So did anyone hit up the Steam NextFest here? I decided to have a good go at it and check out more than a few games. I played 12 demos and came away with 5 games that I am keeping an eye on or outright wishlisting.
I played
- As One We Survive
- Blind Descent
- Cosmic Fear
- Escape From Calypso
- Fibula
- HOPE 01
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- RetroSpace
- Star Tale - Odyssey One
- Sunken Realms
- Valor Mortis
- Whatever It Takes
The one that stood out to me were
- Blind Descent
- Fibula
- HOPE 01
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- RetroSpace
Blind Descent is a decent sci-fi survival game that is not super hardcore on the survival mechanics and gave me some low No Man’s Sky vibes although it lacks the depth of No Man’s Sky.
Fibula is essentially a game in the vein of the Gothic series. Indie jank, but not as jank as the original Gothic games.
HOPE 01 is a sidescroller, Metroidvania, pixel art, sci-fi survival kind of game with a neat crafting system based on the 3D printing devices. Another one that is not hardcore on the survival mechanics so it doesn’t feel overly punishing.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is actually what I was hoping it would be: a good modern remake/continuation of the original series. It plays like the Onimusha version of the Resident Evil remakes. Definitely gonna get this one.
RetroSpace is a retro feeling sci-fi horror survival exploration game. It is definitely inspired by the System Shock games with some aesthetics inspired by Fallout and the Outer Worlds games. Also reminds me of Abiotic Factor a bit, but set in space.
I wanted to like Valor Mortis, but the difficulty is punishing with no difficult settings (as of yet, not sure if that will change). You have to be a parry master or the game will kick the crap out of you. I fought the first boss three times, finally downed it on my fourth try (or so I thought) only to have its health refill and get harder with a second phase. No thanks. it’s too Souslike in first person for my taste.