#plungeroo game

[blueeyedrat]

Steam Next Fest, fall 2023. I had time to play a good variety of game demos, and I picked out the ones that stood out the most to me this time around. Detailed thoughts and comments under the cut.

Beacon Patrol, Sky Settlers – The obligatory tile builders. Beacon Patrol plays like a variation on Carcassone; a bit more simplistic than its board game counterpart and I'd like to see more to it, but the idea of working together in multiplayer to set a high score is intriguing. Sky Settlers hews closer to Dorfromantik and ISLANDERS, and of the many games of that sort I've tried, it seems like one of the more fully realized ones. A lot of its ideas I've seen in other games and demos, but the ways they're used here feel pretty natural and fit together well.

Eklips, RETRIS, Oxytone – Arcade puzzle games, each of them putting a spin on an existing style of game: Oxytone places tiles to connect longer and longer winding paths, RETRIS plays like a somewhat warped version of Tetris, and Eklips drops blocks to fill out rows around a central square. There are some interesting ideas in each one, and good potential for them to be fleshed out a bit more.

Plungeroo, Oberty – More puzzle games. Plungeroo is a pinball-themed game about placing tiles and bumpers to make paths for pinballs to follow, with a charming variety of puzzles themed around different pinball tables. Oberty is a minimalist puzzle revolving around patterns and symmetry, and making different patterns out of the same base components. Both seem like the sort of game I might boot up, play a few levels, then a few more, then suddenly it's a day later and I've completed the entire game and am left wanting more.

Promenade, Pecker – A pair of games drawing inspiration from 3D platformers, in opposite directions. Promenade is a 2D platformer with a charming art style, and game mechanics somewhere on the spectrum between Klonoa or Mischief Makers (where the best way to get around is to grab enemies and vault over them) and Super Mario Odyssey (where each level is its own bite-sized collect-a-thon with challenges and objectives scattered throughout). Pecker takes a cue from Odyssey in a much more direct sense, in that it takes a specific power from a specific level and expands the core idea into an entire game based around it. Seems like both games could be refined into something fun.

PixelJunk Eden 2 – A floaty, psychadelic platformer. The gameplay is simple and satisfying, but takes a back seat to the audio-visual experience, which is overflowing with style. I'm not actually familiar with the PixelJunk series; I've seen the name around here and there, but never really looked into it myself. If Eden is anything to go by, I might have to rectify that.

Sandy's Great Escape – One last puzzle game, this one more sokoban-esque. A good pixel-art style, a good variety of mechanics that ramp up in complexity at a fair pace, and an incentive for optimal puzzle-solving (which might be a curse as much as a boon; I can tell that trying to 100% complete this game and get all the coins is the sort of thing that might drive me up a wall). The crab will have his day.

Cobalt Core – A roguelite deckbuilder. Of all the games I tried out this time around, this one was the standout. I was intrigued by the pixel art and music when it was first annouced (which also brought my attention to the devs' previous title, Sunshine Heavy Industries, which shares the same style and is a puzzle game that seems very much up my alley), and the gameplay did not disappoint. It clicked with me immediately, and puzzling my way through each different encounter was very satisfying. There's a lot of potential for different decks and encounters, so there should be a lot to dive into when the game releases. I'm looking forward to it.

[thinkythirdthursday]

Thinky Third Thursday - October 2023

Welcome to the first ever Thinky Third Thursday, curated by Alan Hazelden of Draknek & Friends - a monthly roundup of thinky puzzle games that have caught my eye.

I really love thinky games. Obviously I’ve been designing them for over a decade now, but more than that it’s the only genre where you'll find deep systems, surprising interactions, and that eureka moment where you're in the shower and realise the solution to the puzzle you've been stuck on.

It’s such a great time for the space right now - there’s so many games coming out it feels hard to keep up! I hope my recommendations will be useful to you, whether you’re someone who tries to play everything thinky or you just dabble occasionally.

I’m not being paid by any of these developers to promote their games, I just want to advocate for talented people making great work. All games were purchased by myself.

Here’s what I’ve been playing:

Headlong Hunt, by Toombler Chase easily-spooked creatures to herd them into the perfect location. This may initially look simple, but it features some really great puzzle design while remaining very approachable!

COCOON, by Geometric Interactive and Annapurna Interactive The vibes on this game are off the charts. The puzzles seem very streamlined for a mainstream audience, but that doesn’t stop every moment being intensely satisfying.

Magicube, by nebu soku The puzzle design in this game is really fantastic! It might take a little perseverance to get into - it's a hard game - but if you stick with it, it will be incredibly rewarding.

Golden Idol Mysteries: The Lemurian Vampire, by Color Gray Games and Playstack The second and final DLC for The Case of the Golden Idol. I don’t think it lived up to the main game + first DLC, and found the cases pretty frustrating, but the new gameplay variation is a nice twist on the formula.

Chants of Sennaar, by Rundisc and Focus Entertainment An intriguing language-learning game. I don’t love the unnecessary / uninteresting stealth sections or that I had to do a Rush Hour puzzle in the first hour, but overall I think it’s worth checking out. I’ve seen several people recommend playing without using the journal that confirms your word guesses - if you want to lean into the concept and increase the thinkiness, that seems like a good choice.

More recent thinky releases:

Underground Blossom, by Rusty Lake

Escape From Mystwood Mansion, by Lost Sock Studio

Bilkins' Folly, by Webbysoft and Armor Games Studios

A Tiny Sticker Tale, by Ogre Pixel

Submachine: Legacy, by Mateusz Skutnik

Mosa Lina, by Stuffed Wombat

Sandy's Great Escape, by Mocha Moose Games

Upcoming games to watch for:

Crossroad OS, by Daisy Games (Demo available now) Martin of Daisy Games has been making quietly competent puzzle games at a pretty impressive pace, but this one is a real step up. The demo that just came out has some solid puzzles and great vibes - I highly recommend giving it a go, especially since it’s pretty short.

Plungeroo, by Little Crown Games (Demo available now) This is a delightful pinball-themed puzzle game, and the graphics/audio really lean into that theme. I wasn’t expecting much when I checked out the demo during Steam Next Fest, but it really grabbed me with its level of polish. The puzzles are pretty light, but still satisfying, so I’m looking forward to playing more of it when it comes out in a little over a week on Oct 27.

Puzzmo, by Zach Gage and Orta Therox (Early access signups start today) Announced today, Puzzmo is a hub for small games that want to be part of your daily routine - think Wordle or the NYT crossword. During their prelaunch period they’re opening the doors to 500 new players every day, or if you can’t wait to get let in there’s some coverage on Digital Trends that has more info.

The Talos Principle 2, by Croteam and Devolver Digital (Demo available now) The first game is one of the best-selling puzzle games of all time, so there’s a high bar for the sequel. We’ll find out soon how it’s turned out - it’s releasing on Nov 2.

Sokobond Express, by José Hernández and Draknek and Friends (Demo available now) I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the next game I’m publishing. We’re putting the final touches on it now and will have more news to share soon - in the meanwhile, please add it to your wishlist on Steam!