Mini Bunnies go to Indie Arena Booth
A group photo of us checking out Operation: Tango’s booth. The developer was there and we were able to chat with them and gush about their game. Really makes it feel like a real convention!
Over the weekend, our team attended Indie Arena Booth Online, a virtual convention with curated indie games at Gamescom 2020. Aside from the fantastic variety of demos to try, the games also had virtual booths that we were able to walk around in, watch game trailers, and interact with the devs!
The whole concept was awesome. From booths set high up in skyscrapers, to booths with overgrown greenery and vegetation, Indie Arena Booth provided a fantastic waiting area to experience before jumping into the game. Though our team is split between four countries, we were able to explore booths and play demos together all from within a browser - something I doubt would have been possible a few years ago. For a team that came together during quarantine by doing game jams, it felt appropriate that we could also enjoy a game convention together this way.
A list of games would have been more efficient; this was magical.
(Oh, and it was fun to also design our own avatars.)
Being able to design your own avatar and walk around the virtual booths was insanely cool. The whole place felt kinda like habbo hotel but gaming instead!
We played 21 games and picked out 8 of our favourites to review in no particular order. We will also write longer reviews for some of the games.
Table of Contents
Monster Sanctuary (Monster-taming turn-based metroidvania)
Touch Type Tale (Typing game meets RTS)
Sword of the Necromancer (Roguelite where you can resurrect dead enemies)
Death and Taxes (Papers Please meets the Trolley Problem, but chill)
Operation: Tango (Play with a friend as hacker and agent)
Lucifer Within Us (Detective game where you exorcise suspects)
Monster Sanctuary (Longer review coming soon!)
By Hokori
Planned Release: Currently in Early Access
Were you planning on buying the game before the demo?
Happysquared: Was on the fence. It sounded cool but wasn’t sure how it would feel.
Sunnydaze: Maybe, depends on how cute/compelling the animals are.
Hokori: Yes, turn-based combat is catnip to me. Add metroidvania elements and you certainly have my attention.
Are you planning on buying the game now?
Happysquared: Yes, really enjoyed it and ended up playing the rather long demo longer than I thought I would.
Sunnydaze: No. I enjoyed the demo, but I don’t really play games with turn-based combat.
Hokori: Yes. I felt the demo was very successful and I want to continue exploring the world.
An interesting take on the Metroidvania genre, combining platforming with turn-based RPG combat. You play as a Monster Keeper exploring an untamed world full of wild monsters to fight and add to your growing team. Choose your spectral starter (wolf, eagle, toad, or lion), then platform your way through a sprawling 2D world. Wild monsters in the overworld trigger turn-based battles, which sometimes give you eggs that you can hatch into your own version of the monster you just defeated. Of your six party members, choose three monsters to fight side-by-side in each battle. This is reminiscent of party-based JRPG games, where you aren’t only fighting 1 versus 1 but with your whole team at once. Each monster has its own skill tree and can be equipped with new weapons and accessories, upgradable through crafting, to boost its stats. Party members can also use special abilities in the overworld to break down walls or burn vines to access hidden treasures. The Spectral Eagle I started the game with allowed me to glide, making platforming easier.
The demo was super effective at demonstrating what the game is all about. You jump into action straightaway, adding monsters to your party with your first egg. Each zone introduced new monsters to find and experiment with. Different monster types, akin to Pokemon, made combat more interesting as you had to think about what types of abilities to use on a given monster. The demo was quite lengthy, including several bosses called “Champion Monsters” that would fight your team of three on its own. The main hook for me was hatching new monsters, exploring their tech tree, and seeing how they worked in battle. I found combining the traditional RPG elements with a Metroidvania very successful. I think the monster design of the starters was well done, but some of the early stage monsters were rather basic. As the demo never progressed into the higher level zones, I would imagine the designs would get more interesting at later levels.
Touch Type Tale
By Happysquared
Check out a longer review of this demo HERE
Planned Release: 2020
Were you planning on buying the game before the demo?
Happysquared: Maybe not. I love typing games but felt this game was just another “type the word on the enemy to kill the enemy” type game. And I’ve done those a lot.
Sunnydaze: No, the typing could just be a gimmick and I don’t play RTS.
Hokori: No. Typing games aren’t something I usually seek out.
Are you planning on buying the game now?
Happysquared: YES! A completely different take on a typing game. I have never seen that before. And the gameplay really sucked me in to the point I forgot about the outside world and was fully focused on defending my village.
