Jezbollah
Member
Awesome, thank you. I'll check them out!
EGX (Eurogamer Expo) 2016 - Longer Queues Than Disneyworld
- Thread starter Spookie
- Start date
Awesome, thank you. I'll check them out!
brokenbeans
Banned
Little nightmares looks awesome.
Went to Snake Pass again and once again only got to 19/20 before needing help haha (I'm the mixed-race guy in the Red Hoodie).
Informed the guy sitting with me I will be back again tomorrow. Finally getting used to the snake controls!
Motorsport Manager has won me over today after speaking to a developer about it. Sounds like my sort of Strategy Game.
The 3 Dev Sessions I went to were amazing (Endless Space 2, Forza Horizon 3 and Sega Strategy Games). Ralph Fulton made me want to go home and play Forza Horizon 3...but I still got 2 more days to get through!
Little Nightmares is the first game on my list for tomorrow. The queue always puts me off after looking it at, so I wanna get in there early.
Informed the guy sitting with me I will be back again tomorrow. Finally getting used to the snake controls!
Motorsport Manager has won me over today after speaking to a developer about it. Sounds like my sort of Strategy Game.
The 3 Dev Sessions I went to were amazing (Endless Space 2, Forza Horizon 3 and Sega Strategy Games). Ralph Fulton made me want to go home and play Forza Horizon 3...but I still got 2 more days to get through!
Little Nightmares is the first game on my list for tomorrow. The queue always puts me off after looking it at, so I wanna get in there early.
AHA-Lambda
Member
First EGX I've skipped in 4 years personally, but last year was such a shit show I would need to see that things have improved before I go back.
Seems they haven't.
EDIT: Fucking hell! You had to register to play Horizon!!?? Thank fuck I didn't go now, I'd have flipped out at that, it'd have been the one game I'd be most eager to check out! Why can't they just handle things normally like any other event? It's not mentioned on the website it's by appointment is it?
The booking system was bad enough last year (and I still have a grudge against the rude prick manning the Vive station last year) and they knew people hated it so why bring it back?
Let me guess there's no good free stuff either?
EDIT 2:
I'm only now taking a good look at the dev session lineup actually. There's no live podcast this year? Poor effort, that was always one of the highlights of the live sessions, and it's not like they're hurting for space.
I'm glad I didn't go, I'm disappointed reading this and I'm not even there. I get the feeling this show's best days are behind it =/
Messofanego
Banned
All this hype for Snake Pass, will add that to my to-do along with:
Little Nightmares
A Light In Chorus
Sacramento
Unseen Diplomacy
29
Far From Noise
Foramina
Transmissions From Space
Pikuniku
Silent Streets
Aragami (although I'm in the beta already
)
Dishonored 2
Little Nightmares
A Light In Chorus
Sacramento
Unseen Diplomacy
29
Far From Noise
Foramina
Transmissions From Space
Pikuniku
Silent Streets
Aragami (although I'm in the beta already
)Dishonored 2
Yautja_Warrior
Member
Had a great day, got to play PSVR and check out some great games. PS4 Pro running Horizon looks great. FF15 and Tekken 7 are looking very good. Battlefield 1, TitanFall 2 and Gears 4 all look very good graphically. I was surprised to see the PC version of Gears 4 on the show floor but it looks excellent.
South Park The Fractured But Whole is looking superb and the demo was using the Nosulus Rift, very funny stuff.
Got to play Sonic Mania too and that was brilliant, like Sonic had never been away (or had a ton of crappy 3D games) Sega should have done this years ago but very happy they finally did.
South Park The Fractured But Whole is looking superb and the demo was using the Nosulus Rift, very funny stuff.
Got to play Sonic Mania too and that was brilliant, like Sonic had never been away (or had a ton of crappy 3D games) Sega should have done this years ago but very happy they finally did.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Any Black The Fall impressions?
Messofanego
Banned
Didn't know Black The Fall was playable, will be interesting seeing that after INSIDE.
They're going to have to do a lot to pull it back from where it's gone. It felt like the gaming tat stores were the biggest thing this year. I want to go back to when there was a Microsoft stage surrounded by all their games & it felt like a community thing - and the same for Sony & Nintendo.
Right now the only thing that felt like that was Rezzed, which just keeps getting better and better.
I'll definitely head to Rezzed at Tobacco Dock next year (not been to Rezzed since the first year), but EGX.... well, I'll probably go again but another year like this and I'm done.
Should also mention that the only freebies I saw were at Rezzed, though I heard you got a shirt for playing Dishonored 2, but I already know I'm buying that (first game was one of my favourites ever) so I didn't want to queue ages for it.
Messofanego
Banned
Snake Pass had a cool interview with BlastProcess, sold me on trying it out on Sunday. Is that you on the right, donkey show? 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7I36-G4wME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7I36-G4wME
CalamityPixel
Member
Snake Pass had a cool interview with BlastProcess, sold me on trying it out on Sunday. Is that you on the right, donkey show?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7I36-G4wME
Glad this is getting attention. Couldn't make it to EGX this year but I've been paying attention to it since the game jam it emerged from.
donkey show
Member
Lololol, I showed her your post and she was flattered.
