Get outta here pixel indie games! Time for me to step it up with some proper 3D renderered polygons and high production value with the following games:
Forever Skies - Not very well optimize, even says as much in the option menu when it comes to resolutions higher than 1080p but even at that resolution the performance was poor at best. I like the concept of floating above post-apocalyptic skyscrapers, looting, building and surviving along the way but unless they significantly improve performance I won't be touching this with a barge pole.
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars - This is really just Lara Croft Souls, constant quipping included, and... I kinda like it? It has indie written all over it (and changing the video settings from high to low has a drastic effect on the overall image quality, much more so than other games) but if you can overlook some of the lower budget that's on display then this seems like a very solid Soulslike. I played it on Challenging and I have to admit that I wasn't able to beat the, what I assume was, the final boss of the demo (the armored duder in town). And here I was thinking it was an easy game! Granted I'm no Souls expert but I got my ass handed to me by that guy numerous times. So unless it's marred by some game breaking bugs (I experienced none while playing) I look forward to getting my revenge on that boss when the game launches October 11th (for a very reasonable €35 even!).
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Scars Above - Actually it turns out
this is the true Lara Croft x Souls of the bunch, leaning more towards to Tomb Raider end of the spectrum this time while also incorporating Metroid (Prime) mechanics to boot. Perhaps the easiest way to describe this game is if Fallen Order and Tomb Raider had a baby. Think lots of environmental exploration, focus on narrative & lore, creative level design (plenty of secrets), boss encounters, Soulslike respawning, and even environmental puzzles straight out of the Arkham games where you're locked into an area and scan for clues to come up with a solution. I could wax lyrical for mutliple paragraphs about this game but I will spare you hah. The only reason I stopped playing this very generous demo (seriously when does it end?) is because I got stuck on a puzzle. Not to a fault of my own I reckon because the controls for that particular puzzle were incredibly finnicky. I've left some feedback on the forums so hopefully that'll be fixed for the full game.
Anyway go play it! If you like Tomb Raider, Metroid Prime, Jedi Fallen Order, etc then I can't imagine you won't like this. I put in about 90 minutes and it might be my favourite demo so far!
