-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
STEAM Next Fest October '22 (03-10.10) - thatstoomuch.gif
Holammer
Member
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
FearlessBelgian
Member
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
GOTY
Last edited:
baphomet
Member
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
Good looking out
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
bender
What time is it?
Impressions:
-The Knight Wish: Not a fan of the visual style. Don't like the character hit boxes. Movement feels off.
-Arkanoid: Eternal Battle: Will not launch on Deck.
-Gunbrella: Was excited for this one but it really doesn't make a great first impression.
-Fist!: Will not launch on Deck.
-Soulstone Survivor: Vampire Survivor-like. Visuals remind me of torchlight. Pretty fun but framerate chugs when the action picks up. I do like that you can switch out skills as you keep leveling up. You can also aim your primary attack.
-Undecember - Great style and fun action. Diablo-like. The intro teases you with a max level character and you go to town on hundreds of enemies. Will dive into this more later.
-Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider: From the team that brought you Blazing Chrome.
-Stuntfest World Tour: Runs like absolute trash on Deck.
-The Knight Wish: Not a fan of the visual style. Don't like the character hit boxes. Movement feels off.
-Arkanoid: Eternal Battle: Will not launch on Deck.
-Gunbrella: Was excited for this one but it really doesn't make a great first impression.
-Fist!: Will not launch on Deck.
-Soulstone Survivor: Vampire Survivor-like. Visuals remind me of torchlight. Pretty fun but framerate chugs when the action picks up. I do like that you can switch out skills as you keep leveling up. You can also aim your primary attack.
-Undecember - Great style and fun action. Diablo-like. The intro teases you with a max level character and you go to town on hundreds of enemies. Will dive into this more later.
-Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider: From the team that brought you Blazing Chrome.
-Stuntfest World Tour: Runs like absolute trash on Deck.
Last edited:
Barakov
Member
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
The fact main character looks like a cross between Ryu and Kenshiro make this even better.
BigbyTheSheriff
Member
I encourage you to try Inkulinati. Really fun tactical game with an unique art style. Been on my wishlist for months.
Manor Lords looks good too.
Manor Lords looks good too.
VN1X
Banned
Didn't have a lot of time this evening but still managed to cram in a few demos. Next Fest has quickly become one my favourite things on Steam and it seems the games/demos are getting better every time.
I played these so far (click the image for the store page):
Soulstone Survivors - It doesn't take a genius to see what this is derived from. Part of me thinks this is another one of those cynical cash grabs that's riding the wave of the "Survivor" genre popularity now. Still, from the brief time I had with it I could already see it get very addictive fast. Couldn't really wrap my head around the the ability system though but it otherwise it was easy enough to have some mindless fun. Hopefully the full version will have some more tricks up its sleeve to set it apart from the brillaint Vampire Survivors though.
Chasm: The Rift - I'm a huge boomshootenjoyer but this might've been a bit too old-school even for my liking. I never played the original back in the day though so for people who did it might be more enjoyable. I recorded my playthrough with commentary so I'll link that later if you wanna see a 35yo struggle with level design from yesteryear.
10 Dead Doves - Absolutely brilliant! It's a whimsical spooky game which came out of nowhere for me but has now become one of my most anticipated games. The tank controls, the charming visuals, the spooky soundtrack, the clever and funny gags, it all just clicked for me and I can't wait for more! I really don't wanna' say more as not to give anything away but if you're a fan of old-school horror and point&click adventure games you don't want to miss this. Got a playthrough vid going up in a bit.
I played these so far (click the image for the store page):
Soulstone Survivors - It doesn't take a genius to see what this is derived from. Part of me thinks this is another one of those cynical cash grabs that's riding the wave of the "Survivor" genre popularity now. Still, from the brief time I had with it I could already see it get very addictive fast. Couldn't really wrap my head around the the ability system though but it otherwise it was easy enough to have some mindless fun. Hopefully the full version will have some more tricks up its sleeve to set it apart from the brillaint Vampire Survivors though.
Chasm: The Rift - I'm a huge boomshootenjoyer but this might've been a bit too old-school even for my liking. I never played the original back in the day though so for people who did it might be more enjoyable. I recorded my playthrough with commentary so I'll link that later if you wanna see a 35yo struggle with level design from yesteryear.
10 Dead Doves - Absolutely brilliant! It's a whimsical spooky game which came out of nowhere for me but has now become one of my most anticipated games. The tank controls, the charming visuals, the spooky soundtrack, the clever and funny gags, it all just clicked for me and I can't wait for more! I really don't wanna' say more as not to give anything away but if you're a fan of old-school horror and point&click adventure games you don't want to miss this. Got a playthrough vid going up in a bit.