Sunnydaze: Yes! It’s fun and fresh! I don’t normally play RTS because it’s overwhelming, but I found this approachable and enjoyable. I hope it releases on Mac.
Hokori: No. While I did enjoy the demo, I think I got what I wanted out of it already. I do think it could be fun to watch a friend play it instead.
A surprising genre blend of Typing Game and RTS. Unlike a lot of typing games, the typing in Touch Type Tale acts as input for commands rather than a way to defeat enemies. It’s a whole RTS that can be played with just the keyboard, from splitting units, to unit movement, and constructing buildings. This gives the unique feeling of having to think strategically within a typing game. Pure typing speed is not enough to do well in this game, adding a fantastic layer of strategy to a genre where the mechanics tend to be more one dimensional.
On some strange level, I almost felt like a Hollywood hacker - able to execute thought out commands with a keyboard. The thoughtfulness needed for the game sold me. I’m by far the fastest typist in our group (130 words per minute on average) and never struggled with typing games until this one so even fast typists can find a great fun challenge from this one.
Sword of the Necromancer (Longer Review Coming Soon!)
By Sunnydaze
Planned Release: Q4 2020
Were you planning on buying the game before the demo?
Happysquared: Was thinking about it. But didn’t know much about the game. The concept seemed cool and the art did too.
Sunnydaze: No, I get annoyed by the trope of a hero rescuing a gentle, ill/sleeping maiden.
Hokori: Not sure. I like the art and dungeon crawler combat but was worried about the roguelite aspects.
Are you planning on buying the game now?
Happysquared: Yes! Aside from the gorgeous pixel art, the story itself was immersive and interesting. Loved seeing the illustrated characters during cutscenes.
Sunnydaze: Yes! The main characters are actually both girls and the game is fun. I’ve always wanted to harness the power of the necromancer. Voice acting was great too.
Hokori: Yes. I enjoyed the fresh take on the story and I think the necromancer power makes for interesting strategy.
A roguelite with gorgeous pixel art and a unique mechanic: resurrect your dead enemies to fight on your side. Equip weapons, charms, or resurrected monsters to your equipment slots and slash your way through a dungeon of distinctive enemies. The objective? To harness the power of the necromancer so you can resurrect your lover, Koko.
The trailer was well done, but I got annoyed by what I thought was the story: a hero rescuing a pure-hearted, gentle maiden. Story is important to me, particularly the treatment of female characters, and this premise seemed like a tired trope that just wouldn’t die. With so many games to play, I felt no need to add another to the list. I was totally wrong. The main characters are both girls so this was an LGBTQ narrative. Immediately, what felt overdone was now revitalised, as the two female leads recontextualised and challenged the gender stereotypes behind the hero/damsel template. (For more on this, see my longer article, coming up soon.)
Gameplay was slick and fun. I enjoyed the ease of using different weapons and, of course, resurrecting my fallen foes. If you take care of your resurrections, they level up to be more powerful allies, which I found interesting. I’m intrigued by the story and atmosphere, and am eager to see more.
Death and Taxes
By Sunnydaze
Planned Release: Released
Were you planning on buying the game before the demo?
Happysquared: No. Seemed a good game to try a demo for though.
Sunnydaze: Probably not, it’s hard to tell how good the writing will be.
Hokori: No. I thought the idea was unique but not something I was particularly interested in.
Are you planning on buying the game now?
Happysquared: Potentially. It was a really funny and great game! Might end up waiting for Sunny to try the full game to see if I’d get it as it is not the genre I normally play. But had fun for the whole demo and wanted more.
Sunnydaze: Yeah, music is killer and writing is good.
Hokori: No. I enjoyed playing the demo with friends and talking about our choices but I think I got everything I wanted out of that experience.
The Grim Reaper works an office job (you even have a fidget spinner!). Receive a daily list of humans and choose who lives or dies by reading short profiles; fulfil your daily quota of people to kill, or disobey instructions; and see the consequences of your decisions play out on social media. Subversive, tongue-in-cheek, laidback Trolley Problem meets Papers Please.
I really enjoyed the demo. It hit all the right notes for me, presenting simple gameplay with interesting choices and compelling dialogue. The wry mood of the game is spot on and sells the game as a cohesive package. Adam Bow’s soundtrack is incredible and one of my favourites—though I have to admit I’m the target audience for this kind of melody-driven, vaudevillian music. It complements the game’s classic, hand-drawn aesthetic with a cool, deadpan cheek.
