This year is flying by, isn’t it? We’re now well into September, which means another free game to enjoy on your Evercade console!

What is the Game of the Month feature on the Evercade?

The Game of the Month feature was initially launched on the Evercade VS, the full size, multiplayer, TV-based variant of the Evercade. Each month, a new game from the Indie Heroes 2 Collection was made available to download for the Evercade VS, absolutely free of charge.

Though downloading a new Game of the Month would erase the previous game – and your saves with it – there was no reason why you couldn’t simply skip an update and new game if you wanted to keep your currently downloaded game and its progress.

The original Evercade handheld didn’t have Wi-Fi functionality, so the feature was locked to the Evercade VS; however, the Evercade EXP has no such problem – so the Game of the Month feature can now be made available on both home console and handheld.

The second round of Game of the Month titles featured games from Indie Heroes 3; as you may expect, the 2024 selection will be appearing in the upcoming Indie Heroes 4 cartridge.

What is Soko Banana, the Evercade Game of the Month for September 2024?

An 8-bit puzzle game, Soko Banana has a cheeky title, playing on the name of classic block pushing game Sokoban.

It’s broadly similar in gameplay terms to that aforementioned classic, too; however, in the case of Soko Banana, you’re a monkey pushing blocks and collecting, yes, bananas.

Sokoban’s gameplay is often imitated, and for good reason; it’s a superb concept and works brilliantly for puzzle games, especially on older hardware.

Soko Banana is particularly challenging, or so I found; however, it could just be that I’m absolutely rubbish with the logic needed for this type of puzzle game!

Despite the level of challenge, it’s an excellent fit for the Evercade and well worth trying out.

How do I download the Evercade Game of the Month?

On your console – either Evercade Vs or Evercade EXP – go to the Settings menu, then select the System option.

Then choose Check for Updates; this should trigger the system update which will contain your Game of the Month (as well as other firmware updates or fixes too).

Note that if you’re attempting this on an Evercade EXP, you’ll need to have at least 50% battery or have the console plugged in and charging.

Do also note that your system may shut down and restart automatically, sometimes multiple times, during this process.

Have faith and patience – and just wait for it to go through these steps without interrupting the process as it does this.

Where will I find my Evercade Game of the Month?

On the Evercade EXP, you’ll find your Game of the Month in the EXP menu, selected on the left hand side of the screen.

The VS is slightly different, though it’s in essentially the same place – the icon is a star, rather than the EXP option on the handheld.

In any case, if you have an Evercade VS, an Evercade EXP – or both – what are you waiting for? Go and download the Evercade Game of the Month right now. You can thank me later!

You can purchase the first Indie Heroes Collection from Amazon here, Indie Heroes Collection 2 here and Indie Heroes Collection 3 here.