Last edited:
BigbyTheSheriff
Member
Some other demos to give a shot.
VN1X
Banned
Yeah can't wait to give Wildfrost a try. It's been on my (and everyone else's) radar for ages. Looks so good!
KiteGr
Member
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
Holammer
Member
At 0:56 there's even the Jojo "ゴ", they borrow from everywhere.
drotahorror
Member
I almost stopped playing this one a few min, but it's actually really fun and I can't wait for the full release. Combat is snappy and looks like there's plenty of modifiers and the like for a sense of progression. It's basically a beat'em up with I guess roguelite elements? It's also 4 player co-op.
I think the twinstick mechanics put into a metroidvania make this pretty fun.
An action roguelike / bullethell game where you mine for gems while avoiding the bad guys. Looks like it has lots of progression and various ways to alter your run. I dug it.
A zombie action roguelike / bullethell. It plays pretty well and I didn't think it was too great. If it releases for a buck or 2, it would be worth picking up. Everything is there for this genre.
More action roguelike / bullethell. Don't even care I love the genre and this one is very polished and looking like one of the better ones.
And another bullethell roguelike. This one's in space and you're a spaceship. It was ok, but didn't like the floaty controls. Still worth it for a buck or 2.
Not sure what I expected from this one. Not for me.
Last edited:
Strider Highwind
Banned
I appreciate theset ypes of threads so much, I try a ton of games I would've missed - thanks good people
Strider Highwind
Banned
Try this one out its pretty cool:
Strider Highwind
Banned
Gunvolt 3 demo in there:
CuteFaceJay
Member
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
ofc it's called FIST
VN1X
Banned
I see they removed the LGBTQ tag for Potionomics. Is that side of things heavily present in the game or nah?
(disclaimer: I have nothing against people of the alphabet but I don't care much for their activism)
Holammer
Member
Funny if they removed that tag, maybe publisher figured it annoys users more than it's worth, so they quietly dropped it. Nothing in the demo hit you over the head anyway and it was so good I can forgive a little virtue signaling. Characters are so well animated you forget there's zero voice acting.
Just before I hit post reply I pondered if the LGBTQ tag get games banned in certain territories like Saudi or Egypt?
If you can't romance the big burly walrus dude I'm gonna be cross, that or the big tiddy rival.
Evil Calvin
Afraid of Boobs
Hey. I'm at work and the videos are restricted. I can't even tell what games you are referring to on each one. Can you put the name before each comment? The info is helpful and want to check a few out but don't know what they are.
VN1X
Banned
Gotcha! Yeah I assume that tag gives more trouble than its worth.
Also this is already a GOTY contender for me. No joke.
...and like my fuckin' video you shits so I can one day get ad money for a new microphone.
Last edited:
drotahorror
Member
Last edited:
VN1X
Banned
Managed to cram in some more demos this evening.
(click the image for store page)
9 Years of Shadows - A very pretty looking Metroidvania that seems like it'd be a nice appetizer for the more harder games in the genre. It's got a neat mechanic where your projectile attacks take from your health pool so you can't just spam it. Combat is basic but satisfying. Currently though it still has a few issues (menu bugs, d-pad not working, ability outright failing so you can't progress, etc) which need fixing but I'm sure they can manage. Hopefully this'll turn out nice for the full release.
Brave & Greed - Another 2D sidescrolling loot-em-up roguelike in the vein of something like Dead Cells, Have a nice Death, Rogue Legacy, etc. It has co-op and PVP but I only tried my hand at the singleplayer adventure mode. I wasn't a fan of the movement and the combat felt a bit inconsistent. Presentation is on point though and while I wasn't blown away by it (as it just seems to be another one of those) I'll still keep it on my radar to see what the community thinks about the 1.0 version.
Friends vs Friends - This has a lot of potential what with the fantastic art style and charming saturday morning cartoon vibes. However while the concept is interesting the execution feels rather lacking at the moment. You're pit against one other player in a small arena where you use cards to fight eachother. Think Neon White but mixed with.... XIII? The movement and shooting definitely felt like the latter in any case. Anyway I'm sure this is a laugh versus friends but against the AI it's pretty awful as the bots just straight up auto-aim the fuck out of you. That definitely needs fixing.