This is the sort of game that makes or breaks in execution. Deciding who lives or dies sounds like a cool premise, but could easily become simplistic, ham-fisted, or plain boring (it’s still paperwork, after all). Luckily, the Death and Taxes demo is deft and intriguing, hinting at a larger lore while making you think about your own morality. For example, I realised I didn’t really take age into account when deciding who lived or died. Also, I learned that my teammates are spineless office workers who happily fulfill their daily quotas just for a raise.
Operation: Tango (Longer Review Coming Soon!)
By Happysquared
Planned Release: 2021
Were you planning on buying the game before the demo?
Happysquared: No. Two-player games are fun and I have done a few but I only played this game because Sunny on my team added it to the game list. Wouldn’t have picked it otherwise.
Sunnydaze: Probably, it looks super fun!
Hokori: Yes. Two-player games are some of my favourite experiences.
Are you planning on buying the game now?
Happysquared: YES!! Had so much fun. Our whole team of four split into two teams to race each other to the finish. Hokori and I ended up winning. Lots of laughs to be had.
Sunnydaze: Yes!
Hokori: Heck yes! This game is an absolute blast. This was one of my favourite experiences from the entire event.
Grab a friend, and play as a master hacker and secret agent in this incredibly fun, chaotic 2-player co-op!
If you’ve ever wanted to furiously type on the keyboard and say “I’m in”, this is the game for you. Okay, you don’t really get to type, but there are plenty of opportunities to say that Hollywood hacker catchphrase as you open encrypted doors and disable security systems for your secret agent partner.
This game is a heightened version of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes as the player who has to do the talking also has a lot of other activities to do in tandem. While Keep Talking involves a player telling another how to defuse a bomb, Operation: Tango has the hacker traverse physical representations of security systems and adjust fiddly knobs while frantically communicating crucial information to their agent.
Hokori (who played the secret agent) and I (playing the hacker) traversed a super villain’s secret base in search of a deadly virus’ genetic code. The game has an asymmetric playstyle - what a player experiences is quite different from the other. For example, in one section, the agent is in a room with consoles and rotating lasers. At the end of the room is a locked door. Hokori had to go from console to console, avoiding the lasers, in order to grab some codes that he then had to dictate to me. There is no other way to exchange information; it’s a big talking game. After I had the codes, I had to quickly input them before the consoles reset or he’d have to do it all over again.
In another room, I had to move through a tron-like cyber room with a bottomless abyss. (As a programmer, I can say that a bottomless abyss is indeed a very accurate representation of hacking in cyberspace). In order to move to the other side of the room without dying, Hokori had to place tiles in front of me that I could step on. However, Hokori was unable to see moving lasers that would destroy those tiles. I had to tell him when lasers were coming and he would need to blindly make a decision to alter the path and ensure my safety.
Hokori and I have played a lot of 2-player co-op games together and this was by far the most insanely fun. The demo was only one level long but we have high hopes for the full release.
(Also, Hokori and I readily beat Sunnydaze and Ivanbje’s time to the finish line. We started playing the game at the same time and I can tell you, it was fun beating those losers).
Lucifer Within Us
By Sunnydaze
Planned Release: October 15, 2020
Were you planning on buying the game before the demo?
Happysquared: No. Not particularly my kind of genre.
Sunnydaze: Probably not.
Hokori: Maybe. Investigating occult mysteries is a good premise.
Are you planning on buying the game now?
Happysquared: Maybe. Demo itself showed interesting mechanics and great world building. I was more invested in the world than I thought I would be. However, it was pretty short and would have liked to see a little bit more.
Sunnydaze: Probably. I liked the main character, I found the worldbuilding/lore really cool, and the gameplay is slick.
Hokori: Probably not. I would like to see more before I am really convinced into buying.
Ace Attorney, but you’re an exorcist in a tech-rich theocracy! Everything about this premise is catnip to me. Tying together the concepts of “exorcising a demon” and “catching a murderer” makes a lot of sense and I’m a sucker for genre-blending. Gameplay-wise, you gather evidence and point out contradictions with the aid of a timeline at the bottom of the UI, showing the chronology of each witness’ account of the murder. You can dive into the psyche of suspects to see if their personality leaves them susceptible to possession—a small mechanic that adds flavour without overtaking the actual detective work. The writing is solid and the worldbuilding is very intriguing. Bonus points for having a compelling WOC protagonist—she reminded me a bit of Edgeworth, which is a personality type sorely lacking in female characters.
