After covering the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition 2020 I was looking forward to the Summer Edition. Little did I know that the LudoNarraCon 2020 was just around the corner. Basically, it is the same type of event as the Steam Game Festival, except this one is solely focused on narrative games. It’s like it was made for me! Naturally, I went on to play 15 more demos.
Since a few of the Steam Game Festival demos were available again, I added them to the playlist too, bringing the total up to 19! Really enjoyed covering this festival, and once again found some more gems that I want to keep an eye on.
Full playlist of the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition 2020, featuring 20 demos!
Of the 20 demos that I tried I during the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition 2020 I managed to narrow it down to my top 10! All here for different reasons, I am confident there are some gems. I am going to be keeping my eye on them all to see how they do during their release and beyond.
In no particular order these are my top picks!
Lord Winklebottom Investigates – It’s the 1920s and the world’s foremost detective is about to embark on his most challenging case yet. Thankfully, in this world that’s not quite like our own, there’s nobody better to crack the case than the great detective and gentleman giraffe, Lord Winklebottom.
Moncage – Moncage is an adventure puzzle game, where the player will explore a lonely world trapped in a mysterious cubic device. Each face of this cubic device will display a different scene. The player will navigate through the island and the factory by finding the connections among the scenes.
Liberated – Enter an action-adventure game inside a living, hand-drawn comic book. Uncover an alarmingly current cyberpunk reality where human rights are dying away. Take up arms and solve puzzles in a noir rain-soaked city that’s desperate for justice.
Coffee Talk – Coffee Talk is a coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator about listening to fantasy-inspired modern peoples’ problems, and helping them by serving up a warm drink or two.
Roki – Röki is an adventure game inspired by Scandinavian folklore – a dark, contemporary fairy tale underpinned by a touching narrative, an alluring art style, ancient puzzles and atmospheric exploration.
A Space for the Unbound – A slice-of-life adventure game with beautiful pixelart set in the late 90s rural Indonesia that tells a story about overcoming anxiety, depression, and the relationship between a boy and a girl with supernatural powers
Hazel Sky – Hazel Sky is a heartfelt adventure about a young engineer facing his destiny and his desires. Fix ramshackle flying machines and jump, climb, swing, and slide through a beautiful, mysterious world.
Superliminal – Perception is reality. In this mind-bending first-person puzzler, you explore a surreal dream world and solve impossible puzzles using the ambiguity of depth and perspective.
Embr – Embr is a frantic firefighting game set in a hyper-capitalist reality where traditional emergency services are a thing of the past. Scale buildings, smash windows, fight fires and save lives either alone or with up to four players. Embr is the last stand in a world ablaze.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale – You’re a dog wielding a magic brush! Use painting powers to explore, solve puzzles and make friends in this top-town adventure game. From creators on Wandersong + Celeste.
If you want to know more information, you can find out why these games stoof out in my video below, as well as see some game play!
Video of my Top 10 Demos from the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition 2020!
The first Steam Game Festival that got my attention was the Winter Edition 2019, where around 8 game demos were available to try for a couple of days. I didn’t make any content about them at the time but I tried 4 of them – Spiritfarer and The Drifter being stand outs – and had a really great time. I loved the whole idea of showcasing some games that you may otherwise not see and was delighted to see the Festival return bigger and better in the Spring.
For the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition 2020 I decided to make some videos. If I remember correctly there were around 40 demos available for 4 days. I played as many as I could, recording the experience, and then made a highlight video of my favorite experiences. I managed to play 20, which are all available to view in the playlist below.
Even though the festival is long over, that doesn’t change my opinion of how much attention some of these games deserve!
Full playlist of the Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition 2020, featuring 20 demos!
Heavy Rain is an interactive drama game in which your decisions affect the outcome. The story is about the Origami Killer, A serial killer who targets young boys and always leaves them with an origami figure in their hand and an orchid on their chest. The story unfolds as you play from the point of view of four different people. Ethan Mars – a troubled dad. Scott Shelby – an asthmatic private detective. Norman Jayden – a drug addicted FBI profiler. And Madison Paige – an insomniac photographer.
The screenshot feature didn’t exist on PS3
The game starts with a normal day in the life of Ethan to allow you to get used to the controls and then things start to heat up from there. It was so engaging, I really grew to care about the characters and was rooting for a happy ending! Some parts were intense, some parts were emotional and some parts were bad ass! I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.
I strongly suggest playing this game through without reading anymore information than that. Don’t look up the best outcome, don’t read any spoilers, I wouldn’t even google the name. I googled a couple of things while I was playing and I’m so pleased I didn’t accidentally spoil it for myself. Use your instincts, make your own decisions and see how it ends for you.
