Now with the Steam Next Fest October over and done for, I’m here to present you with a couple of demos that were damn good. In other words, games to look forward to in the future. I will list them here in no particular order. On a side note, I was surprised this month/year (I’m not sure how often these things come online) with how many games managed to capture my attention. I’m sure I missed a couple of good ones too. You only have that many hours per day to game! It seems to me the indie gaming industry is constantly improving, which is good, considering AAA mainstream stuff is a walking shot-to-pieces corpse by now.
The Last Exterminator
You thought the age of boomer shooters was over? WRONG! To be fair, I have not played too many of them myself, but this one did catch my eye (& gun). One of the main differences here is that the engine is in 3D (their own apparently), and not the usual 2D sprites. And boy, does it look and feel good! It looks like a Duke 3D throwback, and I would assume it is. However, the main guy you play as is not some gruff dude, but a chick – which to me feels a bit overplayed by now as it seems every other boomer shooter protagonist is a chick nowadays. She works out okay, even if some one-liners come off as a bit forced. The important stuff is here though – the shooting, the level design, and the visuals! This is something to be gunning for in the future.
Last Train Home
How about a game that is a mix between Men of War & Commandos, with added survival and base management? This title took me by complete surprise as I didn’t expect much at all. You play as a commander of a Czechoslovak legion in Russia, when suddenly the country is thrown into a communist revolution (Just typical). You must take your men and make a hurried escape on a train throughout Russia to reach the safety of the home country.
Combat missions play out from a top-down view with deadly Men of War-style combat while traversing the country takes the form of a more abstract map view. Here you also collect resources, do side missions, and upgrade your train cars for survival, making it just a bit more comfy for your men. Your men follow the X-com approach as if they die, they are gone for good. You have to take care of your soldiers since they will be the bread and butter in everything you do and are off a limited quantity. The men come with morale, health, and all kinds of different quirks to take care of. All in all, it has an excellent game written all over it, and on top of that – the presentation is superb with typical graphics intermixed with authentic-looking FMV segments.
Mars Tactics
Kuato lives! Or well, he would not be if my men could hit something. This title feels like a mix between the movie Total Recall and X-com. You will be fighting tactical battles on Mars, either as the rebel freedom forces or as the Mars security detail. While the demo is only a set of random battles, the full game promises base management and some light 4X gameplay. The combat is tough, and it instantly gave me X-com Terror From the Deep flashbacks, where lives are worth less than in the Brazilian favela.
What makes Mars Tactics stand out beyond the high death count and brutality, is the destruction that even deforms the ground. Need a foxhole? Well, throw a grenade! The game also has some interesting suppression mechanics. Every bullet will affect soldiers standing close to where they fall, and if you manage to suppress a guy, you take their movement point. You can either use it on yourself or spend it on another unit in your group. Pretty fun and nifty mechanic, I have to say. More X-com for the masses is never bad.
All Quiet in the Trenches
This is another game that took me by complete surprise. I was looking through the screenshots on the store page, and at first, it just looked like typical Indie-bait to me with poorly textured models. However, I couldn’t be more wrong. In this title, you play as an unteroffizier of a German squad during The Great War. And instead of controlling the squad directly, it works more like an RPG, with you needing to keep your men happy, and morale high in a world filled with human tragedies. During the battle, I felt some serious distress trying to get my men of out danger, and boy, what a good feeling (for a game) that is. Between battles, you do camp stuff, and is a great opportunity to form your men into what you want, but you need to play nice with the higher-ups as well, which adds another complexity to the game.
Unfortunately, there is only one combat scenario presented in the game, but from what we got, the future surely looks interesting for All Quiet in the Trenches. And playing from the German perspective feels pretty fresh as well, even if WW1 movies depicting the Germans are pretty common.