Thanks for checking it out! Glad you were able to swing by and enjoy the game! It was great meeting you. ^^
Haha no worries man. It has been a bit under the radar, but I'm glad you've seen the light.
Really appreciate the comments!Wait, are you the guy that came in the morning today with the headphones as well? You'll channel your inner snake soon enough. XD Hit me up when you swing by again!
Yup, that's me! And it's been really great seeing all the positive comments about Snake Pass, so thanks to everyone who's enjoyed what they've played or seen so far! It's really been a labor of love project for us, especially Seb who's the creator of the game.Snake Pass had a cool interview with BlastProcess, sold me on trying it out on Sunday. Is that you on the right, donkey show?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7I36-G4wME
If any of you come by this weekend and want to check it out on our booth, feel free to ask for me (David) or just mention Gaf and one of the team will pull me over to ya for a more personal look at the demo.
brokenbeans
Banned
Will pop over and see you on Sunday David, looking forward to checking it out.
EarsOfASnake
Member
Just played through Snake Pass and had a long chat with the designer (didn't catch his name) but game was fantastic and definitely worth checking out! Go see it!
Can only comment on what I played at Rezzed earlier in the year - haven't visited their booth yet, but plan to do so later today - but from the demo they showcased back then (which I'm assuming is the beginning of the game) I really like how they implemented level design into the puzzles. Where Inside was more a conventional linear left-to-right motion, despite how well the different areas were blended together - Black The Fall has this twisting-and-turning motion to its progression. Plus, they did a great job at creating this dirty, filthy, industrial aesthetic.
The puzzles themselves are very cleverly constructed to the point you'll likely stop and think "how the hell am I supposed to do THAT?" but it's one of those games where you have to read the environment and deduce what it's subtly trying to tell you. Plus, there's one section near the end - which I won't spoil - that I initially mistook for a game bug, but actually does something really nice with sound. If you liked Inside, you're going to love Black The Fall; honestly, I think it has the potential to be even better than Inside. Just a shame it's now a 2017 game, rather than a Q4 2016 one.
Aww DonkeyShow is making friends <3
My mate Zoe is sold on it (Snake Pass)
Playing gears 4 yesterday in 4k on those beast of a PC's they had was really nice. I might pick up one of the cases for my on pc to replace my bitfenix prodigy (i have a thing for tiny but powerful pc's)
My mate Zoe is sold on it (Snake Pass)
Playing gears 4 yesterday in 4k on those beast of a PC's they had was really nice. I might pick up one of the cases for my on pc to replace my bitfenix prodigy (i have a thing for tiny but powerful pc's
)Finished up my Saturday, popped in with some guys from work and ended up catching up with an old friend.
Checked out: Dragon Quest Builders, Dishonored 2, Gears 4, YIIK and some other smaller stuff. Had a nice chat with one of the publishing reps about vita love at the YIIK booth haha.
The event definitely feels... Not less enjoyable but less intimate each year. The amount of free space this year was off putting. TV trouble was my favourite game at the left field collection, had a nice chat with the dev which I appreciated.
Also, Sonic mania was everything I hoped it would be. 10/10.
Checked out: Dragon Quest Builders, Dishonored 2, Gears 4, YIIK and some other smaller stuff. Had a nice chat with one of the publishing reps about vita love at the YIIK booth haha.
The event definitely feels... Not less enjoyable but less intimate each year. The amount of free space this year was off putting. TV trouble was my favourite game at the left field collection, had a nice chat with the dev which I appreciated.
Also, Sonic mania was everything I hoped it would be. 10/10.
Too much space is bad now?
When it feels like I'm just walking around a warehouse with a couple of stools, to me, yeah.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Excellent. Thanks a lot.
I think this year suffered from there actually not being a lot to show - especially with Microsoft being MIA and Nintendo Understandably missing (although, lets be honest, there's still quite a lot upcoming on 3DS that could have been there).
I'd imagine that next year might be a bit busier game wise but like i've said before - there was definitely something missing this year and i would argue that it was a sort of community feel that previous years at Earls Court definitely had.
I was thinking about this while i was there, that there should perhaps be more general entry tournaments for games alongside things like the Capcom Pro Tour for example. I actually have a few ideas that i'll be submitting in feedback to them about the event this year but whether they listen to that feedback is another matter entirely.
I'd imagine that next year might be a bit busier game wise but like i've said before - there was definitely something missing this year and i would argue that it was a sort of community feel that previous years at Earls Court definitely had.
I was thinking about this while i was there, that there should perhaps be more general entry tournaments for games alongside things like the Capcom Pro Tour for example. I actually have a few ideas that i'll be submitting in feedback to them about the event this year but whether they listen to that feedback is another matter entirely.
Horizon and PSVR were a complete clusterfuck today and so didn't get to play either. I'm not sure what this closing off queues and booking slots bullshit is all about. Especially since I couldn't even get on the VR booking website all week. Sony reps were handing out commiseration badges and CoD posters xD. At least there were plenty of good indies to play.