I played with a regular DS3, the game does have some motion control sections
The game is a set story, you are free to do what you want within reason but whatever you do, the story will keep flowing. You can’t choose the character you are playing, you will play the character whos story you are focused on at that time. You can walk around, hear the characters thoughts and interact with the environment if there is a prompt to do so. It is very much like an interactive movie. The camera angles are set, you can’t manually move them but you can alternate between different views to see different areas of the room you are in. This did remind me a tad bit of the original Resident Evil.
There are three difficulty settings. I thought mine was on moderate but when I had a look it was on hard so I have no idea, you can always go into options and change it if it’s too hard/easy for you. You must stay alert throughout the game. It is played with prompts that appear on-screen telling you what to press and how to press it. Sometimes it’s fast, sometimes it’s slow, some times it’s tap it and sometimes it’s hold it. Sometimes you will get options of what to ask or how to reply to someone in a conversation. Read them as fast as possible and choose one because if you aren’t quick enough the game will sometimes choose for you. Speed and accuracy aren’t my best skills when playing games so I spent most of the fights screaming and hitting the wrong buttons but it is all part of the fun. There was one particular part that I really struggled with the controls, crawling through some tunnels and could I get him to go in the direction I wanted? Could I heck. That was the biggest flaw in the game for me.
You can tell how new I was to gaming, the thing I am describing above is QTE’s
The music was brilliant, it really set the tone. It got the emotions going at some points and the adrenaline going at others. It was so on point, brilliant. The game wasn’t too long either and kept me hooked the entire time. It took me three good sessions to complete, but once you’ve finished you will probably want to play through again while making different choices than the first time. You can also chapter select to play them out differently and extend the game even further. As far as I know there are 18 endings to find and once you’ve unlocked them all you will win a trophy.
I bought my game second-hand, the box was the normal version but the disk was actually the Move version. I panicked a bit at first as I don’t have a Move controller but once the game had installed (which took a LONG time) I found that it gives you the option between the move and the standard controller.
Overall, it’s different, it’s haunting, it’s unique and I hope they make many more like it, in the same structure but with different, equally great stories to tell. I love it when a game makes you think long after you stop playing and I am still thinking about it so it has definitely stuck a chord with me somehow!
Only read on if you have completed the game.. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
I managed to go 13 years without getting this game spoiled. Pretty impressive.
I am not a fan of first person games but I knew this game was a classic and when I picked it up extremely cheap on Steam I knew I had to play it.. if for any reason for the history lesson.
As it turns out.. I probably would have benefited from some extra context.
Everyone else – Portal is such a fun game! It’s so funny!
Me – This is the most stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life. Let’s just forget Portals exist, do everything wrong and micro analyse every little thing.
I can’t even put it any other way.. my play-through sucks. However, now I feel much better equipped to attempt Portal 2!
What Remains of Edith Finch was the first full play-through I did of a free PS Plus game since I started covering the monthly games on my channel.
It was already on my radar but playing through the first story had me sold. And it kept getting better.
This is another game that I would like to recommend playing through yourself before watching any other play-throughs, as I believe that would really enhance your experience. If not though, my play-through is here and I had a great time. The game really delivered and had me thinking for days. I couldn’t be more satisfied with what I took away from this story.
Also, my first full play-through with my full new set up! Much better than the old headset I used to use.
Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 was my first time recording an open world game. And also probably my last.
As a massive MCU fan I was extremely exited for this game. I pre-ordered and decided I was going to cover the game on my channel. In hindsight, I probably would have been better off just playing it in my own time, but that’s a lesson learned. See.. I am a procrastinator.
Approximately 2 years later I finally completed my play-through. The game really ramped up in the final third. Admittedly, this is not my best series. It does, however, witness my evolution from recording and editing everything on my PS4 console, to getting a proper microphone and capture card, and also upgrading from Microsoft Paint to Gimp for my thumbnails.
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a short, free, prequel to Life is Strange 2.
I played Life is Strange before I started YouTubing. It is a prime example of a game that I wished I had recorded so I could have shared my thoughts and looked back on the experience. So when this popped up on the PS Store I had to give it a go.
I still haven’t gotten around to Life is Strange: Before the Storm or Life is Strange 2, but they are on the list. For now, this was a lovely little experience that I am glad I played.
What initially started as a Let’s Play unfortunately got abandoned.
This is a very important statement – I do not do horror. This game started out so well. I was so impressed by the detective sections and the puzzles. It felt so great to play. Then came the moment. A moment that scarred me to this very day. The game isn’t technically a horror but I felt like I couldn’t continue.
I do want to say that it is worth a watch. The game did so many things well. If it had continued how it started it probably would have been one of my favorite games. Instead, it was my first failed Let’s Play. In case you haven’t noticed.. I am a top class wimp. I still sometimes re-watch the end of my play-through, just for shits and giggles.
CtrlAltNoob 