Tag: Demo

Backer Build Preview – Phoenix Point

I love X-COM, which I think I’ve stated a few times. When the chance presented itself to back the new game by Julian Gollop. the creator of the very first game in the series, UFO: Enemy Unknown and the first set of classic X-COM games—before the Firaxis remake—I jumped at the chance and became a backer for Phoenix Point.

Last week, the cool guys at Snapshot Games sent me a press early access version of the backer build coming out today, so I could take a look and see just how the game is shaping up. Below you’ll find a video of my latest session, up to the point when the game crashed on me. A minor issue with a preview build when the game is this fun.

But before we get to it, let’s discuss what’s new, what I liked and what I think they could improve on before the final release: Continue reading Backer Build Preview – Phoenix Point

Backer Demo Opinions – Blasphemous | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

In the past year I’ve backed a fair amount of projects on a few crowdfunding platforms and among them are The Game Kitchen’s wonderful souls-like (or Metroidvania, really) Blasphemous and Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, both taking us to gothic lands to fight unspeakable evils, though the former having a much deeper religious subtext than the latter. Over the past few months a few backer-only or backer-first demos have appeared and I finally got around to downloading my own little copies and giving them a go, perhaps a little too late to give proper feedback but I’ll try to do so anyway. Continue reading Backer Demo Opinions – Blasphemous | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Currently Crowdfunding – The Beast Inside

I love horror games, but I’m also a scaredy cat when I play them. If a game is truly scary, I can only tolerate to play it minutes at a time. It happened with the game I mentioned in the Bejeezus files and every other title I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. So when I hear there’s a horror game on Kickstarter, or any crowdfunding platform for that matter, my ears perk up and if there’s a demo I will be going through it, minutes at a time. This led me to The Beast Inside. Continue reading Currently Crowdfunding – The Beast Inside

Horror Games – Halloween 2016

It’s Halloween! It’s time to trick, treat, go out, have fun, get candy from the neighbours and give respect to those living on the other side of the veil between our world and weirder ones.

It’s also a time for horror films, horror games and all things creepy, crawly, spooky and altogether ooky. On my end, I have a long list of horror films I’ll be enjoying tonight, plus a giant collection of H.P. Lovecraft stories to go through so my eerie evening is ready to go.

But it wouldn’t be Halloween in The Mental Attic if I didn’t share something with you, if I didn’t give you a little something for this most sacred and scream-worthy of holidays. So over the weekend I recorded a couple of short videos on some really fun games for you to keep an eye on: Continue reading Horror Games – Halloween 2016

Preview: Between Heartbeats

During Rezzed I saw a ton of games that I honestly didn’t write about, but It wasn’t because they weren’t interesting but because I couldn’t fit all the content in my weekly plan.

One of these is Between Heartbeats, currently on Indiegogo trying to raise £10.000, a game that tugs at my heartstrings for many reasons and yes, the pun is very much intended. Between Heartbeats is the dream cross between Innerspace and Shoot ‘em Ups. You control a couple of little robots inside a human body, shooting down viruses, bacteria and other pathogens.  I love Innerspace and such stories where someone travels in miniaturised form inside a person’s body—though I have some nauseating memories of the Disney World Epcot Centre ‘Body Wars’ ride. And I’ve mentioned in the past how much I enjoy Shoot ‘em ups. Continue reading Preview: Between Heartbeats

Preview: We Happy Few

I remember the announcement for We Happy Few and the first few images posted online. I thought it was creepy and exciting. I’m a big fan of dystopian settings, even more so when the people in them think of society as being utopic overall. The juxtaposition between how clearly horrible the world is and how people perceive it is fascinating for me, particularly when done right.

This weekend I got my hands on the Early Access version of We Happy Few—no, I didn’t buy it, the developers sent me the code—and I got to play for a little while, exploring this alpha version dystopian world. Continue reading Preview: We Happy Few

Rezzed 2016 – Versus Evil and The Indie Room

Rezzed is a gaming event and there are AAA titles on show, but ultimately it’s about indie developers and their products and much like last year, the number of amazing titles was simply astounding. From the ones independently published to those in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign, they all had something new and interesting to offer to our beloved industry.

One of the stops on my first day was the Versus Evil room, as they had not only The Banner Saga 2 there, which I previewed recently—and the reason I’m not including it in today’s write-up—but also a couple of new games I wanted to try. After that, I went to what would become my usual haunt during the following days: The Indie Room, where they collected most of the indie developers that weren’t part of another group, such as the Square Enix Collective sponsored developers.

Here are the games I saw while visiting the Versus Evil folks and the massive indie room! Continue reading Rezzed 2016 – Versus Evil and The Indie Room

Rezzed 2016 – Square Enix Collective

One of the more surprising announcements in my inbox was that the Square Enix Collective would showcase games at Rezzed. I looked the titles over and liked what I saw enough to try them at the event.

I wasn’t disappointed. Continue reading Rezzed 2016 – Square Enix Collective

Preview: Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim

Disclaimer: The opinions found of this article are first impressions on a preview demo, which may not represent the final quality of the game.

Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim is an upcoming action adventure game where you play the eponymous Viking Boy, setting out on a quest to find out what happened to the men of the island. The left a long time ago on their usual rounds of pillaging and scavenging and haven’t made it home, leaving their village and island unprotected and their families fending for themselves with dwindling resources. On hearing from an Oracle that the men are in danger and unwittingly pulled into the role of saviour, Tyrim does the only thing he can, set off on a grand adventure!

I received a preview copy from Katie Hallahan from Phoenix Online Publishing on behalf of the developers, Overflow Studios and spent over an hour playing the demo, which covers the starting island and village and introduces you to the main mechanics, particularly the crafting that will be instantly familiar to Minecraft (and Terraria) players, and the beginnings of Cornerstone’s plot. By the end of the demo, I found a new organisation: mysterious robed sorcerers capable of controlling stone (aka Earthbenders). I found them in a crypt but I no explanation about what they were doing there in the first place, or the purpose of their ritual work. Is it related to what happened to the Island’s warriors? Or are they part of something else? I hate not knowing! Continue reading Preview: Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim

EGX Highlights – Theo & Lizzy

One of the biggest surprises I had during EGX was Theo & Lizzy. Ever since playing the original Super Mario Bros. with my NES back in the 80s, I’ve loved platformers and the faster they are the more I like them. I want a challenge when I play them, mostly so I can show off my skills—or lack thereof—by completing levels as fast as possible or not at all.

I went by Butcherlab’s stand and saw people playing it like crazy. Knowing how busy EGX was and how many people would crowd the booth, I’d decided to only play a little bit of Theo & Lizzy, to get a feel for its gameplay so I could write this article, but the moment I started playing and got a handle on the controls, I couldn’t stop. Ollie Elliot, Co-Founder of Butcherlab, sat by me to guide me through the demo as well as answer a few of my questions. Continue reading EGX Highlights – Theo & Lizzy