LudoNarraCon, as you may or may not know, is a digital convention focusing primarily on narrative games – titles that prefer to add a bit more story to their campaigns, focusing on words instead of shooting, and intriguing plotlines instead of non-stop explosions (disclaimer: there’s nothing wrong with games about explosions). So, if you need a bit of a break from titles going at breakneck speeds, come slow down with us and enjoy the narrative beats of the five games I’m about to introduce below. Without further ado, here are some of our favorite demos from this year’s LudoNarraCon:
1000xRESIST
I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this game as I booted it up, and I’m still not entirely sure what I’ve just experienced, but it had me intrigued from start to finish. 1000xRESIST immediately throws you into a world that will force tangible question marks to pop up above your head: in fact, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said “What?” during just the opening scenes. But that’s okay – as you progress, things become ever so slightly less confusing, and you begin to see a bigger picture. Clones, a deadly disease, the so-called ALLMOTHER and a Watcher capable of effortlessly shifting between time periods to uncover untold secrets… There’s so much to get confused and intrigued by, in all the best ways. Either way, 1000xRESIST felt pleasantly weird and alien, and is exactly what science fiction should be like – I, for one, can’t wait to find out more about it.
The Invincible
An atmospheric hard sci-fi adventure, The Invincible wastes no time in throwing you into the thick of things: your robot helper is malfunctioning, a member of your research crew has seemingly gone mad, and to make matters worse, the other three members are missing. The demo provides a slow trek across a series of desolate – yet still majestic – alien landscapes on the planet Regis III as protagonist Yasna attempts to figure out exactly what’s going on, and sadly, the experience is cut short just as you are about to get some potential answers… but let’s be honest, that was probably the point of the demo.
Midautumn
This one’s for you action-roguelike enthusiasts – Midautumn is a lovely pixel art game with a spunky protagonist that offers much of what you’d expect from the genre, but does so with a twist. And by twist, I mean… Lunar Blood. What is Lunar Blood, you may ask? Well, it’s the thing you absorb in order to be able to attack during your dungeon runs, except… it can go bad. As in, the Lunar Blood in you can rot after a few seconds, after which it will only cause damage to your health instead of acting as a projectile. So basically: gotta go fast, gotta shoot fast, and… that’s it. I think. (There’s probably more to it, but I’m not the best roguelike player in the world, so please excuse my ignorance.)
Ghostpia: Season One
The demo of Ghostpia: Season One continued this trend of games catching me off-guard with unexpected revelations, although to be fair, with the word “ghost” being in the title, I probably should’ve seen this one coming. Anyway, this is a visual novel with an adorable art style and some wonderful music, and it’s about a city of “ghosts” (immortals, really) who can only go out at night because sunlight happens to dissolve their bodies. Yup. They can’t really die, though, and the next day, everything is back to “normal” – the town itself is considered a utopia, but not everyone is happy to be there: and so, the narrative follows a lonely, immortal girl called Sayako who instead dreams of crossing the endless snowfields around the city in order to return to her hometown.
Demonschool
My first thought upon launching Demonschool and getting a few minutes into it was this: “wait, this music reminds me of Shin Megami Tensei”. So yeah, the soundtrack is really good, is what I’m saying. The gameplay was fun as well, with classic tactical RPG fundamentals that all play out in ways I really enjoyed – first, you get a planning phase where you dole out orders and see their expected consequences, and when you’re done, you hit “Action” and watch everything happen at once. Demonschool is also a visual treat, by the way, though the screenshots sort of speak for themselves, really. All in all, this was probably my favorite demo of the bunch, so do give it a look if you’re interested.