The card battling conceit is kind of underutilized as well as you're basically just drawing a bunch of cards and then playing them one at a time in a set order (at least I didn't see a way to change cards during a match). What's fun is that some of the more special cards can cause all sorts of mayhem. There's a card that lifts your opponents' brain out of his character so you can get easier crit shots. Or a card where you increase in size which also comes with a nice health boost. Others have you throw massive gas bombs or even nuke the entire level and teleport both you and yourenemy friend to a nuclear wastleland where you continue the fight amongst the rubble and dirt.
Like I said, it's a fun idea but right now it needs a lot more content and work in order to capture players' attention I feel. A ton of crazy cards, maps and definitely more singleplayer content that isn't just playing an arena match over and over again without any sort of meta progression. One to keep an eye out on for sure though.
Arkanoid Eternal Battle - It's Arkanoid but instead of playing on your own you're matched against other players ala Tetris 99. I don't think the demo offers any other modes at the moment so I quickly lost interest as I'd just like to play on my own pace (for now) without having to worry about powerups or feeling the pressure from being eliminated. The controls were kind of awful though as there were numerous times where my mouse movement just didn't register. Also I'd much prefer a "classic" mode where I can just use keyboard keys for movement or even a controller. Still, this is one I'll probably pick up on the cheap regardless of how it turns out. It's Arkanoid!
(click the image for store page)
9 Years of Shadows - A very pretty looking Metroidvania that seems like it'd be a nice appetizer for the more harder games in the genre. It's got a neat mechanic where your projectile attacks take from your health pool so you can't just spam it. Combat is basic but satisfying. Currently though it still has a few issues (menu bugs, d-pad not working, ability outright failing so you can't progress, etc) which need fixing but I'm sure they can manage. Hopefully this'll turn out nice for the full release.
Brave & Greed - Another 2D sidescrolling loot-em-up roguelike in the vein of something like Dead Cells, Have a nice Death, Rogue Legacy, etc. It has co-op and PVP but I only tried my hand at the singleplayer adventure mode. I wasn't a fan of the movement and the combat felt a bit inconsistent. Presentation is on point though and while I wasn't blown away by it (as it just seems to be another one of those) I'll still keep it on my radar to see what the community thinks about the 1.0 version.
Friends vs Friends - This has a lot of potential what with the fantastic art style and charming saturday morning cartoon vibes. However while the concept is interesting the execution feels rather lacking at the moment. You're pit against one other player in a small arena where you use cards to fight eachother. Think Neon White but mixed with.... XIII? The movement and shooting definitely felt like the latter in any case. Anyway I'm sure this is a laugh versus friends but against the AI it's pretty awful as the bots just straight up auto-aim the fuck out of you. That definitely needs fixing.
The card battling conceit is kind of underutilized as well as you're basically just drawing a bunch of cards and then playing them one at a time in a set order (at least I didn't see a way to change cards during a match). What's fun is that some of the more special cards can cause all sorts of mayhem. There's a card that lifts your opponents' brain out of his character so you can get easier crit shots. Or a card where you increase in size which also comes with a nice health boost. Others have you throw massive gas bombs or even nuke the entire level and teleport both you and your
Like I said, it's a fun idea but right now it needs a lot more content and work in order to capture players' attention I feel. A ton of crazy cards, maps and definitely more singleplayer content that isn't just playing an arena match over and over again without any sort of meta progression. One to keep an eye out on for sure though.
Arkanoid Eternal Battle - It's Arkanoid but instead of playing on your own you're matched against other players ala Tetris 99. I don't think the demo offers any other modes at the moment so I quickly lost interest as I'd just like to play on my own pace (for now) without having to worry about powerups or feeling the pressure from being eliminated. The controls were kind of awful though as there were numerous times where my mouse movement just didn't register. Also I'd much prefer a "classic" mode where I can just use keyboard keys for movement or even a controller. Still, this is one I'll probably pick up on the cheap regardless of how it turns out. It's Arkanoid!
Last edited:
VN1X
Banned
Thanks. Got it downloaded and ready to go!
As for what I played today:
Gunbrella - A stylish 2D Adventure/Metroidvania that really impressed me with its snappy movement and easy-to-pick-up-and-play mechanics. There's no endless intro followed by an even longer tutorial or obnoxious dialogue to be found here either so that's a huge plus in my book. You're flying around with your gunbrella in seconds! Really good and interested to see where it all goes. I only put in about 12 minutes of playtime though as I'd much rather get stuck in when it's out for realsies. Only downside is that we'll have to wait a while for its release as it is currently listed for "2023".
Against The Storm - Oh my god it's a strategy survival game I can actually play! I'm interested in these types of games but always fail miserably at them (see Northgard or Surviving Mars). This however does such a good job at easing you in to all of the mechanics and only opens up the other management features one step at a time as you progress. I'm not sure if it's something I'd enjoy for longer periods of time but what I played so far was good in any case. I'll keep this on my radar for now as it releases into Early Access so might as well wait and give it more time in the oven.
