Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our Next Fest coverage to see what else we’ve played!
Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
The phrase I kept thinking about while playing the isometric action-adventure Eriksholm was “casual stealth” – and I mean that in a good way. The game, at least during the demo, displays restraint in terms of its mechanics, never really overcomplicating matters with overly confusing controls or needlessly punishing scenarios. Stealth is fun, exciting, but also forgiving, and the game’s checkpoint system is refreshingly lenient – if you’re spotted or caught, you only lose a few seconds of progress, and can instantly try again from where you left off. This made the game feel very smooth and prevented exactly the kind of repetition and frustration that can potentially plague stealth games. This is definitely a project to keep an eye on.
No, I'm not a Human
No, I’m not a Human reminds me of the famous blood test scene from John Carpenter’s The Thing, where the characters are trying to figure out who’s an impostor, and who’s not – according to the game’s storyline, alien “visitors” able to imitate humans have come up from below the earth, and if you can’t spot the difference between them and real people, you’re going to have a bad day. The abnormal summer heat is making everyone take shelter inside, and you’re one of the people allowing strangers into your home – the thing is, you don’t know which one of them is an alien. So, you talk to them, examine them, and look for telltale signs – and then decide if you’re going to shoot them or not. It’s a game all about paranoia and distrust, with an eerily captivating atmosphere of constant unease.
Absolum
An action-RPG with an absolutely gorgeous art style and gameplay that immediately reminded me of the classic Golden Axe titles. Other than the lovely visuals and the solid beat’em up gameplay, though, this game is also a roguelike, which is something I’m not entirely a fan of – I wished it was “just” a regular action-RPG, but maybe that’s just me. I still had a very good time with the demo, at any rate.
Glaciered
If you’ve ever wanted an underwater soulslike that feels like Ecco the Dolphin and Dark Souls had a baby, I’ve got good news. That said, while overall a very pleasant experience that made me look forward to the full version, there’s one thing to note about Glaciered’s demo: it took me a while to get used to underwater melee combat. It felt somewhat… erratic, I suppose? Perhaps this was intentional, as the game does also give you the option to play more defensively and pick enemies off from afar with ranged attacks, but still. Either way, I still had a lovely time playing Glaciered – in fact, it was one of the better demos I tried during the Fest.
Neon Inferno
“Contra meets Wild Guns” is probably the best way I can describe this demo – an action-packed 2D shooter with pure retro energy flowing through its veins, Neon Inferno combines the two aforementioned classics by letting you shoot in two lanes: the foreground and the background. Naturally, the game’s mechanics and boss fights build on this as well, forcing you to anticipate threats from both lanes, which I personally found to be pretty exciting. Also, the soundtrack rules. Remember to crank the volume all the way up when you try the demo.
