The end of the year is looming over us as a cold, damp blanket. Not even 2 months left until the giant clock turns towards 2025 (an aesthetically pleasing number) and I am spending my evenings writing too many texts and collating data for my personal GOTY 2024. It's all Indie Games, worry not - Triple-A has not delivered anything of note for me, for quite some time. After 15 hours of DRAGON AGE: VEILGUARD I was so checked out on the repetitive mission structures and combat, for example. Sure, DLC for ELDEN RING was fire, but everyone will be pushing it to their GOTY's anyway and I do believe that precious Indies need the spotlight way, way more than the giants with their limitless funds and manpower. But of course that's something for the coming month - for now, it's another DEMO DIVE time, with three stellar experiences, each completely different and wild. Let's roll!
OLD SKIES
I would like to say that I am rusty when it comes to point-and-click adventures, but that would be a lie. Because I never play them. It is a genre that flew by me, all those decades of gaming and I believe I touched maybe 1 or 2 of them before. I always found them a bit... tedious. Don't want to say boring, because the writing and storytelling it provides always seemed to catch my cursory glances. But the whole 'slowly walk there to click on everything' loop never managed to appeal to me. Alas, the time changes all and as now I enjoy the taste of halva (which I rejected as edible when I was younger) I think I am ready to enjoy these games too.
And OLD SKIES proved to me that might be very much the case. The demo was thrilling from start to finish. Hot entrance into the worldbuilding about time travel. Little mystery to solve, as an appetizer. And opening up to a bigger story, a proper hook to bind together the overall narrative that will be laid upon us in the full game. It was a very elegant experience. I was happy to see how well-paced it was - no lull in the story, no padding, no pointless backtracking... And my fear of being lost in the puzzles was unfound. The game has systems to prevent you from being stuck - like the ever-helpful Nozzo, your 'handler' on the other side of the timeline giving you hints and finding your next steps if you feed him enough information. Or the Archives, letting you search key names to fish for data to connect things together. It all flows together to make me feel like a proper detective without being too hand-holding or blatantly easy.
The game is also fully voiced which adds heaps to its immersion. The voice actors are doing an excellent job, giving well-written conversations that spark of life and make the game feel a little bit like a good movie. I had a great time with the demo, it was a riveting experience from start to finish and had me pinned down until its completion... Making me a little hungry for the complete dish!
UNCLE CHOP'S ROCKET SHOP
Now this was a ride and a half! Loved every single bit of this, and this is the kind of game I want to see more of. A blend of genres, unlike any other, with whimsical art style, crude humor generously spread across the game, and tons of little extras sprinkled on top. In UNCLE CHOP'S ROCKET SHOP you play as Wilbur - a four-eyed alien fox, who is also a mechanic, and possibly a dabbler in the dark arts. As a new corporate sla... I mean, a precious employee of the titular uncle workshop, your goal will be to fix spaceships of various, colorful customers. To do so you'll be doing a lot of little puzzles, in a fashion similar to KEEP TALKING AND NOBODY EXPLODES - that is, you have a manual slash grimoir that tells you, step by step, how to diagnose, fix and maintain various devices and machinery. From fuel lines to oil tanks, through security systems, air filtration, and more.
It is a brilliant idea to turn this kind of gameplay into a roguelite. Everything is chasing you, at all times. Errors are costly, in the literal ways as well, since you need to buy replacements for damaged parts from your pocket. If you don't work in a speedy fashion, your awaiting customers' mood can grow sour, and you can say goodbye to your tips. So it is a hectic mix of reading instructions, doing things with tools and machines, balancing understanding of the procedure with dwindling time... It's great! But if that sounds too stressful, worry not. The game has a glorious, beautiful option for the players who do not wish for a timed adventure - Focused mode removes all time limits, but instead limits the number of customers you can serve per day as well as promises to be more punitive with making errors. After all, without the time pressure, you shouldn't make errors in the first place.
As I mentioned, this game is built on a roguelite framework, so you have an ongoing story and progression. Unlockables to help you out with customers or your own clumsiness. New tools that enable you to ease some processes or work on more complex issues. And eldritch abominations from the dark abyss possibly, maybe helping you... for a price. Yeah, there are cosmic horror elements here, together with ominous cats - a perfect mix for me. Please, do yourself a favor, and check this one out - it is unlike anything else I played so far.
TRIP
The title is apt. It was quite a trip! The demo is short, a tasty little morsel of things to come - it's expected since it seems like the full game won't be a sprawling adventure for countless hours, but rather a short and succinct bit of fun for an evening or two. Nonetheless, the demo managed to do its job more than well - I am hooked. There's a train. You're on it. But who are you? Why everyone on said train is acting so strange? What's the mysterious Engine, what was that about dreams, and why does the AI-looking lady avatar need us to operate the assumed train? The questions keep coming like shots from a fanned-out revolver, and the full game promises to let us glimpse the answers.
The game is beautifully crafted. The sound design was on point, crunchy, fun, and eerie when needed to be. Characters are colorful, stylized, and fun, each having their sound cue when engaging them - a nice touch. But it was traversing the wagons that caught attention. There's a delightful attention to detail at every step. I even caught myself spending a minute or two just watching the scenery pass by through the windows, finding little oddities to hang my gaze upon. It was a pleasure engaging with the demo, that's for sure.
TRIP seems to be a slam dunk in the making, a great title for those who want a bite-sized adventure that will be a bit of a mind-bender. Hypnotic, unnerving, funny - you'll never know where the next wagon going to take you, it seems, but after playing the demo I'm excited to take that ride and see where it takes me.
Commentaires