From a fashion police officer game to a restroom escape simulator
Another demo festival has taken place on the Steam digital marketplace: a special event where developers show off their upcoming games. Hundreds of different projects: shooters, card roguelikes, RPGs, novels, absurd simulations and horror in retro style.
If for some reason you missed everything, but really want to find something interesting for yourself from future releases, then don't worry: we played most of the demos presented and chose 20 interesting games for you to pay attention to.
Midnight Fight Express
What it is: a top-down action game about spectacular hand-to-hand combat
You play as a sleeper agent who is awakened from his sleep and sent to fight the hordes of bandits who have taken over the city by force. With the help of martial arts, improvised garbage, and weapons taken from enemies, you will have to make your way through hordes of scumbags and criminals. Midnight Fight Express features inventive levels, detailed customization, and a sophisticated yet highly comprehensible combat system based on timings and combinations of light-heavy hits. Moreover, the game is good not only for the gameplay: there is an excellent soundtrack, nice low-poly graphics, and the general style of action films in the spirit of John Wick.
Frogun
What it is: A cute platformer about a girl with a frog gun
You play as the daughter of two explorers who disappeared on another expedition. The girl goes to save her parents with the help of agility, optimism, and an unusual frog gun with a sticky tongue.
Frogun is a stylish and unpretentious low-poly platformer with an interesting frog tongue mechanic that allows you not only to fend off enemies, but also to move through obstacles and interact with various mechanisms (for example, pull blocks locked in the wall by the handle or pull levers). Otherwise, this is a standard, but a very good game that will appeal to children and fans of naive, bright, and good-natured adventures the most.
Cultural
What it is: An old-school first-person shooter in the vein of Blood
Cultic is a prominent representative of the relatively young “boomer shooter” genre, whose games imitate the game design of old action games like the first Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Unreal and so on. Specifically, Cultic does not hide his sincere love for Blood: this is also a bloody shooter in the style of dark horror with references to Stephen King and Lovecraft.
However, Cultic is not limited to simple copying: modern technologies have been added to the Blood formula, hidden by skillful stylization for old-school graphics (the levels are larger in area, the combat is much more meaty and sharp), games with physics in the spirit of Half-life (you can throw barrels at enemies and throw them off heavy weights on them from above), exploration of locations and management of limited supplies from Resident Evil.
As a result, Cultic, despite all the borrowings, turns out to be a unique boomer shooter with its own vision and feelings from the gameplay. Except that the soundtrack sounds foreign in places: it does not fit well with what is happening on the screen and seems to be taken from another video game.
Fashion Police Squad
What it is: a parody shooter where you don’t have to kill enemies but fix their appearance
You play as a fashion police officer: roam the fashionable city in search of out-of-style people and fix their appearance. Boring office workers - to decorate, and too colorful healthy people on scooters - on the contrary, to discolor so that their acid T-shirts do not hurt their eyes. Adjust the size of the baggy suits of clerks, and give the vapers with pants down to their knees a belt so that they do not embarrass themselves with their shorts in front of everyone.
Fashion Police Squad is a hilarious reimagining of Doom-era shooters, where all of their familiar elements are passed through the prism of the culture of "mods". The most important thing is your "style" and "bow", not the number of health points and ammo. From the received damage, the icon with the image of the hero is not covered with wounds and scars - it becomes more untidy. And at the end of the level, all the defeated opponents defile along the catwalk to the applause of the public (well, the player, if he got involved in the local “Fashion Sentence”).
And here, suddenly, very pleasant parkour: jumping on platforms and flying over the abyss with the help of a lasso strap are done well and do not cause any difficulties.
Blocky Dungeon
What it is: An indie game that combines dungeon crawler and Tetris ideas
An unusual take on the classic Tetris: using blocks falling from the top of the screen, you build a dungeon inside which you roam as a little knight, leveling up by defeating monsters and collecting treasures from rooms. The mechanics of building and research are tightly intertwined with each other. Blocks must be placed evenly to fill the row, and by removing it, the knight will receive an attack bonus, useful against strong enemies. The rooms should be customized so that not too many enemies attack the hero, and there are always boxes of supplies or at least escape routes at hand. All these ideas make Blocky Dungeon an extremely inventive game that is hard to tear yourself away from - just like the usual Tetris.