My feet are dead. The amount of walking from the station to the event is annoying.
Still good day mostly. Most sour bit was having to delete some pics I took of Tales of Berseria even though the demo was the same one you can download from JPSN just with English plus I didn't see any no pictures signs. Meh.
I don't mind booking slotd for things but if your going to do it, use a website. Horizon was packed right at 10am.
Snake Pass was very fun and Donkey was a cool guy. Was great to meet ya.
Also had fun with Worms WMD.
Overall mostly a fun day.
Still good day mostly. Most sour bit was having to delete some pics I took of Tales of Berseria even though the demo was the same one you can download from JPSN just with English plus I didn't see any no pictures signs. Meh.
I don't mind booking slotd for things but if your going to do it, use a website. Horizon was packed right at 10am.
Snake Pass was very fun and Donkey was a cool guy. Was great to meet ya
. Also had fun with Worms WMD.
Overall mostly a fun day.
I think this answers Stalk's complaints: It feels like they booked an extra Hall for more games...but a Ninty and MS no-show made everything much wider and spread out for the most part. It was like the Indie Section was clustered like normal, but as you went further in, the space widened.
Like the eating area has a lot of seats which get used for the most part...but the Retro Section where you can pick up and play Sony/Microsoft Games? Way too big and empty!
Moving onto the highlight of my day: Living the Deal.
It is a real estate game where you had to buy and sell property to pay your £1,400 rent in 14 days...I got to £1,200...but my overall health was 90% which the devs were impressed with because most people, even them, didn't bother much with the person's health lol.
Since the property available changes daily and it takes a whole day to upgrade it, you are really just spending the rest of the day managing your wellbeing by going cinema, eating, going to the gym etc.
Simple game so far, but as with all Indie Devs, they were nice and talkative.
donkey show
Member
Was awesome meeting everyone from Gaf today! It was definitely a pleasure! Glad y'all swung by and enjoyed Snake Pass. 
Hope to see more of y'all tomorrow! ^^
Hope to see more of y'all tomorrow! ^^
Lol this guy
brokenbeans
Banned
Waiting to go in, hyped!
Only went two days (Thursday and Saturday) and ended up spending more time in the Rezzed area than I expected mainly because the lines for the big things still had a ridiculously long wait time(but were more organised at least).
They finally listened and got some food stalls on the floor but £3 for a small pot of fries is daylight robbery, screw that i'll happily enjoy eating some sandwiches I brought with me while watching Tekken 7.
Yooka-Laylee is everything I wanted from it: googly eyes, terrible puns and just good old school 3D platforming it also looks bloody gorgeous to boot, wish i'd backed the kickstarter to get the toybox now.
GMG had two survival games that looked so similar I was surprised to find out that they were made by two different teams.
Was actually surprised that I enjoyed what I played of Snake Pass, so much that I didn't get up after the demo ended and played it again to collect everything and get a good hand on those controls (still didn't get a hand on the slithering fully), also cool to sit there and play while just gushing with a dev over how good Unreal 4 is out of the box. Also DAT WATER.
Overall a worse showing this year due to MS and Nintendo being absent, was not that weird to see Ninty no showed (gimme dat Zelda demo) see but was weird that MS was not there with their lineup, really wanted to get a go on Sea of Thieves.
Kind of not thinking about not going next year and just going to Rezzed instead but Scorpio might force me back.
They finally listened and got some food stalls on the floor but £3 for a small pot of fries is daylight robbery, screw that i'll happily enjoy eating some sandwiches I brought with me while watching Tekken 7.
Yooka-Laylee is everything I wanted from it: googly eyes, terrible puns and just good old school 3D platforming it also looks bloody gorgeous to boot, wish i'd backed the kickstarter to get the toybox now.
GMG had two survival games that looked so similar I was surprised to find out that they were made by two different teams.
Was actually surprised that I enjoyed what I played of Snake Pass, so much that I didn't get up after the demo ended and played it again to collect everything and get a good hand on those controls (still didn't get a hand on the slithering fully), also cool to sit there and play while just gushing with a dev over how good Unreal 4 is out of the box. Also DAT WATER.
Overall a worse showing this year due to MS and Nintendo being absent, was not that weird to see Ninty no showed (gimme dat Zelda demo) see but was weird that MS was not there with their lineup, really wanted to get a go on Sea of Thieves.
Kind of not thinking about not going next year and just going to Rezzed instead but Scorpio might force me back.
openrob
Member
I had a really great time yesterday. I was overhyped on a lack of sleep, excitement and those weird energy drinks they were hanging out :/
Lol anyway I had fun running around, chatting to other people chatting about games and bring silly. I avoided anything that had a 10 minute queue, which meant that although I missed the 'big games' (apart from GoW4) I could make the most of my time and even get the chance to meet some of the devs.
Top day!
Lol anyway I had fun running around, chatting to other people chatting about games and bring silly. I avoided anything that had a 10 minute queue, which meant that although I missed the 'big games' (apart from GoW4) I could make the most of my time and even get the chance to meet some of the devs.