Funtasia - A Trialslike that just came out actually but had a demo available for this event as well. I never really got into Trials and so I assume this is catered for the more casual crowd (which I can appreciate) but while it does away with most of the complicated controls and stuff it instead focuses on an almost RPGlike upgrade system where you're supposed to replay the same level over and over again, grabbing the currency and to then spend that currency on upgrades in the shop. You'll then jump back in with slightly higher speed and traction stats to get a little further. Rinse and repeat until you make it to the end. Even though it's pure trail & error (made worse by the fact that you literally cannot finish a level based on skill alone at first) I found myself kind of enjoying it. Then a 'boss battle' hit after I completed the level and I just couldn't be bothered any more. Loved the jazzy & disco inspired soundtrack though!
It's quite cheap at the moment so if you just want some casual Trialsing then now's the best time to see if it's up your alley.
Last edited:
Serianox
Member
From the demos that I've played so far heres some of the ones i ended up liking and wishlisting:
Similar to something like Frostpunk, this strategy game has you slowly building out your settlement after an apocalyptic situation where you slowly research new techs and explore the map you're in more like an rts than a world map with defined interest points like in Frostpunk. Gameplay mostly revolves around you micromanaging where to slot your pops at any given time since the main building that collects and delivers items needs people in it to function otherwise things slow down to a crawl in a similar vein to an Anno game while also having enough people available for other buildings. Didn't get to see anymore due to the time limit on the demo but it's definitely the highlight for me so far.
This one hasn't excited me with the demo but it certanly intriged me with it's premise of using ai generated dialog for the story and it's mechanic of allowing you free speech through text with npc characters to see how they adapt to what you say.
For whatever reason I've never tried the Gunvolt games even though i love the Megaman Zero games Inticreates made and this is sort of more of that. Went through the demo and I really liked how it felt and will probably either give this one a go or buy the older ones when they go on sale.
An interactive fiction game that reminds me of Reign in that you have to balance different stats otherwise thigs go bad for the ruler except that it doesnt result in a game over but you choosing a new ruler to take over and that has different traits and stats. You build different resources to go through a tech tree and for different actions during councils where you make decisions regarding a specific event or to build your rep with a different faction but I dont know to what extent these change the game due to either them not being available in the demo or me not going through all of it due to me not wanting to be further spoiled after getting interested in the game.
While not super interested in this one when i tried it was good enough for me to throw it in my wishlist just to see what it ends up being like.
Similar to something like Frostpunk, this strategy game has you slowly building out your settlement after an apocalyptic situation where you slowly research new techs and explore the map you're in more like an rts than a world map with defined interest points like in Frostpunk. Gameplay mostly revolves around you micromanaging where to slot your pops at any given time since the main building that collects and delivers items needs people in it to function otherwise things slow down to a crawl in a similar vein to an Anno game while also having enough people available for other buildings. Didn't get to see anymore due to the time limit on the demo but it's definitely the highlight for me so far.
This one hasn't excited me with the demo but it certanly intriged me with it's premise of using ai generated dialog for the story and it's mechanic of allowing you free speech through text with npc characters to see how they adapt to what you say.
For whatever reason I've never tried the Gunvolt games even though i love the Megaman Zero games Inticreates made and this is sort of more of that. Went through the demo and I really liked how it felt and will probably either give this one a go or buy the older ones when they go on sale.
An interactive fiction game that reminds me of Reign in that you have to balance different stats otherwise thigs go bad for the ruler except that it doesnt result in a game over but you choosing a new ruler to take over and that has different traits and stats. You build different resources to go through a tech tree and for different actions during councils where you make decisions regarding a specific event or to build your rep with a different faction but I dont know to what extent these change the game due to either them not being available in the demo or me not going through all of it due to me not wanting to be further spoiled after getting interested in the game.
While not super interested in this one when i tried it was good enough for me to throw it in my wishlist just to see what it ends up being like.
Last edited:
Stuart360
Member
Man i literally just spent near an hour going through a load of games, and there is some pretty interesting stuff coming up.
Saw loads of games i wishlisted,but i liked the look of this one and no one posted it yet -
Basically Crazy Taxi in 'The Fifth Elemant' style City lol.
Edit. Just tried the demo. Man it looks so appealing graphically. It looks exactly how you would expect a new arcade Crazy Taxi game to look like, if we still got arcade machines.
