Mondays can be a daunting prospect, even (especially) for a work-at-home freelancer.

To begin with, Mondays really aren’t Mondays when there’s no preceding weekend to distinguish the rest of the week from. Then there’s the fact that it still is a Monday, meaning another wave of existential angst to surf as the week’s hustle is planned.

Thankfully there are ways to ease into the bustle and no, ‘ways’ isn’t a particular roast of coffee. Rather if you’re of the gaming disposition, #ScreenShotSaturday makes for ample procrastination.

Three projects have caught my eye this Saturday past; besides being works-in-progress, each comes with an ounce of free playable content that even the regular nine-to-fiver may explore right about now, provided the boss isn’t around.

The Lost Cave of The Ozarks

To think that a five-year old trip to the Ozarks and a tour guide still tugs at Adam Miller’s single-handed imagination.

Apparently he’s not alone, as a Boy from the 1880s, a legendary outlaw and modern-day tour guide by the name of Libedon make up this platformer’s methodical, deeply poignant 2D narrative.

Narrative really seems to be the emphasis here as Miller works to tie-in elements of stylized art, minimalism, environmental cues and a dynamic soundtrack to drive a 2-hour playthrough, replete with puzzles, collectables, challenges and delusions.

Sift through fact and fiction through either of Gamejolt or Itch.io.

Project Wingman

Chances are you’ll be distracted by the sheer quality of game-play videos that make up Project Wingman’s repertoire on YouTube before even making it to the latest playable alpha.

True-to-life weathered environments, VFX, dogfights, conquests and experimental headtracking barely highlight this 3D flight sim/arcade experience’s plethora of features, that continues to rake in H.A.W.X and Ace Combat enthusiasts for a fly-by by the day.

Developer RB-D2 began with minimal programming/art know-how circa 2015 and persevered through a regular developer-log which nearly culminated in a Kickstarter last September.

‘I’d decided after an initial review of me playing (what I thought was the final) demo, that there were still a lot of things missing/incomplete/unpolished,’ he admitted later. The current Alpha is slated to be the second-to-last regardless, before a campaign finally launches sometime this year.

Nimbatus

Although if you’re the morning-crossword type, the terms physics-based simulation and procedural generation should make your day.

Stray Fawn’s simulated space drone constructor tasks one with exploring a fathomless universe, groundbreaking technology and intricate strategy in the ultimate pursuit of the perfect craft.

Said craft, once sufficiently evolved, may be taken out for vivid enemy combat or contested against online players across varied challenges.

Successfully funded on the heels of my birthday, Nimbatus is being prepped for Alpha/Early Access on Steam this-to-next quarter. Signing-up to a newsletter meanwhile garners access to a preview demo.

What will you be playing today then?