Top day!
Yautja_Warrior
Member
Thing I love most about these shows is you get to play a lot of games, hidden gems that you might not look twice at when browsing the online game stores.
We all have a really good idea what the big AAA games like Battlefield, COD, TitanFall, Gears will play like, without having to line up for 2+ hours, so getting to play smaller games like Overcooked, Tethered, Sonic Mania, The Bunker, BattleZone and Shu, to name a few, is a great way to experience new and different games.
We all have a really good idea what the big AAA games like Battlefield, COD, TitanFall, Gears will play like, without having to line up for 2+ hours, so getting to play smaller games like Overcooked, Tethered, Sonic Mania, The Bunker, BattleZone and Shu, to name a few, is a great way to experience new and different games.
That is one of the things which might sway me to going again next year, actually.
They clearly listened to criticism and got an extra hall this time around and the queues were quite organised aswell, which was great!
I think the criticisms, such as the long queues and the amount of games are things which are out of EGX's hands for the most part. I'm sure they would have loved to have a bigger precense from Microsoft and even see Nintendo rear their head, but clearly Nintendo didn't want to show anything this time around.
You could clearly see that a lot of the space was empty, such as the eating areas being way too large and I can assume the lack of Microsoft and Nintendo made it like that.
This year was probably in my eyes one of the best years in terms of layout and you can see that moving out of Earl's Court (because they were forced) has only made the show better because you don't have the bottlenecking from the stairs.
First time at EGX, was there on both Saturday and Sunday with five others, most of whom were also there for the first time. It's pretty exhausting, and wouldn't probably have been able to stomach doing it for another day. Despite only playing a fraction of the games at the event, I felt fairly all-gamed-out by 6PM this evening. Definitely enjoyed it and would consider going again next year, albeit there are some seriously frustrating issues with the setup, which I'll note here in case anyone influential is listening:
1) A small number of culprits are making the hall incredibly noisy. I get that you're on a stage, but there is literally no reason for me to be able to hear you talking when I'm trying to do something completely different several booths away. This goes for the PlayStation shows, the Twitch stuff, and particularly the fighting game tournament that was going on this afternoon: seriously, shut the fuck up. It is one thing to be loud enough so that everyone in your area can hear you, it is entirely another to be so loud that everyone for hundreds of metres in any direction can. At times it was actually painful, and as a simple example, if I had been inclined to watch the fighting game tournament today (I think it was Tekken but I'm really not sure), I'd have left because I think it would have damaged my hearing. The speakers in the wristband collection and penning area were also obscenely loud, and painful to walk past. Just apply a bit of common sense, and have a bit of respect, frankly. I can't imagine what it's like for those actually exhibiting in a booth near to these obnoxious events.
2) Limit the length of your demos. All of the really long queues I had to deal with were caused by unnecessarily long demos. There are some types of game that really do need a decent period, but if you're a huge, popular game, having demos that are half an hour, to an hour long, significantly reduces how many people can play your game and also ensures that anyone playing your game is sacrificing the possibility of seeing several other things. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that there were things at the show that would take two and a half, to three hours, to actually play, which is pretty damned absurd.
I'd like to praise the guys from Secret Sorcery showing off Tethered (more on that later), as around half of their attendants were conversing with those in the queue, which frankly makes the wait seem half as long. I get that this isn't always feasible, but I think you'd be surprised by how much goodwill would be caused by having one or two people talking to those queuing, answering questions and introducing the game or demo, rather than leaving everyone to stew and wonder how much longer is left.
That's really it for the criticisms, as for some games...
I was lucky enough to try PSVR, which was my first VR experience. I've held a preorder for the device since they went up, but had no real idea of what I was getting myself into in terms of comfort, image quality, whether I'd have motion sickness issues, etc. The image quality is definitely the biggest downside, though I suspect that's primarily a VR thing rather than a PSVR thing (even though PSVR will have the poorest IQ in general). If you want to play a really pretty game, VR isn't going to be the answer for some time, but that is fine if the experience itself is only possible because, or significantly better, with a VR headset on.
My first time with PSVR was with Driveclub, a pretty ideal comparison for me as I own the game and have played it a lot, and own the same wheel they had setup in the booth. I found the entire thing totally comfortable, and it felt so immediately natural to be looking around and into each corner. Racing games are a large part of where my interest comes from where VR is concerned, and I was delighted with how good it felt to play with that setup. Driveclub is still one of the prettiest games that has come out this generation, and it's PSVR version cannot claim that, but, it does enhance the immersion immensely, which I'd say is pretty impressive in a game that already felt great to drive in.
The other game I tried was Tethered, which was absolutely adorable and I was disappointed when I had to stop playing as I'd only just got started building my Peep empire. There is something immensely appealing about VR for this type of game because the perspective, and the sound, makes you feel like a real God, rather than someone operating a computer.
I also tried out the Virtual Boy, which was underwhelming compared to PSVR.