Saw loads of games i wishlisted,but i liked the look of this one and no one posted it yet -
Basically Crazy Taxi in 'The Fifth Elemant' style City lol.
Edit. Just tried the demo. Man it looks so appealing graphically. It looks exactly how you would expect a new arcade Crazy Taxi game to look like, if we still got arcade machines.
Last edited:
VN1X
Banned
(click the image for the store page)
Thirsty Suitors - Simply oozes style but I turned it off after a few minutes. No more dating sims for me, no matter how much they try to spice up the visual novel aspects with outlandish gameplay sections (such as skating, turn-based battles, rythm sections, etc). It's just not for me.
Repetendium - Really enjoyed this and added it to my wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation earlier! It's pretty much another one of those Deathstate/Vampire Survivor type games but manages to put its own spin on it in a few subtle ways that stop it from becoming a mere derivative clone. Me likey.
Undecember - Awful title not withstanding I was surprised to see how robust and well designed this already is. Now I'm no ARPG veteran so I can't say how much of these features are seen in other games but I love how it shakes up the formulae in so many ways. You're not bound to a class system and switching out abilities or leveling up is all incredibly streamlined. It's very accessable and I'm glad the UI is also very easy to understand (something which can be a huge turn off for me when it comes to this genre). I can see myself losing a lot of hours to this so I quit while I was ahead (after completing the 2nd quest basically) so I can savour it eventually releases.
Thirsty Suitors - Simply oozes style but I turned it off after a few minutes. No more dating sims for me, no matter how much they try to spice up the visual novel aspects with outlandish gameplay sections (such as skating, turn-based battles, rythm sections, etc). It's just not for me.
Repetendium - Really enjoyed this and added it to my wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation earlier! It's pretty much another one of those Deathstate/Vampire Survivor type games but manages to put its own spin on it in a few subtle ways that stop it from becoming a mere derivative clone. Me likey.
Undecember - Awful title not withstanding I was surprised to see how robust and well designed this already is. Now I'm no ARPG veteran so I can't say how much of these features are seen in other games but I love how it shakes up the formulae in so many ways. You're not bound to a class system and switching out abilities or leveling up is all incredibly streamlined. It's very accessable and I'm glad the UI is also very easy to understand (something which can be a huge turn off for me when it comes to this genre). I can see myself losing a lot of hours to this so I quit while I was ahead (after completing the 2nd quest basically) so I can savour it eventually releases.
Last edited:
DavidGzz
Member
Yeah, I put 10 hours into Undecember. I was thinking maybe, just maybe since it's so close to release it would carry over. Silly me, I'm sure my progress will be wiped. I feel like it has elements from Wolcen(leveling skill runes and free form class), Path of Exile(gems to buff skills and the way you can randomly re enchant gear but for skills runes instead) and Grim Dawn(astrology skill tree with slight buffs). Also, some really satisfying crunchy combat similar to D3.
Wildebeest
Member
Played a few, bit of a mixed bag, but I made a note of some which I feel are worth a look.
A word puzzle game that has an Amiga shareware aesthetic. Actually not bad, but has the scrabble problem of needing to memorize a ton of "legal" short nonsense words to do well.
Top down elite style game with ship building. Will not compete with Starfield. Combat might be a nice alternative to FTL, but perhaps lacking in how tactical the combat gets.
Seems like an ambitious labour of love for a classic first person dungeon crawl revival game in the mode of Grimrock. But I'm not too sure if isn't a bit too ambitious and janky for its budget.
A word puzzle game that has an Amiga shareware aesthetic. Actually not bad, but has the scrabble problem of needing to memorize a ton of "legal" short nonsense words to do well.
Top down elite style game with ship building. Will not compete with Starfield. Combat might be a nice alternative to FTL, but perhaps lacking in how tactical the combat gets.
Seems like an ambitious labour of love for a classic first person dungeon crawl revival game in the mode of Grimrock. But I'm not too sure if isn't a bit too ambitious and janky for its budget.
Urban
Member
I checked a little and came across this Chinese Punch Out style clone where you fight waifu's, l almost died laughing because of the above frame.
It's a sexual content title so it's impossible to link. Name is 女拳主義F-ist
Will do a deep dive into the pixel art games and metroidvanias on offer later.
it doesnt show me the game on the german store. Can you link it pls?
drotahorror
Member
If it makes you feel any better it's barely functional. All you do is block hits with arrow keys then when your opponent is stunned you spam the arrow keys to attack. Only way I could block consistently was to spam all 4 arrow keys at all times. Its literally one of the worst games I've ever played and I can appreciate cartoon titties.
