Hello! Welcome to the latest Geeky Brummie Games Release Roundup!
This week, machinery, mixtapes and musical martial arts.
Huntdown Overtime is a big, brash side-scrolling shooter in an 80s cyberpunk dystopia. You play as bounty hunter John Sawyer who has one job – take down criminals with an arsenal of heavy artillery. This is a roguelike, so adjust your expectations accordingly, but the aggressively detailed pixel art is still impressive. Developed by Easy Trigger Games and published by Coffee Stain.
After releasing the critically acclaimed Cross Code in 2018, Radical Fish Games are back with week with the Early Access release of Alabaster Dawn. Once again it’s a retro style RPG inspired by Square’s SNES catalogue, now in a fantasy land instead of Cross Code’s sci-fi. You play as Juno, an outcast in a world shadowed by an entity known as Nyx, setting out on a journey to find those who’ve gone missing, including the gods themselves.
If Dead as Disco wasn’t releasing in Early Access, it would have been a major contender for Game of the Week. It’s a brawler combining the precision fighting mechanics of Sifu with the rhythm-driven combat of Hi-Fi Rush. And considering how the latter was one of my three 2023 Games of the Year, this neon-soaked musical kung fu romp is 100% on my radar. You play as Charlie Disco, seeking tor reclaim his position as a musical icon from The Idols who stole it from him. Features a soundtrack full of licensed favourites from The Final Countdown to Hatsune Miku. Developed by Brain Jar Games.
Prime Monster (PC) is a deckbuilding roguelike about being Prime Minister in a parliament of literal monsters. Lie, cheat and steal your way to the top, humiliate your opponents and generally do very little for the benefit of your citizens. Developed by Cavalier Game Studios who are, unsurprisingly, a British studio, which perhaps explains where they got some of their ideas for this game.
Will: Follow the Light (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S) is a narrative-driven puzzle game about the lengths someone could go to in order to save their family. You play as Will, a lighthouse operator in the harsh Northern seas. He’s picked up a signal on the radio that suggests a disaster has happened in his hometown, putting his son in direct danger. He sets out in his boat into the choppy, bitterly cold seas, desperate to protect his child. Along the way you’ll encounter harsh, snowy environments trying to prevent you getting home. Developed by TomorrowHead Studio.
Wax Heads (PC, PS5, Switch 1, Xbox X/S) is a game about working in a record shop, where every visitor has eclectic tastes and it’s up to you to satiate them. Study up on the artists in your catalogue, listen to requests from the customers who walk in and wander the convoluted halls of the shop to uncover the record they need. On top of that, the whole experience has a fantastic punk cartoon art style. Developed by Patattie Games and published by Curve Games.
Amberspire (PC) is an artsy city builder about building an off-world colony. You have to manage resources, build what needs to be built, manage your population and keep everything well maintained, much like other city builders, only now dice rolls add a layer of additional chance to every turn you make. Has an absolutely gorgeous art style. Developed by Lunar Division and published by Bithell Games.
Mixtape (PC, PS5, NS Xbox X/S) is the latest game from Beethoven & Dinosaur, whose previous game The Artful Escape garnered a ton of critical acclaim. This time around, they’re still sharing their love of music through game design but in a less abstract way. Mixtape focuses on three teens heading out into the world and celebrating their final night together with a huge blowout party, assembling the greatest mixtape along the way. Features skating, stop motion style animation and a soundtrack of classic 80s and 90s alternative (see: Joy Division, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.), this was a Game of the Week contender before it just got edged out by an anime woman parrying an excavator. Published by Annapurna Interactive.
Game of the Week is Motorslice (PC, PS5, Xbox X/S), a machine-smashing parkour adventure from Top Hat Studios.
In Motorslice, you play as a Slicer named P (voiced by Kira “2B” Buckland) who’s been sent to a mysterious megastructure with the goal of destroying some destructive machines. Gameplay features parkour elements inspired by Prince of Persia and Mirror’s Edge, while boss fights against gigantic construction equipment take clear inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus, as you climb around looking for weak spots while trying not to get crushed by the sheer size of your foe.
So this is a game designed for me. Every influence mentioned in the dev’s pitch for the game is among my favourite games. Mirror’s Edge parkour? Shadow of the Colossus boss fights? The ability to parry an excavator like it’s Metal Gear Rising? Oh heck yes. I played the demo of this to get a feel for it and yeah, this has the sauce. The gameplay is incredibly fun, P is a likeable character, and the soundtrack sounds like it escaped from Ape Escape. Developer Regular Studio has done a phenomenal job here.
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