CH3DD4R_G0B-L1N
Blood rain, giblets, and warm bullet casings
Mild, sharp, and sharper cheese tastings
Metal dudes shredding their taut guitar strings
These are a few of my favorite things
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- 35 Comments
Arguably appropriate with its success and the already burgeoning influence in new games. I loved the demo at next fest, played for hours and knew it was an instant buy. And I loved the full game, for about 5 hours. Once you realize that it really is just a restart simulator due to literally unwinnable seeds, the illusion breaks, or did for me. As a roguelite fan, I also didn’t enjoy the lack of run shaping tools and abundance of bloat jokers that only got worse as you won more. Very addictive and solid game, but I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a “bait and switch” from demo to 1.0 quite like it.
Because of the fantasy novels I have to recommend Pyre. I’d recommend all Supergiant games to anyone, but Pyre is a special work of art with fantastic writing and unique gameplay. If he really likes fantasy, he should love it because I don’t at all but I did. It’s presented in visual novel style with action “combat” segments.
Solo indie dev mashup of Risk of Rain, Helldivers, Vermintide, etc with its own soul and style of knights with guns. Dev is very active in the discord and takes feedback and actively plays with the small community the game has garnered.
I played the demo on a whim during a next fest expecting a janky joke of a game to laugh at but a decent and fun game caught me by surprise. It’s been improved and updated quite a bit since then.
Played 3 hours last night with a buddy. No MOBA experience. We both had more fun than expected, even losing all our matches.
I already saw a community problem with people saying to forfeit within the first 10 mins and trying to abandon games. So I hope they keep the bot match options for when even the unranked queue gets shitty. Cuz it’s just a matter of time like all games.
Not gonna lie, I’m a little concerned after this patch. I don’t think it’s entirely unfair to make comparisons to the first game seeing as it’s a sequel (up to you to agree/disagree). But with this patch especially, the philosophy differences between the two are becoming more apparent.
In 1, there was almost no primary that was useless altogether. Certainly no support or AT that was useless. And even at the high levels the armor spam wasn’t as ridiculous and we had more reliable tools to deal with it.
If they want things to be harder, why did they change the reinforce system to be objectively easier? That system change is my single biggest 1>2 gripe.
This after seeing one of the devs back this balance patch by constantly (and imo not so professionally, but I’m a boomer like that I guess) on Discord chide people not happy about the changes to “just go play an idle game” if they want an easy power fantasy cake walk.
Like I said, major concerns for me. The response to this will tell the tale. I never could get into DRG primarily because they seemed to prioritize difficulty balancing way over having fun in combat. Same thing with Deadlink which should have been a fave of mine. I really hope to not see HD2 go that route when I’ve touted HD1 as one of my faves and a contender for best coop game of all time for years now.
Same opinion from time with the demo. It seems to be a GSG design philosophy to keep players from the power fantasy aspect of games, which was a big part of why DRG never clicked for me. I still was willing to give this a try when I expected the price to be in line with other titles at around $5. But they came in at the premium survivor price with much less innovation than others at that price point. Let them keep getting that bag tho. Their loyals can help fund something I really want to play like Dark Swarm.
Last Batch
Lightyear Frontier: Standby for TitanFarm. I’m not a survival/crafting game fan, but I’m always on the lookout for one that might finally win me over. And for mech based games. So I had to try this. And I think I might get into it. Right out of the gate it already captured me more than other similar titles. Some of the more frustrating aspects of this type of game are addressed, but not completely. But I can’t explain much more than that I had a really good time just messing around, which I never do. So I think its a safe bet for fans of the genre. Looked and ran great too.
Balatro: Hardly the first to sing this one’s praises. It’s a satisfying experience. All you need to know is how to make a poker hand, the game does the rest. Has plenty of its own mechanics to stay interesting. Making an outlandish and bold prediction this one gets popular.
Artifact Seeker: Had a lot of skepticism about this one with the obvious thirst trap, but I had to try it was I ran short on demos. Turns out its a pretty fun mashup of some of the best aspects of more successful survivor titles out there today. Should provide a nice grind heavy experience for survivor fans on full release.