All said with VR I'm still not 100% certain I'll keep my preorder, but, if I do, I will certainly pick up both Tethered and Driveclub. The biggest issue for me right now is whether I'm more interested in PSVR, or Pro, or a new (4K+HDR) TV, or a combination of these things. I didn't actually get to play Horizon, but there was a glorious, gigantic, 4K/HDR TV showing the PS Pro version off, and it proved to me just how big of a jump there is, particularly with HDR. A friend who did play the PS4 (standard) demo said that the difference was night and day.
I gave Little Nightmares a try, which was short but sweet. The atmosphere is wonderful and the general feel of the game is on point. I mentioned it in another thread, but I absolutely adored Snakepass, and I will certainly buy it when it releases. I also really enjoyed Blockships, which was in a neighbouring booth, a clever idea executed well. It's a four player free for all where you pilot a ship and try to destroy the other three players, the only issue being that you start with a single block that can only move, dies in one hit (losing you the game) and cannot shoot, leaving you to build your ship, finding extra armor blocks and guns while also fighting your opponents.
I'm not sure entirely what my favourite game of the show was, but my favourite experience was certainly Beasts of Balance. The game is part physical, and part digital. The basic premise is that you have a load of oddly shaped blocks that you have to build into a tower (on a fairly small, round base), and it's best played co-operatively, taking turns to place blocks (you'd be surprised at how much conversation and argument arises over what to place and where to place it).
Every move you make physically effects the digital game. You might start by placing the octopus (most of the blocks are animals, hence 'Beasts' of Balance), which will spawn an Octopus into the digital world, and the octopus will have some number of points associated, which drive up your score. You can place more animals, but animals can become jealous if there are better animals around, which will begin to lose you points and eventually the animal (only from the digital world, fortunately their block doesn't disappear from the middle of your tower). There are also various non-animal blocks with weird effects - some can be used to strengthen an animal (to reduce their jealously, for example), others to create new animals from combinations of those already there, so you might end up with an eagle boar, or a toucan octopus (the game has funnier names for these crosses than these). Ultimately, without going too far into the description of every detail, the game is half about building a tower and not seeing it fall, but half about being ambitious and placing things in the right order to maximise your score. There are also some interesting quirks, like the tower toppling (or a piece falling) isn't actually a disaster. You have a small period in which to replace a fallen piece before the volcano (yes, there's a volcano) explodes. There's some really cool tech here that means the game knows when the pieces are falling and moving - it's fundamentally so unique, and wonderfully quirky.
Me and a few others had three tries at it over the weekend - the less said about the first two goes the better - but our third try was a real triumph. It can only have been about an hour 'til the end of EGX, but we managed to place every piece. We didn't do that well on the score but I believe we were the first (and therefore only) group at the conference to achieve this, and they actually captured a timelapse of the tower going up. https://mobile.twitter.com/beastsofbalance/status/780083897946210304/video/1
There were plenty of other games that I tried, but these were the highlights. For me at least, it was certainly best for trying new things, and I was frankly astonished at how many people were queuing for hours to play already released games like Destiny, but also some of the coming AAA titles like Gears, Titanfall, Battlefield, and FIFA. It's fine - shorter queues for the indie stuff for me.
1) A small number of culprits are making the hall incredibly noisy. I get that you're on a stage, but there is literally no reason for me to be able to hear you talking when I'm trying to do something completely different several booths away. This goes for the PlayStation shows, the Twitch stuff, and particularly the fighting game tournament that was going on this afternoon: seriously, shut the fuck up. It is one thing to be loud enough so that everyone in your area can hear you, it is entirely another to be so loud that everyone for hundreds of metres in any direction can. At times it was actually painful, and as a simple example, if I had been inclined to watch the fighting game tournament today (I think it was Tekken but I'm really not sure), I'd have left because I think it would have damaged my hearing. The speakers in the wristband collection and penning area were also obscenely loud, and painful to walk past. Just apply a bit of common sense, and have a bit of respect, frankly. I can't imagine what it's like for those actually exhibiting in a booth near to these obnoxious events.
2) Limit the length of your demos. All of the really long queues I had to deal with were caused by unnecessarily long demos. There are some types of game that really do need a decent period, but if you're a huge, popular game, having demos that are half an hour, to an hour long, significantly reduces how many people can play your game and also ensures that anyone playing your game is sacrificing the possibility of seeing several other things. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that there were things at the show that would take two and a half, to three hours, to actually play, which is pretty damned absurd.
I'd like to praise the guys from Secret Sorcery showing off Tethered (more on that later), as around half of their attendants were conversing with those in the queue, which frankly makes the wait seem half as long. I get that this isn't always feasible, but I think you'd be surprised by how much goodwill would be caused by having one or two people talking to those queuing, answering questions and introducing the game or demo, rather than leaving everyone to stew and wonder how much longer is left.
That's really it for the criticisms, as for some games...
