@PlzGivHugs Unciv, neat open-source turn-based 4X, obliviously inspired by the Civilization series

@ampersandrew @simple Whenever someone says that X ruined Y, I always hypothesize that it may be the opposite case: the reason why so many copied its addictive nature is because the publishers themselves were already searching for ways to maximize player engagement, and therefore increased revenue through monetization.

COD itself didn't ruin multiplayer games, it only showed an easy and replicable way

If you may forgive the metaphor: a weed can only spread if the soil itself is fertile

@ampersandrew

I'll wait for its release and read the reviews, assuming they don't screw it up like they did with Battlefront, 15 bucks is a fair price

@mesamunefire What are y'all going to buy in this sale? I'm thinking Space Tyrant, to satisfy my itch for a more laid back 4X focused on combat; the Metal Gear Solid master collections; and maybe some indie games below 15 bucks

@Tekkip20 Lunacid, King's Field like with many modern accomodations l

The Big Catch, a coming low poly 3D platformer

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust, a surrealist action adventure

@setsneedtofeed it frustrates me how Embracer fumbled over this franchise without giving it a proper classic collection

@AHorseWithNoNeigh @simple I lost any hope for Beyond Good and Evil 2 since they announced that it was going to be multiplayer only

@games Wild Bastards

Procedurally generated FPS, from the creators of Void Bastards

The neon/cowboy/scifi setting works, the shooting is way slower paced than I imagined, the unique abilities for the characters are interesting, and the fact that you're constantly chased and need to pick your battles carefully gives a nice tension to the whole.

The demo definitely left me wanting to know more about this project, I'll take a good look at it in the months before its release

@games Warcana

Half pseudo-turn based Tower defense, half autobattler/deck builder, with the caveat being that opposite armies go directly for the enemy base, not each other.

The spectacles are great, the sprite work is fantastic, the UI is a bit of a mess, why would you put your resource display on the right side of the screen instead of on top, and the gameplay needs to involve the player more during the action, not just limited to casting spells.

It could be good, but needs more mechanics.

@games Technotopia

City-builder card game with an interesting premise, you are an AI created to manage a city for the betterment of its citizens, having to balance your resources so that none goes into the negatives, dealing with various dilemmas of the residents, lest you lose.

However, requires better pacing for the time being, with a smaller area to deal with at the start, I will definitely retry the demo on another fest if I get notice of significant improvements on this front

@games Edge of Sanity

One genre that I can't get into no matter what are survival horrors, I like to murder stuff, and the idea of hiding until the scary thing goes away is unappealing to me.

Every time a game like this comes out, I try to figure out whether it's a survival horror with action elements, or an action game with survival elements.

Unfortunately for me, with its camp management, resource scavenging, and too strong creatures to overcome, this game belongs to the former category

@games Byte the Bullet

A 2D platformer that I classify as the comfort food of the retro gamer:

Tight controls, lots of references, a great degree of polish, and some tricks to make it unique.

However, one thing bringing it down and something I loathe about this type of games in general is the artificial difficulty: you can't shoot upwards or in diagonal, and you can't even duck, it would have been appreciated in the Castlevania style sequence

I hope the devs improve it for the release

@games Beacon of Neyda

Another Kingdom Two Crown-like, however, here the protagonist can shoot, scavenge, and build, and the setting is based in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world with killer robots.
There are also elevators leading to bunkers where you can find items and lore bits, watch out for the robot hordes!.

Personal irks include the lack of a map, the control scheme not optimized for mouse and keyboard, and the fact I could not issue to the bots, apart from this, it looks promising.

@games Voidwrought

This MetroidVania (or as I like to call them explorative platformers) belongs to the birthing category of Hollow Knight-likes, the graphic style, the subtle narrated story, and even the combat, resemble that of HK, the whole judgment hinges of whether the devs are going to be able to match its level of quality, if they will, that's going to be great! If they don't, it's going to be forgotten faster than the failed vessels thrown into the abyss

@games Sacre Bleu

Oh boy, it's absurd to pretend completeness during a demo showcase, but for this one ... I feel like it was released a bit too early for its sake: missing sounds, finicky controls, and overall not a good impression, one positive note is that it manages to blend 2d sprites with 3d environments better than others, but I do believe that the dev should have waited the next event and spent a bit more time cooking, because as now, it feels too much half-baked, even for a demo

@games Pipsqueak!

There is a niche set of developers who produce games under certain limitations, mechanical or thematical however may it be, I suspect that this project was born of a similar cloth, specifically from those who create games as if they were to run on a GBA, kind of like Goodboy Galaxy, it's an interesting way to create games, it has that feeling to it, and luckily, it also has the charm and a feel of polish for a game from such a console

@games And for today's theme: 2d platforming

With Ghost Knight: A Dark Tale

This charmingly Halloweeny game is a project I've been waiting for 4 years, since its reveal in 2020, and while we may still be far from its release, even in this small slice I could see the potential of a sweat little gem, this is a passion pet project through and through, and I can't wait for its maturing

@Aielman15 Thanks, I'm going to make a video recap of all the demos I'm playing at the end of this Next Fest

@games Silence of the Siren

I took me 2 minutes of playtime for a grin to start forming in my face, for I recognized what the project was aiming to achieve: this is a turn-based title following the same design principles of the Heroes of Might and Magic series, but in a sci-fi setting. It has everything: random resources on the map, stacked units, abilities, equipment, city management, the hexagonal battle map, plus some other unique tricks, this game is an instant wishlist.

@games NecroKing

I'm acquiring a certain taste for auto battlers, and this one has definitely a lot of charm, the graphical style reminds me a bit of Loop-hero, albeit in a more simplified matter, and the deck building is an interesting choice for progression.

My only doubt is about variety of enemy encounters, for now there is only the human kingdom, so I hope for more factions and more races in the future, still, I'll keep it in my radar.