Read previous round-up impressions.

It’s difficult to determine what games to outline as highlights of the show given how many of them were known quantities. Many of the unreleased games living rent free in my mind, such as Crimson Desert, DokeV, and Lies of P, were nowhere to be found. Microsoft’s first-party games in development such as Hellblade: Senua’s Saga and Avowed were also absent from the publisher’s showcase. As a result, most of the games that have stood out are primarily games I already knew about and have been following for some time.

Additionally, I was not capable of following all the showcases as they streamed this year. This left me scrambling to see what they revealed, the majority of which were outside of my wheelhouse. There are plenty of games that certainly look interesting, such as Nivalis, but I have no real interest in playing a cyberpunk-themed slice-of-life. Not outside of VA-11 Hall-A, at least.

It also doesn’t help that I’ve grown more picky as time progresses. While a game like Morbid Metal checks all the right boxes on paper, the lack of enemy flinch or proper feedback gives it a tedious, damage-sponge look. Those that read my Beta impressions of Marvel’s Avengers know that the feel of combat and tactile feedback in an action game are very important to me, and it is the one crucial ingredient this upcoming game seems to be lacking. My impressions are similar for Elsie, a Mega Man styled action platformer whose mechanics look just a tad jankier than Smelter, an indie game I overall enjoyed but found lacking in tightness of control.

This leaves me with a lot of games that caught my interest or had me curious, but aren’t really generating excitement or a desire to add to the wishlist. Nevertheless, I have been able to sift through enough trailers to pick out some highlights of this year’s Game Fest.

PalWorld

This game should fill me with far more fear given how plagiaristic (I can’t believe that’s a real word) it looks. Everyone has already pointed out how similar many of these creatures look to very specific Pokémon, and the iconic yellow-and-black fuzzball is an obvious fusion of Electabuzz and Totoro. However, the protagonist herself is a complete redesign in the style of Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn. The color palette is the exact same and only differs in hair style. I don’t know if I should blame the artists themselves or the game director(s) dictating the art direction, but there was a lot of homework being copied on this one.

Despite the lack of visual originality, there’s something charming about the cute and cuddly fusion of pocket monsters and heavy artillery. Perhaps what Pokemon Legends: Arceus was lacking was the ability to strap a pair of heavy duty missile launchers to a Lapras before mowing down a whole herd of Bidoof? I’m not sure, but this game is mashing up all kinds of mechanics into something looking bizarrely enticing.

The question is what the actual flow of gameplay is going to look like. You catch monsters, use them on a farm, and go shooting slavers and critters alike, but to what purpose? What’s the story and what is the end goal? Does the game even have a release window? It’s a frequently showcased title at these events, and yet it is starting to feel like we’re seeing nothing new. Perhaps it’s time to hold off until you have something worth showing?

Signalis

What makes this game so appealing is the manner in which it can evoke the feeling of those old survivor-horror games of the original PlayStation without directly imitating them. The graphics maintain that low-poly and texture look while portraying the environment and action clearly. The camera is static but not in the same manner as the original Resident Evil titles. The experience has a nostalgic vibe while managing to come off as a fresh take.

I am a sucker for action-horror, but only because I am enough of a coward to want a proper weapon in these sorts of games. This makes Signalis an ideal throwback for me as the majority of the genre has either gone fully into the unarmed runner stylings of the indie scene or back into the full-fledged action of Resident Evil Village. These nice, in-between titles are the sweet spot I eagerly look for.

Admittedly, I have no clue what the story could be about, but the artwork and design give off the vibe of a 90’s science-fiction anime. This, too, speaks directly to my interests. It has a Steam Next Fest demo, so I will likely be playing and reporting on it next week.

