I didn’t get a chance to try out Drakantos at GDC because the venue’s wifi was giving a lot of presenters issues. I did get the opportunity to speak with a couple of the game’s developers, and they succeeded in making me excited about their game. I want to take this moment to thank them for their time. I know I had a lot of questions, and I appreciate your patience.
Drakantos is a pixel art MMORPG from Brazil that will be playable on your favorite browser. I love the art style, and the trailer was enough to get me interested. The voice acting in this game is fantastic, and I recommend you check out their official discord for samples.
Unlike your traditional MMO, Drakantos will not have a character creation. Instead, the game will release with 21 predesigned characters, with more planned for future releases. You’ll be able to unlock characters through the battle pass or by playing the game. However you may feel about battle passes in gaming, they are now a feature in the industry, and there is no going back. The game will be free to play, so I won’t blame them for trying to make money. All I can hope is that it won’t become pay-to-win. Only 20 characters have been revealed so far. You can find more information on their official discord, but I will post an album for your convenience.
PVE for this game seems promising. The story is fully voice acted, with support coming in different languages. There will also be world bosses, events, and dungeons to help foster a healthy endgame and community. Drakantos will also have PVP arenas with weekly tournaments and a ranking system. Arenes will be 3v3, and the gear won’t matter to avoid power creep. Players will have access to the same pool of characters, making the experience more skill-based than gear reliant. Characters will be locked behind a battle pass and achievements, I just hope it’s not pay to win. I can’t blame them for trying to make money, but I hope that free to play is viable.
I will be trying this game as soon as I can. I suggest you keep tabs on Drakantos by following them on their socials. They are very active with news and updates, and they are always happy to answer any questions. You can find them on Discord, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Excellence in Visual Arts: RPG Time: The Legend of Wright
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) awards have just wrapped and it was a pretty impressive lineup of games. I got to try a few of them and was impressed by the unique collection put on display. I will be covering all the games that were nominated, but I will start. I think it is only fair to give these games their own posts because they were all so different and deserving of the same time and attention.
The winner for the Excellence in Visual Art category was the adventure game RPG Time: The Legend of Wright by the publisher, DeskWorks Inc. This quirky little RPG combines a series of genres with its unique hand-drawn art style. The game feels like it happens on top of a desktop as you shift between different game types. It is cool to see this game come to life. I can see why it has already one a lot of awards. If you are looking for something truly unique and quirky, check out RPG Time: The Legend of Wright. You can play this game on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox, and Steam for $29.99. Its on sale on Nintendo for $15.99 till March 31, 2023, and Xbox has it for $16.49 till March 28, 2023. Now might be a great time to pick it up if you have either of those consoles. I’ll be adding this to the games I need to try, and hopefully, come back with a full review soon.
GDC Recap: Kakele
On the first day of the Expo, I got to try out the pixel art MMORPG Kakale. This cute little MMO is available on PC, Android, and IOS devices. If you enjoy the game and wish to support it, you can buy cosmetics, support their Patreon, or become a premium subscriber for $6.99 a month. The devs suggested there might be a battle pass implemented in the future, but was assured that none of the paid options offer a competitive advantage. The premium subscription seems to only offer quality-of-life benefits like more storage, a bigger friends list, access to larger instances, and more. You can find the full list of premium benefits on the official site.
Kakele has five classes: berserker, mage, warrior, hunter, and alchemist. Each will have its role to play, especially when you get to end-game content. I have already made my mage and will return with my impressions once I’ve gotten far enough. Aside from your class, you choose the type of experience you want. Kakele offers two kinds of servers, one for PVP and another for PVE. For those who don’t enjoy PVP, there are dungeons, world bosses, and seasonal events to keep you busy. If you join a guild, you fight over castles that will grant you bonuses if captured. You will also need to defend the castles you capture. The game is young, but there already seems lots to do.
One of my favorite aspects of this game right off the bat is that the UI is completely customizable. You can rearrange your hotkeys where ever you want so that you can always have an optimized experience. On mobile devices and tablets, you can even move the D-pad.
So what were my first impressions? This game is super cute, and it brings me back to a time when the only online gaming I could afford was through a browser on a library computer. The art is great and easy to see, the maps are easy to navigate over, and the early leveling experience is fine. Combat at the beginning is laid back as it slowly teaches you how to play, but I can already see its potential to be complex at the end of the game. The game already seems to have a healthy population. At least in the North American servers, the starting zone is populated. The game is from Brazil, so a lot of the activity seems to be in the Portuguese channels, but with time, I am sure this will change.
