Next Fests are my gaming Christmases. I play way too many demos each time
Feb 24 standouts for me so far:
Meta-Ghost: The Breaking Show: Solid roguelite experience. Each of the 3 characters on offer have very different playstyles and speeds. In-run upgrades allowed for powerful, game-breaking synergies. Meta progression goes beyond just stat upgrades into new(?) territory by allowing you to customize your 4 skills (main attack, special, dodge, ultimate) in different tiers. There is also the ability to “weaponize prosthetics” (its a cyberpunk universe) that was not part of the demo. All in all looks like a promising new title for the genre.
Pepper Grinder: A fun, polished Devolver Digital title? Surely not. I heard people had some hype around this one and it seems founded. Fun, old-school type platform adventure with a movement twist - you drill through sand to get around. You can attack from under enemies, there is some puzzle elements to trap doors and bombs, collectathon bits, and YOU CAN SCROOGE MCDUCK ENEMIES. Hard not to see this one as a win. Should be another solid indy entry from the dying Devolver Digital.
Raw Metal: The artstyle and dynamic camera got me in the door. I’m not a stealth game guy, but this one has my interest. Most movement is from a top down perspective while stealthing, but if discovered, the camera shifts for a cqb fight cam while you take out your enemies. Not being successful with stealth at all times seems forgiving if you can make up for it in combat. This is a roguelike title, so patience is likely required regardless of skillset.
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse: Commonly misconceived as the third Pocketpair EA title, its just published by them, different devs according to steam page. Shares some similarities with Hollow Knight visuals, but its really hard to see in screenshots alone that its only vaguely; in-game its more apparent that it’s not a copy. Gameplay-wise, its Dead Cells-esque roguelite without the soul/cell loss mechanic, so standard meta currency accumulation. There are also other materials you acquire that you use to build up your town and the shrines that let you purchase meta-upgrades. Combat was snappy, movement and exploration felt good for this type of game. One to watch for fans of the genre.
The Age of Hell: The game to beat for me. I am a boomer shooter fan, so I’ve been eating well for a while. But there is also plenty of crap that came with the explosion of the genre. So when you find one that steadily makes you go “oh fuck yes” as it introduces more elements in the demo is a happy time. Running on GZ doom, you have a dash mechanic, great christian demon-slaying one-liners, and a holy hammer for maximum mashing with combos to boot. But wait, you can also Mjolnir that instrument of god right at all the enemies and even reflect projectiles back. And did someone say Holy Hand Grenade? The dev did at least, cuz you get one. Toss in a dragon’s breath shotguncrossbow and chaingun with crazy RPM and I am in. Can’t wait.
I still have a bunch of demos to get through. Will add more if anything else catches my eye.
Have had my eye on Lightyear Frontier since it’s announcement trailer, as well as Ultros and Pacific Drive. Star Trucker, Synergy, Welcome to Paradize look interesting from the default list. Probably gonna give Never Grave a try too. Will update when/if I get the time to play them!
Here’s some updated thoughts on the demos I’ve gotten to:
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Lightyear Frontier was a fairly interesting take on the usual survival-crafter, turning a mech into a toolbox of sorts. It was a pretty limited demo, but had some intriguing mechanics. However, what was hinted at beyond the demo seemed fairly small, but it’s unclear how much was just a hint for the demo and how much exists outside of that.
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Ultros was an interesting platformer, but it felt a bit jerky to me. Fantastic visuals, though.
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Pacific Drive was probably my favorite demo of the group. Perhaps a tad more linear than I’d prefer, but the looting and crafting tied with the supernatural atmosphere was very appealing. The demo gave me just enough of a taste to leave me eager for the full game.
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Welcome to Paradize was surprisingly fun. The snarky dialogue isn’t super my jam, but the gameplay was fun enough. Interested in what the full game would look like.
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Star Trucker has promise as a somewhat more whimsical Elite: Dangerous style game (with inner-cockpit gameplay to boot!), but the demo is a bit strict, requiring a full restart instead of having saves or checkpoints, so I didn’t make it all the way through. Will be keeping my eye on it, though.
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Balatro was a surprisingly appealing game to me as someone who generally finds the deck-builder genre unappealling. Might be keeping this one on my radar as well.
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Pepper Grinder was a pretty entertaining platformer that plays very smoothly for how frantic it can feel at times. Killer title menu music, too, which I hope is indicative of the rest of the game’s soundtrack.
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Duck Detective was a playful and cute little deduction game. The dialogue was great, reminding me a bit of the old Sam & Max games, and the aesthetic is pretty great too. Demo was scandalously short, but might pick it up in the future.
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