As you know, I love a good event. I enjoy not only getting to play new and upcoming games, but also to get out and mingle. To show support for shows and meet other journalists and content creators. So when we were invited to the New Game Plus event at the London Games Festival, I ventured down to the Exhibition Centre at White City, London.
There was quite a variety on display, but don’t expect anything AAA. New Game Plus is more a showcase of blossoming indie titles, with big names like Devolver rubbing shoulders with smaller, passion-project games. With that in mind, allow me to break down a little of what I played. Bear in mind that it was busy, which is good for these types of events, but I didn’t get to play as much as I’d hoped.
Heave Ho 2
Kicking off for the reason for our invite, via the lovely folk at Indigo Pearl, was Devolver’s booth. The biggest offering was Heave Ho 2, follow up to limb-wrangling grab-fest that was the first one… funnily enough.
Heave Ho 2 is more of the same, and for that I absolutely love it. I played it alongside three others, which is as chaotic as one could imagine. The levels ranged from standard A to B types, to puzzles and key-hunting. It’s a laugh, to newcomers and those that have cut their teeth on the first game.
Dark Scrolls
Another pixelated rogue? Yes, but this one hits that retro itch for me. Graphically inspired by the likes of Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts and blockier Final Fantasy characters, Dark Scrolls give sidescrolling Pocky and Rocky vibes.
An auto-scroller, Dark Scrolls sees up to four players jumping, shooting and looting their way through various biomes. There’s bosses, equippable skills and Golden Axe-style special/magic attacks to add to the fun. Plus, the booth was set up on an old progressive scan TV and running on SNES controllers, so that was a plus in its favour.
4am
This one was a bit of a serendipitous find at New Game Plus: after watching a trailer for Replaced, I then had one for 4am immediately after that morning. So, as you may have guessed from the trailer, there’s a similar yet not identical vibe going on.
Yet whilst Replaced is more cyberpunk, 4am is more Limbo/Inside-style dystopia. It’s bleak, it’s giving “I’m being hunted” themes, but it’s also got an air of Trine about it. That’s down to the physics-and-objects manipulation mechanic in here. The player can lift and copy items to make platforms, bridges and other means of traversal. Sadly, the build I was playing kept crashing, but there’s a spark here.
Gods TV
I didn’t get much time with Gods TV, but what I did get to play was enjoyable. My immediate thought was Hi-Fi Rush aesthetics over a Hades mold. Which is no bad thing, given how fun both of those games are, and what with the latter getting a new sequel release, now is the time to ride coattails.
But whilst that sounds like cynicism, it’s not. For all the grimdark games, it’s nice to have a bit of colour and creative flair in our happy, smashy games. It’s also giving an air of Dead as Disco, which is no bad thing, as Miles found out.
Smash ‘n’ Grab
Another isometric-ish joint, Smash ‘n’ Grab again got my attention with its visuals. The blocky style and crash-bang-wallop jazz tunes got me invested, as well as reminding me about Devolver’s Ape Out (not Go Ape, as I kept coming back to).
A smash-and-looter, Smash ‘n’ Grab is pure arcade in its approach. Loot means prizes, with successful runs netting more cash, which means more points. It also reminded me of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction with its human-lobbing mechanics.
Keeper
I knew nothing about Keeper until I saw it, and when I did, I immediately said, “That looks like a Tim Schafer game”. And then I noticed the Double Fine logo on the art, as well as corrected that it’s actually Lee Petty behind this one. For which I apologised to Lee who was stood right there profusely.
However… can you blame me? The whole style is idiosyncratic with Schafer’s recognisable style, which is no bad thing. We play as a sentient lighthouse, that wobbles and creaks like a stack of cups (a Stacking, you might say…?), and traverse the lack with Twig, our winged companion. It’s cute, it’s colourful, it’s got a nice puzzle element to it. I am looking forward to it.
Astro Burn
Back in the day, we had R-Type and Gradius, and that gave way to the likes of Parodius and Pop ‘n’ Twinbee, much like DOOM gave way to parody titles? Well, that’s what Astro Burn felt like… except it isn’t. What it is, however, is a bloody adorable side-scrolling shoot ’em up.
But far be it from me to try and explain how cute it is, just watch the trailer and you’ll see what I mean. I had an absolute blast with this one, despite it being pretty damn tricky at times.
Deaths Of Peck
The last game that I got stuck into was the delightfully violent Deaths of Peck. I instantly got Courage the Cowardly Dog vibes from this one, which is what hooked me in. You know, that early 2000’s Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network style.
Deaths of Peck is a fast-paced platformer, with a deadly twist. Peck needs to be smushed, sliced or seared to traverse, you see. Think a cross between Super Meat Boy and ‘Splosion Man, if you will. It doesn’t want you to stay still, offering rapid-fire platforming in a colourful and chaotic 2D world.
And there you have it, my brief summary of the few games I played at the London Games Festival’s New Game Plus event. Very grateful for the opportunity to go to just one part, as the LGF is, as it turns out, quite a large event across multiple locations.
New Game Plus was the showcase, but not only that, the small vestigal hope that events will become something again in the future. But that’s a story for another day. If you liked what you’ve seen here, do let us know in the comments, or remind us of any that we missed out on.