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Hubert Spala

Demo Dive - July 2024

It has been quite some time since the last Demo Dive. After all the summer showcases I got my fill, to be sure, but there are still demos being released up the wazoo - so it is time for a new one! My extensive list from the showcases wasn't even scratched, but alas, some of the demos got removed already. Only so much time in a day to play, after all! But in other Demos-related news, it seems Steam is embracing the practice of releasing demos even more. Now players will get notified of demos being put online for games they have on the watchlist - a nice touch to be sure. And they will be more prominently displayed in the shop as well. Kudos to the platform! And with that cheery node, let's roll.


PYRENE


Oh wow, another card-driven roguelike? Be still my beating heart! Now that might be a rather rough introduction, but let's face it - it is not exactly a genre lacking in games like this, so I would consider the bar to be set pretty high. However, despite this initial dismissal, I must say that PYRENE is fantastic, straight up. While the Voice Acting in the intro made me a little hesitant, the art style is pretty sharp and clean. The user interface especially needs praise - it's very well-focused, clear to read, and highly utilitarian. It's great, in short, to give all pertinent information without confusion. The game drew me in, hook, bait, and sinker, by proposing a pretty simple, yet fun twist of mechanics.


Both cards from your tiny deck and the enemies randomly drawn populate the area of each zone you traverse. You can only move to adjacent cards which means that proper planning of your movement is crucial. It is quite easy to trap yourself in a bad situation if you're not careful enough. The game gives you a soft saving grace in the form of 'spending the night' - you can refill the empty positions you left behind in the hope that better cards will land that will form a new escape route out of trouble. This is not free, though, as each time you want to rest you spend provisions. They are limited, not easy to refresh on demand and once you run out of them you'll pay with your very life to rest. Ouch! Together with a rich selection of cards, relics, enemies, statuses, talismans, modifiers, upgrades, characters... Damn, the list would be long, but it is a VERY packed game with countless systems to modify your runs, making it addictive in the best way possible. That is, facilitating the 'one more run' desire to the extreme. I am now very excited to get my hands on the full game.


ECOGNOMIX


Gnomes. I love'em. I need'em. Gnomes are the epitomical whimsical creatures. Who doesn't like their conical, pointy hats? Squeaky yet deep voices? Industrious desire to chop wood, build workshops, dabble in alchemy, and slaughter chickens? Wait, what? Oh yes, in ECOGNOMIX you will read your tribe of industrious gnomes into risky expeditions into the depths of the earth. What for? To forage! To gather materials and food, all to bring to the surface to grow your industrialized society of tiny bearded troublemakers. It's a curious mix of a roguelite with base building, where the latter is the fuel for the former.


Each stage is a tiny island of hexes on which you will put your gnomes - with various roles! - to do their business. Chop wood. Gather food by hunting poor chickens. Battle monsters. Cook meals. And more! The depths hide hideous creatures to combat, treasures to uncover, and other secrets. And bats. Lots and lots of hungry bats that need to be fed every turn from your stockpile of meat... And if you run out, they will descend upon your people for a snack, ending the run. While the demo keeps your choices to be pretty narrow, I could already see the fun factor of the game. The more you risk, the more you gain. And the more you gain, the more you can risk! It's a simple but effective loop. And well... The aesthetics tickle my fancy! Everything looks like a wooden toy, chiseled by inexperienced hands and painted by an enthusiast. ECOGNOMIX is fun, a little whacky, full of whimsy, and neat ideas to keep the game engaging. Looking forward to it!


GLYPHICA


Sometimes all you need is a simple, sharp idea. GLYPHICA is exactly that - a rudimentary game anchored on a straightforward premise. You're a dot in the middle of a screen. A tower, if you please, which you must defend at all costs from swarming hordes of other threatening geometric shapes! In the abstract world of white'ish void your only weapon... is typing. Each enemy appears with a word over it, and to deal damage to it you will need to type said word. That's it, that's the whole game.


It works like a charm. Not only because it's so simple, but because there is a spark of genius at play about the dedication to this core mechanic. Everything you do via typing. Need an upgrade? Type its name. See a power-up blinking on the arena? Believe it or not, the answer is to type it. On top of that enemies quickly escalate in difficulty offering unique typing challenges. Some hide their name, approaching with slow menace, giving you some type to guess what their word is by uncovering it letter by letter. Others are beefy tanks and elites that ask you to type multiple words in a row to defeat them. Yet others still will take a position just outside your range to start shooting projectiles - which you can defeat by, yes, typing shorter words before they hit you.


Add to that a plethora of fun upgrades, summons, passives, and modifiers and you get yourself a very dynamic game indeed. My only complaint would be that it is not a title you can play for hours on end. Well, maybe you can, but I sure can't - typing so fast, on-demand, and often some crazy words that feel made up is tiring both mentally and physically. My poor, poor wrists... Nonetheless, the game feels great, with its minimalist visuals and extreme focus on its main feature.


 

And that would be all for our Demo Dive, but wait - there's more! It is so hard nowadays to stay on top of the many releases. We are living in the golden age of Gaming and Indie Games in general, with dozens of great games released every month. Staying informed to not miss a game that might be perfect for you is a tall ask for many, and so I'd share with you one of the sources I subscribe to - INDIEFORMER. With active Twitter and an excellent newsletter, you will get a curated list of games coming out every month, so you don't miss out on great titles!

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