Papers Please but with zombies, a farming-based shoot-’em-up and other new indie games worth checking out

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. Several neat-looking games arrived this week, we got release dates for several others that I'm really looking forward to and a brand-new Steam festival was announced. 

The Love, Romance, and Heartbreak Debutante Ball is said to be the first Valentine's Day-themed Steam festival. It'll run from February 13 to 20 and feature more than 100 games, including discounts and demos. A showcase will take place on February 13 at 1PM ET on the Sunny Demeanor Games YouTube channel too.

Organizers say the festival includes a wide variety of games about love, including RPGs, puzzle games and (naturally) visual novels. You might play as a cat or someone trying to fish an engagement ring out of a claw machine, as a secret agent or a couple that's run off to another planet. I'm intrigued! There will be some NSFW games involved, for what it's worth.

Quarantine Zone: The Last Check seems like a 3D version of Papers Please but with zombies. At a checkpoint amid a zombie outbreak, your mission is to screen survivors for signs of infection. If you're unsure of their status, you can send an individual to quarantine for further observation or a lab for additional screening. Otherwise, you can let them in or send them to "liquidation." Get things wrong and it could spell disaster, but at least you have a sidearm (and a weaponized drone) to help you deal with sticky situations.

It looks like there's a lot going on in Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, which is from Brigada Games and publisher Devolver Digital. There are base and resource management aspects as well. It's out now on Steam (usually $20, but there's a 10 percent discount until January 26) and PC Game Pass.

Air Hares seems to draw inspiration from classic top-down shoot-'em-ups. But instead of simply blowing up countless ships, your mission is to restore farmland. You'll fire seeds and water to turn barren land into fertile carrot fields. There are still enemies to contend with — you (and perhaps a co-op partner) can dodge and ram them as you try to protect the land. Expect boss battles, too.

I really like the aesthetic here. It has a '90s-style cartoon look (I suddenly really want a modern Bucky O'Hare game). Also, the song from the trailer is going to live in my head for weeks.

Husband-and-wife team Tim and Megan Bungeroth created Air Hares over six years with the help of several contributors. According to a press release, the game is "inspired by the creators’ personal journey with infertility and the idea of creating life rather than destroying it." 

Air Hares is out now on Steam. It typically costs $9, but there's a 20 percent discount until January 28.

Luckshot Games' Big Hops looks like my kind of 3D platformer: joyous and playful. As a young frog who has been kidnapped, you'll try to find airship parts for a raccoon who has promised to help get you home.

There are tons of movement mechanics here, and Hop's tongue plays a major role in those. You can use it to swing across gaps, hookshot your way to higher platforms and solve puzzles. 

Big Hops is out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch and PS5 for $20. The Switch and Steam versions have a 10 percent launch discount until January 19.

Cassette Boy is a pixel-art game that might appear to be a 2D exploration puzzler, but there's more going on here. You can rotate the world to discover new secrets and hide enemies and hazards from view so you can move past them. If you can't see something on your screen, it doesn't exist. There's a bit of a Fez influence here, it would appear.

Wonderland Kazakiri and publisher Pocketpair are behind this one, which I'm looking forward to checking out when I have a chance. Cassette Boy is available on Steam, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for $13.

I really enjoyed the demo for Aerial_Knight’s DropShot (as well as Aerial_Knight’s previous games). I'm for sure going to be playing the full game when it hits PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Epic Games Store on February 17.

This is a single-player first-person shooter in which you're skydiving with finger guns. You compete with four enemies to grab the only available parachute as you're falling through the air. Rounds are fast-paced too, generally lasting under a minute.

Point-and-click adventure Earth Must Die has been on my radar for a while and we'll all get a chance to try it soon. It's designed to be a playable cartoon (with a runtime of about eight hours) and it has an art style to match. 

The cast is pretty stellar, with Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades II), Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death) and a whole load of British comedy figures on board. There's a demo available on Steam now and the full game — from Size Five Games and publisher No More Robots — will land on January 27.

Let's wrap things up for this week something very silly-looking from Monster Shop Games. Pie in the Sky is a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater-inspired action arcade game in which you play as a magpie that terrorizes bystanders. You can knock people off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ram kids off of scooters, actually go skateboarding and, uh, cause havoc from above. In classic THPS-style, there are hidden areas too. 

This looks like a fun distraction from [gestures at everything]. Pie is the Sky will swoop onto Steam on February 2.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/papers-please-but-with-zombies-a-farming-based-shoot-em-up-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-123000437.html?src=rss

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Can Deep Ocean Underwater Membrane Filtration Provide Limitless Fresh Water

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The post Can Deep Ocean Underwater Membrane Filtration Provide Limitless Fresh Water appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.

Posted in Uncategorized

Can Deep Ocean Underwater Membrane Filtration Provide Limitless Fresh Water

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What if the key to solving the world’s growing water crisis lies not on land but deep beneath the ocean’s surface? With millions of people lacking access to clean water and traditional desalination methods facing criticism for their high energy use and environmental harm, the search for sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. Two […]

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This $129 Titanium EDC Knife Has The Most Addictive Tiger-Claw Opening Mechanism

When the CRKT Provoke first appeared, its morphing mechanism felt like a revelation. The design, which borrowed its kinematics from the way a jungle cat’s claws extend from its paws, was a jolt of fresh energy for an EDC world growing tired of endless flippers and predictable OTF switchblades. TiGo’s SyncraBlade now takes that same philosophy of complex, purposeful motion and applies it to the humble utility knife, creating something that feels just as revolutionary. The parallel linkage system that deploys the blade isn’t just visual theater, though it certainly delivers on that front. It is a direct solution to the finger-in-the-way problem that every traditional folder presents.

