Yawnoc, a new wave based roguelike, is dirt cheap and lets you kill your enemies in a way that could send them out of control.

Yawnoc is a roguelike that lets you destroy machines in a forest using the rules of Conway’s Game of Life or other cellular automata.

If you don't know what that means, you are my brother or comrade. But I spent a good several moments on a Wikipedia page, and a little longer playing Yawnoc. I think I have it figured out.

Imagine a grid of squares and color in as many as you want. Start the clock and the squares next to the ones that you colored in will fill up, then those adjacent to them, then those adjacent to them, while older squares die off.

Some starting positions produce stability - a set of squares that move according to a predictable pattern, neither growing nor shrinking. Some will grow indefinitely. Some might disappear? Maybe? Not sure about this one. You can see some examples of this principle in action in the gif below and here.

You can blast them with upgradeable abilities and guns, but if you accidentally blast the wrong square out of a pattern, it will change the logic behind the enemy's overall growth, potentially sending them into hyperdrive. You can upgrade your abilities and weapons to blast them, but if you accidentally blast the wrong square, it could send them into hyperdrive.

This is a great method to create chaos and punish me for not thinking about when I am blasting away enemies. I've seen this happen a few times in my limited playtime with the game. I haven't even beaten the first boss yet. Or responsibility for firearms.

Yawnoc, a weird, psychedelic jam, is available today. It is also on sale for a 10% launch price reduction, bringing it down to just $4.50 (PS3.86). You can find the game on Steam and its "jam" version, which is a free demo, on Itch.io.