Trepang2
What it is: A first-person shooter in the spirit of the FEAR series
You play as a soldier who has lost his memory. He was kidnapped by some organization for unknown purposes due to his supernatural abilities, namely, incredible strength and speed. But he manages to get out of prison and embark on the path of revenge on the kidnappers.
In style, gameplay, and part of the plot elements, Trepang2 is monstrously reminiscent of the first part of FEAR Actually, its main advantage is a really good successor to Monolith's shooter ideas. Time slowdown, dynamic firefights, viciously screaming special forces enemies, destructible environment, double-handed shooting. Unless the opponents are not as smart as in FEAR, everything can change by the release.
Of the new ideas - the ability to take the enemy hostage and knock down a slide. And also simple stealth with hide and seek in the shadows, thanks to which you can get a tactical advantage over superior enemy forces.
Necrosmith
What it is: a necromancer simulator where you need to collect undead in a special constructor to capture the world
You are a necromancer sitting in your own evil tower in the center of the map. Around - monsters, enemy fortresses and temples of people who do not like the magic of the dead. Sooner or later they will come for you, and the only chance to escape and peacefully study the arcane arts further is to collect your own undead army.
And to assemble in the literal sense: in the course of battles and exploration of the area, you find parts of the bodies (arms, legs, torso, and head), from which you can assemble a soldier for yourself. Each has its own characteristics and features: a hand with a magic wand that allows you to conjure, praying mantis legs - run fast, harpy wings - fly even faster. Thanks to the variety of body parts, you can collect not only classic skeletons and zombies, but also creepy mutants: the walking dead with cybernetic arms, harpies with beetle heads, skeletons with a lizard body, and so on. If only there were enough elements for assembly and imagination.
Tyrant's Blessing
What it is: Clever fantasy turn-based tactics
The local magical kingdom has been enslaved by the undead. The only salvation is a group of heroes led by a sorceress with a pet dragon. A detachment of rebels roams the world and tries to help the remnants of the living not to join the dead army and, if possible, restore peace and quiet to the kingdom.
Plot Tyrant's Blessing is a rather banal fantasy about fighting an evil overlord and his dark army. Gameplay Feature: This is a great tactic with a focus on the special abilities of the heroes and unique combat situations. In many ways, it's like Into the Breach without the elements of randomness: enemies first declare an attack and strike on the next turn, battles take place on small square maps, and environments like rivers and rocks have no less influence on the battle than your soldiers.
Farlanders
What is it: a puzzle game about the conquest of Mars
The pixel simulator of building a colony on the red planet is interesting for its game design. Farlanders is a combination of creative gameplay and puzzle: you have to build infrastructure on Mars, attract new people and meet their needs, research new technologies, and trade with Earth. But at the same time, deal with terraforming: demolish rocks, irrigate the soil, create or clean quarries. Thus, you need to build not only efficiently, but also competently: you always seem to be fighting with Mars for every extra piece of land.
Especially because the gradual expansion of your colony affects the environment: water pumps drain the surrounding soil, making it unsuitable for gardening. Rocks improve the power output of wind generators, but interfere with solar panels with their shadow. Every decision has consequences, good and bad. And at the same time, Farlanders keeps a competent balance of depth and difficulty threshold, from which it does not slide into boring tables or too detailed economic simulators. This is exactly what an entertaining and interesting puzzle game about the colonization of Mars, and not a harsh and extremely realistic simulator.
Dome Keeper
What it is: A game about an explorer of a hostile planet living under a glass dome
You sit on your own small base under a glass dome, into which you bring all kinds of finds from the dungeon below it: valuable resources, ancient technologies and artifacts. From time to time, mining work must be interrupted: local monsters do not like your stay on the planet, and they continually strive to break through the glass that separates you from their fangs.