RoboCop: Rogue City
Come Quietly, Or There Will Be…Trouble! Trouble indeed, even if RoboCop don’t give the scumbag criminals much of a choice before shooting them in the nuts. This demo was fun, the combat is nice, as it truly feels like you are the robot from the legendary movie. The movement and mannerisms are there. However, it’s not perfect since I think the game is a bit heavy on the UI department. Luckily, you can turn off some of the worst aspects – like hit markers.
Regardless, the fun factor outweighs most of my issues, and what is interesting here, is that combat is not the end-all. RoboCop: Rogue City has many RPG elements like XP, talent-point upgrades, and dialogue choices that apparently have consequences down the line. The free-roaming aspect reminded me a lot of Deus Ex: Humans Revolution with its hub-quest area of Detroit. Funnily enough, it takes place in the same city. Coincidence? I think not! Anyway, this is something to look forward to, especially if you like the movie because the developers seem to have taken a lot of care to much the style of the film. I’d Buy That For A Dollar!
The Thaumaturge
Ever wanted to be a weird Polish emo wizard during the early 1900s? Well, now is your chance! In this RPG you play as the troubled Wiktor, seemingly suffering from something beyond the typical Eastern European melancholy. As luck will have it, Rasputin, of all people helps you out, and soon you are on your way to solving supernatural murders in some god-forsaken village with your newfound pal. Jokes aside, this title seems to be pretty serious with gorgeous isometric graphics. It has nice animations and voice acting, and what surprised me was the fun and interesting combat too! What else gives this game extra flair is the historical setting, and the attention to the folklore.
The only issues I found with the game are that just drops you in the middle of things without explaining much, and there is no walk setting while playing with the mouse & keyboard. This is a title that feels the opposite of rushing, so a walking key would add a lot. You can still walk, but you need to hold the mouse pointer close to your character, and well, being forced to concentrate on that while I’m trying to take in the atmosphere puts a stick in that wheel. Anyway, interesting game that looks to be a day-one purchase.
The Inquisitor
Nobody expects the Inquisition. Well, except the people in Koenigstein where everyone seems to know who you are. In this somewhat edgy RPG, you play as a master inquisitor on the hunt for a vampire. Yes, it’s fantasy, but from what I played, I found the setting pretty grounded and medieval, as in dirty and muddy. Very atmospheric actually! In this alternative Christian fantasy world, Jesus didn’t die on the cross. He went full rage mode, tore himself down from the crucifix, and decided to make himself emperor of Rome – or that is what I got anyway. Edgy? For sure, but it works in the setting, which seems to be grimdark. Good enough for me.
Beyond the interesting setting, the combat was pretty engaging as well. You fight in real-time with a sword, and you have to block, parry, and dodge while trying to find an opening in your enemy. It seemed fairly realistic too, even if the character you play, and the backdrop by itself is very much make-believe – but of the dark kind, mind you. The whole experience felt like the games of old when middle AA publishers and developers took risks and made third-person RPGs in a somewhat odd and quirky setting usually neglected by the big boys. It’s jank, to a degree, but I don’t mind that. What I did mind though, was the horrendous performance. Without DLSS activated the game ran very slow, between 30-40 FPS in the city. It ran better with DLSS, but it made the picture very smudgy, which is a common trait nowadays when it comes to modern titles. Oh well, it was playable, at least. Hopefully, that part will be improved for the full release. Overall, I enjoyed the demo. The mystery seemed well told so far, the main propagandist was funny, and the combat by itself was entertaining. So, another game to look forward to!
Of all the demos I played, these were the standouts, that to me were very fun and showed great potential for the future. A good haul, if I say so myself. I did have a few more titles waiting to be tested, but when the clock hit one minute over twelve, most of the demos just stopped working. I’m not sure if I ever will be fully okay with timed exclusive demos, even if I recognize the idea behind Steam Next Fest. I mean, I played shareware games for years and years, and having snippets of historical gaming contexts taken away like that just rubs me the wrong way. Especially, if any of these games becomes a big hit. Oh well, that is just how it works, I guess. Regardless, it was a great Steam Next Fest. So, until next time!
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 