Yet Another Indie World Video - May 11th 2022

[Punished Dayni]

It's on in an hour, so who knows maybe something neat will turn up.

I will not be seeing it live, have to be elsewhere.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I also have not seen it live. Inviting a friend over today for a watch party. But I will update this post with my thoughts tonight! 

[Punished Dayni]

Like I said, only got to it now.

Spoiler

Jeez that sound loop runs quickly. First off is what looks like TemTem,  even I recognise that style and the danceoffs. I suppose that's on the Switch at some stage. Oh wait, that was the wrong name, it's actually Ooblets and I was wrong. They go into a brief overview about what you can do and how it's the full island now. It comes out Summer (whenever that is). Next is Botara: Lost Heaven, a top down ARPG which says it'll be about a balance of wits and combat but I don't know if they help talking about it like that. It's out Autumn. Next is something called ElecHead, where the dev describes the inspiration and then we see it's a puzzle platformer where you manouvre your character with their electrical charge and that affects levels. It was made by 1 person in fairness so it being a bit bare aesthetically makes sense. That's for summer apparently. Then there's a top down 3D game that's definitely taking after Crypt of the Nercodancer in combat called Soundfall but in fairness it's a shooter and not tied to grids, so it feels different for sure (Also, if it generates levels based on songs I want to import songs into the game) and the customisation doesn't feel like it's going to be rougelike at least so there's that. It's out today, which is fast at least. Then there's another rougelike deck builder called Wildfrost which seems kinda standard to me, which is out in Winter (at least it makes sense).

Then Totally Accurate Battle Simulator gets ported to Switch, which, OK. I wonder why they called it a fighting game and the other dialogue is pretty bad too. TABS is out summer. Next is some 2D platformer shooter with you using a gun that can also guard called Gunbrella, which I'm going to be honest I don't feel this one. It's not even out this year. Some band called We Are OFK announce a game biopic, which, strange choice, but it's supposed to be Episodic, which is a question that I don't know if that'll work, but then we get a montage of the characters as they meet up in some cafe. Then it's confirmed it's a musical narrative, so I wonder if that'll work. How based off reality is it supposed to be? Doesn't seem like it. It's out the summer, but considering it's episodic when it's fully out is open for question. Next is Silt, which is an underwater adventure about exploring the oceans (which are handdrawn, so this could look good on Switch), it's out June so far. Mini Motorways is next, which involves building more roads to fix traffic congestion (I doubt that'll work in reality, but more power to them), it's out today though. Then we get a point and click in a flying hospital in the 1990's, where all the plots progress at once and the game tells you to go after them as you please. It's called Wayward Strand, it's out July 21st.

Next is more on Cult of the Lamb, where they confirm you play as a lamb having to build a cult, which explains the out of dungeon gameplay. No date beyond this year though. Next is a cute hermit crab in a can with a... Spork? Supposedly a soulslike where you can use different shells and of course there's at least 1 Giant Enemy Crab in Another Crab's Treasure. The devs confirm they're selling out by giving people crabs and preparing this game where you can deal massive damage. Whatever about all the details, it's not out next year. Then there's a montage of stuff including Oneshot: World Machine Edition (looks kinda RPG Maker to me, out summer), Gibbon: Beyond the Trees (swinging platformer, looks pretty nice actually, today), Idol Manager (Not what I signed up for, August 25th), Card Shark (looks like it's about playing poker and cheating in it, Demo out today, but game will not be yet), Cursed to Golf (Golf platforming, out Summer), A Guidebook of Babel (Honestly not sure , out Autumn), OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition (Thought it was the same as AER, turns out it's the third in a series and it's 2D anyway, Today). And it looks like there's no surprise at the end here. Actually surprising.

TLDR: I'll admit this was a bust for me. I mean, Ooblets if you wanted Pokemon with danceoffs, Card Shark's demo could be worth? and having no surprise at the end was disappointing. But though there are games I could see some liking, I latched onto nothing much barring what I've said so far and the Gibbon game.

Plenty people will want to have heard about didn't show up either sadly.

Edit: for some reason Omori was only on the JP IW and it's out 17th June. Card Shark's release date is June 2nd too.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Dayni

[DaveCozy]

Games that caught my eye:

Spoiler

Mini Motorways grabbed my attention, I'll wishlist it today and try it at some point. I like good puzzle games, sometims the most interesting games are modeled after real life problems to solve too.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator is one I've played on GamePass and it's a very silly game, but with depth too. I would recommend it. Just don't take it seriously and enjoy the humor.

Wildfrost caught my attention too, I'm not usually into deck building gameplay myself as I found it intimidating, but I've been getting more comfortable with it ever since I played Shovel Knight: King of Cards. The artstyle looks amazing too.

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by DaveCozy
spoiler hide

[vanguard333]

If I don't mention a game that was in this showcase, it didn't really grab my attention:

Elec Head looks interesting. I quite enjoy puzzle-platformers like Captain Toad and Boxboy, and the electricity mechanic seems rather neat.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator coming to switch is rather hilarious. I won't play it; I'm just saying that I find it funny.

Gunbrella sounds inherently silly: a side-scrolling action-adventure where the player character uses a gun that's also an umbrella, and yet, it seems to be going for a completely serious and somber noir-punk atmosphere. It's rather bizarre. I probably won't play it, but I'm definitely curious as to how they'll avoid a clash of tones.

Silt looks kind-of neat: an underwater puzzle-adventure game. I'm just not sure about the monochrome looks (not saying they're bad; far from it; just that they're not my cup of tea).

Another Crab's Treasure initially looked interesting, as it looked like a cool cartoony 3D platformer which you don't see much of among indie games outside of Yooka-Laylee and A Hat in Time, but then the trailer said it's actually yet another Souls-like and I immediately lost interest.

Edited May 12, 2022 by vanguard333

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Okay So the games that resonated with both of us the most would have to be Elec Head and Another Crab's treasure. My friend claims this crab game will be his first soulslike. 'Shellslike', I corrected him. We really want to see all the goofy objects you can pick up to use as your shell. And they make a good point about how the targeted circle strafing of your average souls game is just...not how humans move and attack. Recasting characters as crabs hangs a brilliant lampshade on the fact that this prestige genre of video games are still very video game-y. No matter how good they look or how seriously they present themselves. That's fine, by the way. I think when a game adheres too far toward realism, and is so meticulous about its simulated world and character animations, you get an experience that will eventually tire you out, like Red Dead Redemption 2.

As for Elec Head, that's just a fun premise for a puzzle platformer. The developer mentions the idea was born from some of his favorite classic games. I'm pretty confident in guessing his inspirations include Treasure's Dynamite Headdy for the Sega Genesis. Elec Head is a game that's been out for half a year now on Steam, but I have not heard of it. That's why I like these indie showcase events. There's so much cool stuff out there being made and quietly released, that I appreciate the reminder. I'm similarly looking forward to Summer Games Fest, and all the showcase events surrounding that in June.