Dome Keeper is a fairly uncomplicated 2D game with a catchy, minimalistic style about excavating underground. The exploration of the depths of an unknown planet is combined here with the defense of the base. There are few gameplay mechanics, but they are all made with high quality. Dome Keeper is a prime example of an indie that has chosen to focus on the small rather than overloading the player with mountains of unnecessary content. It can only be criticized for too short pauses between monster raids.
deadlink
What is it: a roguelike shooter in a cyberpunk setting
Deadlink is a classic "bagel": go from hall to hall, kill enemies, collect bonuses, prepare for the battle with the final boss. The only difference is that this is a first-person shooter in the spirit of Doom: Eternal: hook flying, stunning enemies, high dynamics. And all this in the style of "pop" cyberpunk: an eternally night city, neon, noticeable inclusions of Asian culture. Deadlink is a game for those who want shootouts with cybernetic yakuza without unnecessary plot and pauses for cutscenes and open world exploration.
Fabular: Once upon a Spacetime
What is it: a game about spaceships that fencing each other with swords
In general, this is everything you need to know about the game. Another roguelike, but this time about starships roaming the galaxy. The main feature of Fabular is that these very spaceships use not so much blasters (although they are), as melee weapons: swords, axes and maces attached to huge mechanical arms. All fights are fencing in zero gravity in the middle of asteroids. And it's as unusual and cool as it is absurd. Timings of strikes, blocks, dodges - the combat system here is pleasant and moderately deep. Fabular also has a great visual style: pixel art is combined with a clever lighting system that creates the illusion of 3D.
Cult of the Lamb
What it is: A game about a cute lamb who creates a cult of a dark god
The main character, an innocent white lamb, was sacrificed by religious fanatics in order to prevent the return of the dark god, which is imprisoned in a prison dimension. But everything does not go according to plan: instead of death, the unfortunate artiodactyl goes straight to the prisoner and concludes a pact with him: a new life and freedom in exchange for serving the dark lord. The lamb becomes the leader of an ancient cult that will have to be revived.
Cult of the Lamb is a great roguelike that stands out from the competition with its catchy design, great soundtrack, and polished gameplay. In addition to classic mechanics like boss battles, currency collection, active and passive perks, the game has a cult base management. You need to gather followers, organize their life and stock up on resources for the development of your occult infrastructure. And all this in the setting of a colorful forest of cute little animals that worship the dark god.
Metal: Hellsinger
What it is: A first-person shooter where you have to kill enemies to the beat of the music
Metal: Hellsinger is a classic first-person shooter set in hell and demons with one interesting mechanic, rhythm. If you can shoot enemies in time with the music playing in the background, you will deal more damage. The higher the combo of lucky shots or hits, the more elements the soundtrack has. With each multiplier level, the melody gets louder, and at higher levels, vocals are added to the soundtrack.
Metal: Hellsinger boasts a really decent selection of music: the tracks for the game were recorded by many rock bands and singers, including the famous Serj Tankian, whose performance can be heard in the trailer above.
You Suck at Parking
What is it: a funny game about extreme parking of small cars
A fun game about absurd parking lots where you need to drive toy cars. There is little time, even less gasoline, and the transport itself stalls if you stop. Therefore, it is necessary not only not to slow down, but also to get into the zone allowed for parking after full speed. And it's not so easy: cars will encounter sharp turns, jumps, obstacles, teleports and other funny problems on the road. Other than that, You Suck at Parking doesn’t really have anything, but it doesn’t need to - it’s a simple and small game on a funny theme with a very cute style.
Toilet Chronicles
What it is: A restroom escape simulator where the front door has disappeared
An absurd parody game in the questroom genre. During a wild party, you went to the toilet to relieve yourself, when suddenly the door of the restroom disappeared somewhere. Now you are locked in the toilet with some other poor guy from the next stall and are forced to look for a way out. And it's up to you to decide: team up with a mysterious stranger or listen to the orders of an even more mysterious observer who will certainly punish you for disobedience.
Toilet Chronicles is an ordinary adventure quest game that approaches both its own theme and the questroom genre in general with humor. There are a dozen ways to kill yourself, the ability to shine your bare ass on the camera and blow up the toilet with a grenade (for which you will be banned in the current passage for disturbing the peace). And there is also a separate button for “cry on the toilet” in case riddles are not given to you.
