Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
and Part 4
Escape the Mad Empire
One thing I always look for in a demo is good tutorialization, and this has some of the best I’ve seen. The game itself looks great, and is full of polish. It’s a standard fantasy dungeon crawler with roguelike elements (that are explained clearly to newcomers, but not to tedium for veterans). As you progress, there are some sci fi elements as well, which I’m a big fan of. I don’t see myself returning to this one, as there’s a lot of involved inventory management, and the Diablo style combat has never hooked me.
But if a pixel graphics Diablo with recruitable party members and a meta plot interests you, then by all means — check this out. It’s a very well done implementation of the genre.
RKGK
This is a gorgeous 3D platformer where the main ingredient is Grafiti. Stylistically, it’s got a lot of Jet Set Radio, but with extremely competent platforming. Unfortunately, it loses some of the vibrant level design and the music. The music is the biggest loss here, but we get a straightforward plot and a bunch of stages that seem designed to speedrun. The generous demo shows off the platforming, and gives a good idea of whether or not this game will be for you.
It’s a Wrap
In my head, this game is called “That’s a Wrap”, and so I can never find it on Steam.
You play Johnny Rush, a washed-up action movie star who does all his own stunts. The game takes place in two phases: in one, you build a scene with an iMovie–like editor, and in the other you platform through the scene you’ve just created. At least in the demo, there’s rarely more than one “right” answer, so you’ve got a bit of puzzling to figure out the proper path.
Unfortunately, there’s a little bit of cruft around that. While I LOVE the theming, and being able to see “scene 1 take 5” as I repeatedly fail my attempts, the cruft does slow the game down a little. How much this bothers you depends on your taste for that kind of thing.
The art style is cute and cozy, and the whole game just oozes charm. I wasn’t sold at first: I didn’t like how far back Johnny leans while he runs, but it quickly grew on me. The tutorialization is excellent. The first part is fairly standard for a platformer, with on-screen text prompts (not pausing popups) telling you how to overcome in-world obstacles, but it’s very well done.
The controls feel good, and not just the platforming, the “Timeline” controls are also intuitive and reactive. I like the gimmick!
There’s a sense of humor here, lots of movie references and smooth controls. And of course, I love the theme.It’s not enough to build a scene, you have to build a scene that you can successfully platform though. It’s like a mix between Ultimate Chicken Horse and the planning phase in Chimera Squad.
There’ss also character arcs, and a bit of a story here. After each playable scene you get a short cut scene, which are characters doing their idle animations while text bubbles hover overhead. You can pauser or fast-forward through these, but doing so makes them go slightly too fast. Watching a normal speed feels slow. I don’t think they need the FF as much as they need to be like 20% faster by default. That’s a nitpick! Here’s another:
The framework of being in a studio means that a missed attempt has some cruft — skippable cruft, to be sure, but cruft all the same — of having to hear the director call cut and give a little banter before you can go again.
Verdict: This would have killed in the era of World of Goo, but today it feels a little off. Not bloated, exactly, but not as streamlined as modern puzzle platformers. The writing is fun, with lots of jokes and movie references. It took a minute for me to warm up on this one, but it does have a lot of charm, and by the end of the demo, I was smiling and hoping for one more level. (link)
All Will Rise
A legal drama deckbuilder, this is one of the more unique concepts I’ve encountered. You are a team of lawyers trying to get justice for a murdered river. Each week you choose missions (one to play, two to send your sidekicks on to resolve off-screen). Each conversation is a battle, where you play cards as consequences or causes to modify 3 attributes of yourself and your partner.
The game is beautiful, and the writing at times sharp, other times trying too hard. I like the concept, but there are so many scripted events that transform cards that I’m not sure it works for me. Ultimately this is a visual novel with an additional layer on top, and while I find it interesting, it doesn’t compel me. That said, I did get a feeling of “One More Turn” when losing a battle that I could have won if I’d picked a different card. The game is still early access, and I would love a text warning of “Last turn!”, instead of just the progress bar at the top of the screen.
Verdict: If you are interested in pretty graphics, sharp writing, or visual novels, check this one out. If you’re looking for a deckbuilder, that genre’s presence is a little overstated here. The cards are built up slowly, modified by conversation, and sometimes before you ever get to play them. It feels more like showing you a dialogue option and then changing it before giving you the chance to click it.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Art is right! This is a stunningly gorgeous metroidvania where you play as a ninja named… Joe. The game is very easy, but the point is that you’re overpowered and can execute combos while leveling up quickly (with a very generous economy to learn new moves). It’s a beat-em-up that feels modern in its controls and in its setting. Early enemies start with swords but quickly move to guns and helicopters, and I saw a sizzle reel at the end of the demo that showed my ninja leader — who, once again, is named Joe — riding a missile towards some enemies.
Verdict A fun, pretty, arcadey game that isn’t for me.