This week, I’m reviewing 5 Steam demos that have either been lurking on my backlog, or (in the case of Monster Train 2) I just found out about today. Possibly because it was just released today.
Monster Train 2
For those new to the franchise, Monster Train is a roguelike deckbuilder, like a much more frantic Slay The Spire.
I loved the first Monster Train, so when I heard there was a sequel, I was eager to try the demo. First, it’s more of the same. They had a good formula, and they stuck with it.
There are a lot of new mechanics, and not nearly enough tutorialization. Probably that’s an intentional choice for the demo, but it’s been a while since I played the first Monster Train, and I forgot how some things work (like unit limits on each floor).
The writing in this game is… fine? I don’t remember the first one having a plot, but this one seems intent on it, for better or for worse. I wouldn’t consider it a selling point based on what the demo showed off!
The game is a bit less legible than the first, but only barely. It’s the same game, with a MUCH higher difficulty and a LOT of new mechanics. Train upgrades, equipables, cooldown abilities, many new keywords, and a huge emphasis on positioning and movement within one level of the train.
Verdict: I’ll be honest, I’m not immediately sold on this one. There’s so much going on, paired with the mobile game aesthetics, it just feels too much like a casino for me to enjoy. I felt a touch overwhelmed and overstimulated. Fans of the first game looking for a harder difficulty and some new mechanics and cards will delight in this, especially if they don’t get hung on on the writing.
Slice and Dice
Roguelike dice rolling dungeon crawl guantlet, with a wild amount of customization and classes
This is a pretty straightforward dungeon crawler with absolutely zero fluff. You go in, roll some dice, and assign them to enemies. Thematically, it’s nothing inspired, fairly generic fantasy, but the implementation is really excellent!
They have stripped away everything but the essentials here.
Enemies get low on health? They flee, with no negative consequences. The pixel art is legible, the tutorial is VERY good (if a touch intrusive at times).
This is a gauntlet: can you survive 12 (20 in the full game) combats with your heroes? After each mission, you get loot or the chance to level up, changing your character into a different class. There’s a lot of variety in the classes, including some that dramatically change the game. I liked the Valkyrie who is basically useless until you have a hero who is dead or dying, in which case they absolutely shine. Lots of classes to tinker with, and the complexity does increase!
The UX in combat couldn’t be clearer, with a lot of QOL additions, though the leveling up and inventory took me a little bit to get used to.
My initial reaction was “Is this just…combat, over and over again?” I felt like there should be more. But there isn’t: it’s just the combat, simplified and streamlined. How far can you make it in this gauntlet? A little dicey roguelike. I dig it! I also appreciate that if you do lose a character in a fight, they heal right back up for the next one. No permadeath here!
Each “class” has 6 different dice faces, and items can be equipped to further modify them. It’s really a clever system, and all presented through clean iconography, even in pixel art.
This is a simple, legible game, with great UI and great tutorialization. There’s not a lot of mechanical depth, and no story, but there seems to be endless customization of class, and a healthy amount of challenge. Plus, all the numbers are small, just the way I like ‘em!
Verdict: I could see this being a great waiting room or airplane game on a steam deck. If there’s a Switch port, that’s probably more up my alley. I love the variety of classes!
Beastieball
Turn-based volleyball pokemon battler
This is a weird one! It’s a turn-based volleyball game with pokemon aesthetics.
Character creation is a ton of fun, with lots of great sliders. The music is also a vibe! The art is cute, though the camera is a little weird in the open world.
The game itself takes place over volleyball matches. The demo is short, with one game being played. The goal is to get one (of 2) opponent’s stamina down from 100 to 0. You do this by passing a ball around, and using certain moves.
I wasn’t able to get a sense for how all of the moves worked, but the numbers are a little inflated for my personal tastes (I was usually dealing ~40–80 damage, depending on where my opponents were). There are some neat ideas, and I love to see different takes on turn-based “combat”, but I don’t think this one is for me. It’s a little slow, and a little finnicky.
Verdict: An interesting premise with immaculately cute vibes, but not for me.
Five Hearts Under One Roof
Immersive Korean dating sim
I don’t remember how this one appeared on my radar, but it’s surprisingly fun! This is a first-person dating sim, where most of the game is FMV videos narrated by our bumbling 30-year old manchild protagonist. Every once in a while, you get a multiple choice option to direct the story, sometimes on a timer. Other times, there will be a break for a point-and-click mini game.
The camera is a little hectic at times, but the writing, acting and production value all seem good. The writing especially is quite fun, even if it’s a little inconsistent at times (you start out running late, but then remark that you have extra time, and someone remarks how early you are).
I didn’t expect this game to be so funny, but it really is. At one point my demo locked up, getting stuck on a black screen, but exiting to the menu and returning quickly fixed it.
Verdict: This is basically a movie with some interludes for decisions and point-and-click. You meet 5 women and build up relationships with them by the choices you make, including handing out optional love letters at the end of each chapter. I’s really charming, and I might pick it up on a sale.
Ketz Galactic Overlords
A sci-fi Vampire Survivors clone
If it weren’t for the title and the gorgeous UX, I wouldn’t really know that this was a sci-fi game. There’s a big glowing portal, a ton of rat creatures, and you (dressed like a medieval knight) defeat them with a giant sword while getting blessings from various…gods? There are some hints, like spaceships littered around the barren, rocky overworld, or a planet emblem in the corner.
The demo starts off a little aimless, and I quickly got stuck near a podium. I had the option to Hit E to interact, which produced a popup informing me that it’s walled off in the demo (but not what the podium did), and the game stopped responding to input after. I was forced to quit to desktop and completely start over. And this was in the first 30 seconds, before I even had a feel for what the game was!
Reloading, I sw that it wanted me to go straight, and not to the side! Lesson learned.
The UI is pretty, but a little distracting, with dancing orange lines around every level up selection. And these selections are CONSTANT, especially early on. You are interrupted every few seconds and asked to pick one of three upgrades. There’s a wide variety of upgrades, and some of them have obvious particle effect abilities when you choose them. Ice rains from the sky, exploding poison orbs orbit you. These are clear! Others are much more vague, promising to increase luck, or improve “Skill” by 6. It wasn’t always clear to me what was happening.
I did have the option to hit B, for inventory (Bag perhaps?) and see all of my stats, but these were presented in fiddly percents that didn’t mean much to me at first.
The biggest improvement over Vampire Survivors here is the dash! It gives you some agency, and a little get out of jail free card. Plus, you get two of them, and it’s always clear where the recharge is. The second best improvement is that enemies, especially bosses, project their attacks, allowing you to dash or dodge out of the way. Neat!
But, enemy swarms are constant, and seem to be in every direction, so even a damage-dealing dash won’t buy you much respite. Level upgrades are frequent, and occasionally include Hades-like pronouncements from the various beings granting you blessings. This isn’t a good thing! It takes the mindlessness out of what could be an idle game, and breaks the flow. The text in these popups is small, and often there is a lot of it. It seems to be largely commentary on the nature of the powers, and not advancing any sort of plot.
I did unlock a new character after my first run, but didn’t feel the need to try them out and see how they differed.
Verdict: A neat idea, and reasonably well-executed, but lacking the polish of the genre-definer. It IS in early access, but I don’t think I’ll be revisiting.
Next time
Join me next time as I review 5 more demos!