Watching the SyncraBlade extend is like observing a miniature precision machine at work. Two articulated arms move in perfect synchronization, carrying the blade forward along dual rails while maintaining its orientation. The entire assembly is milled from titanium, with every pivot point and linkage visible through strategic cutouts in the handle. This transparency isn’t accidental; TiGo designed a tool that wears its mechanical complexity proudly, appealing to anyone who appreciates clever engineering as much as practical function. The fact that it uses standard replaceable razor blades only reinforces its credentials as a tool meant for serious, everyday use.

Designer: TiGo

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $201 (36% off) Hurry! Only 70 of 100 left.

The mechanism itself is a classic four-bar parallel linkage, a system engineers have used for centuries in industrial machinery (although maker TiGo likes to call it their ‘SyncraSlide’ mechanism). The blade carrier slides forward on a set of internal rails, but its motion is driven by those two external articulating arms. This setup ensures the blade extends in a perfectly linear path, keeping the cutting edge safely away from your hand throughout the entire deployment. Single-handed operation is effortless, and because the blade never folds, there’s zero risk of it accidentally closing on your fingers. Basically, clever engineering that solves a safety issue while looking gorgeous and feeling absolutely addictive. Looking at it will remind you of how a cat’s claws deploy from within their paws. At this scale, the SyncraBlade is roughly the same size (and probably even caliber) as a tiger’s claws – which sounds about as badass as the knife is designed to be.

That entire intricate assembly is machined from Grade 5 titanium, which explains the sharp, angular lines and confident feel. This isn’t your standard stamped-metal utility cutter. The choice of Ti-6Al-4V gives it an incredible strength-to-weight ratio, so while it feels substantial, it won’t weigh down your pocket. Closed, it measures a compact 115mm long and weighs in at 118 grams, putting it right in the sweet spot for everyday carry. The bead-blasted finish gives it a subtle, non-reflective quality that highlights the milled textures on the handle and linkage arms. Every surface feels deliberate, designed for both aesthetic appeal and functional grip.

The titanium handle encases a cleverly integrated standard user-replaceable utility blade that’s both sharp and interchangeable, making it a perfect choice for brutal functionalists who hate the idea of ‘blade maintenance’. This completely sidesteps the hassle of sharpening and lets you maintain a factory-sharp edge with a simple swap. A fresh blade is always sharper and more precise than a hand-sharpened one, which is exactly what you want for delicate tasks like opening packages or trimming materials. The blade change mechanism appears straightforward, secured by a single screw, so you can pop in a new one in seconds without any specialized tools. It’s a practical decision that grounds the futuristic design in real-world usability.

The way the blade ejects is visually addictive, sure. But it’s also safer than your average flipper. A flipper blade often uses a torsion spring, which causes the blade to arc out and stop in its open position. If there’s no spring-loaded action, the blade almost always requires two hands to open and close – or at best, one hand with a bit of a struggle. If you’ve ever pulled out a sofa-bed, you know that a well-made parallel linkage can be activated with just a single hand. The SyncraBlade encourages that level of ease, allowing you to both deploy as well as shut the blade with a single thumb-motion. This is also safer because the blade’s edge never really comes in the path of your hands. A folding blade’s curved path means you need to move your fingers out of the way while opening and closing the blade – the SyncraBlade’s parallel linkage eliminates that need entirely. Grip the knife exactly how you used to, the blade never comes in contact with your skin – making it reliable to deploy in the dark, or even in any situation without having to look down at your knife.

The functionality doesn’t stop with the blade. Tucked into the tail end of the handle is an integrated pry bar and a wire-gate carabiner clip. These aren’t afterthoughts; they’re seamlessly incorporated into the titanium body. The pry bar is robust enough for light-duty tasks that would destroy a knife tip, like scraping or opening paint cans. The carabiner provides a secure attachment point for a keychain or belt loop, making it easy to keep accessible. There’s even a hidden bottle opener integrated into the frame, making this tiny beast perfect for the outdoors, whether you’re camping, hunting, or dare I say, on a tactical mission.

All these features are packed into a frame that is surprisingly ergonomic. When closed, it’s a dense, fidget-friendly rectangle of titanium. Once the blade is deployed, the articulated linkage arms naturally form a finger guard, creating a secure and comfortable grip. The milled texturing on the handle provides excellent traction, ensuring the tool won’t slip even when you’re applying significant force. The entire design feels balanced and intuitive in the hand, a testament to how much thought went into the relationship between the mechanism and the user experience.

And the knife is designed for everyday use with quite literally zero compromise. The titanium build makes it devilishly durable. It’s corrosion-proof by default, doesn’t rust or oxidize, can be dropped from a hundred feet or be run over by a car without any sign of wear and tear. It’s water-resistant, and if you’re a part of a small section of people who are sensitive to certain materials, titanium is hypoallergenic by nature. The blade is the only replaceable part, which means you can simply ditch it for a sharper one if the old one dulls or breaks. And if you’re traveling, just pack the blade separately and you’ve got a TSA-friendly EDC that can attach to your backpack, belt loop, or sit in your pocket.

The SyncraBlade doesn’t entertain any fluff – it comes in a single natural color (none of that anodized or PVD coated nonsense), and the most you can do to personalize your knife is have it custom-engraved. I’d have appreciated a tritium slot on the sides, but that’s me being pedantic – especially considering the knife costs a mere $129 (discounted from its $201 price tag), and ships free globally starting May this year.

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $201 (36% off) Hurry! Only 70 of 100 left.

The post This $129 Titanium EDC Knife Has The Most Addictive Tiger-Claw Opening Mechanism first appeared on Yanko Design.