It is unfair to critique the game with how little I have played it, so I will reserve my judgment for a later date. At the moment, I think the game is at least worth checking out since it is free. If you are looking for a new MMO that you can play almost anywhere, Kakele is worth looking into. You can download this game on Steam, the IOS Appstore, or the Google PlayStore. The game is a cross-play between all devices, and your saves will transfer too.
Thank you to the devs for taking the time to talk to me about their game! I know I am small, but I appreciate your time, patience, and warm reception.
Liberte – My First Impressions
During GDC I was allowed to try out Liberte for PC. Liberte is a rogue-like isometric ARPG themed after the French Revolution, but this isn’t a historical game.
What sets this game apart from others in the genre is its deck-building mechanic. As you progress through the story, you find cards that will grant abilities, traits, and items. You can upgrade or swap out the cards to fit your playstyle. To play a card, you must sacrifice others to pay its cost. This creates this loop of constantly cycling through your cards to find a combination that best fits your playstyle. I was distracted by conversation and kept forgetting to build my deck. I wouldn’t advise trying to beat the game with just the basic attack.
The bit of combat I tried was a lot of fun. The dodge feels fantastic, and successfully avoiding attacks was very satisfying. I liked that unlocking new abilities changed the combat. The first ability I unlocked was a guitar bash that gave my character a nice acoustic guitar to carry on his back. I appreciate the attention to detail and love smashing my enemies with this ability. There were other fun flavor texts sprinkled throughout my playthrough that make me believe that a lot of love was put into this game.
I can’t speak on the story because I skipped through the cutscenes to get to the combat, but it seems interesting based on the summary on Steam. I did get to see a lot of the art for the cutscenes. I love the art and aesthetic of this game. One issue I had with this game is that some of the paths are a bit hard to see. I played an older build, and they might have fixed it for the release. It isn’t a terrible deal breaker, but it is something I noticed. If they didn’t, it isn’t a huge deal because there is a nice little guiding mechanic available if you ever get stuck.
I liked what I was able to try out and will be trying to get a copy for a full review. If you like ARPGs, Liberte is at least worth looking into. You can buy it for early access on Steam now, or wait till its full release on April 6, 2023. At the moment, Liberte is only planned for PC.
Pixel Ripped 1978, Possibly Your Next VR Purchase
The first game I got to try out at GDC was Pixel Ripped 1978, a VR game that lets gamers relieve their Atari nostalgia through a quirky meta experience. You play as Dot as she works alongside her human counterpart Bug, a programmer at Atari. Together you work to perfect a game, but the evil Cyblin Lord has gone back in time to make sure he is the hero of your game. Can you stop him before it is too late?
Pixel Ripped 1978 is the third game of the series, but the developers assured me that 1978 will be a standalone story. There will be references to the previous games, but you won’t need to play them to understand what is going on. You should still go out and play them, and I am hoping to make some time to try them out before the game’s release this summer.
Pixel Ripped attempts to capture the love of gaming by creating an homage to its different eras. With the Atari partnership, the developers were able to implement games from the Atari era without running into licensing issues. This love can be apparent when you look at the protagonist. Dot was inspired by the many heroes from the games the creator played growing up. Characteristics from characters like Princes Peach, Link, Samus, and Megan can be seen in Dot’s design. Ana Riberio, the creator, wanted to create a strong female character that was cool because there weren’t many back then. I think she was successful. Dot is a cool character with fun and interesting powers. You can shoot with your laser, hit things with randomly generated melee weapons, and build code that changes the game. Playing the demo left me wanting to see what else she has in store.
Pixel Ripped 1978 is an interesting meta experience where you are playing a game about playing a game. In parts, you will pick up the controller and play a game on the classic Atari in a virtual world where deal with real-world distractions. While playing the Atari, people will come to ask you questions, try to talk to you, and just try to get your attention. There was a moment I had to move my head to see around the person blocking my TV. It was incredibly immersive, and I was easily distracted by the people walking around in the background. It creates this neat dynamic between an adventure puzzle game and a simulator.
The other feature of this game is that you get to go into the game world and play as Dot. You get to move through this beautifully stylized pixel world fighting enemies. The combat in this game was arcadey and fun. The world is vibrant and colorful, and enemies are beautifully nostalgic. It was very reminiscent of the Adventure Box event in Guild Wars 2, but here you get to be in it.
