The less I say about the industry as a whole, the better. So 'Chronoquartz' was a treat. It had good puzzles and a handful of clever reveals. Though its English translations (from a french developer) did lead to one section being very obscure/difficult to understand what you were meant to be doing. But it was good enough to be one of the very few games that I’ve “replayed” for its good ending. So I’d probably give it a strong 7.[hr] And for the last few days of February (good riddance), I attempted to play through twenty-five demos for NextFest. (Before it ends tomorrow.) So here’s a list of what I tried and how I felt… [b][u]Cream Of The Crop[/u][/b] [hider=Hark The Ghoul] A kingsfield-like that knows how to have fun. There’s no other way to put it. It rewards your exploration and experimentation. It has challenges and plenty of ways to overcome it. (And unlike other recent titles in its genre. It doesn’t have inexplicable and obvious political pandering.) So huzzah. Easily the best and most expansive demo of the whole lot. [/hider] [hider=Helix: Descent N Ascent] My complete surprise of the bunch. Didn’t expect much & this was the first demo that made me sad that I had to stop playing it. (It also was one of the very few games that had no bugs in it.) It’s a puzzle game with very clever gameplay/level design. (Though it does make you play a Donkey Kong arcade mini-game.) And I’ll likely buy this one on release, if the price is right. [/hider] [hider=Volding Bound] A third-person shooter/creature collector is an odd but interesting game. The demo was fun, rewarded exploration and worked surprisingly well. (Considering how many games that struggle with controls.) It’s the only demo’d game that I added to my wishlist, as it comes out in a few months. [/hider] [hider=The Last Gas Station] Instantly reminded me of Easy Delivery Company. It was bug-free, and had an easy to understand gameplay loop. Seems like it has a potential for narrative/being a good example of the “cozy” genre. [/hider] [b][u]Solid Demo[/u][/b] [hider=Grime 2] Now don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to this release. (Probably the most out of anything on the list.) It’s just the demo was a solid tease of (two) bosses & a sample of the new abilities in this game. With mostly large and empty areas to explore. (With an introduction of a female sidekick character/rival?) I’ve been burned on good metroidvania sequels before. (Looking at you Blasphemous 2.) And it did have a bug that froze my character when I tried to use a save point one too many times. But I’m hoping this game will be on par with its predecessor. [/hider] [hider=Nightmare Circus] This one feels like a solid “action adventure” game. And I already feel something for the pitiful puppet MC. Feels on par with something like “Death’s Door” maybe. (Just because the combat takes place in a lot of arenas.) [/hider] [hider=Tabula] A solid (and surprisingly challenging) puzzle game. Huge props for how much content that it had for the demo. (Thirty whole puzzles compared to some that had *literally one* or four.) [/hider] [hider=CALX] Sable-Souls, but this one was actually entertaining. It definitely needs some polish & I got stuck in the terrain several times. But I’d like to play the full release whenever it comes out. [/hider] [hider=Feline Forensics and the Meowseum Mystery] I wouldn’t mind having another fun and simple “Duck Detective” style game. And this one seems like it’ll be a fun time. (It does need some polish with its tutorialization though.) [/hider] [b][u]Underwhelming[/u][/b] [hider=Darwin’s Paradox:] This was my first true disappointment. Because I think it’s just a straight up poor demo of what could still be a decent stealth/platforming game. It had problems running smoothly & the sections it chose to highlight were trial-and-error & very frustrating. Then, it delivers a potentially fun skill to utilize…and then the demo is already over. (Konami’s at it again.) [/hider] [hider=Gloomveil] This one has potential maybe? I liked the art style and premise that it’s one of those “tells you nothing” style of games. But I literally finished the demo after doing basically nothing but roll my pill-bug ass around the levels. It’s only notable bit is when I had a Skyrim Chicken moment, and I won’t go into further detail. [/hider] [hider=Walk The Frog] A puzzle game that basically plays itself? Lots of ‘fun’ dialogue and childish humor that will probably entertain the kids that it was made for. [/hider] [hider=Piece by Piece] Walk The Frog, but with infinitely less charm. This is incredibly dull. There’s not much more I can add. (Except that my controller didn’t work at all, despite saying it would on the store page.) It also apparently has the exact same name of another different cozy-style game with a demo. Bad luck there. [/hider] [hider=Planet Of Lana 2] It’s a sequel to a cute platformer/puzzle game that I didn’t play. And these few separate puzzles from different sections of the game, didn’t really make me want to buy either of them. [/hider] [hider=The Mermaid Mask] Besides the downgrade name change. (Original being The Mermaid’s Tongue.) The demo was finished in fifteen minutes of “gameplay” with a single deduction puzzle. I will probably still get this game (on sale), because I liked the other Detective Grimoire games. But this demo was pretty lame. Not gonna lie. [/hider] [hider=Solateria] We have Hollow Knight at home. There were several of those in the NextFest. This one was just the one I tried. Being the first game that I played - and I got to say - I’ve already forgotten about it. (Though I didn’t really like the parry-focused combat.) [/hider] [b][u]Terrible[/u][/b] [hider=Crystalfall] Furry Path Of Exile, and my lion warrior sucked all kinds of ass. There was no real loot & the "identify scroll” equivalent unlocked basic ass abilities (that didn’t work well anyway). [/hider] [hider=Frog Holm] Very buggy “““mystery””” game. And I got lost as to what I was meant to do. So I didn’t (or possibly got soft-locked and couldn’t) play on. [/hider] [hider=Iridescent] A college student’s first 2d action platformer. Where the dash barely moves far enough to do its own tutorial sections & I recorded myself hitting the same basic enemy after I “parry staggered it” for over two straight minutes of me just clicking my mouse. This game does not belong on Steam, friend. [/hider] [hider=Queen’s Domain] Kingsfield-like. It’s HARD. (Dark Souls 2 hard.) Your character is slow and sucks at everything. Fight an enemy, fight an enemy, fight an enemy, fight an enemy, fight an enemy, fight an enemy, fight-oh you died. [i][b]See, that was so hard.[/b][/i] Fuck off with that. [/hider] [hider=Tomorrowness] Something I’d expect for free on Itch.io. It’s a cartoon “““music in heavy quotations””” platformer where you die in one hit & get a wholesome “Hang In There” quote every time you die. That made me question if this was supposed to be a ragebait game. [/hider] [b][u]Didn’t work[/u][/b] [hider=Awaysis] Controller recommended and controller didn’t work. So that’s as far as I got, unfortunately. (The same devs that made Skulls Of Shogun. A PS4 tactics game that also basically didn’t work for me. Because it was so buggy.) [/hider] [hider=PSI] Supposed to be a “climbing game” about junk-collecting frogs. But it’s just an Only Up style platforming game, with a jetpack jump that does not work properly. [/hider] [hider=Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times] The Yogscast are making this puzzle game & it was an absolute mess to play. Has obnoxious design and UI. [/hider] [hider=Terrinoth: Heroes Of Descent] We have ‘Divinity: Original Sin’ at home. But the controller didn’t work & the camera made me stop playing it, before I got very far. [/hider]