9 Years of Shadows

The best pixel art is that which seeks to supersede the best of the old days, rather than just match or imitate it. There are a lot of pixel-based side-scrolling Metroidvanias, many of which minimize the detail to save on time and budget or emphasize the gore and blood to fuse the Castlevania of old with the Dark Souls and Bloodborne of today. The trailer for 9 Years of Shadows feels as if it offers something refreshing from the rest by focusing instead on a vibrant color palette bursting out from the monochrome opening, only to then showcase its protagonist in a variety of functional outfits. The art design here is excellent.

However, I also think it’s the promise of each outfit serving a separate utility, introducing a somewhat Mega Man influence to the gameplay rather than strictly Castlevania, Metroid, or Soulsborne. While watching the trailer I found myself wondering how these outfits might be acquired and in which ways they might be implemented. I immediately wanted to know more about this game.

This is the sort of indie game that can grab my attention these days. The classic roots of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are plain to see, but the deviations and attempts to surpass what has been established are what allows the game to pop. I definitely look forward to finding out more, and wish it was one of the titles that had a demo in the Steam Next Fest.

Wanted: Dead

Every time I see this game I can’t help but think of WET, an incredibly janky mid-budget third-person action shooter whose demo convinced players to not even bother with it. The casting of Eliza Dushku, one of the most bland actresses seen on television and in film, acted more as a repellent than the marketing highlight the developers had hoped for.

That, however, was that. Wanted: Dead, on the other hand, looks to have promise. The trailer itself is a bit odd, interrupting the action with occasional strange asides such as the “one hand” remark. As oddly placed as these little interruptions are, they clearly suggest a narrative somewhat reminiscent of Robocop and its protagonist’s rediscovery of a former life. WET had little more promise than a “strong” female protagonist kicking butt and taking names, but the end result was a lack of imagination and personality. Wanted: Dead, on the other hand, already feels like its creators have a story they want to tell and that this character means something to them.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is what has me cautious. It looks fine enough in the trailers, but this attempt at fusing high-speed melee action and third-person shooting has been done before and with hefty budgets. So far it looks fine, but there’s that trepidation that it will feel awful in execution. There’s no telling with regards to enemy A.I., either. As a result, my interest is piqued, but my hackles are up.

Eternights

Possibly the first true surprise of the season, I had no clue what this game was when it premiered at Sony’s State of Play. Assuming it was another mid-budget title from a smaller Japanese studio, I was surprised to discover it is actually the passion project of a guy that quit his job after playing Persona 5 to make a game of his own.

I’m not sold on the actual combat mechanics yet, in part because there was very little demonstrated in the trailer. More time was devoted to a quick-time event than the regular rough and tumble melee action I’m supposing makes up the gameplay. Instead, the narrative and dating-sim elements take center stage here, with such lascivious content as hand-holding on full display.

Really, there’s not enough to go off of yet. It’s an impressive looking title for such a small development team, and it certainly has potential to be interesting. To that end, the trailer did its job and got me curious. More information is needed, however, before a real decision is made.

VergeWorld

I’m not the biggest fan of rogue-likes or procedural gameplay, but I’m definitely a fan of Star Fox on the Super Nintendo. It’s possible that randomly-generated levels are the perfect sort of tool to recapture the spirit of those summer afternoons blasting away the forces of Andross. At the same time, memorizing those maps and learning where enemies spawn from in order to tighten up one’s play and chase a better score were essential to the game’s staying power.

VergeWorld looks as if it could capture the spirit of Star Fox for a modern age, at least far more than any of its sequels. The question is whether those procedural maps – and therefore constantly changing obstacle courses and enemy spawns – can match the carefully considered design of the original. No more subpar Landmaster, Submarine, or Helicopter vehicular segments to worry about, just straight up trench running through an on-rails level to blast all the bogeys at twelve o’ clock. The promise is certainly there.

I have the demo from Steam Next Fest downloaded, so hopefully I’ll be able to give greater feedback on this one next week in addition to Signalis. Keep an eye on the blog next week to hear what my highlights were from Steam Next Fest and if VergeWorld remains one of the highlights of Summer Game Fest.

Summer Game Fest impressions continue here.