Dem-OH! August Round-up
This month started out slow but we still ended up with FIFTY demo playthroughs going up including a Japanese training game, several that play with tackling anxiety and depression, and incredible Stand-Outs that cover a set of totally disparate genres and art styles. It’s been a whirlwind month – there’s bound to be something that catches your eye.
Previews
Die After Sunset [Beta] – Early Access coming soon on Steam
This one might look a little familiar. That’s because the Preview of Die After Sunset was actually published over a month ago! However, due to a little mix-up with the Beta access I ended up going back and playing another round where you’ll find a few new enemies and items. So here it is again – Die After Sunset, version ++.
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It may have the same visual design as Fortnite but this title is more like Risk of Rain 2, being a third-person rogue-lite shooter. Spend the limited time you have in each area by fighting off baddies, using the money you find to open chests full of useful items and upgrades, and accomplishing random missions that open up around the map, before having to face the stage’s boss. The beta only showed gameplay up to the end of the second area, so I can’t say how long a run will take, but no doubt there’s plenty more cool things to see and a significant difficulty curve to overcome, as to be expected from an entry in this genre.
Stand-Outs (Top 3 Demos, in video release order)
Akurra – Demo on Steam
Who would have thought that a simple block-sliding puzzle game could have captured my interest so wholly. The pixel graphics and music are charming, sure, but it’s the sheer amount of creative, challenging puzzles to discover and solve through free exploration that blew me away. Weeks later I’m still mulling over some of the tougher ones I didn’t get to complete and wondering what other secrets and abilities await in the full release. Sadly we have to wait about 16 months(!) for that, but you can bet I’ll be there day one.
A Musical Story – Demo on Steam
This laid-back narrative rhythm game is a surreal dream-like experience. Play along to the beats of all different types of music to unlock the next bit of stylistic animation portraying the story of a guitar player (akin to Hendrix) and his band as they travel across the US to play a show, knowing something terrible is going to eventually happen. Perhaps not for everyone, but the people this game clicks with are going to fall in love with the aesthetics and musical charm. It’s nothing short of poetic.
Demos
Developed by somebody who wanted a more entertaining way to learn the different ‘Kana’ alphabets that make up part of the Japanese language for themselves, You Can Kana is their way to spread the love of learning in a fun and simple manner. Draw out the many different characters, review your knowledge, and test yourself to beat the sounds and strokes into your head without ever feeling like schoolwork.
Bot Gaiden – Demo on Steam
A weird mix between a MegaMan and a Ninja Gaiden game with a focus on speedrunning, this short 2D action platformer demo shows off the basic mechanics and momentum-based super powers used to quickly reach the end of each stage and face off against the boss. However, as it is all about speedrunning, the trial and error approach of memorising the level layout might not be for everyone.
Easily the ugliest game I’ve ever played, Arboria actually turned out to be a decent 3D action rogue-lite game with all sorts of weaponry, elemental modifiers, and upgrades to unlock. Whilst the gross style of the game is not something I particularly enjoyed, I’d still like to see where this one ends up with it’s crazy world-building and slew of unlockable abilities.
This rogue-like tower-defence action game is a fresh mix of two genres from opposite ends of the spectrum. Find the shop to purchase new weaponry, discover new powers, and gather resources to fend off the hordes of zombies, bats, and other monsters, as you delve deeper into the mines in search of your husband and the other trapped workers.
Although it is sadly full of bugs, Aethernaut is an interesting 3D puzzle game that uses portals, time manipulation, and lasers to challenge the player. Every room seems to be a totally new style of puzzle that will have you scratching your head so much you’d think you have lice. I only wish it worked a little better.
A cool 2D action RPG platformer full of combat, puzzles, and plenty of secrets. Control your bat companion to light up hidden areas and activate mechanisms, team up with a wizard for long-ranged magic attacks, and barbarian rage your way through all kinds of beasts.
The Wild Case – Demo on Steam
This point & click title really drew me in with its ramshackle locations and strange story. Whilst the occasional puzzle can sometimes be a little nonsensical (in true point & click fashion), they are mostly interesting and well designed as you march back and from between the few opponents of the rundown area and solve their problems with trades and clever discoveries. Nothing blew me away but somehow it still had me hooked from start to finish.
ProtoCorgi – Demo on Steam
The simplest form of a 2D horizontal SHMUP with incredibly cute pixel graphics to boot. Whist ProtoCorgi doesn’t seem to boast too much of a challenge or any selection of interesting abilities or mechanics to play with, this adorable little game might just be perfect for someone new to the genre who wants something soft on the eyes to help them through.
Pushy and Pully in Blockland– Demo on Steam
Part puzzle, part action, Pushy and Pully is a single player or co-operative game about squashing all of the monsters that appear in each stage in the most effective way possible, being sure to avoid their traps, and hitting the highest score possible. It’s a simple one but there’s a lot of interesting mechanics to play with and even boss battles to tackle!
Astalon: Tears of the Earth – Demo on Steam
A wonderful old-school-looking 2D metroidvania with RPG elements such as strengthening the characters and unlocking new powers. The gimmick is that there are three characters to change between at teleport locations and each one is needed to access certain areas due to their unique abilities. This also forces you to fight through each screen in a totally different way. On top of that it is stuffed with secrets that had me going back to 100% the demo.
