For the second week in a row, the development community has really stepped up its efforts to mitigate the effects of canceled game events cancelled due to coronavirus. Last week, the Steam Game Festival brought us more than 40 playable demos, making up for the lack of GDC, development day, and other affected developer gatherings.
This week, the first Rezzed Digital was held. Rezzed Digital, a small replacement for the EGX Rezzed body, was launched in July. As you would expect, many indie developers plan to show off their games at events and now have to wait.
But we don't have to do this, so we're working on this week's standalone gem feature to highlight some of the Rezzed Digital games we're excited about. Most of these games are not publicly playable, but they all caught our attention in one way or another.
Popular indie games of the week on March 23
Red Winter Solstice 2: Survivor
Red Solstice games offer some of the best top-down alien shooter games, so I was surprised to find that the latest games are actually another direction for the series. Red Winter Solstice 2: Survivor is an ambitious sequel that combines strategy, real-time tactics, and Red Winter Solstice into one game.
The strategy layer provides a battle map where you can decide how to best equip your troops for battle. You can invest in character upgrades, research new technologies and even develop other weapons.
Field operations are handled through real-time tactics. This mode supports up to eight (!) Players in collaboration, which is where you spend most of your time. The look of the game is not much different from the Winter Solstice Chronicle (MIA), but as you make decisions in real time and want to execute them well before they execute, the stakes are higher.
Of course, this is an interesting premise, and Ironward is promising. The developers actually went back and modified the Winter Solstice Chronicles based on feedback, so hopefully some of the learning experience can be applied to survivors.
You can stay up to date by following the game's Steam page.
Rocky
You may have seen Roki give a free demo last week as part of the Steam Game Festival, but we think we will add it once this week. Roki is a game designed to bring point-and-click adventure elements to the modern era. The story takes place in a contemporary environment inspired by Scandinavian folklore.
The demo illustrates this premise well, even though gameplay sometimes falls into certain traps that old adventure games tend to fall into. In Roki, you play as cute Tove, a child who explores the forest where many Scandinavian fantasy characters live.
In classic adventure game fashion, Tove's backpack can store all the relevant items she has picked up, and she will use it to advance the narrative, explore more of the world, and solve the mess around. Visual effects, music, and presentations were highlights when I attended the presentation. The developers described Roki as a modern fairy tale, and I found this to be the current description. Music does give people a sense of adventure, while ordinary items hunt and bring warmth to characters and locations.
Despite the high linearity of the game, the visual effects make me want to explore every corner and see how the designer turns his inspiration into folklore.
Roki is coming to PC and Switch, and you can list it on Steam.
Alien invasion
Alien War Invasion is the next game by the producers of Castle Crashers and Pit People. The behemoth's sense of style is obvious, and the Alien Invasion trailer shows them immediately.
Alien Hominid Invasion is a four-player shooting game. Many actions revolve around the ability of playable characters to move, including a large number of dashes and cancel keys.
As you play the game, you will further develop them with new actions and privilege unlocks. This is also a loot game with lots of weapons and equipment to unlock. I particularly appreciate how these materials make the game alive, just like how players can pick up enemies and throw them to friends and quickly get rid of danger before stealing items.
Alien Hominid Invasion is being developed for PC, Xbox One and Switch. Although you can't play yet, all games of The Behemoth will be available for free on Steam until April 1.
Formula retro racing
Today, the visual effects of racing games are often indistinguishable from real life. This provides an opportunity for smaller developers to get rid of photorealism and remind us of the past by bringing back artistic styles that were once considered outdated.
Formula Retro Racing hopes to capture the speed of this sport through arcade-style gameplay and a distinctive low poly look. The demo of the game is strictly the early 90's. Just like back then, the visuals were neat and the HUD was too big.
Obviously, the most inspired is Virtua Racing. And, because music is just as important, the soundtrack of the game is reminiscent of Daytona and Outrun, with a proper lively beat.
Formula Retro Racing is under development for the PC and Xbox One, and its Steam page can be listed there.
og
Phogs is a game about two inseparable dogs. I mean literally, because the connection between the two is definitely anatomically incorrect. The stretched abdomen is the core mechanism of the game, and it is this pair that enables them to travel around the world and interact with various intrigues.
Many of the puzzles seem to be based on physics, and when you see them stretch and twist to move or maintain the distance of an object, this constitutes a fairly large picture. The visual effects of the game give a feeling of "genital fever", everything looks so soft and soft.
I also thank the developers for their commitment to naming the game world, which is what I dreamed of. The world of sleep, the world of food, and the world of games are packed with things that dogs love, and they are all excited about it.
Phogs can be played alone or together, and will be used on PC and Switch this year. If you have more styles, two players can even share the same controller. Find it on Steam.
Falconel
We have previously introduced Falconeer, but it is one of those games that is hard to impress. Falconeer's settings and hooks are not only shown graphically, it's difficult to blend them with any other game.
At its core, Falconel is an aerial combat game where you can fly on the backs of fantastic beasts, dragon creatures fighting dogs, and a fascinating flying fleet. The open world of the game consists of ocean cities, creating a very unique environment.
You can explore the world freely, and the game allows you to join with any warring faction in the world. The developer said it wanted to provide as many perspectives as possible on its central conflict.
Falconeer has released a new trailer in the game's Marcher faction this week. It still looks amazing and will be available on Steam and Xbox One this year.
Recompile
Recompile is another game whose style will be the first thing that appeals to you, just like it did to us when it was announced. Recompile is an action game in which you play the role of rogue code, trying to push it towards a program.
This completely digital setting is well reflected in the visual effects of the game. The viewing effect is amazing and even better for sports, but I ca n’t play the presentation for too long due to the headaches of playing some effects. This streamlined, ultra-stylish artistic style requires flashing lights, glitches and distortion effects, while games have a spade color. But this can also make it difficult for some players to focus on the action.
Recompile's gameplay is mainly platform-based, with some shooting and hacking methods interspersed between them. The controls are quite strict, although judging the distance is sometimes more difficult than necessary due to some visual effects. It really fits its vision, although I hope I like it more.
Recompile is coming to Steam this year, please list it now.
Table of Contents
