It’s time for a not-very-festive edition of Indie Insights! If you would like some Christmas-themed content from me for some reason, check out my list of holiday horror movies. As it stands, I don’t think I have ever played a Christmas-themed video game apart from a hidden object game. Hidden object games are a love of mine because they not only make the clicky sound in my brain when I find things, but there are one billion of them, and they all have unintentionally hilarious plots and writing.
Anyway, it’s very early on for a massive tangent. I was going to mention The Game Awards, but right before I started working on this, the baffling, seemingly scam game The Day Before was released to overwhelmingly negative reviews. That alone would be enough to point and yell, “I KNEW IT!” at my computer screen. Still, I am doubly doing it because mere days after its release, the studio Fntastic has said they are closing due to the financial failure of the game, taking any profits, and running. At the time of writing this, it has been two days.
Yeah, seems legit.
*UPDATE* Since I wrote the opening of this, Fntastical nuked all their socials, The Day Before is no longer available on Steam, and publisher Mytona released a statement saying everyone that wants a refund will receive one.
Now, onto some games that are real and work and have studios that lasted more than two days after the release of their games.
Raccoo Venture – Nintendo Switch
Raccoo Venture is an adventure starring a raccoon. In this throwback platformer from developer Diego Ras, you are a raccoon on a quest to retrieve your cherished family chess set. The chess set is also an ancient relic crafted from equal parts wickedness and good that keeps the world in balance. A group called the Tattooed Tatus has come to steal it for nefarious purposes.
Now, it’s up to you to follow the trail, reclaim your beloved chess set, and save the world. It’s all about collecting a million things, bouncing on enemies’ heads, and exploring the landscape for secrets. It’s a fun adventure, absolutely stuffed with things to collect, which is my favorite type of thing. There are not only the pieces of the chess set to find but also magical secrets, hidden coins, and many different outfits that you can change into.
The whole game is reminiscent of Banjo Kazooie in mechanics and aesthetics and captures the nostalgia well. It’s been out on Steam in early access since 2019 but finally came to consoles this week.
Raccoo Venture is out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Death Crown – Steam
This game is metal as hell. I discovered this while browsing the sale section of the Humble store, and the hand-drawn art got me to stop scrolling. Then I watched the trailer, complete with a sweet metal soundtrack, and clicked buy. And now we are here. Death Crown is a minimalist tower defense strategy game where you attack opposing kingdoms and increase your mighty empire.
From the Steam page, “Death Crown is a minimalist real-time strategy game in a 1bit style, where you will play as Death herself, commanding her legions of death, and punishing humanity’s Kingdom for its overconfidence.”
Place your mines to make money, your towers to defend you, and your armies to attack as you expand ever outwards toward your enemies. You also have to factor in black crystals around the map and build close to them to capture them and acquire their power. It’s simple, the art is striking, and I can’t stop playing it.
Death Crown is out now on Steam.
The Mermaid’s Tongue – Steam Demo
Announced at The Game Awards, the next installment in the adventures of Detective Grimoire is on the way in 2024 from SFB Games. This point-and-click adventure sees Grimoire and Sally investigating the murder of submarine Captain Magnus Mortuga, who was found dead inside a small locked room in his submarine. With only one way in and out and a mysterious stone cauldron at the center of the room, who could have done this, and how?
This short demo teases the opening of the mystery with Grimoire and Sally checking out the area where the submarine is docked and the scene of the crime. Moving from a dilapidated inn to a small outside area and, finally, the submarine you can click on and investigate anything. There are several clues to collect, which you can access from the menu and examine when necessary. It’s a great example of the kind of gameplay you will face in the full game, and if you’ve never played Detective Grimoire before, it’s an excellent way to get a feel for the world. Now I can’t wait for 2024 to come around so I can figure out the murderer,
The Mermaid’s Tongue demo is available now, with the full game due in 2024.
Europa – Steam Demo
This game caught my eye during the Wholesome Snack event ahead of The Game Awards. You are a young android boy alone on the terraformed moon Europa. The rest of the people have gone to live on an island in the sky, and it’s your time to go and join them. You can run, slide, jump, and glide around the world, finding emeralds and missing pages from your father’s journal that he left you.
It’s a beautiful world, heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli and Zelda: Breath of the Wild. There are robot creatures around that could easily be from either property, and the landscape reminds me of Shadow of the Colossus but brighter. The short demo gives you a feel of the movement mechanics and some minor puzzles you will encounter in the full game. While there were no threats to encounter in the demo, the trailer suggests there will be some. It’s a gorgeous-looking game that needs a little tweaking in the camera and controls before its release in early 2024, but I can’t wait to come back.
The Europa demo is available now on Steam with the full release planned for April 16, 2024.
Upcoming Releases
- Adventure strategy sim Astronimo comes to PC on December 15.
- Cooking visual novel Manitas Kitchen comes to PC on December 15.
- Action adventure Loot River comes to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 19.
- Hex-grid-based strategy Growth comes to Nintendo Switch on December 21.
- Point and click mystery Three Minutes to Eight comes to PC, iOS, Android, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 21.
