Reaching the summit, ghost hotels, and horrific roots
Hello everyone! I can’t believe it is Friday already. This week I have been hard at work on a new trailer fro the game I am currently working on, alongside getting our Steam Next Fest demo prepped. For all those indie teams out there doing the same - make sure you look after yourselves! It’s an incredibly stressful time, so just make sure you take a few moments every day to try and de-stress and refocus. I probably should take my own advice.
As a result of the insane task ahead of me, I didn’t actually play many games. I am actually playing through A Link to the Past again, which has brought me a lot of comfort during these long rendering waits. I have a few games I plan to tackle this weekend, including the first game in the dispatch this week, so let’s get to it!
What came out this week?
Cairn
Developer: The Game Bakers
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page
While Peak may have set the world on fire with it’s comedic take on climbing mountains, Cairn from the folks over at The Game Bakers looks to be delivering a more serious take on mountaineering.
You play as Aava, a climber who is determined to be the first to reach the summit of Mount Kami. The conditions are brutal, so as you climb you will need to manage your supplies, plan your climbing route, and survive the elements. Thankfully you will have a little friendship on the way as you meet companions, and discover the history of Mount Kami along the way.
While Peak was a very silly affair, Cairn is more akin to something like Jusant, but even further down the simulation route. You will be managing not just climbing materials, but your hunger and thirst too. What is super neat is you can climb anywhere on the mountain, so you really need to consider your options before committing to a route.
The steam page says that each wall feels like a boss fight, and considering that the developers were behind the excellent Boss battler Furi, I think they know a thing or two about creating some high tension moments. The art style is also gorgeous, and I am a sucker for this mix of realism meets robotic future vibes that they have going here. I am intrigued to learn more. I’ll see you on the summit.
THE SPIRIT LIFT
Developer: prettysmart games
Steam rating: Positive
Store page
While every third email we get these days is spruiking their version of a roguelike deckbuilder, something about THE SPIRIT LIFT really grabbed me when it landed in my inbox this week. This charming 90’s romp takes place in Lucid Falls, where eight teens have wandered off from the graduation party and discovered a magical elevator that takes them through 13 floors of nasties in the haunted Vexington Hotel.
Fights take place in the fashion that you would expect, but having three party members, each with their own items and perks does seem like an interesting prospect. There are four deck focuses to build with too, which makes me think there’s a lot of variety awaiting those who have the brains and patience to make interesting builds.
What really got me interested however was the in-between parts of THE SPIRIT LIFT. It looks like you will get to explore the hotel and search for clues and unravel a mystery while learning about the backstories of your party comp. That seems like a nice little twist to what is becoming a very well-worn genre. I am cautiously optimistic about this one, let me know how it is if you do pick it up.
Earth Must Die
Developer: Size Five Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page
I have a soft spot for the ole Point-and-Click Adventure genre, and the very stylish Earth Must Die seems to be getting quite the positive reception this week. I had never heard of this one until I did a scout about on Steam, but this sci-fi comedy about an alien dictator who has sworn to wipe out Earth after the Terranoids took over his kingdom. You know, regular stuff.
Reading the Steam store page, which is all written from the perspective of the dictator, I was starting to get worried. The humour wasn’t landing for me personally, but after watching some videos and reading the Steam reviews, I think I am on board. Apparently it is very British, which we don’t often see in games so I am keen to give it a shot.
The voice cast is apparently pretty stacked with well known British comedians, but the only name I recongnized was Ben Starr, so your mileage may vary. But it’s great to see another high production value Adventure game out so soon after Dispatch dropped last year.
Roots Devour
Developer: Rewinding Games
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page
Roots Devour is probably the most interesting game I found this week. This is a strategic exploration game that unfolds a sprawling scenario based on how you connect cards together using twisted roots powered by an ancient god that has a thing for blood.
As you connect cards and watch the chaos unfold, you will explore four distinct regions, each with their own dark secrets to uncover. Part resource management, part deck builder, Roots Devour seems to wrap all of this up in a Lovecraftian package that seems incredibly compelling.
A very different style of game, it does remind me of The Horror Of Highbrook that was also a spooky narrative game where the story was crafted via a deck of cards. Roots Devour looks to have more gameplay and puzzles to it though, but I am very interested to see more card games try interesting new mechanics like this.
Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party?
Developer: Sting
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page
I am not going to lie, I don’t fully understand what Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? Is doing, but after reading the Stream reviews it seems to have a very dedicated fan base who are praising it’s unique mashup of RPG mechanics, deck building, and strategic decisions. A virtual board game, Viractal is a procedural board which means each time you venture out alone or with friends, the flow of the game will always have something exciting to keep you on your toes.
There’s a lot of vibes in this one, like a classic Japanese franchise like Dragon Quest fell into an interactive board game or something. One Steam review says “It’s like if Mario Party, D&D, and Slay The Spire all had a baby”, and I can’t even parse in my head what that means, but I am pretty interested to check it out.
If you are unlike me and don’t want to take a punt on an unknown board game however, Steam is running their Board Game Fest right now, so you can find plenty of digital tabletop goodness that might be more your speed. For me though, I want to see what Viractal is all about.
That’s a wrap
Quickly before I sign out, things are progressing really well here on the Indie Dispatch front. Patrick is days away from finishing the logo, which I have to say, looks pretty spiffy. While he has been doing art, I have been setting up some interviews with some developers for March, which is pretty nerve wracking as I haven’t done any interviews in about two years now. I am excited though, it’s going to be fun.
I am also working on a couple of reviews for Pixels for Breakfast that you folks might be interested in. Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot which we included in the dispatch last week, and another upcoming indie game for later in Feb that I am excited to check out. The plan is to keep reviews over on Pixels so we can focus on the dispatches and interviews here, but I will start doing some indie quick looks from time to time whenever we can get that setup sorted.
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See you next week - Steve