Holammer
Member
Urban
Member
Ill guess its banned in Germany lol.
I wanted to gift it to a friend of mine. With that Info i want to gift it to him even harder xD.
VN1X
Banned
(click the image for the store page)
Ship of Fools - Another banger from the Team 17 farm. I played this with a friend and it's probably one of the better co-op roguelikes around. Not sure how well it would hold up in singleplayer but as it looks now I'm definitely grabbing it on day one. It's charming, easy to pick up and play and scratches my roguelike itch. A lot of fun.
The Knight Witch - Another well-playing Metroidvania and Team 17 joint (those guys are on a roll!). I liked this mash up of Schmup and Metroidvania a lot. Your special attacks are relegated to a card draw system (which can be a bit confusing sometimes) and there's both an auto-aim as well as a manual aim in order to defeat enemies. while you are flying around through the environments. Despite the odd mix of genres it felt really intuitive to play. However, considering the amount of Metroidvania's I still have sitting in my backlog I will finish those before picking this one up. It seems very promising from what I played in any case.
The Case of the Golden Idol - This is a co-op game in disguise! Probably wouldn't have been able to complete this without the help of my sleuthy missus. We really enjoyed this and will most likely pick it up when it releases next week so we can get our classic mystery adventure hats on.
Ship of Fools - Another banger from the Team 17 farm. I played this with a friend and it's probably one of the better co-op roguelikes around. Not sure how well it would hold up in singleplayer but as it looks now I'm definitely grabbing it on day one. It's charming, easy to pick up and play and scratches my roguelike itch. A lot of fun.
The Knight Witch - Another well-playing Metroidvania and Team 17 joint (those guys are on a roll!). I liked this mash up of Schmup and Metroidvania a lot. Your special attacks are relegated to a card draw system (which can be a bit confusing sometimes) and there's both an auto-aim as well as a manual aim in order to defeat enemies. while you are flying around through the environments. Despite the odd mix of genres it felt really intuitive to play. However, considering the amount of Metroidvania's I still have sitting in my backlog I will finish those before picking this one up. It seems very promising from what I played in any case.
The Case of the Golden Idol - This is a co-op game in disguise! Probably wouldn't have been able to complete this without the help of my sleuthy missus. We really enjoyed this and will most likely pick it up when it releases next week so we can get our classic mystery adventure hats on.
Last edited:
Holammer
Member
Despite controls that take time getting used to, It's actually very good and wishlisted.
chixdiggit
Member
Undecember is pretty fun. Like the style of combat.
ssringo
Member
This one has been on my radar for a while and releases next week! Apparently you can preorder on console to play early (today I believe). Quite an enjoyable Action RPG. You start with a couple weapons and quickly unlock the other 4. You use 2 at a time but can swap at any point. You have stat points though only 3 choices so not much depth there. The demo has a very limited ability tree but it does open up in the full game with more with weapon specific stuff. The demo does give access to a skill for each weapon to mess around with. The demo isn't especially long. 15-20 minutes of gameplay in a rather small area with a couple of straightforward paths.
Fits nicely into the AA category of games I think and it's priced appropriately.
.Pennywise
Banned
Last edited:
VN1X
Banned
The 'last day of Next Fest' and usually some demos are still available after the event is over but I'm making it rule to stop after today lol. Too many games, too little time!
First batch of today (click the image for the store page):
Warhammer 40K Warpforge - Played the tutorial, completed a multiplayer match and felt it was all a bit dull if I'm honest. As far as card battlers go there are plenty of more captivating ones out there. So unless you're a diehard Warhammer 40K fan I don't really see what this offers over the more established titles in the genre. Pass.
Her Name Was Fire - A Deathstate/VS-like and despite its relative simplistic presentation and design this was really enjoyable. I quickly found myself 'in the zone' and losing time. Usually I play these types of games while listening to a podcast but I forgot to put one on as this title also features a really solid synthwave soundtrack. I'm not sure how much longevity it has or if it features any meaningful meta progression but If you like VS, and its many current off-shoots, then definitely give this one a try.
Ants Took My Eyeball - An Action Roguelike in the vein of Caveblazers, Noita, Spelunky, Spirits Abyss, Bravery & Greed (mentioned earlier in this thread), etc. It's not bad by any means and possibly even really good in co-op but it didn't grab me enough to make me want to wishlist this. It's arguably 'better' than something like Caveblazers, in terms of readability and controls, so in my opinion certainly an upgrade from that. However so many of these 2D-Loot-Em-Up's are a dime a dozen that they have to make a strong impression if they want to keep my attention. Like I said, it's very servicable but just not something I'm interested in at the moment.