Sadly, there’s not too much to say about this 2D action game. The demo shows off a story that doesn’t have any kind of hook, basic combat, and a magical harpoon that seems to do little outside of allowing for simple navigation. There’s a lot more than can be done here, so hopefully what we played isn’t indicative of the full title
It seemed like it was going to be a simple puzzle game about teaching kids how to read and use basic graphs but by the end there were hints of much more complex behaviours. Not quite as much like Super Mario Quadratics as I expected, this one seems to be focused more on external obstacles that the player must graph their car around, such as moving drones, black holes that pull you in, and timed explosives. There’s potential for this one to get real interesting and deeply challenging, I hope it manages to do both.
Wow, this was a real short one. All we really got to see is the weirdly attractive art style and the startings of a point & click adventure with a story about robots that have flowers in their heads. It was certainly intriguing but I wish it would have let us get a better taste of the gameplay elements
A terribly simple 2D platformer that I ended up really enjoying. There’s a light/shadow mechanic to add danger to moving obstacles, hidden collectibles to find, and an awesome ‘boss’ fight that actually challenges the player with a platforming challenge instead of the overused ‘escape sequence’. Looks good, feels good, what more do you need?
It seems like I’m a bit late to this story-driven 2D puzzle platformer but how could I turn away from that incredible pixel art. Half mystery narrative about a missing person and an ancient civilisation on a hidden island, half engaging puzzle challenges that are based on a simple premise but will still have you scratching your head. It’s strange – I want to simultaneously skip the story to be free to do the puzzles and finish the puzzles quickly to learn more about the characters and the story.
A 3D platformer that has a strange living ball of paper ‘origami’ itself into different shapes to navigate the many different obstacles it faces such as making long jumps and avoiding maniacal killer-Roombas. The demo shows the off the core idea but so much could be done with this concept, so I’m super curious how the full game will turn out. Hopefully there’s plenty more transformations to play with and challenges to overcome!
Princess Farmer – Demo on Steam
I won’t lie – from the first look at this concept, a basic match-3 game, I wasn’t expecting much. However, Princess Farmer totally pulled me in with all sorts of unique gameplay elements and challenges, so much so that I had to go back through the demo and pick up the missing hearts earned from doing well in each level. By flipping the classic gameplay on it’s head by having the player only able to manipulate each column from the top (by pulling out or planting vegetables), everything is totally different. Then, on top of that, each level presents new unique tasks such as going for diagonal, needing certain produce, and timer based 1v1 boss fights!
Loretta – Demo on Steam
Sadly this 2D narratively-drive 2D point & click game only reveals a small part of what is likely in stock with the full release of Loretta. A dark, twisted tale about a housewife that moved to the countryside with her husband, who suddenly went missing. As you work through the questions of a detective sent to investigate his whereabouts, doubts start to form about the legitimacy of Loretta’s answers and soon it becomes all too clear what you’re trying to do. By then, however, it’s already too late…
Peachleaf Pirates – Demo on Steam
There are many, many titles out there that have taken inspiration from the beloved Stardew Valley, itself a love letter to the Harvest Moon games of old. Each one usually has its own spin on the concept but, unfortunately, the Peachleaf Pirates demo doesn’t really let us see any of that. What we do get to see are the lovely lush greens of the island and some comedic story elements. Hopefully there’ll be more to see soon.
DON’T GIVE UP: A Cynical Tale – Demo on Steam
Although it starts off looking like some overly-edgy RPGMaker-style visual novel, DON’T GIVE UP quickly shifts into a silly, humorous romp with an interesting combat system and plenty of style. The story quickly hooks with some kind of strange alternate world and the dark history of the protagonist who has seemingly been transformed into a hero since the opening. I’ve no doubt there are going to be some heart-stomping twists to decorate the colourful and happy facade of the main narrative and I’m very much interested in seeing how it all unfolds.
Sky Fleet – Demo on Steam
I can’t wait to grab a couple of friends and play this one. It seems like such a simple concept – a co-op RTS about building out a base and pushing back enemy forces but the different upgrades available, resources to gather, and all sorts of defences to work with provide a lot of decisions that might just be the difference between life and death. Sky Fleet somehow manages to jump between being a laid-back planning game and a tense action-focused war.
Hex Gambit: Respawned – Demo on Steam
This turn-based combat strategy game delights me by perfectly displaying how certain board game-like experiences can be significantly enhanced in the digital world – allowing for much more complex and interesting mechanics without confusing players. Tactically advance your units to take on enemies and sneak extra points through your opponents towers in a first-to-ten points system. If you’ve ever played War Chest and want to step it up even further, Hex Gambit has you covered.
Dem-OH! Dashes Catch-up
As a bit of a spur of the moment thing to catch up on the many, many demos available and releasing each day, we streamed a couple of ‘catch-up sessions’ to blast through a bunch of them at once. It’s always a fantastic time to round up a collection of demos from all over the place and just dive into the unknown, and this was no different. Warning, however – changing from a narratively-driven game about a pigeon doctor to a one about an egg called Craig who uses some kind of magnetic push/pull laser cannons to navigate deadly trials is likely to give you whiplash (in the best way possible).
NOTE: Ratings are basically representative of how much I enjoyed the demo and the likelihood that I’ll come back to the title in the future (or even would liked to have continued playing it right then), with regards to gameplay, quality, and (of course) personal preference to genre, etc.
Day 1
1. Tunic (4)
2. A Neon Platformer (4)
3. Hoplegs (2)
4. Do Not Buy This Game (2)
5. Behind the Frame (4)
6. Escape Simulator (3)
7. Endlight (1)
8. Seed of Life (1)
9. Forest Quartet (3)
10. Turbo Shell (4)