This game will release on the Oculus, Steam VR, and PSVR. I tried it on the PSVR, and it was spectacular. I almost want to buy a PS5 because I felt it to be a superior VR experience to my current Meta Quest 2. Everything looked great, there was a minimal light leak, and the tracking felt great. But this isn’t a review about that.
Pixel Ripped 1978 is looking to be a fantastic dive into a nostalgic era that everyone can enjoy. The gameplay is fun, the tone is quirky, and it is a solid VR experience. Keep an eye out for news, or try out the previous two.
Exoprimal First Impressions
I got the chance to try out Capcom’s Exoprimal during its beta this weekend, and it was okay. Exoprimal is a third-person shooter where you defend against oncoming hordes of dinosaurs using an advanced exosuit. The game is coming out for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, but I only got to try out the Steam version. One thing to note about this game is that a Capcom ID is required. I am not a fan of having more logins, but at least it was easy to set up.
The exosuits are what gives this game its flavor. Each suit has its unique playstyle and role to play in a team. At the moment, there are three roles an exosuit can take: support, tank, and assault. It should go without saying that efficient teamwork in this game is more important than DPS.
The only game mode available for the beta was a type of race. Two teams race to complete a set number of objectives before ending on some light PVP at the end. A cool feature about this mode is that the losing team will get weapons or abilities that will obstruct the enemy team so that races aren’t one-sided. This makes for an interesting dynamic because while you are trying to complete objectives, you also have to worry about being invaded by an enemy player.
So what did I think of Exoprimal? The game is beautiful on the highest settings. The detail in the cutscenes, character models, and dinosaurs is breathtaking. I did notice some odd rag-dolling here and there, but nothing game-breaking. The gameplay was fun for the first couple of matches before it got stale. Changing classes does help with the monotony, but I usually filled the same role. The objectives change between matches, which is nice, but not all are fun.
This isn’t the worst horde defense game I’ve played. I love killing dinosaurs, and the world and tech look cool, but there isn’t much to this game. I am sure people who like these types of games will enjoy it more, but it is still a hard sell for $60. As it stands, it isn’t worth the money. There aren’t enough character choices or game modes to be worth the money. For this game to be successful, the story needs to be fantastic. Players will need to be hooked on the story and world before they can invest in a PVP experience that frankly has been done better and cheaper elsewhere. I am sure there will be new characters planned for after release, a mission pass, and some other carrots to dangle in front of players, but there needs to be something to justify the cost. A couple more free weekends could help to get players a taste of the game, but the game modes need to be more fun. Hopefully, as we get closer to the date, we will get a better idea of this game’s worth. The game is set to release July 13, 2023.
Have A Nice Death
A new trailer for Have a Nice Death is out and it looks so cute! You play as Death as he tries to take back control of his company and his unruly employees. This 2D rogue-like will have you jumping across the halls of Death Inc as you use magic and items to quell the unrest. If you are a fan of platformers, this should be on your list.
This game reminds me a lot of The Company Man, and I loved that game. The art is cute, the maps look cool, and the gameplay looks fun but challenging. I don’t like platformers, but I am willing to make an exception if I can find the time to play this.
You can buy Have a Nice Death on early access on Steam or wait for it to come out on the Nintendo Switch on March 22, 2022. The game costs $24.99, but it’s 10% off on Steam till March 23. With how the reviews on Steam are looking, you should at least Wishlist this game for later.
Game Review: Avatar Generations
I was sent Avatar Generations to review, and it isn’t good. Avatar Generations is the Avatar the Last Airbender gotcha game that you shouldn’t bother downloading. I haven’t been disappointed in the IP since the live-action movie.
This game crashed fresh off the install. The performance never got better as it stuttered through most of its content. Navigating anything in this game feels clunky and slow. When the game stopped crashing, I was finally able to play through the story, and it isn’t fun. The story goes through the same events as the series, and I’d rather be watching the series. You will be spending most of your time waiting on timers whether it is traveling over land or waiting on combat. The combat is boring, but at least there is an auto-battle feature.
I wouldn’t mind the combat if the animation was cool. There seem to be a few frames missing, making combat look clunky and dated. I am not a fan of the art style. This game is kind of ugly.