Gameplay is slick with a stylish UI, but there was one part that threw me. If you accuse the suspect with the right evidence, and they can’t contradict your version of events, they will admit to the crime. This leads to accusations being successful through circumstantial evidence, which I found a bit unsatisfying.
The most intriguing part of the demo is also the part I was left wanting: You can leaf through a demonology book to figure out which demon is possessing your suspect, but reading is all you can do. There’s no actual gameplay of exorcising the demon, leaving the demo as a stylish, exorcist-themed detective game. I would have liked to confront the demon or do a ritual; hopefully there’s more of that in the full game.
Bravery Network Online (Longer Review Coming Soon!)
By Hokori
Planned Release: Not sure
Were you planning on buying the game before the demo?
Happysquared: Looked interesting but didn’t feel like the kind of game I would play.
Sunnydaze: No, I’m not interested in turn-based combat.
Hokori: Yes. Turn based combat? Check. Set in Toronto? Awesome.
Are you planning on buying the game now?
Happysquared: Still a maybe. Game was hilarious and I loved watching my friends play. Only on the fence because I can’t decide if I’d rather play by myself or watch someone else’s shenanigans.
Sunnydaze: Yes! The writing is hilarious and the characters and world are great.
Hokori: Yes!! I love the humour and combat in this game.
Set in my home city of Toronto, Bravery Network Online is another turn-based gem of a game. The art style is incredibly striking with some amazingly designed, emotive characters that I love to look at. The dialogue is hilarious, and had me laughing on multiple occasions. This game is over the top goodness. You play as a “Becker”, a robot designed to organize combat as they can think at supercomputer speeds and make split second decisions for the party. This is a cool explanation for why combat is turn-based.
Combat is interesting and fun—you have a party of five but each member fights one at a time, similar to Pokemon. There are three main combat types, each with an attack and defense stat. The characters were very distinct not only in design but in the mechanics of their combat. Some characters hit hard with physical attacks; others invited the enemy to lunch, making them slowly die of hunger pains. Each attack gives you battery power you can spend to power up for a turn to “flourish” or “parry”. “Flourish” unlocks extra powers like higher damage or increased chance for that ability. “Parry” allows you to block your opponent’s next attack, but will break one of your batteries, meaning you can’t use it again for the rest of that battle. Speed is also important, because whoever has the higher speed can attack first and take down their opponent before they have a chance to react. Some attacks increase your priority, allowing you to get in that much-needed first strike. Even the referee joins in the ridiculousness, striking strange poses in the background during the battle. I’m super intrigued by this one, and I can’t wait to see what else they come up with.
Record of Lodoss War (Longer Review Coming Soon!)
By Hokori
Planned Release: Currently Early Access | Release out of early access by end of 2020
This game did not have a demo available for play at Indie Arena Booth, but as a huge fan of Team Ladybug’s Touhou Luna Nights I felt like this was a must-play. The graphic style reminds me of other Metroidvanias like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night but with its own unique twist on the genre. While there are a lot of similarities to games before it, Team Ladybug is not afraid of pushing new boundaries. In particular, the game is built around overpowered abilities rather than shying away from them. At the beginning of the game you unlock an ability that allows you to fly over enemies and skip platforming. Team Ladybug designs the platforming and puzzles from the start knowing you’ll have this potentially game-breaking ability. This makes you feel powerful from the very start and allows you to be creative with your approach to combat.
I am unfamiliar with the source material the game is based on, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the game. The game mechanics stand on their own without the background lore knowledge. The combat is quick and fluid, allowing you to maneuver quite well as you fight. You can switch between two spirits to power up your own character when you fight. The wind spirit allows you to hover and is necessary for several of the platforming sections. The fire spirit lets you blow up barrels. Each spirit also guards you from damage related to that element, a key mechanic in boss fights. You can switch to the element the boss is attacking with in that moment and go in for hits while they are still attacking. Sometimes you will have to rapidly swap between the spirits to dodge all of the incoming attacks. It’s too bad there wasn’t a demo available at their booth, as this is a fantastic entry into the genre that I think a lot of people would enjoy. Greatly looking forward to playing more.