Four More Small Games From EGX 2015 That Attracted Crowds - Article
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 27 September 2015 / 5,459 Views
The other day I highlighted some of the stand-out titles on the EGX 2015 show floor that caught my eye, but EGX 2015 played host to a wealth of great indie experiences. Here are some of the more notable examples, and games that anyone who appreciates a good indie title should keep an eye on.
Lumo actually caught my attention prior to the event after Rising Star Games e-mailed me a press release for the game. The marketing materials alone set it apart, featuring cute aesthetics and a highly polished look. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only person that felt this way about Lumo - the wait to play the game was considerable.
But it was well worth it. Lumo is inspired by dungeon crawling games of yesteryear and puts you in control of a little mage (not too dissimilar to the little black mages in Final Fantasy IX) who travels through tiny, stylised rooms. Each room is highly detailed and includes its own distinct puzzle/platforming segments that you must overcome.
Lumo is one game to seriously look out for. Whilst it may look cutesy and simplistic, it appears to have a level of depth and longevity that is often lacking in single player indie games that garner initial enthusiasm based largely on their aesthetics and charm. Lumo is set to release next year.
Poncho is no stranger to gaming convention show floors - I've actually previewed the title once or twice before - but it continues to impress me each and every time I see it. The game revolves around a robot that can jump between three different 2D planes. It’s a platformer, but the additional of three levels of two dimensions can really screw with your mind, and makes for some genuinely interesting puzzles.
Poncho is actually finished but the developer is briefly holding off on releasing it until it can be launched simultaneously across PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, and PC, Mac & Linux. Expect a release before the end of the month... hopefully.
The Flock stood out from the crowd in the indie booth with its fantastic animation system and a brilliant core concept; it's an all vs one first person shooter. Think Evolve, but with each player being given the opportunity to play the game as the monster at least once per round (assuming you're good enough to kill the main character).
In The Flock you play as one of a number of demons that are chasing a single human who wields a torch gun. Sprinting around, it’s your job to take the human player down and possess him, causing you in turn to have a go at wielding the torch gun. With the torch gun in hand, you can fire at the demons, killing them in an instant. But the demons don’t have to rely solely on sheer numbers and speed, they can also abuse the fact that, if they stand in place, they can't actually be harmed.
The action is frantic and quickly turns on its head; one minute you’re running around aimlessly trying to find the sole human on a huge map, the next you’re running away from countless enemies, manically trying to fend off the onslaught by firing light at oncoming enemies.
I can’t tell you how many times I've walked past a YIIK booth without giving it a second look. The posters and promotional material really don't do much to sell the game, and the lengthy crowds - which should've been an encouraging sign - make it difficult to see the game in action in the heat of the moment on bustling show floors.
Eventually, however, I did manage to sit down with the game and give it a proper playtest. And I’m glad I did. It's a game that oozes style and charm in every aspect, from its fantastic dialog to its fantastically animated battle scenes and beyond. I was hooked from the get go.
Speaking with the developer I also found out that YIIK isn’t like most other indie games, which offer short, bite-sized experiences, rather it will offer a campaign that last upwards of 30 hours.
YIIK is set to release on PC, Linux, Mac, PS Vita, PS4, and Wii U later this year.
