Google"s Stadia service launched last November, and despite getting monthly additions, the library of available games is still relatively small when compared to, for example, Microsoft"s xCloud. Earlier in the year, Google promised the service would get more than 120 new games this year, 10 of which would "only be available on Stadia when they launch".
Now, the company is slowly starting to make specific announcements on games coming to the platform, with five new games announced today. Three of today"s announcements are making they debut on Stadia ahead of other platforms, though it"s unclear if they"re part of the 10 "exclusive" games mentioned at the start of the year. These three titles are Lost Words: Beyond the Page, Spitlings, and Stacks on Stacks (on Stacks). Here"s Google"s description for each of the games:
Lost Words: Beyond the Page
Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a narrative-driven, atmospheric puzzler set inside the pages of a young girl’s diary. Following an immersive story by renowned games writer Rhianna Pratchett, players guide an aspiring author through the wondrous fantasy world of Estoria, where words wield immense power. In Lost Words: Beyond the Page, players interact with the words themselves to solve challenging puzzles and unique platforming segments to progress through an evolving landscape.
Winner of over a dozen game awards and accolades, players will leap through the diary pages to uncover an emotional tale of loss and personal growth that will test the protagonist, Izzy, as she embarks on this highly decorated, groundbreaking adventure.
Spitlings
You know what the problem with multiplayer games is, right? The other players! It’s always THEIR FAULT if you lose! We’ve got the perfect game to blame your friends for their incapability: Spitlings! This action arcade chaos game for up to four players is a modern take on the hardcore classics. You’re in control of a Spitling, a charming rectangular creature with teeth it can spit or use to jump! Makes no sense? Who cares, it’s FUN!
Features:
- Classic hardcore gameplay meets modern design sensibility
- Action packed, highly engaging, scream-at-your-friends fun
- Up to 4 friends multiplayer
- If one fails, all restart
- Play a 100+ level Story Mode with cutscene animations
- Beat the clock to unlock 30+ themes and characters
Stacks on Stacks (on Stacks)
Stacks On Stacks (On Stacks) is a zany 3D tower builder. Play as the Master Stacker, Rockit, who must use her psychic helmet to clean up the colorful bricks falling all over her madcap world.
Build stable towers by executing architectural feats of balancing. Incorporate an array of mixed-up materials such as famous works of art, aquariums, magnets, and more into your gravity-defying structures.All the while, defend your towers against invading ghosts, a fireball-breathing dragon, and other outlandish hazards. Once finished, epically destroy what you built by knocking down your completed towers with a giant wrecking ball.
Stacks includes an extensive single-player story mode as well as local co-op and split-screen versus options to enjoy the game with a friend.
In addition to the three timed exclusive games, Stadia is also getting a couple of titles that are likely to be more familiar. First is Panzer Dragoon: Remake and second is Serious Sam Collection. The former is, as the name suggests, a remake of the 1995 title released for the Sega Saturn. here"s Google"s description:
A new, remade version of the Panzer Dragoon game - true to the original, with improved graphics and controls, that suit modern gaming standards! On a far, lone planet, you encounter two dragons awaken from the ancient times. Armed with a deadly gun from the past and the guidance of your armored blue dragon, you must fulfill your destiny and keep the Prototype Dragon from reaching the Tower or die trying.
Features:
- Pilot through seven unbelievably realistic levels ranging from tropical blue ocean cities to intricate subterranean ruins.
- Fight the Prototype Dragon who appears together with evil giant dragonflies, frightening man-sized wasps, giant sandworms, and lethal flying battleships.
- Attack approaching from all sides enemies quickly and without mercy, with improved 360-degree controls and lock-on targeting
Finally, Serious Sam Collection is, well, a collection of games from the Serious Sam first-person shooter series. The collection includes all three titles in the franchise, including the HD remakes of the first two, as well as two expansion packs for Serious Sam 3: BFE - The Legend of the Beast and Jewel of the Nile. Here"s Google"s description:
Step into the shoes of the legendary action hero Sam "Serious" Stone and experience one of the most explosive shooter game series of all time as you save the world from a merciless alien invasion. Visit the ruins of ancient Egypt and roam through the vivid arenas of South America fighting seemingly never ending hordes of enemies using an extremely destructive arsenal including shotguns, heavy lasers, rocket launchers, a huge cannon, and an iconic minigun.
Tired of playing alone? Go to war against Mental"s horde with up to 16 players online or 4 players in local co-op, blasting your way through the campaign or the stand-alone survival mode.
All five of these titles will be arriving "in the spring and summer", so it may be a while before you actually get to play them on Stadia.