Like Bringing a Caterpie to a Dragonite Fight
Video Review
Game Details and Transcript of Review
One of the things I like about going to indie events in Japan is that you occasionally see a game that tries to do something new. They're not always successful, but I applaud the effort because at least they're attempting to resuscitate innovation in an industry where imitation has rendered it comatose.
ViseRest by 832carnival is such a game, and while not perfectly executed at least it tries to push boundaries.
Here are the game's highlights. You and your opponent start on opposite sides of a 2D field, and summon monsters of various types to defeat each other. Summoning monsters costs mana, and each monster costs a different amount to bring to the field. There also doesn't seem to be a limit to how many of your summoned pals can be on the field at the same time.
While your mana pool begins small, you have the option to increase its limit up to five times. The higher the mana limit, the faster it regens. Later in the game, you gain the ability to use support spells. These effect the entire field, and let you do useful things like slow all enemies, attack all of them directly, or heal all of your own units. Each use of an ability increases the mana cost for the next use. After completing a stage, you receive a point that can be used to upgrade one of your units. Interestingly, you can downgrade units freely. This allows you to get back any points you've spent on them to invest in other units, which is a nice touch as it means you're not locked into any permanent choices. As you can see, ViseRise is....well, it's hard to classify in terms of a single genre. It's really a chimera or composite. While the action takes place on an oversized 2D field, it's not really a side-scroller or platfomer in any traditional sense. It's more like an action game, but all the action is done by the summoned monsters, which you don't directly control. Likewise, while there are RPG and strategy elements, they're fairly basic. Of these elements, the strategy ones are most the promising in theory, but in practice require more development. Now, while I imagine that in the intended strategy aspects of the game will involve which units to deploy and when to deploy them, the Digige version limits you to one unit, the imp, while your opponent has access to all units and then some. At first glance, being able to only summon imps while your enemy summons succubi and knights may seem a little like bringing a caterpie to a dragonite fight, that isn't the case. In reality, the strategy elements amount to a test of your ability to zerg rush. Leveling up units helps this merely by making your units less squishy. I'm not sure how this overall dynamic would change if the other units were unlocked and available for use. Don't get me wrong: this is a fun demo. And hell, the purpose of Digige is for devs to receive feedback on their games from gamers. That's why it's one of the few events in Tokyo specifically set up for playing demos at the event itself. I like the fact that ViseRest draws elements from different genres together in an attempt to make something new, but more reflection on how these elements can operate synergistically would create a killer experience. Related Content
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A Mobile Demo from Digige Expo
Video Review
Game Details and Transcript of Review
Check out the game on the dev's Unity Room page.
Today I'd like to introduce an alpha showcased at Digige Expo 2017. It's an action RPG with a musou feel called Black Blood Breaker by the indie developer Hamazaki Factory. The company focuses on mobile game development, which is still kind of rare to see at events, but we're lucky that there's a playable demo of 5 stages available on the dev's Unity Room site. These include an intro to the game, 2 fully playable areas, and 2 boss-rush stages.
Just a Short Jaunt through a Necropolis
Gameplay Video
Game Review
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This version of the demo (which is the second I've played) gives a good taste of both the atmosphere of the game and how the overall story will develop. In typical adventure game format, the player initially has limited access to the world but gains access to other areas by gathering special equipment, defeating enemies, and solving environmental puzzles.
A Dystopian Platformer whose BGM is Anything But
Gameplay Video
Game REview
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An ARPG with a Musou Feel
Rasetsu: Legend of the Demon Seal is an ARPG that plays like Ys and spawns monsters like a musou game. The demo released at C91 has quite a few developed stages, making it much longer than most other demos commonly found there. Based on this, my video review this week is a mixture of real-time gameplay and selected scenes with commentary.
Gameplay Video
Old School Platformer Meets Yuri
Gameplay Video
Game Review
My Name is a side-scrolling platformer with mechanics reminiscent of old school classics like the original Rygar or Wizards and Warriors. As of this demo, the story is almost non existent; as much as I can gather the female protagonist is trying to get her memories back.
7/28/2017 0 Comments Infinos Gaiden Gameplay and Review
Old-School Shoot-Em-Up Arcade Goodness
Game Overview
This short demo was designed to be reminiscent of old-school arcade games, and draws influence from titles such as Gradius and R-Type.
Because demos tend to be short, I've decided to approach reviewing them differently. Instead of putting together highlights with commentary as I have done with past reviews, I'll simply provide commentary and reactions as I play the game. Game Review Video
7/21/2017 0 Comments Magical X Spiral Game Review
A Vertical Platformer with RPG Elements
Game Overview
A video review of the Japanese indie game Magical x Spiral by developer Broken Desk. The game was picked up at Comiket 91, although I hear it is now available on Steam with an English translation. I've reached out to the developers for an interview, but have heard nothing back. If I do, I'll be sure to update accordingly.
Video Review
Clerics Shine in this Resource Management SRPG
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