Finally to the halfway point! PAX has been great so far. We saw a lot of fun games on our second day and I’ve included some highlights below.
Sublevel Zero – Sigtrap Games
Sublevel Zero aims to bring a back a genre that is all but completely forgotten, in fact, it fits into a genre that I didn’t even know there was a name for. Remember Descent? Well that was a 6DoF (or six degrees of freedom) game, and saying they just don’t make em like that anymore is something of an understatement.
It’s impossible not to see where comparisons to Descent would come from. The game takes place from a first person view inside a gunship navigating a vast facility in zero gravity. Sigtrap Games aim to bring some modern sensibilities with them, the game is best described as roguelike in nature with a procedurally generated map and the ever present risk of permanent death.
The constraints of the Indie Megabooth made it difficult to play the game with a mouse and keyboard so we had to settle for a controller. This is obviously a title that excels with a mouse, so consider that if you decide to pick it up when it eventually makes its way to consoles.
Mushroom 11 – Untame
Mushroom 11 truly pushes my ability to explain games via text to the breaking limit. I saw the game last year at PAX as well and it’s been a standout at both shows. In it you control an amorphous fungus and guide it through a post apocalyptic wasteland.
Clicking on the mushroom with your mouse will erase its cells from wherever you’re aiming and slowly rebuild the fungus on the other side. The extremely physics heavy gameplay does take a little while to wrap your head around but never feels unintuitive.
After stumbling through the first few levels we were lucky enough watch the game’s designer, Itay Keren, run through one of the later levels which included a particularly challenging segment where he had to keep the fungus inside a runaway mine cart. Itay’s play of course made us look like incompetent children by comparison, but it did a lot to illustrate the potential for this game in the speed running crowd.
The game’s heavy reliance on the mouse means you probably shouldn’t expect this one to land on your console anytime soon. You can however expect it on your PC, Mac, or Linux box in October.
Chasm – Discord Games
The Metroidvania has really seen a resurgence within the past couple years. And as Chasm‘s successful Kickstarter proves, if the big studios don’t want to make this kind of game anymore then players will happily foot the bill for indies that will.
Chasm is a great looking take on the genre. Everything from its pixel graphics to its key art is in tip top shape and really just a joy to look at. The game is not a roguelike but it does feature some random elements to it, with rooms being re-arranged upon subsequent playthroughs. Beyond that it’s business as usual, your character will collect loot from chests, and gain special abilities that will enable him to reach previously unavailable areas.
Admittedly I had some trouble with the more precision demanding jumping segments during my play. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was the controller or game, but there were times where I would swear that my button inputs were being ignored. It’s not abnormal to see stuff like that on a showfloor where everyone is manhandling the equipment, and I hope the game will run better on my own controllers at home when it releases next year.
All in all it was a great second day at the show. We each saw some amazing games and you can expect to see a few more full page spreads as we get closer to the end.