I was lucky enough to try PSVR, which was my first VR experience. I've held a preorder for the device since they went up, but had no real idea of what I was getting myself into in terms of comfort, image quality, whether I'd have motion sickness issues, etc. The image quality is definitely the biggest downside, though I suspect that's primarily a VR thing rather than a PSVR thing (even though PSVR will have the poorest IQ in general). If you want to play a really pretty game, VR isn't going to be the answer for some time, but that is fine if the experience itself is only possible because, or significantly better, with a VR headset on.
My first time with PSVR was with Driveclub, a pretty ideal comparison for me as I own the game and have played it a lot, and own the same wheel they had setup in the booth. I found the entire thing totally comfortable, and it felt so immediately natural to be looking around and into each corner. Racing games are a large part of where my interest comes from where VR is concerned, and I was delighted with how good it felt to play with that setup. Driveclub is still one of the prettiest games that has come out this generation, and it's PSVR version cannot claim that, but, it does enhance the immersion immensely, which I'd say is pretty impressive in a game that already felt great to drive in.
The other game I tried was Tethered, which was absolutely adorable and I was disappointed when I had to stop playing as I'd only just got started building my Peep empire. There is something immensely appealing about VR for this type of game because the perspective, and the sound, makes you feel like a real God, rather than someone operating a computer.
I also tried out the Virtual Boy, which was underwhelming compared to PSVR.
All said with VR I'm still not 100% certain I'll keep my preorder, but, if I do, I will certainly pick up both Tethered and Driveclub. The biggest issue for me right now is whether I'm more interested in PSVR, or Pro, or a new (4K+HDR) TV, or a combination of these things. I didn't actually get to play Horizon, but there was a glorious, gigantic, 4K/HDR TV showing the PS Pro version off, and it proved to me just how big of a jump there is, particularly with HDR. A friend who did play the PS4 (standard) demo said that the difference was night and day.
I gave Little Nightmares a try, which was short but sweet. The atmosphere is wonderful and the general feel of the game is on point. I mentioned it in another thread, but I absolutely adored Snakepass, and I will certainly buy it when it releases. I also really enjoyed Blockships, which was in a neighbouring booth, a clever idea executed well. It's a four player free for all where you pilot a ship and try to destroy the other three players, the only issue being that you start with a single block that can only move, dies in one hit (losing you the game) and cannot shoot, leaving you to build your ship, finding extra armor blocks and guns while also fighting your opponents.
I'm not sure entirely what my favourite game of the show was, but my favourite experience was certainly Beasts of Balance. The game is part physical, and part digital. The basic premise is that you have a load of oddly shaped blocks that you have to build into a tower (on a fairly small, round base), and it's best played co-operatively, taking turns to place blocks (you'd be surprised at how much conversation and argument arises over what to place and where to place it).
Every move you make physically effects the digital game. You might start by placing the octopus (most of the blocks are animals, hence 'Beasts' of Balance), which will spawn an Octopus into the digital world, and the octopus will have some number of points associated, which drive up your score. You can place more animals, but animals can become jealous if there are better animals around, which will begin to lose you points and eventually the animal (only from the digital world, fortunately their block doesn't disappear from the middle of your tower). There are also various non-animal blocks with weird effects - some can be used to strengthen an animal (to reduce their jealously, for example), others to create new animals from combinations of those already there, so you might end up with an eagle boar, or a toucan octopus (the game has funnier names for these crosses than these). Ultimately, without going too far into the description of every detail, the game is half about building a tower and not seeing it fall, but half about being ambitious and placing things in the right order to maximise your score. There are also some interesting quirks, like the tower toppling (or a piece falling) isn't actually a disaster. You have a small period in which to replace a fallen piece before the volcano (yes, there's a volcano) explodes. There's some really cool tech here that means the game knows when the pieces are falling and moving - it's fundamentally so unique, and wonderfully quirky.
Me and a few others had three tries at it over the weekend - the less said about the first two goes the better - but our third try was a real triumph. It can only have been about an hour 'til the end of EGX, but we managed to place every piece. We didn't do that well on the score but I believe we were the first (and therefore only) group at the conference to achieve this, and they actually captured a timelapse of the tower going up. https://mobile.twitter.com/beastsofbalance/status/780083897946210304/video/1
There were plenty of other games that I tried, but these were the highlights. For me at least, it was certainly best for trying new things, and I was frankly astonished at how many people were queuing for hours to play already released games like Destiny, but also some of the coming AAA titles like Gears, Titanfall, Battlefield, and FIFA. It's fine - shorter queues for the indie stuff for me.
Norwegian_Imposter
Member
Should of said. Longer queues than nuka world. Missed opportunity OP
I think you'll find a lot of the REZZED Section hated "Destiny Time" when the Announcer would start shouting. I still find the fact the Rezzed Session Area was right next to it completely stupid.
I was walking around on Saturday and all I could hear was some cunt shouting TURTLE BEACH TURTLE BEACH TURTLE BEACH on their stand. It's like, you make fucking headsets man.
If you bought a headset, it would have dampened the sound a little
TrebuchetGames
Member
I was totally deafened by "Destiny T-shirt" offer and some other crap announcer. As an indie trying to talk to gamers interested in my games there were two periods in the show where I could not actually hear what people were saying.
