#it looks visually nice and potentially interesting but I'm under the impression that it's challenging

[canisalbus]

All of this who would be lamb and goat got me thinking

So I decided to have my go at it with drawing them as characters from my favourite game: Cult of The Lamb!

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[blueeyedrat]

Steam Next Fest, fall 2024. A quick one this time, but still a few games worth discussing. More thoughts under the cut.

I don't play point-and-click adventures that often nowadays. Always had other stuff on my plate, I suppose. But if I do ever feel the urge to get back into the genre, Loco Motive might be a good one for it. The writing and voice work are spot on, the pixel art is good, and the puzzles in the demo never felt too obtuse. And who doesn't love an old-fashioned train murder mystery? Worth keeping an eye on, I think.

The puzzle games I tried out were a mixed bag. There were a few that seemed alright but didn't really hook me (Toggle Tile, CLONY, The Valley of the Architects), and at least one that definitely did (Block Shop; like I've said before, it's hard to go wrong with conveyor belt puzzles).

The Book of Buja left a good impression. It's a top-down adventure, kinda old Zelda-ish for better or worse. The movement feels kinda restrictive, but not to the point where it becomes a problem in combat (you can only move orthogonally, but your spear has a deceptively wide arc so you won't get caught on diagonals). It seems rather puzzle-focused in a way I appreciate, with some familiar tools and some unique mechanics that I'd like to explore more in the full game.

Likewise, Glitch Dungeon Crystal has the makings of a solid puzzle-platformer, with an interesting set of powers to use and things to interact with, that play off of each other in satisfying ways. The glitchy aesthetic may not be to everyone's taste, but fortunately there are options to tone it down a notch so it's easier to parse.

If you're looking for another city-builder to throw on the pile, the classical Greek-themed Polismós might be worthwhile. It didn't draw me in as much as some others in the genre, but there's some potential there.

I also tried out a couple of the more puzzle-oriented builders. Cosminomy had an interesting hook (building up multiple miniature planets) but didn't quite land for me, being more akin to an idle game where you spend your resources to unlock more places to build on and earn more resources, and felt kinda bare outside of that. Dorpie is more focused in some ways (working towards objectives to earn new building pieces) and more freeform in others (you can use any piece you have available at any time, rather than a limited queue of pieces), which works out to something that still feels unique and lets you build some nice-looking, blocky constructions.

I'm torn on TetherGeist. This is a precision platformer that wants to be like Celeste: vibrant pixel art and music, a strong narrative and cast of characters, and gameplay that's challenging but still accessible. I think it succeeds at most of these goals. That last one is a problem. The main gameplay gimmick sounds interesting in theory, but in practice it quickly feels overwhelming or inconsistent or both. Something about it just didn't click for me.

Closing out with the one title that was already on my Steam wishlist, Symphonia. I wish I had more to say about this one, but the demo was much shorter than I was expecting. What I did get, though, I liked a lot; the visuals and audio are excellent, and the platformer gameplay is loose in a fun way, particularly in wide open spaces where you can bounce off the walls and launch yourself in large strides. One more to look forward to.