The main draw to a gotcha game is the collectability aspect. The unlockable characters need to look good and be desirable. I love Avatar the Last Air Bender, but there wasn’t a single character I wanted to pull for. I did use whatever gems I had to pull from the available banners and only unlocked one new character. Everything else I pulled seemed like trash. I can’t tell you how predatory the monetization is because I didn’t have it in me to play enough of this game to do more testing, but it doesn’t seem very free-to-play friendly.
Avatar Generations lacks what makes gotcha games worth the trouble. Where most games shower you with free pulls and rare characters, this one makes you sit through ads. Where most have great art and at least some fun gameplay, this one doesn’t even feel finished. I am not expecting Generations to be this high-fidelity gaming experience with a fantastic story, but I at least expect it to be playable. If you are looking for a gotcha game based on a popular IP, Pokemon Masters does it better. Don’t download this game.
A Brazil Games Preview for GDC 2023
The Game Developer Conference is less than a week away, and I have been busy setting up interviews and other activities that I am not able to reveal to you at the moment.
What I can reveal is that I have the exciting opportunity to meet with the Brazil Game Delegation and try some of the games they have planned for release. Full disclosure, I was asked to write this post, but I wasn’t paid to do so. This post will be my honest impressions based on the materials I was shown.
The Brazil Games delegation is a collection of 43 companies that are working to build the growing and vibrant gaming industry in Brazil and Latin America. I will be trying out Drakantos, a Pixel Art MMORPG by Wingeaon Game Studios, but I am hoping I can sneak in a few others. I am very excited to see what people from my side of the world bring to the table. Until then, let me tell you a bit about what they have planned for GDC.
Drakantos
I will be trying Drakantos at GDC. I was drawn to the title because I am always looking for a new MMO to get into. The art is cute, the voice acting is amazing, and the story seems interesting. I can see this game being successful for those who want an MMO that doesn’t feel like a second job. As long as there is a fun leveling experience, enough content to keep me busy, and an end game, I can see myself sinking hours into this game. It is too early to say for sure with how little I know about it now, but stay tuned for a recap.
BlackThorne Keep – Chronicles
The next game I am hoping to try out is Limiar Studio’s BlackThorne Keep – Chronicles. The game is an open-world RPG for the PC and PlayStation that promises skill-based combat. The game looks a bit clunky in the trailer, but with enough love, I can see this being a lot of fun. The biggest hurdle I can see this game having is that the world might be too open, the physics might not be good enough for the jumping puzzles, and the combat might just be button-mashing. So far, it is very reminiscent of Elder Scrolls, and if they can make that combat more fun, I am here for it. It is too early to have a real opinion based on the trailer alone, but I will be back once I get some first-hand experience. You can check it out on steam if you are curious.
Kriophobia
Fira Soft’s Kriophobia is a hand-drawn survival game that looks beautiful. I am not sure if I will be trying this game because I don’t do well with horror games, but it is one to keep on your watch list if you are
a fan of horror. Based on the trailer, it seems to have some pretty terrifying exploration through a very eerie-looking setting. Based on the music and trailer alone, I am pretty terrified. I will try to make time for this game, but I don’t want to make any promises. Maybe I can find someone to play it for me. You can check it out on Steam if you are curious.
Galaxy Kart VR
If you like cartoon kart racers and have a VR headset, you need to keep an eye out for VR Monkey’s Galaxy Kart VR. I won’t be trying it because I don’t want to risk motion sickness with how busy my schedule is, but I’ll try to check it out. The characters are hilarious, the tracks look fun, and the racing combat is exactly what I want from a kart racer. If you like Mario Kart or any games like it, you should be looking into this game.
Lux Ex Cyber Initiation
Ilex Games is coming out with its sequel to Lux Ex. Lux Ex Cyber Initiation is a cyberhero shooter that promises better graphics and more levels. The amount of weapon choices and the procedural generation of levels promises a new experience each time you play through a level. I haven’t been a huge fan of these games because I am not smart enough, but if you are in the market for this kind of shooter, the music seems cool, and the gameplay seems solid. You can wishlist it on Steam.
Tower of Samsara – Hidden Treasures
Tower of Samsara – Hidden Treasures, also by Ilex Games, is a pixel art platformer coming to the PC and Xbox. I am not a huge fan of platformers so I might not try this one. That said, the art looks neat, and the combat and puzzles look interesting. Nothing against the game’s design, I just know that I lack the abilities to be successful in a game like this. That said, if you like platformers like Shovel Knight, Tower of Samsara might be worth getting into.
