Another month flying by so fast! We hope everybody had a happy Halloween and is looking forward to spending time with family and friends over the holiday season.
We got through a lot of demos this month, mostly due to the new streaming days (Tuesday and Sunday) dedicated entirely on trying out a random grab-bag of demos. Why not wrap up with a warm blanket, pour a steaming hot cup of tea, and join us in the fray. Hope to see you there!
A game of delightful deduction and blossoming botany. Use the few tools available alongside some clever puzzle solving to discover new plants and cross-reference their variable uses, both helpful and malicious. Travel the country, exploring a number of narratives from all sorts of clientele, all the while using your collection of vivacious vegetation to you advantage. Excited to see where this one goes and how open-ended the story branches become as you unleash the power of your green thumb on those around you.
A very light exploration game about life in Venice during the year 2089, after the long-lasting effects of climate change has forever morphed the beautiful city into a dwindling community whom are constantly forced to take shelter from the high tides that almost swallows buildings whole. Whilst there’s not much in terms of gameplay, including the possibly over-simplified hoverboarding, the story and integrations are wholesome and peaceful. Maybe one to wind down with.
Fight your way to the top of high society in 18th century Paris using naught but your charisma, sense of fashion, and perhaps a few clawing rumours to discourage the allies of your enemies. Choose each dialogue option carefully in this uniquely-themed visual novel as you consider how to best make use of those around you without getting yourself sent to the chopping block.
A point & click adventure game set in the wild (and weird) west that seems to really lean into the illogical nature the genre is widely known for. Help Lone McLonegan once again claim the title of ‘Most Wanted’ by stealing the ill-gotten gains of a rival bandit using any means necessary – well, actually by following a linear chain of puzzling events via a selection of intentions and actions. Yee haw!
A mad fuse of an FPS, datamoshing, LSD, and memes. Use your finger guns to obliterate an onslaught of lanky rainbow humanoids, exploding them into a glossy goo that makes your surroundings even more incomprehensible. A game built specifically to fight against convention: filling the player’s HUD with ridiculously over-sized elements, covering the walls in crude graffiti, and constantly sending reminders to be violent and commit murder. Here’s hoping that the demo is only a small taste of the madness and depravity to come.
A slower, more melee-focused retro FP’S’ set in the magical world of Albion. Actually hack and slash your way through men and beasts both, in a gruesome battle to push back the onslaught of the Saxons and their evil black magic. Challenging close-ranged combat that will have you switching between a bunch of different weapons, a sleuth of utility items and traps to make the most of, and many, many secrets to discover. Cut them down old-school style!
A wonderful mix of a roguelike deck-builder and Scrabble-like elements, as you build words to bolster your defences and attack your way through challenging battles. Upgrade your equipment to provide beneficial effects, such as cheaper re-rolls, and make your tile deck as efficient as possible by powering up sounds and cutting out those trickier to use ones. It’s just a shame there were some game-blocking bugs preventing us from completing the Prologue tutorial or closing out our run.
A puzzle game that takes advantage of the sound system of Japanese syllabic ‘kana’ alphabets more than it actually teaches the sounds themselves. A simple, fun, block-sliding game with an educational twist that’s likely to click more with people already familiar with the language than newcomers wishing to learn. This might be a good one to practice with if you’re learning Japanese!
An action RPG / tower-defence game based that requires some seriously quick thinking, as you constantly restructure your trap and turret layouts using the limited resources available. In order to prove his father’s innocence, our young dwarven hero, Dwerve, must head into the the very mountain his ancestors abandoned centuries earlier as they became overrun by vicious Trolls and other creates of the dark. Now they’ve returned, somehow overcoming their weakness of sunlight, and the only way to stop them is to master his people’s ancient weaponry. Cute, fun, and frantic, this one might just be a hidden treasure.
#SteamNextFest Dem-OH! Dashes
After streaming almost every night during the event we totalled 64 demos played and managed to further bulk up the ol’ wishlist. Next Fests have become a special time at DarkZero, always a blast to see what new and interesting titles are coming soon.
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.
Now streaming twice weekly (Tuesday night and Sunday morning, CT), as part of an effort to show off as many demos as possible – hunting for gold whilst diving through all sorts of unique gameplay and styles. There’s never a dull moment!
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.