First batch of today (click the image for the store page):
Warhammer 40K Warpforge - Played the tutorial, completed a multiplayer match and felt it was all a bit dull if I'm honest. As far as card battlers go there are plenty of more captivating ones out there. So unless you're a diehard Warhammer 40K fan I don't really see what this offers over the more established titles in the genre. Pass.
Her Name Was Fire - A Deathstate/VS-like and despite its relative simplistic presentation and design this was really enjoyable. I quickly found myself 'in the zone' and losing time. Usually I play these types of games while listening to a podcast but I forgot to put one on as this title also features a really solid synthwave soundtrack. I'm not sure how much longevity it has or if it features any meaningful meta progression but If you like VS, and its many current off-shoots, then definitely give this one a try.
Ants Took My Eyeball - An Action Roguelike in the vein of Caveblazers, Noita, Spelunky, Spirits Abyss, Bravery & Greed (mentioned earlier in this thread), etc. It's not bad by any means and possibly even really good in co-op but it didn't grab me enough to make me want to wishlist this. It's arguably 'better' than something like Caveblazers, in terms of readability and controls, so in my opinion certainly an upgrade from that. However so many of these 2D-Loot-Em-Up's are a dime a dozen that they have to make a strong impression if they want to keep my attention. Like I said, it's very servicable but just not something I'm interested in at the moment.
Last edited:
Pakoe
Member
Haven't played VS myself, only recently I "discovered" the genre thanks to Rogue: Genesia which I enjoyed for a few hours. Artstyle reminded me of Torchlight, skills were fun and seems like a fun addition to the genre.
I'm a huge boomershooter fan, but really picky at the same time. The movement felt a bit off for me, same for the gunplay which put me off real quick. Not a fan.
Just like many have said already, this plays like Diablo (which is a good thing). First few minutes give a peak of every class with max powers unlocked which is a great tease. Plays really well and highly recommended.
The page states it's a PVPVE game but I didn't find anyone in the world. Really liked the artstyle, gunplay could feel better. Seemed like a fun game overall if the story is good.
Felt like mobile game to be honest. Wasn't a bad game but just not for me. I ran out of ammo pretty quick and was stuck with melee only lol.
Really like the artstyle and gameplay of this title. The BMX made it unique aswell. Highly recommend.
Screenshots gave me Hexen/Painkiller vibes but the graphics ingame look off, I'm not sure how to explain (I'm picky, like I said). Movement has no weight as well, put me off real quick.
Couldn't enter the game for some reason, got stuck at the language selection. Looked fun.
Feels like a techdemo of an indie dev. Has potential but gunplay, movement and enemies are kinda basic. Needs more dev time imo.
Highly recommend. Really cool artstyle and the chain adds allot to the game, almost to a Devil may cry level.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2086060/DIMENSIONAL_SLAUGHTER/
On the fence with this one. Idea sounded okay and the vids looked good. Ingame it all feel a bit off though. Movement has no weight and weapons lack feel.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1742440/COP_BASTARD/
Thought this might hit that Action Half Life spot but feels like a low effort tech demo.
Serianox
Member
Finished looking into some more demos and heres the highlights for me.
This game feels like something in the vein of Sunless Sea/Skies but switches the text heavy story for moment to moment gameplay that isn't super dull.
A mix of city builder with some roguelikes elements that was very interesting to play. The roguelike parts took form of randomized bonuses you would get from time to time that would allow you to buff certain parts of the colony and specialize. Some buildings were limited choices but i'm not sure how much of it was due to the tutorial nature of the demo. For every map you completed there would be something you would carry over to then be used in a hub area for upgrades as it usually is in these kind of games.
At first from the screenshots i thought it would be something like old Wizardry or Might and Magic games which kind of put me down on it but it's more of a srpg in how it plays in combat. It looks great although the font can be a bit of an eye sore. Didn't go through all the way into the demo but it looked like there was a lot of different ways of building your character focusing on things like stealth/diplomacy/combat.
Like others recommended as well this one was great. If you liked Banished and was craving for something like it this is something to look forward to.
Demo was very limited in how much you could do but i really enjoyed the gameplay flow of getting fish and supplies for money and upgrading your boat. It also has a time mechanic where during the night you can get exclusive items but it gets more dangerous the longer you stay out without sleeping. Storybeats were the usual lovecraft esque stuff so you'll know if it interests you or not.
RPG that uses tetris as the basis for the combat that was really fun to play and get better results in battle.
Looks like a competent 3d platformer/adventure and moving around felt good but the demo doesn't go too deep to tell.
