Posted
Before I get into some thoughts on other stuff I've played, as per previous Next Fests I must lament that everything is Souls, whether 2D, isometric or third-person, it continues to sadden me that a good-old fashioned hack-and-slash is a dying breed. So many ARPGs that might otherwise have taken my fancy ruined. Sigh.
Anyway...
Lost in the Storm - Labelled as an action adventure with horror elements, this lasted about 2 minutes. Whilst the main graphics were fine, the 'Task List' and dialogue panes looked like something cooked-up on 'My First Game Maker Kit For Kids'. That's incredibly shallow of me (especially given I play stuff that is 30+ years old without issue), but that's the feeling it gave me.
Stratagem Lost - Ugly Fire Emblem-ish ripoff with anime, with Darkest Dungeon-esque style battle animations. And some anime, probably. The dialogue was awful so I did the first battle, hated the look at feel of it and uninstalled.
Those Who Rule - Also ugly in a different way Fire Emblem with a more medieval flavour. Less offensive to the eyes and unremarkable gameplay, but will follow and see what people think when it releases - one for the '75% off' list.
Sancticide - Religious-themed "melee-focused TPP action game with rogue-lite elements". Looked odd from the brief bit I played, the biggest issue was that there didn't seem to be a target lock, which was a problem because as a third-person game, having to try and deal with the camera whilst using X to attack was really, really unpleasant. Again though, I'll follow and see how it develops.
MINDFLUX - Dead Man Walking- This looks like a very text-heavy RPG/adventure. I say looks like, because similar to Lost in the Storm, the presentation was incredibly ugly and really put me off. No real interest in seeing how this pans-out, so it's gone.
DISORDER- Trying hard to ignore the T&A focus of the camera on this, another rogue-lite/like (I don't know) Souls game set in - wait for it - a department store. Yes, really. There's a slow pan across a beautifully rendered Hyundai Tucson in the unskippable intro, so that's nice, as well as the character's PVC/leather-clad arse, but fighting felt fluid and it was all very snappy. Another to watch, though I hate Souls games and am not much of a fan of rogue variants either. But, as always, if there was an easy mode I am more likely to pick up cheap and try.
Blood of Mehran- A slower-paced, chunkier Prince of Persia? My 5 minutes or so were enjoyable enough, so this is one to follow that I actually feel might make it to an actual purchase one day, as opposed to a lot I will follow and prune at a future date.
Robots At Midnight- Cosy Souls.
Arisen Force: HeroTest -Here's what the demo page says:
Quote
Arisen Force is an A-RPG game featuring exquisitehigh-definition pixels,it combines the engaging Stylish Actional combat experience.
Join the exquisite-definition pixel style world "HeroTest", and experience an exhilarating, stylized combat journey with heroes from temporal rift to fight against the dark erosion of the void.
Now ignoring what 'Stylish Actional combat experiences' are, this is basically an ARPG in the 2.5DHD style, as popularised by Squeenix in recent years. It certainly has its charm (though it is trying to be funny), but obviously isn't to the level of professional devs, and it feels it as soon as you start to move around. Characters almost slide a bit, and the button presses didn't feel all that responsive. Because of the non-standard angle used, it also feels a little off moving around the playfield and I don't know whether that is down to the 2.5Dish of it or not. Regardless, it isn't quite there for me.
It also comes out this week, so those things won't be changed (unless the demo is an older build) - and as they have another game (Arisen Force: Vonimir) showing as 'Coming soon', I imagine churning stuff out is quite key for them. I will follow and see feedback over time and it'd be another one waiting for a discount, if I was ever to get it.
I've played some other stuff too, but that's probably it for this Next Fest for me.
Until the next Souls-a-thon, I guess (I really hate Souls).