Wëiph: Reins of Fate
I will be trying to play Game Plan’s Wëiph: Reins of Fate. The art looks super cute, the music is fun, and you get to play as a cat. You play as an abandoned cat named Weiph through an adventure puzzle platformer that is sure to frustrate me, but I will probably cry at the end. It sort of feels like Ori:The Will of the Wisps with visual novel elements. The game is coming for the PC, Switch, Xbox, and PS5. I don’t think I am allowed to post video so here is some official art I pulled off the internet.
What the Duck
What The Duck is an action-adventure game by Seize Studios coming out for the PC and Nintendo Switch. It looks like it is going to be a goofy Zelda game. The game does look a bit clunky in the trailer, but I am willing to overlook this if the mechanics are fun. This looks to be one of those games that won’t take itself seriously. If it is as funny as I think it is, I am here for it.
Wizavior
Wizavior is a single-player 3D platformer coming to the PC, Switch, PS5, and Xbox in 2024. I wasn’t ready for how good the music is in the trailer. The art is also cute enough that I am willing to put my biases against platformers aside. I know this game is going to frustrate me, but I need to listen to the rest of this soundtrack. I am going to try to sneak a turn or at least have someone more competent play this for me. If you aren’t easily frustrated by 3D jumping puzzles, keep an eye out for Wizavior.
Mega Battle
Last but not least we have Cavylabs’ rogue-like deck builder, Mega Battle. I have a soft spot for card games and will be trying this game. What makes this deck builder unique is its mech-building mechanic. It looks like you will get the mech you to take into battle, and I gather that your deck is influenced by the type of parts you use. This is sure to open up the game to a diverse collection of strategies. It does look like a flash game which might turn some people off, but if the card game is fun, why should it matter? It is too early to tell from just the gameplay video, but hopefully, I can come back with a more concrete opinion.You can check it out on Steam.
In Closing
The games are listed in no particular order. I understand that it is unfair to judge the games without trying, so I will reserve my criticism for when I get to play the games. It is all getting more real with each day and I can’t help but to be overcome with excitement. With that, I am off to prep for some interviews.
*Feature Image by Rafael Javier from Pixabay
Game Review: Escape From the Red Planet
I was sent Escape From the Red Planet as a review code, and while I am very grateful for the opportunity, I am not letting it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
Escape From the Red Planet is a mars themed tower defense for PC. Take control of an astronaut stranded on a dusty red planet. Build up your defenses against the onslaught of hostile wildlife while you wait for rescue. Can you survive long enough to see another day?
As far as tower defense games go, the mechanics are simple. The resource management in this game is streamlined to timers. Your survival relies on how well you can manage your time and resources. If you aren’t efficient in managing your time and resources, this game can be punishing. Don’t let this game’s simplistic style fool you; it can get intense if you aren’t careful.
The game has you defend a single point that you bolster with defenses that slowly decompose with time. As the hordes become more diverse, the trick is finding a combination that doesn’t leave you broke and defenseless. To minimize the time you are waiting on timers, you will be switching between the top-down build mode and the first-person turret mode. There is still a bit of waiting, but it doesn’t feel as bad.
There is a story for this game, but it acts more like a tutorial. Each level introduces a new mechanic and enemy before leaving the player to fend for themselves. I thought this was a clever way of teaching players the game without having to sit through slow tutorial levels. This means the story is pretty basic and only serves to move a player to the next level. There is a last-stand mode that isn’t worth your time without meaningful gameplay changes and a survival mode that unlocks only after you beat the campaign. I wish the survival mode were available from the start, but maybe they wanted to have something players could work towards.
So is this game worth buying? I love the art, the music is nice, and the gameplay relaxing. My issue is that it is repetitive, and I found long sessions of this game impossible. Whether or not you should make the purchase will come down to pricing. $5-$10 is the range where I would consider the game worth the money. Anything more would be paying too much for a game that is essentially a mobile app. If you aren’t a fan of tower defense games, I don’t see you getting much value from it. If you are a fan of the genre, this is a relaxing change of pace that you can pick up when you don’t have the time to get into anything more meaningful. Escape from the Red Planet releases on March 14, 2023, but no pricing is available. Til then, you can wishlist it on Steam.
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