Demo Dive #1 - May

Another Saturday, another Demo Dive! My backlog is growing to a size that is slowly becoming an unmanageable burden, with dozens upon dozens of games sitting on a shelf. I might consider opening up a little call for any willing enthusiast to send their written contribution to the blog... Hopefully, someone would like a platform to share their insights! As for now, however, we are back in full steam, with material prepared for the coming couple of weeks. And with plenty of great games to talk about! And so, without further ado, let's see what awesome games we've checked out last week.

MYCOPUNK

That felt like a bit of a drug-induced trip. I don't remember the last time I was tossed into a game with such ruthless carelessness! And the most confusing part is that I liked it. A lot. Zero handholding. Zero tutorials. Not a single droning, friendly little bot hovering around trying to talk my ear off, telling me what to do, where to go, and what my purpose in life is. I picked a bot, got my weapons, and landed in a mission with no clue what the heck is going on. There was another player there, already blasting with a curious arsenal into even more peculiar enemies. Strange semi-mechanical spheroids and shapes propelled on gross tendrils, jerking around in uncanny stride. And armed to the teeth with big orange guns that took no time to start testing my dodge and weave training. Which, I remind you, I didn't have!

It's a visceral sort of deep dive that instantly triggered all my years of playing games. It took a dazzling moment to orient myself, find what abilities I have, and how to move properly to not get cut down by enemy fire and scything claws. But in just a couple of minutes, I was zooming around this crazy world of toxic colors, dashing between alien enemies, and shooting everything that moved. Discoveries piled up. So, ammo is limited... but also isn't. If your gun runs dry, all you have to do is swap to your second weapon and use it for a short bit for the other gun to fill up with fresh kill-juice. Abilities are powerful, but I need to use them wisely, as they clearly have their purpose - be it a big area of effect blast for taking care of a mob of smaller mycological terrors. Or a barrage of missiles for taking down the big baddies.

Then, of course, there was this absolute joy of knowing that I am not alone. I just joined a random session with a fella from somewhere in the world already doing his stuff. Without a word spoken, we weaved, dodged, and danced together to take down the enemies emerging from their bright yellow tendrils of a spawn point. And again, without a single word shared, we managed to secure objective after objective, taking turns on managing consoles and covering each other from incoming threats. It was... an experience I forgot I could have in games. MYCOPUNK kicks ass, believes you know how games work and want you to dive in face first into the fray and have good ole fashion fun in biopunk carnage.

KABUTO PARK

It's god damn cute, that's what it is. Bugs! I know that not everyone is a fan of the 'creepy crawlies'. Myself? Not a huge enthusiast, but definitely not a sworn enemy. I like the bees. I love seeing the fat bumblebees butts sticking out of flowers - by the way, perfect time of the year for that butt-spotting. I don't mind spiders and happily house some within my four walls. However, even if you're not to keen on the bugs, I do believe you might just not mind them all that much in KABUTO PARK, because heck - they are all as cute as they get. The children's book style with painterly colors, vibrant tones, and this 'endless summer' vibe really sets the scene for a relaxing sort of adventure.

And so it is, because the game is a game about collecting bugs and then... tossing them into a brutal arena of underground combat to the death! Nah, of course I'm kidding. Yes, you are going to train your team (via generous application of treats) of star bugs to challenge other kids, but the 'fights' are properly rated E, for Everyone. Your band of bugs must push the other gang out of the arena, sumo-style. Each adorable insect comes with its stats, divided by defence, offence, and energy. As well as its own set of cards! Crafting your perfect team is pretty fun exercise and much deeper than you'd expect from a game as cutesy as this - really, cannot overstate this. Do not dismiss it as something simple and rudimentary because of the playful style. The combat system here has some serious thoughts behind it that I can appreciate, giving the game a real, well... gaming experience. Other than being happy at having a big collection of bugs to pet and admire.

The size of the bugs modifies their stats. Cards come with different effects and costs in energy. You can quite freely modify and build your team. Maybe you want a superbly hard to push wall of big, beefy beetles that win at war of attrition by their stalwart presence? Or perhaps a high-octane, high-energy team of lightweight, fast fliers to win via overwhelming push with cards? Or maybe something more balanced? There are options, even with this Demo-limited number of bugs to collect. I cannot wait for the full version. The game is cute, pretty, darn fu,n and has a huge advantage that uniquely caters to my needs - the Bugsong. That is, behind the tunes, you can hear a constant buzz of the various insect calls and music. Glorious stuff.

UNBEATABLE

Just from the get-go: UNBEATABLE is one of the coolest-looking and sounding demos that I have seen since PERSONA 5's flashy, high-energy presentation kicked everyone out of their socks. In UNBEATABLE, music is illegal. Which happens to be a problem for you, since you decided to have a band. And now you are on the run from the authorities, as such things often go.

I never knew I wanted to play a rhythm game set in a Studio Trigger series world with a kickass JET SET RADIO vibes radiating soundtrack. But now I do. (Why didn't I have this idea for a game?) And the stunning art style with a 2D-3D mix also helps out. UNBEATABLE is now in my top 5 of wished-for indie games.

But one small caveat, so far for me the rhythm game controls felt a bit confusing. With the main inputs being the left and right trigger buttons on the controller, representing up and down attacks/blocking. I wasn't able to fully grasp them during the duration of this demo, but maybe this might just take a little more time to get the right feel for it. I hope that the final release it will let me customize the button layout, which wasn't an option in the demo.

But just try UNBEATABLE out for yourself and see how it works for you.

Written by Börbo.