If you like old Fire Emblem this game feels like more of it.
A management type game with a heavy focus on story. The management part feels very basic so the story has to be the draw but from what I saw it was just okayish. Comes out in 2 weeks so it work take long to see how it turns out.
VN1X
Banned
Get outta here pixel indie games! Time for me to step it up with some proper 3D renderered polygons and high production values with the following games:
Forever Skies - Not very well optimized, even says as much in the option menu when it comes to resolutions higher than 1080p but even at that resolution the performance was poor at best. I like the concept of floating above post-apocalyptic skyscrapers, looting, building and surviving along the way but unless they significantly improve performance I won't be touching this with a barge pole.
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars - This is really just Lara Croft Souls, constant quipping included, and... I kinda like it? It has indie written all over it (and changing the video settings from high to low has a drastic effect on the overall image quality, much more so than other games) but if you can overlook some of the lower budget that's on display then this seems like a very solid Soulslike. Combat is snappy and seems to include plenty of weapon and combo variety. I played it on Challenging and I have to admit that I wasn't able to beat the, what I assume was, the final boss of the demo (the armored duder in town). And here I was thinking it was an easy game! Granted I'm no Souls expert but I got my ass handed to me by that guy numerous times. So unless it's marred by some game breaking bugs (I experienced none while playing) I look forward to getting my revenge on that boss when the game launches October 11th (for a very reasonable €35 even!).
\
Scars Above - Actually it turns out this is the true Lara Croft x Souls of the bunch, leaning more towards to Tomb Raider end of the spectrum this time while also incorporating Metroid (Prime) mechanics to boot. Perhaps the easiest way to describe this game is if Fallen Order and Tomb Raider had a baby. Think lots of environmental exploration, focus on narrative & lore, creative level design (plenty of secrets), boss encounters, Soulslike respawning, and even environmental puzzles straight out of the Arkham games where you're locked into an area and scan for clues to come up with a solution. I could wax lyrical for mutliple paragraphs about this game but I will spare you hah. The only reason I stopped playing this very generous demo (seriously when does it end?) is because I got stuck on a puzzle. Not to a fault of my own I reckon because the controls for that particular puzzle were incredibly finnicky. I've left some feedback on the forums so hopefully that'll be fixed for the full game.
Anyway go play it! If you like Tomb Raider, Metroid Prime, Jedi Fallen Order, etc then I can't imagine you won't like this. I put in about 90 minutes and it might be my favourite demo so far!
Forever Skies - Not very well optimized, even says as much in the option menu when it comes to resolutions higher than 1080p but even at that resolution the performance was poor at best. I like the concept of floating above post-apocalyptic skyscrapers, looting, building and surviving along the way but unless they significantly improve performance I won't be touching this with a barge pole.
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars - This is really just Lara Croft Souls, constant quipping included, and... I kinda like it? It has indie written all over it (and changing the video settings from high to low has a drastic effect on the overall image quality, much more so than other games) but if you can overlook some of the lower budget that's on display then this seems like a very solid Soulslike. Combat is snappy and seems to include plenty of weapon and combo variety. I played it on Challenging and I have to admit that I wasn't able to beat the, what I assume was, the final boss of the demo (the armored duder in town). And here I was thinking it was an easy game! Granted I'm no Souls expert but I got my ass handed to me by that guy numerous times. So unless it's marred by some game breaking bugs (I experienced none while playing) I look forward to getting my revenge on that boss when the game launches October 11th (for a very reasonable €35 even!).
\Scars Above - Actually it turns out this is the true Lara Croft x Souls of the bunch, leaning more towards to Tomb Raider end of the spectrum this time while also incorporating Metroid (Prime) mechanics to boot. Perhaps the easiest way to describe this game is if Fallen Order and Tomb Raider had a baby. Think lots of environmental exploration, focus on narrative & lore, creative level design (plenty of secrets), boss encounters, Soulslike respawning, and even environmental puzzles straight out of the Arkham games where you're locked into an area and scan for clues to come up with a solution. I could wax lyrical for mutliple paragraphs about this game but I will spare you hah. The only reason I stopped playing this very generous demo (seriously when does it end?) is because I got stuck on a puzzle. Not to a fault of my own I reckon because the controls for that particular puzzle were incredibly finnicky. I've left some feedback on the forums so hopefully that'll be fixed for the full game.
Anyway go play it! If you like Tomb Raider, Metroid Prime, Jedi Fallen Order, etc then I can't imagine you won't like this. I put in about 90 minutes and it might be my favourite demo so far!
Last edited: