Indie-licious Side Dishes: Grapplin' pups, booze business, and slice of life feels

There are so many indie games out there, I can hardly play every good one that comes out on Indie-licious, try as I might. That’s why there are Indie-licious Side Dishes to bring you a healthy compliment of indie games you might have missed coming fresh off the press! This week, we’re looking at the happy platforming Grapple Dog, co-op crisis response Rescue Party: Live!, a dip of our toes into the illicit alcohol biz demo for Moonshine Inc., and the childhood slice of life narrative feels of Know by Heart. Check it out!

Rescue Party: Live!

Rescue Party: Live! comes from the folks at Tag Studio. It’s a co-op game for up to four players in which you take on various crises to save stragglers and get them to safety. There are all sorts of gadgets to use, whether you’re handling fire extinguishers, deploying ladders, or carrying survivors to safety, you’ll need to utilize teamwork to get out of some harrowing situations in a race against time. There are local and online multiplayer, six different environments to explore, and plenty of hazards to overcome. It’s available on PC via Steam now.

Moonshine Inc. Demo

This one comes from the developers at Klabater. Have you ever wanted to dig into the impromptu chemistry and cooking process of crafting backwoods libations? Then Moonshine Inc. might be a game to watch. It’s a sim game in which you must gather up the materials and equipment to craft illicit alcohol. Actual fermentation and distilling formulas are said to be utilized in the game. Of course, it’s also an illicit operation and you’re going to have to play it cool to stay under the radar of Johnny Law. Moonshine Inc. has a recent demo out if you’d like to see what the game has to offer now on PC via Steam.

Know by heart

Know by heart comes to us from the developers at Ice-Pick Lodge. It’s a narrative-driven journey full of slice-of-life sentimentality, but with a historical edge to it. Living in a small town in post-Soviet Russia, players take on the role of a fellow named Misha, who has been living a soul-sucking routine in a dead-end job. Things change when his school crush comes back to town and Misha uses it as an opportunity to break the routine and reconnect with his past, including his friends and loved ones in this narrative-driven game. Know by heart is available now on PC via Steam.

Grapple Dog

If you fancy a colorful platformer and a grappling hook, then Grapple Dog just might be what you want. Developed by Medallion Games, Grapple Dog is a platforming adventure in which you play as Pablo, the titular dog. You’ll throw your hook, swing, wall-jump, and dive through various obstacles in a bevy of colorful levels in this game as Pablo ventures across six different worlds to stop the evil robot overlord Nul from destroying the world. Grapple Dog looks quirky, challenging, and charming, and it’s available now on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch.

That covers our latest look at some expanded indies on this week’s Indie-licious Side Dishes. Be sure to tune in on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. PT as we go live with our latest Indie-licious livestream. Have any indies you’ve been checking out? Let me know about them in the Shacknews Chatty comment section below!

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.