“I had a hell of a time with Horizon Chase Turbo. Of all of the retro revival games that have come out over the past few years, it is near the top of my personal list of favourites. I can’t get enough of it… there is a real addicting ‘one more race’ quality to the game.”

Destructoid

“the gameplay stands front-and-center and provides a Metroidvania that’s immensely satisfying to approach and inevitably conquer.”

Hardcore Gamer

“A unique mixture of silly co-op game and a serious game of strategy that offers a lot to do no matter what you want from it.”

Indie Games +

“Sky Racket is an excitingly fun love letter to retro gaming. Double Dash manages to marry two genres in such a way that makes it feel like they should’ve been together all along.”

Shacknews

Developer Cafundo Creative Studio created the beginnings of a brain teaser that’ll leave many heads a scratching, though a charming one at that. I must admit, I had fun planning out my next move as committing to a change is usually irreversible.

Sirus Gaming

“Dandy Ace is a sensational roguelike that can contend with the very best the genre has to offer. Although gameplay can get a little repetitive, its colorful visuals and well-thought-out combat mechanics more than make up for that. This is a challenging yet fun game that is well worth your time.”

PC Invasion

“The best part of Dodgeball Academia though is when everything clicks as an RPG. It’s a joy to figure out the right strategy to win a tough fight. I love exploring the world and seeing what happens next in the goofy story. This isn’t just a great sports game, it’s also a superb RPG that, like the likes of Golf Story, should appeal to those who aren’t inclined to sport.”

Nintendo World Report

“Without a doubt it has the potential to be remembered as one of the best Brazilian games ever, if it keeps moving on the right direction: a happy, charming game, with fun-packed levels that balance a straightforward gameplay with item gathering challenges.”

Arkade (first impressions)

Retro Machina is a charming and well-constructed Metroidvania about a little robot who dares to question its existence. The beautiful graphics and crumbling art deco world will impress, and its fun but challenging combat and robot slaving puzzles will keep many players satisfied for the entirety of its 10-hour run time.

Finger Guns

“I think Starlit Adventures is rather fun and enjoyable for the whole family. The graphics are cute, the music is charming, the controls are simple but take time to master, and the gameplay itself is challenging and entertaining.(…) I recommend giving Starlit Adventures a try if you like adventure platformer games with a dash of puzzle solving.”

AppAdvice

An interesting aspect of the Brazilian game industry is the development of its esports sector. Brazil is already one of the leading countries in numbers of professional players and audience for esports, a trend that only increased during the social isolation provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart sfrom the interest that the subject brings to game-related companies, it is also worth mentioning that established companies in other industries also started investing in esports and using it as a platform to promote their brands.

League of Legends is is one of the world’s most popular video games, developed by Riot Games. It features a team-based competitive game mode based on strategy and outplaying opponents.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is one of the most popular “first person shooter” (FPS) games in the world. It has approximately 500,000 players, and there are more than 1,000 CS:GO championships around the world.

Brazilian players are making headway in the global esports scene. Brazilian athletes in esports are recognized worldwide for their performance and competitiveness. One of the most prestigious teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is MIBR – Made in Brazil.

Made in Brazil (MIBR) is a professional esports team from Rio de Janeiro that participates in CS:GO and Rainbow Six: Siege tournaments. They currently have both female and male teams playing CS:GO.

Another highly competitive “first person shooter” game is Rainbow Six: Siege, whose current world champions are also Brazilian. The Rainbow Six: Siege division of the Swedish Ninjas in Pyjamas team is made up exclusively of Brazilian athletes, who beat Team Liquid at the Six Invitational 2021, becoming the first Brazilian team to win the tournament.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege is a first-person shooter game, in which players utilize many different operators from the Rainbow team. Different operators have different nationalities, weapons, and gadgets.

The esports environment in Brazil is not only made up of high performance athletes, but also former athletes and other sports-related talents. Alexandre “Gaules” Borba competed for many years in CS:GO, and today he is one of the most popular game streamers in the world, with over a million followers on Instagram. In 2019, he was the only Brazilian to appear in the list of 10 most watched streamers of the year, and in 2020 he competed for the esports Awards in the category “Streamer of the Year”.

Moreover, the Brazilian Bruno “Nobru” Goes is considered the “Neymar of Free Fire” and one of biggest streamers in the world, whose YouTube channel was among the 10 most watched live streams.

INTZ is another example of companies associated with esport expanding their activities beyond the competition. INTZ was founded in the city of São Paulo, in 2014, with the aim of becoming an esports club. In addition to having several professional teams, it strives to train new talents and achieve financial sustainability through projects such as “fan partner” (sócio-torcedor).

What is all this buzz about Serious Games?

Gaming is also serious business! We know it is great to spend time on a rainy day playing exciting video games. But did you know there is a category of games whose primary purpose is other than pure entertainment? Serious games are increasingly used to support activities in many sectors of the economy, working as efficient tools to enhance areas such as education, healthcare and marketing.

 Ok, you’ve got my attention! How do they work?

Many studies demonstrate the benefits of incorporating serious games in many sectors. The use of video game mechanics (achievements, rankings, rewards, competition, levels, etc.) can increase the user’s engagement with a specific content, improving their learning experience, thus, helping to grasp complex concepts and to develop new skills.

Despite the name, serious games have to be fun to play, in order to keep players motivated and improve its results. The playful elements of serious games contribute towards learning in a fun way, favoring communication and coordination among participants for problem solving purposes. Moreover, the interactive nature of the game environment can offer constant feedback of making progress towards a goal and foster creativity and innovation.

