chain reaction.

Riff rewards the brave as each enemy that is destroyed will impact the soundtrack and successfully nailing a chain reaction does well to get your adrenaline pumping from a combination of visual and acoustical stimulants.

Each fallen enemy will leave behind the game's currency, which needs to be hovered over in order to be harvested. Once you are no more your points will go into the pot from which you may later use to purchase different stages, modes and effects for the game. Riff: Everyday Shooter maybe the one indie game that is currently in the limelight but there are many shining examples that have already been released and even more on the way.

The industry has recently been enjoying a high rate of success in these smaller games as they are simple, don't require a huge investment of time, are cheap and easy to be produced, purchased and enjoyed.

I for one am eager to see what is over the horizon.

 Digg