Every few weeks a little batch of indie games shows up and reminds me why this corner of gaming is such fun to watch. Engadget's latest indie roundup caught my eye this week, mostly because of one title: Divinum.

Divinum is another Metroidvania, and I mean that as a compliment. If you've been around games as long as I have, you remember when Metroid and Castlevania were the only ones doing the whole explore-a-map-and-backtrack-with-new-powers thing. Now we get a pixel-art take on that formula what feels like every month, and the good ones still manage to feel fresh. Divinum's twist is that the developers drew on hack-and-slash games for inspiration, which tells me the combat should be a bit livelier than the usual careful, methodical exploring. Pair that with a genuinely pretty pixel-art look and, well, you have my attention.

I've said before that technology, games included, should work for you and bring some actual joy, and a hand-crafted pixel world is exactly the kind of thing that does that. My granddaughter Jess keeps telling me I need to play more of these myself instead of just writing about them. She may have a point.

The roundup also includes a free Bomberman-style game, which is the sort of chaotic fun that's perfect when family is visiting and you want something everyone can figure out in two minutes. Free is the right price for that genre too, since these games live or die on whether your particular group finds blowing each other up hilarious. In my experience, most groups do.

There are other picks in the full piece besides those two, so if indie games are your thing, the Engadget article is worth a few minutes of your time.

As for Divinum, I don't have hands-on impressions yet, and I won't pretend otherwise. But a pretty map, snappy combat, and developers who clearly love the genre they're working in... that's a promising combination. I'll keep an eye on it and report back once it's something we can all actually play.