The tri-annual Steam Next Fest kicked off this week and we're not short on adventure games to try out. Over 100 games of all genres have their demos available to play and on day one, here's the adventure games I got to play.
Vlad Circus from Indiesruption
From the developer of 9 Witches comes a similar eerie tale with delightful pixels. Vlad circus burnt down in the early 1920's and took with it several lives. The brother of the ringmaster was the culprit and thus a year after the fire, he was executed. Fast forward 8 years and we play as a clown who was part of the circus and has been recalled as the ringmaster wishes to restart the circus. We wake in a run down old mansion in a creepy wood and soon enough the electric fails. It's a creepy and wonderful experience, meeting ex-circus folk like the bearded lady, ventriloquist and two headed woman.
Where 9 Witches fell down for me was the humour, often reaching for fart jokes one too may times, but here there seems to be little to no humour and it plays it seriously straight. The world is really dark and creepy with lighting playing a huge role. The option to continuously pick up and drop things adds an RPG element to it also. Overall I thought it was a highly polished and intriguing game. The full game is due to be released October 17th.
First impressions? Optimistic.
Get Nine Witches: Family Disruption from GOG.com
Watch my Review of Nine Witches: Family Disruption.
Conquistadorio from Morion Studio
This quaint little puzzle adventure has strong flavours of Machinarium, complete with an almost identical hint system. We're rudely woken up from our eternal sleep (death) and all we want is to return to the earth to rest, but alas, puzzles stand in the way! It is very pretty to look at and boasts some strong early puzzles with fun interactions.
If you're a fan of Machinarium then I'd say stick this on your wishlist asap, and grab it on October 20th when it's released.
First Impressions? Gorgeous and casual
The Beekeeper's Picnic from Jabbage
Sherlock Holmes isn't a stranger to adventure games thanks to the Frogware titles, however here we're in the creative mind of Jabbage, writer and artist from the Midlands, UK. We're not faced with murderers and Guy Richie violence, but instead , a picnic and a couple of old investigators. Holmes has essentially retired and his old buddy Watson is coming to visit, so we get all flustered and want to make the best present ever. A Picnic of course!
It's cute and for me, flipping gorgeous, and there's a cool brain-loft thing where you can combine thoughts and clues. It's in it's early stages with release pencilled in for Q3 2024, but I am intrigued and thought it was a delight.
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