Last weekend Simon and I went down to Earl’s Court to show off Monstrum at EGX London, and all round it was pretty successful! Most people got the game and seemed to enjoy it, with the seat never really being empty outside of doors just opening. We managed to dive off from the stand for a couple of minutes each day, and I took a bit of time to have a nosy around some of the other games on show. Most of them were in the Rezzed area, and are worth keeping an eye on. So without much further ado…
Firstly a plug to our friends in Hidden Armada, who were also there with Mutiny. It’s a multiplayer pirate brawler which also has sharks and pigs and ship invasions! They’re currently Kickstarting too, with the aim to get the sixteen(!) player game out next year
Another local game, this time from Team Five Pixels who were showcasing on the Epic stand as part of their Unreal Engine 4 showcase. A really pretty exploration game that will hopefully be released on mobile devices at some point.
I was really happy and surprised to find Never Alone basically right in front of us. It’s a beautiful, co-op platformer that is based in Inupiat mythology. It plays really well, and focuses on the two player element, making sure that you work together to get through challenges. Also they’re really nice people!
On the other side of our stand was Brave Wave Music, who were not only showing their artists’ music but a proper, Megaman-esque platformer in the form of Octahedron. It’s a gorgeous looking game which riffs off of 80’s and 90’s platformers, with players having to build their own platforms to scale up each level. It’s still a little away, but do keep an eye out for it.
Just look at it. Two guys using their own particle engine. Incredibly pretty in motion.
The Adventures of Bertram Fiddle
Bertram Fiddle nails the voice acting, and for that alone you should check it out. A point and click adventure based on Victorian London, Bertram and his manservant, the cyclops Gavin, have to investigate a series of murders. The artstyle and animation are top notch too, and it should be out on PC and mobile soon!
Gang Beasts is a multiplayer brawler in which you play as one of up to eight onesie clad, unsteady apparently plasticine men trying to fling the others to oblivion. Be that off of trucks, buildings, ferris wheels, into incinerators… There’s a (now quite old) demo for it, and it’s on Early Access as well.
Tiny Keep! Adam and I met these guys at EGX Rezzed earlier in the year, and now they’ve launched the game! It’s a procedural hack’n’slash (NOT A ROGUELIKE) that sees you trying to escape from a trap filled, mook clustered dungeon. Nicely designed and feels really good when you get through each floor.
On the topic of roguelikes, Quest of Dungeons was also on display. I only had a quick blast of it, but liked what I saw. It seemed to have the balance just right for starting players, which some roguelikes seem to have weighted a bit too harshly at times.
Steph and I met the Coatsink guys at GDC this year too, where they were showing of Edinburgh developer Secret Lunch’s Shu. Now they were on the Playstation stand, just of from Vlameer’s Nuclear Throne, showing off their quirky platformer. It reminds me of Rayman Origins/Legends in art and play style. Very fun, very nice!
Last on the list was the only game on the “big” stands I got to play. Mainly as it was before 10am so no one else was around to queue… Anyway, give that the original Yoshi’s Island is one of my favourite games this one made me very happy. It felt right, the art style is beautiful and the gameplay takes so much of it on board too. A full step up from the amazing Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
And there’s the list. I’d have liked to have tried Splatoon, The Evil Within and Alien: Isolation at the very least but they were pretty packed! Thanks to everyone who dropped by and anyone who read this.
Cheers,
Jaime
Jaime Cross - Noise Maker General 