Indie Focus: Sony At Gamescom

While I didn’t get the chance to go hands on with many of the new indie titles announced at Sony’s Gamescom, I was able to sneak a little time in to see what they were all about and who’s making them.

Unfortunately I missed out on one or two games, such as The Chinese Room’s Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, but I did catch some little snippets for an indie focus article.

Shadow of the Beast

Let’s start off with Shadow of the Beast, which is being made by the guys at Heavy Spectrum, developers of Bullion Blitz and Puzziball. Matt Birch was possibly the most overwhelmed person who ever got the opportunity to make the game that he wanted. Then again, this may have been all the energy drinks he’d been drinking…

While details on the game are rather scarce, and Matt had to remain tight lipped about pretty much everything, he did talk about how the game played in his childhood, looking at a few examples from the original and how they played on his imagination.

Why were there jet engines underground? Who lives that airship off in the distance? What is this key-guarding giant doing underground, and how did he get through that tiny doorway?

These guys are clearly incredibly passionate about Shadow of the Beast, and thanks to Sony’s backing they’re getting the chance to make their dream game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-JunUax8xg

Rime

This was absolutely a game I want to see more of, with stunning visuals and a few hints at where it might have taken inspiration from. It’s being made by the guys at Tequila Works in Spain, who were last behind Deadlight.

Initially, you might think that it’s the polar opposite to that title, with bright visuals somewhat reminiscent of The Wind Waker. However, they’re aiming for a similar concept in that the world is full of contrasts, best depicted by the fall of night and the seeming twist to a more survival horror styling, in the announcement trailer.

Other little tidbits include how it is a silent tale, with no voices or words in the game, as you try and figure out the rules of the island. Also, everything shown was real time graphics rendered by a PS4. None of that CG rubbish.

Murasaki Baby

Needless to say that this was one of the stranger titles announced, coming from the delightfully odd studio, Ovosonico. They all go to work in a house by a lake, do plenty of design work on pen and paper, for example, and there might be nude racing, or something. They’re a crazy bunch of fellows.

Murasaki Baby comes as a touch-based PS Vita game, wanting to deliver an experience which pushed boundaries. The interactions seem to be fairly simple, as you help guide the little girl back to her mummy by holding her hand and pulling her through the world.

However, that’s bound to build a kind of bond with the player, and you’ll want to look after her when she’s scared of a particular environment or enemy. This could mean she lets go of her balloon, and you have to drag it back to her, or maybe you’ll swipe away the background to somewhere a little more pleasant.

Either way, her mouth being on her forehead is little bit weird.

Resogun

You would be right in thinking that this game holds many similarities to Super Stardust HD; it does come from Housemarque after all. This game I did get a chance to play!

Instead of living on a globe, you’re on a cylinder, but this is still an arcade shooter. You move with the left stick, and shoot left or right from the right stick. As enemies come at you, there’s the same kind of balletic enemy dodging, and leading them after you.

Helping you out, you can rescue stranded humans and deliver them to a ship to get a bonus, which could be more powerful weaponry or a shield. You also have bombs, a rechargeable boost and an awesomely powerful overcharge move, which powers up as you collect more and more of the little green orbs enemies drop.

The standout thing is really all about the voxels which the entire world is made out of. Everything is comprised of little cubes, and shooting enemies or bomb shockwaves will send hundreds of the little cubes flying. When a level ends, though, it’s a whole different matter, and the entire level explodes. It’s a huge shower of cubes which really shows off the physics and graphical power of the PS4. if Super Stardust HD is anything to go by, this would be quite stunning in 3D, though they’re not talking about that yet.

If you liked Super Stardust HD, you’ll love this. It’s quite appropriate that the PS4 gets its own little twist on proceedings. Don’t forget that this one’s going to be free on PlayStation Plus, alongside DriveClub PS Plus Edition.

Helldivers

If any of you have played Magicka, you’ll have some idea of how Helldivers might pan out. It comes from the same guys at Arrowhead Game Studios, so expect “accidental” friendly fire, and gruellingly difficult levels.

Instead of magic, it’s space marines, dropping onto bug-infested planets to complete various objectives on sprawling, open maps. The chitinous enemies combined with space marines are clearly very reminiscent of Starship Troopers, and the relentless onslaught of bugs is often pretty brutal – as I watched a foursome tackle the game over their shoulders.

In particular, there’s one giant hand-like crawling creature which needs you to get around behind and deal damage to their weak spot. Fine in isolation, but when two, then three and four of them come at you, all the time with smaller aliens swarming around, it puts the “hell” into the title.

Luckily, you have a little fire support which you can call upon, with airstrikes, grenades, thermal charges and so forth coming in the form of D-pad combinations. It’s an interesting little inclusion, inherited from Magicka’s elemental spell casting, and one which will inevitably pile on extra pressure when enemies are bearing down on you and your friends are falling.

If you want an intense co-operative shooter, this looks like your best bet. Just don’t expect it to be easy!

All of these games are a fantastic reminder of how Sony are supporting new and interesting developers and games.

From the passion and deep investment behind Shadow of the Beast and the wonderful world of Rime, to Ovosonico’s uniquely intriguing Murasaki Baby and Helldivers’ brutal co-op shooter, there’s something for everyone here.