Had a great show, but absolutely knackered and the other indies I talked too all looked like they'd had enough by the end of sunday (I know I just wanted to go home at that point).
In terms of queues, I did get a chance to walk around, and at about 4oclock the 18 section was relatively quiet with only about 20min queues.
Food prices were a disgrace, my wife was queuing up to buy some sweets and some guy had one of those pick and mix bags (not particularly big) and they charged him £18 for it, she soon left the queue.
Messofanego
Banned
Loved that the indies were front and centre, please do that again at London's EGX Rezzed next year too!
Impressions (with links to some twitter videos I made):
Snake Pass (video) - There aren't many 3D platformers with unique gameplay, but this being focused on a snake changes up things quite significantly. I love when gameplay matches the character, to differentiate it from other games. It's very intuitive, too. If you go in a straight line, you're going to be slow. In order to be more effective (especially for the speedrun at the event), you have to slither around in a zig-zag fashion, and curl around structures to get higher. I personally didn't see the need for an extra button to raise your head (Right Trigger) right now, I'd keep it raised all the time. The hummingbird (Y) can pick up your tail and I used that when jumping off an edge for it to carry me a bit further in the air. Love the expressive facial animations (much like Yooka Laylee) and cartoon-y aesthetic. I'm not one for cutesy games but when they play this well, I'm all for it. The team is made of 16 people, based in Sheffield. I didn't know much about SUMO Digital, they're basically part of SEGA and did an internal game jam for this, and got a separate team to work on this. David let me know why his tag is called Little Big Dev (hehe). Also, best booth in the place with lots of encouragement and a nice atmosphere of community.
Little Nightmares (video) - Previously called Hunger, this is just a stunner (UE4). It's a 2D perspective, but you're moving around a 3D space, which sometimes can lead to platforming awkwardness when you're trying to line up a jump but realise you're in the wrong plane. Also, separate buttons for jumping and grabbing (R2), so that threw me off when jumping for the rope where you have to press 3 buttons at once (Square for sprinting, A to jump, and R2 to grab). Love the creepy dark children fantasy tone. It ends on a very morbid note. You're in the vents, and a shoe falls down. You see more shoes later. When you come out of the vent, you come across a sea of shoes. Presumably from all previously dead children. Then this happens, which reminded me of Amnesia.
Tokyo 42 - I had no idea I'd be so into a top-down isometric fusion of Syndicate and Hitman but much more vertical?! It's the future (2042), no one can die. You're an assassin. The dialogue is hilarious, and so is the world. The tilt shift effect looks great. You can shift around the perspective with Q and E, much like many strategy games. Jumping around ("soft parkour") from building to building feels cool, because when you jump, there is a circle showing you where you'll land and you've got a hover so you have enough time to judge your landing. You can take contracts in this open world, and I kept on doing the most rewarding one cause when bullets/rockets/grenades start flying from the yakuza, it's bullet hell! I had a lot of trouble with the fluctuating grenade arc, cause you gotta time it when it comes down instead of from bottom up. This has potential for greatness.
Sacramento - Interesting little oddity with a nice sprite and watercolour art style. Felt a bit like Proteus. When you look at your watch, time is going so fast. Things will shift at a whim.
Got 6 more games to give impressions of (The Fall part 2, Polyphonia, Aaliyah, Uncanny Valerie, A Light In Chorus, and Dishonored 2), when I come back from work.
Impressions (with links to some twitter videos I made):
Black The Fall - I had forgotten this got a major change in character design (looks less emo-y, this is what it looked like before) and more of portraying an industrial Metropolis-like dystopia. There are comparisons to be made with INSIDE although right now this is less polished (in animations especially) and more of a puzzle game while INSIDE was focused more on storytelling. That said, there are some fantastic puzzles. Like INSIDE, you can control men who have become roboticised in the back to do tasks for you. The most cruel one is when you're in the dark and have to use your headphones to figure out where the deadly steam chutes are, and time when they stop to then run past. It does a lot more with perspective, with landscape rotation and zooming in and out. There are some great shots, like the one of the giant silhouette of a man using a pick axe. It's one to keep on your radar, really hope this turns out great.
Snake Pass (video) - There aren't many 3D platformers with unique gameplay, but this being focused on a snake changes up things quite significantly. I love when gameplay matches the character, to differentiate it from other games. It's very intuitive, too. If you go in a straight line, you're going to be slow. In order to be more effective (especially for the speedrun at the event), you have to slither around in a zig-zag fashion, and curl around structures to get higher. I personally didn't see the need for an extra button to raise your head (Right Trigger) right now, I'd keep it raised all the time. The hummingbird (Y) can pick up your tail and I used that when jumping off an edge for it to carry me a bit further in the air. Love the expressive facial animations (much like Yooka Laylee) and cartoon-y aesthetic. I'm not one for cutesy games but when they play this well, I'm all for it. The team is made of 16 people, based in Sheffield. I didn't know much about SUMO Digital, they're basically part of SEGA and did an internal game jam for this, and got a separate team to work on this. David let me know why his tag is called Little Big Dev (hehe). Also, best booth in the place with lots of encouragement and a nice atmosphere of community.
