February is upon us! I am - not really by choice! - following an ancient Roman calendar, of sorts, in which the new year began with March, the year had 10 months and the January and February as we see now were the two 'dead months'. Unnamed time to hibernate, cool off, calm down, and survive the winter without worry. My day job unfortunately still is extremely hectic and volatile, so my free time to indulge in my hobbies is greatly reduced. Nonetheless, I am back on this horse, off PATH OF EXILE 2 addiction (for now...), and managed to play a few great games last week and some superb bangers in DEMO forms - and I am happy to share my findings with you! Let's roll.
CAIRN is a climbing game unlike any I played so far. Most of the other titles in this little subgenre of exploration were rather light. Colorful, playful, and gentle in their approach. Whimsical even! Of course, it might be that I missed the harsher, more grounded title - I am not going to pretend I am an aficionado of such games. But CAIRN brings back the cold majesty of the climb to the forefront of the experience. The mountains we scale are not colorful, nor playful. They are harsh slate, cutting rocks. They are unyielding to our pleas and demand respect. There are no easy physics here to aid you, no sticky limbs, no outrageously comical stretchiness. It's you - or rather Aava, the protagonist's grim determination that will see you through the challenge.
There are limits to how limber our characters are. How long they can handle off a single grip? We feel it well, in breaths growing ragged and fast. In limbs tensing and trembling. Our foothold slipped, gliding down the stone. Every action has its weight, even a small climb feels like overcoming a serious challenge. There is no easy guidance over the rocks - no splatters of paint, no colorful indicators. It's going to be your very own judgment to see the seams to slip fingers in, protrusions to step on, and angles to use. The game has a visceral feel to it, however, it's not without its... Jank. Sometimes our limbs move defying sense, twisting the protagonist in almost comical ways. Navigating can be frustrating because you swear that seam looked grabbable, but alas, Aava didn't seem to think so. But even with those minor hiccups, the experience was pretty exhilarating. And rewarding. Can't wait for the full release.
KOIRA is the cutest, most feel-good game I played in a long while. Which is quite an achievement, considering I play a bucketload of wholesome games. And doubly so, adding to it that it is set in a bit of a frosty, wintry realm - and I am an avid grump about Winter and snow. And yet... I had my musical puppy only for a couple of minutes, but if anything bad should happen to him, I am going to cry like a baby. Game, please, don't let anything bad happen to my precious musical puppy, I'm begging you. I was awwing, dawwing, and squealing with joy so often during this demo. Every single thing the little pup does is just too adorable to handle with composure.
The demo did well showing the fun factor of the game too. As charming as the whole concept is, and as cute as the characters are, without some activities to play with, the charm would spread thin rather quickly. But there seems to be a frequent flow of new little activities to play with. Fetch, snowball fight, finding shapes in clouds, hide and seek... Always a little interruption of merely running around, searching for the next step toward the goal of a warm roof to get snug under. It was a pleasant experience from the very start, and even if I am foreseeing a darker undertone on this adventure, I am sure it will all end of a cheerful note. Or so help me, gods...
DROP DUCHY is such an astonishing concept that I am a little perplexed how I never seen anyone try something like that before. Of course, it is entirely possible hundreds of aspiring devs had similar ideas to brew into their drawers, but this is legitimately the first time I seen someone take such an inspired tack on TETRIS. It's such a mix too, and all the ingredients work together so well... That alone is a spectacular achievement! It's a deckbuilder, it's a roguelite, it's a tile placement game with blocks and lines alignment being the heart of your economy. You drop various biomes - fields, plains, forests et cetera - to farm your key resources and then edit your deck with a limited number of buildings to ramp up your gains and produce military units.
Because of course there's fighting, and handled brilliantly! Enemy camps are added to your pile of blocks, and you decide how to place them to minimize their growth and gains while cultivating your own forces during the round. Easier said than done, however, as they always come in great numbers and it is up to you to deny them any more reinforcements while sweating your way with optimal placements of your bits and bobs to overcome them. It's quite fascinating, a bit cerebral, and pretty darn addictive. I was watching this game for quite a while and so jumped on the demo as soon as I spotted it. I must say, I am even now having a hankering to get back to it and try a few more runs to optimize my deck and placements. It's pretty darn good and I am hyped now for the full release.
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