They are increasingly being used at schools as efficient tools to teach children a variety of subjects like history, biology, sciences and mathematics. In healthcare, serious games are used to improve the treatment and recovery of patients. Finally, game mechanics are used by companies to train their employees, positively affecting performances at work.

Seem like a great market opportunity. How is the Brazil doing in this field?

Many Brazilian studios concentrate on developing serious games, especially for education purposes or for marketing, used by companies to promote their products and services. It is considered a promising sectors of the game industry, as more people become aware of the benefits of using serious games as learning and training tools, particularly in view of the challenge imposed by the pandemic. The short clip bellow can offer a glimpse of serious games created in Brazil.

We would like take this opportunity to individually present some Brazilian companies developing serious games for areas such as education, healthcare, marketing and more.

Brazilian studios are developing creative, innovative ways to improve education methods for children. Take the example of PlayMove, which created a digital table to improve learning through fun and interactive experiences. With the PlayTable, children can follow their school program, learn foreign languages and much more.

Truth and Tales, by the Brazilian studio Explot, is an app for children between ages 5 and 11 that offers interactive tales, audiobooks and physical education for a younger audience. The tales were based on a study from Stanford University on teaching stories. The exercises were developed by a professional specialized in Yoga for children.

The VR MONKEYS studio develops virtual, augmented and mixed reality experiences to provide customized solutions in many fields such as marketing and education. It developed “Dinos do Brasil“, a 30-minute virtual journey through time and space in the Brazilian Age of Dinosaurs. During the adventure, several geological, biological and historical-cultural aspects are addressed, seeking critical thinking, reflection and discussion of ideas. The project will be exhibited permanently at the Catavento Cultural Museum, the most visited museum in Brazil and the largest interactive museum of Latin America.

PlaySTEM Academy creates astronomy-based games to develop STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills in children, inspiring a new generation to search the stars. Their main product is Milk Shaky Lab, a stargazing app that will become a “Portal of Astronomy Mini-Games”. It will be released in December 2021.

Also in healthcare, video games are being used as important tools to improve medical education and offer new therapy options for patients. In this context, a Brazilian game company has partnered with on of the country’s top hospitals to propose a new method of training for doctors and medical staff. MedRoom has designed a human body in virtual reality that can greatly enhance anatomy lessons.

In addition, the Brazilian company Vivax uses augmented reality therapy (ART) in the rehabilitation of patients that have lost totally or partially the movements and neurological function of the upper limbs. Therapy sessions use games with playful challenges, integrated with hardware developed by the company, the ARM robot (Assistive Rehabilitation Machine). Along with a peripheral sensor that captures the patient’s moves, the ART software transposes the movements and interactions to the digital medium; allowing the capture of data that helps the therapist to improve treatments.

Many Brazilian studios are being hired by companies interested in using games to promote their brands. One of the most successful in this field is Webcore Games, which developed games for companies like Amazon, Sansung, Honda, among others.

Webcore developed an amazing and fun game for Amazon Prime Video during the CCXP 2020, which was available just during the days of the event. Amazon Prime Video World is a “treasure hunt” style game, where the user needs to find 10 easter eggs from 7 different lists, and each one refers to a series of the platform, such as “The Boys” and “American Gods”.

Also coming from Webcore Games is the new GameFutebol Globo, the definitive game of the Brazilian National Championship, promoted the country biggest network, TV Globo. The game attracted millions of players for matches over smartphones and the web.

The game includes all top 25 soccer clubs in Brazil, including all teams present at the 1st Division of the Brasileirão (national club championship). Players can experience the thrill of a shootout between their favorite team and its biggest rival or try free kicks that will require all skills and athleticism.

In order to address the challenges imposed by COVID-19 to companies wanting to present their products to potential clients, Venturion used all its expertise in developing solutions with VR technology for the creation of the Virtual Showroom, a 3D showcase, capable of revealing details of products that are for sale online, valid for real estate, vehicles and even industrial machinery.

After many years being considered an unfulfilled promise, Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are finally being embraced by the video games market. During the worst periods of the pandemic, there was a considerable increase in the sale of VR hardware and software, as more people tapped into VR experiences to contrast the isolation of social distancing.

The future of VR gaming looks even more promising, as the emergence of new wireless headsets, at more convenient prices, will bring in new players, thus increasing the user base of this technology. Furthermore, 5G technologies will allow players to share VR experiences with friends in multiplayers games.

The Brazilian studio ARVORE is one of the game companies pushing the boundary of immersive and entertaining VR experiences. It develops games and interactive narratives using the latest immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality. In 2018, ARVORE launched the acclaimed Pixel Ripped series with the VR title “Pixel Ripped 1989”, followed by “Pixel Ripped 1995” last year.

In addition, ARVORE’s interactive VR Narrative “The Line”, a story about love and routine, won the 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Media and Best VR Experience at the 76th Venice Film Festival.

The recently launched VR game “YUKI” is ARVORE’s take on the bullet-hell and roguelike genres. Set in a multidimensional anime universe, the player enters a kid’s imagination and fights evil forces, while dodging bullets and obstacles. Each run will feel like a completely new game with opportunities for different strategies to face the challenges.

Electric Monkeys is the Brazilian studio behind Gravitational, an award-wining VR physics-based puzzle game. Set in a utopic future, the game follows the journey of Sebastian, a physically disabled scientist, as he tries to reach the main reactor of his laboratory. The entertaining game mechanics invites a relevant reflection on the challenges faced by wheelchair users.

DeMagnete VR is a puzzle adventure inspired by magnetism, developed by Bitcake studio. The players can use magnetic-powered gloves to solve puzzles and make their way to the top of a mysterious underground cavern.