Little Nightmares (video) - Previously called Hunger, this is just a stunner (UE4). It's a 2D perspective, but you're moving around a 3D space, which sometimes can lead to platforming awkwardness when you're trying to line up a jump but realise you're in the wrong plane. Also, separate buttons for jumping and grabbing (R2), so that threw me off when jumping for the rope where you have to press 3 buttons at once (Square for sprinting, A to jump, and R2 to grab). Love the creepy dark children fantasy tone. It ends on a very morbid note. You're in the vents, and a shoe falls down. You see more shoes later. When you come out of the vent, you come across a sea of shoes. Presumably from all previously dead children. Then this happens, which reminded me of Amnesia.
Tokyo 42 - I had no idea I'd be so into a top-down isometric fusion of Syndicate and Hitman but much more vertical?! It's the future (2042), no one can die. You're an assassin. The dialogue is hilarious, and so is the world. The tilt shift effect looks great. You can shift around the perspective with Q and E, much like many strategy games. Jumping around ("soft parkour") from building to building feels cool, because when you jump, there is a circle showing you where you'll land and you've got a hover so you have enough time to judge your landing. You can take contracts in this open world, and I kept on doing the most rewarding one cause when bullets/rockets/grenades start flying from the yakuza, it's bullet hell! I had a lot of trouble with the fluctuating grenade arc, cause you gotta time it when it comes down instead of from bottom up. This has potential for greatness.
Sacramento - Interesting little oddity with a nice sprite and watercolour art style. Felt a bit like Proteus. When you look at your watch, time is going so fast. Things will shift at a whim.
All The Delicate Duplicates - Reminded me quite a bit of MIND: Path To Thalamus in both being introspective FPEs (first person exploration), with similar themes about memory, father/daughter relationship, missing, and regrets. The floating text is cool, and nice transitions like how the kitchen gets progressively messier or cleaner. On the radar.
Far From Noise - When you're in a car on the edge of a cliff, looking at your certain death, just remember to relax and take some deep breaths. Thanks, talking deer! It's a conversation-based game, and it's pretty witty. Some of the best writing from a game at EGX.
Foramina - Even with just one puzzle room, this very surreal game is so my jam. That might just be the coolest character design of a game this year. A fox with mechanical legs, long limbs. Art style reminded me of Closure and Neverending Nightmares. The control is a bit unconventional, where you move the character around with WASD but interaction is with a contextual four-button menu that you use with a keyboard on the far right. A bird (with a mask on that blares aloud) keeps on taunting you for getting on top of a chair. You've got to get its mask off, make some noise with that mask which acts as a loudspeaker, have food drop down from above to make the chandelier come down, and then climb on the chandelier when the bird is gone. A very dark surprise awaits above! There is also a bit where you're in a vent following a spider, and it ends the demo.
Got 6 more games to give impressions of (The Fall part 2, Polyphonia, Aaliyah, Uncanny Valerie, A Light In Chorus, and Dishonored 2), when I come back from work.
donkey show
Member
Snake Pass (video) - There aren't many 3D platformers with unique gameplay, but this being focused on a snake changes up things quite significantly. I love when gameplay matches the character, to differentiate it from other games. It's very intuitive, too. If you go in a straight line, you're going to be slow. In order to be more effective (especially for the speedrun at the event), you have to slither around in a zig-zag fashion, and curl around structures to get higher. I personally didn't see the need for an extra button to raise your head (Right Trigger) right now, I'd keep it raised all the time. The hummingbird (Y) can pick up your tail and I used that when jumping off an edge for it to carry me a bit further in the air. Love the expressive facial animations (much like Yooka Laylee) and cartoon-y aesthetic. I'm not one for cutesy games but when they play this well, I'm all for it. The team is made of 16 people, based in Sheffield. I didn't know much about SUMO Digital, they're basically part of SEGA and did an internal game jam for this, and got a separate team to work on this. David let me know why his tag is called Little Big Dev (hehe). Also, best booth in the place with lots of encouragement and a nice atmosphere of community.
It was awesome meeting you there! Glad you enjoyed it and nice try on the speed run though. There was some pretty tough competition and the winner actually beat our dev times! Beat mine by 3 seconds... :S Also, Sumo's actually an independent developer. We just happened to do a lot of Sega games in the past.
And again, it was great meeting everyone from Gaf as well.
I have posted some impressions on the separate thread (sorry for no link, on mobile right now).
All in all the show was great. If anyone is complaining about queue times then you have never been to gamescom.
Game of the show was Little Nightmares for me. finished the demo about 4 times. Titanfall 2 is a close second. That was so much fun, also the sound design is excellent. Played about 8 matches over the course of the 4 days. They had X1 and PS4's to play on. Is it just me or does the X1 version look way worse? The textures seem so washed out. Real ugly.
I think i'll cancel my COD preorder. No time to play it all.