If I had to pick two games that surprised me with just how engaging they were, Kingdom: New Lands ($4.99) and A Dark Room ($1.99) would be major contenders. In the case of Kingdom, it looks like a simple side-scrolling pixel art game but in fact is an incredibly deep simulation and survival game. As for A Dark Room, well… have you seen screen shots of it? It looks like some totally stark text game, like someone tried to make a gamebook in Terminal. It too, however, is much more than it appears to be on the surface. If you’re a fan of one or both of those games, then you should be pretty excited to hear that those served as the main inspiration for Xigma Game’s new project called The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands. Check out the trailer.

Xigma’s own description of The Bonfire is “Gather resources and build your settlement in a snowy encampment. You can Craft a variety of equipment for your workers and Fight monsters at night to protect your settlement. Slowly the settlement will thrive and players will be able to send scouts and explorers. Workers have an A.I. that reacts to the time of day. They will work during the day, sleep at night and have unique personalities. Dynamic weather system provides an additional challenge. The world of The Bonfire is filled with hidden mysteries. Clear dungeons, restore temple ruins, study ancient texts and save the world from malevolent Gods." It looks absolutely fantastic, and is coming sometime in February for $3.99. I’m really, really interested in checking this one out, so stop by the game’s thread in our forums to discuss The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands ahead of its launch next month.