This Saturday Jared, Lucio and I returned to PAX for a second day of fun and games and a far more crowded show floor. I didn’t have the opportunity to see as much today, but we still had the opportunity to get some hands on time with some exciting stuff.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes – Steel Crate Games
We didn’t have an appointment to see this game, but it’s one of those titles where when you see it you just know you have to play it. Keep Talking is a cooperative game which places one player in the hottest of all hot seats – Diffusing a bomb while another player (Or players) walks them through the process using a EOD manual.
It is perhaps a concept which doesn’t sound especially engaging on paper, but when Jared, Lucio and I sat down with it, it was easy to get caught up in the tension of urgency of the task, making for a pretty great experience.
Pictured: Jared not exploding, courtesy of Lucio and I.
The devs had a Occulus Rift set up for one player, Jared, to slip on which gave him the sole view of a ticking time bomb, complete with wires, buttons and switches. Meanwhile, Lucio and I were presented with an actual binder on how to diffuse bombs. With a 5-minute timer ticking down to detonation, Jared had to describe the bomb and using his description had to identify the right process to disarm it (For example, our bomb had six wires, none of which were yellow, so the manual advised to to only cut the fourth wire). We didn’t have an opportunity to chat with the developers, so there is still a lot to find out about this game, but our brief hands-on experience was a blast.
VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action – Sukeban Games
VA-11 HALL-A, or Valhalla, is a cyberpunk bartending game. I did a double take when I heard that premise, and actually had to clarify a third time when I confirmed. In Valhalla you play as a bartender in a distant future with a definite Bladerunner vibe.
In the game, patrons will visit your bar and make small talk with you and order drinks. Your job will be to make cocktails, mixing ingredients and serving beverages, but also to listen to your guests: Find out what they want and what they like, crafting their visit to their tastes. Maybe your orders a drink but you can give them a better one? Serve it up and you can score a bigger tip. It’s a concept that I feel is fair to call bizarre, but I will tell you I was surprisingly engaged by, and I’m looking forward to an opportunity to try this title out further.
Kona – Parabole
Kona, from Canadian studio Parabole, is a sleek-looking survival investigation game that takes place in a remote Canadian village in 1970s. You play as a P.I. who gets caught in a (beautifully rendered) blizzard, finding the town completely deserted and a few odd clues to guide you. Almost immediately as the demo started you are left to your own devices. The developer told me that while you can get some direction from your journal, the three-square mile map was open to be explored however you liked. I didn’t find much in my time with Kona, but I did have a really good time exploring the isolated settlement, especially since the game has a drivable truck and snowmobile.
While a title like Gone Home loses me a little in the sense that it doesn’t really have a “game” aspect, Kona wins points by simply putting a few constraints around its gameplay. Your main character is vulnerable – He has health, he needs warmth, he can die. Spend too long outside without a warm coat? Your character is going to suffer for it, or even perish if you can’t find a fire to warm up at in time. This small tweak, although not present in the demo I played, goes a long way to make an interactive story feel more like a game and I look forward to getting the opportunity to spend more time with this title.
