It's the tenth of November. Happy Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day, everyone! If you know, you know... But other than this niche, geeky reference, I had a productive weekend of playing lovely games and checking out some cool as heck demos. And as usual, when I find something exciting in this sphere, I am always riveted to share it with you, dear readers. This time around quite a selection of various genres, all unique in their ways, with a couple of hard hitters I'd be more than delighted to play the full versions - when they come out. Let's roll!
FRAGMENTED CITY
It was quite a while since I had played a game with so much character. At first, I'll admit I wasn't hooked - the tiny morsel of the drab, run-down city seemed so empty, so hollowed out. But soon my curiosity brought me to random activities that managed to push that feel-good button in my nogging. While the goal is to be an immersive sim focused on exploration and interactions and to contain stories, there were quite a few little things on top of that. Collecting stickers. Finding bottles to earn some scratch. Rewarding my exploring with the darn well-hidden pendulum birds. And then, there's the immersion - the game has basically zero hand-holding of any kind. You're out in the drab town and you can do, well... whatever you stumble into. Talk to the birds. Learn their stories. Help them out. Or not, actually, because you can be one mean bird yourself.
Exploration is another part worthy of praise. Even in this short demo, I had a couple of 'aha!' moments when I found some very unexpected nook and cranny. This is important for the sense of discovery and satisfaction that stems from it - it must feel organic, and it very much does in here. The decrepit state of the city grew on me too, giving that urban prairie vibes - slightly oppressive, but not in any threatening way. More just... sad. Sad that everything is so sterile, yet dirty. So grand, yet so meaningless. It's an atmosphere that can grab you and make you understand why everyone you meet looks and feels so beat down.
I think it is safe to say that I was quite impressed and by now am awaiting the full game with hyped expectations.
GUM FLESH
What a frustrating, amazing little game. Everything about it feels unique, strange... downright bizarre. The art style is the first thing jumping at you - crunchy pixels in radioactive colors assault your eyes. Everything is messy and scrunkly, but in a very organized way, clearly done not due to lack of skill, but because of a certain mastery of handling pixels. It's wild how different this game feels from other pixel-art games, which come dime a dozen in the indie scene. It doesn't come without issues. I constantly bumped into walls because for me it was not always easy to discern them from things I could step on! The UI does its best to be very informative, but it is also quite a lot to take, and all that also clashes with the weirdo control scheme. I believe the last time I played a game where NUMPAD was for controlling my movements and actions was in the god dang '90s. It's something you must get used to, that's for sure.
But despite the weirdness and a bit of a learning curve from known habits, this little roguelike really has IT. The thing. The magical drive to instantly restart a run, no matter how frustrating your loss was. The combat, despite being turn-based, is extremely dynamic with so many things to look for. Dashing, jumping, positioning, ranged attacks, environmental hazards, enemies bombarding from afar... And the whole grid movement system with enemies dancing around reminded me of CRYPT OF THE NECRODANCER, just without the need to follow a beat.
Already in this little demo, it felt like there were so many options to play with. Varied weapons with limited durability, mutations, and viruses that bring boons and curses to mess with your run. Shops and a wide variety of enemies as well as tools to deal with the tight confines of this bizarre place. There are some mechanics that I'd say are poorly explained, but even with all the roughness around the neon, pixellated edges, it was intriguing. And I am sure I'll try to beat the demo before the week ends. Check it out for sure, if you want a tougher roguelike experience.
CATS & DICE
Balatro-likes are in ascent! I swear I played like 10 of them this year, which might not sound like much, but imagine how rough it must be to follow the formula. Especially when you try to be creative about it, and not just go for a blatant copy. So far we had a Blackjack Balatro, Pachinko Balatro, I've seen Solitaire Balatro in the making, played to the death Yhatzee Balatro and now we have... Cats. And dice!
It's a solid enough twist - you still work with the same goal; There's a score you need to reach and rolling 6 dice to get those pairs, triples, and other basic combinations is your main fuel of said score. However the combinations alone will very quickly run out of steam, and that is where the Cats come in, each occupying a position and modifying the outcome of your plays. They can change the dice as well as have some passive bonus that helps you out - be it a conditional multiplier, extra points, or something more gimmicky, like changing the face value of the dice around. But wait, there's more! Each cat, as far as I could see, has slots - from 1 to 4 - in which you can buy additional trinkets that further modify your dice and plays. This is where the fun and power of this lil engine lies - building interactive, connected combos of these elements to make powerful combinations that let you bust the score limit effortlessly.
It's not easy. It's a solid bit driven by the cruel hands of RNG. But it is definitely doable and once your clockwork machine of scoring is in place, it fills you with determ- I mean, with a sense of pride and accomplishment. It's fun, and for any enjoyer of this kind of games, I recommend checking it out.
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