Echo Point Nova: Freshly updated demo for this next fest. Fantastic new adventure from the maker(s) of Severed Steel. A wide open, insanely fast movement shooter metroidvania with coop to boot. Can’t get much better than this.
Second batch of highlights
Rotwood: From Klei Entertainment, makers of Don’t Starve/Together, a 1-4 player roguelite with artstyle and map traversal similar to Cult of the Lamb. Thankfully, it has deeper combat, with a combo system. The in-run progression felt good with nice synergies for movement and combat abilities. Dodge felt a little off, but it may have been the heavy class I was playing. Did not get to try multiplayer and progression was demo locked. One to watch for sure.
STAND-ALONE: If anyone has played Astral Ascent, the gameplay is similar. The “Skill-Deck Building” system is nearly identical, just without the annoying rotation mechanic so you can use anything at any time. Run progression is short arenas then on to the next area via your ship that contains some type of reward. Presumably with path choices in the full version. The story is sheep vs wolves is some futuristic war-like engagement.
StormEdge: Another roguelite with its own combat system. From what I saw, you only have one attack, but as you combo it, its power grows. They throw in armored enemies that require making it to the last part of your combo to break. The other piece on display in the demo, and what kept my attention, is the necessity of perfect dodges, such that it encourages risky play so far as to bait attacks and dodge them. The demo character created copies of himself on success that attacked with you and broke magic armor. Only complaint with the demo is I really wanted to see one of the other playable characters, but it appeared to require more time than I like to give demos, if it was even possible.
Necrosmith 2: Didn’t play the first one, so fresh take. It is a tower defense/RTS light game flow. You raise new soldiers from body parts scavanged and earned throughout play. You can give each soldier different commands such as resource hunting and defending the tower. Different body part combos make different soldier types. And you can take movement control of individual soldiers at will. Could be a fun Deck title for sure.
Chasmal Fear: If I were a fan of slow horror shooters, this one would excite me. It attracted me with: " next-gen FPS action horror game…from the perspective of a body camera." And it delivers on that and the extremely claustrophobic feeling that entails. The field of view this necessitates makes aiming feel odd and I think it may struggle to find a wide audience due to potential nausea some people experience at low fov. But I did enjoy seeing something new-ish and would recommend it to fans of that game style.
Surprise demo of the event so far…
Knights Within: I downloaded this as a joke expecting absolute jank for some lulz. But I promise you this assessment is not a prank. What I got was a surprisingly smooth, fairly polished game with satisfying gunplay and melee combat. It’s, no joke, a Helldivers 2/Risk of Rain 2 style co-op, objective-based horde shooter with the ability to extract or push your luck. The aesthetic is knights with guns and Titanfall 2 colored visors. Movement and combat felt really good. I successfully completed my first run after a challenging boss fight. Definitely should be a good time with mates if you enjoy a 3rd person rougelite shooter experience. I bamboozled myself and got a nice surprise and I’ll be playing more of it before the event ends in case the demo goes away.
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.
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.
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.
After Hades, I hope some folks went back and played Supergiant’s other titles. I love them all. But even amongst them, Pyre is the underdog, unknown, shunned. And I think it’s fantastic. The music and writing is top notch. You can really see the bones of Hades in all their games, but they polished their world building and story telling to perfection in this one.
Deep Rock Galactic.
Yeah I said it.
I wanted to like it, but the gun play was underwhelming and gameplay kind of boring.
Worst of all was the progression. Upgrades were tiered in ways that made 1 a clear best choice. Perks were uninteresting passives or actives with bizarre activation requirements. No way to upgrade flares or pickaxes. And I’m not a guy that cares about cosmetics, so it just didn’t work for me.
I’m happy for everyone else that got a GOAT experience though.
Only thing is, it’s not about getting good, or wasn’t for me. Once that info came out, the illusion is shattered. In other roguelites I play, I always knew or thought I had a chance to an extent. Learning there even exist unwinnable seeds just killed my drive to play is all. It’s not about getting good for me. The game part went away when I learned that. Add that on top of the other issues that decreased my fun and it was a wrap for me.