The Fridge is Red
What it is: An anthology of horror in the style of games from the first PlayStation
A collection of creepy adventure games with no less creepy puzzles, united by one theme - a mysterious red refrigerator, which you can't help but look at. Unlike cheap horror games on Steam, The Fridge is Red is really inventive about fear.
Instead of cheap screamers - a tense atmosphere. Instead of terrible monsters and ubiquitous tin, there are ordinary things like offices and utility rooms that frighten with mystery and the unknown. Styling for games from old consoles adds extra discomfort: film effect, low-poly models, dull pixelated textures. If you miss horror in the spirit of Silent Hill, then The Fridge is Red is worth paying attention to.
hard west 2
What it is: turn-based tactics about the mystical Wild West in the spirit of XCOM
A gang of robbers decides to raid a night train carrying a lot of money under the protection of a small detachment. However, the trifling matter turns out to be the trap of the real devil: after entering the tunnel, which is not on the map, the train turns into a terrible machine on metal legs, and its driver is a gentleman named Mammoth with supernatural powers. He takes the souls of the robbers, but they manage to escape from the devilish train and save at least the bodies that, after meeting with the devil, have acquired dark abilities. Now, with the help of new occult powers, they have to save their souls from the power of Mammoth.
Hard West 2 is the sequel to the tactical turn-based strategy about the mystical Wild West, where the devil, monsters, and the undead are quite real. Unlike its fairly budget-friendly predecessor, the second installment really feels and plays like an AA blockbuster. Here are interesting levels, and a pleasant combat system, and entertaining characters. As in the first part, there is a sketchy open world with trade, pumping, and equipment. If you played the first Hard West, it's the same, but better in every way. If not, this is XCOM about cowboys and magic, but without its own base. Which in no way overshadows the overall great quality of the sequel.
Immortal Tactics: War of the Eternals
What it is: turn-based fantasy tactics with a unique combat system
An interesting strategy wargame where you control a small squad of three heroes who worship one of the four great gods (in the demo, alas, only one was available). You move from location to location towards the boss, fighting in turn-based mode with squads of various monsters with various combat conditions: either there will be healing crystals on the map or thickets of damaging thornbushes.
Immortal Tactics, in addition to a rather unfortunate name, differs from its competitors in its combat system. At first glance, it looks like "Heroes" or King's Bounty: the same hexagons, alternate moves, fantasy bright creatures like gnolls and ents. However, each round is divided into two phases: movement and attack. First, the enemy and you place units on the battlefield, and only then, if possible, use attacks and abilities. To this is added the pumping of characters right in the middle of the battle, a set of unique abilities for heroes and enemies, and the ultimate spell of the god, on whose behalf your squad speaks.
We Who Are About To Die
What is it: ancient gladiator simulator
You are the owner of gladiators who fight and die for the amusement of citizens in arenas across the country. Your wards are mortal: each of them has one life, and after an unsuccessful battle, they disappear forever. But each new slave is another opportunity to gain fame and fortune. Who knows, suddenly from the next boy bought on the market, the legendary champion of the Colosseum will grow up?
We Who Are About To Die is a unique gladiator control simulator. In addition to the actual battles that still need to be won, you will have to keep an eye on your fighter’s advertising, equipment, health, and even events outside the arena: business is constantly affected by both endless wars and intrigues of high society. Choose the best contracts, make good bets, and take care of your rising arena star - otherwise, he will die shamefully due to fatigue or injuries.
In addition to the economic part, We Who Are About To Die has an excellent combat system. In many ways, it resembles the Mount & Blade series: directions and speed of strikes, different types of weapons, shields, and projectiles. To this is added a scale of endurance: it will not work to swing the sword endlessly, you will have to take breaks. And also the reaction of the crowd: the audience must be entertained, for which it will be necessary to fulfill requests like “change weapons” or “shed more blood”. What's the point of winning that people who pay you money are bored looking at?
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