As LudoNarracon begins its first day I will be without any electricity since ConEd decided 10 AM on a Thursday is a perfectly reasonable time to shut off the entire building for some tests or whatever they’re doing. I will most probably miss the Davey Wreden fireside chat and can only hope that by 4PM PDT I’ll be able to catch Sam Lake.
Luckily though I was provided preview press access to demos as well as full games featured in the fest and some which I assume are part of the excellent LudoNarracon. Before I get into that though check out this excellent schedule, which if you are reading now means you can get over to Steam and start watching the fest, downloading demos and buying games.
Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion III: There was no CRDM or CRDM II but this tile matching game takes that simple genre and flips it on its head both in compelling gameplay and a weird weird but also clever narrative. There is a very clever tale being told via the device in this game which is currently out (released 4/22). I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Psychotic Bathtub: I felt very uncomfortable playing this, but it is visually charming. There’s some very different ways for this story to go, some sweet one, some very very disturbing. It’s your choice to decide the direction you want to take things.
Expelled!: An Open world visual novel. Not completely open world as you are locked into e specific linearity as you try to either solve the mystery or at least make sure you aren’t accused, found guilty and expelled. Using the same style of inkle’s Overboard! (so much so that Expelled! is called an Overboard! game) I can see a lot replayability in this to see what you can unlock and how under the game’s premise.
The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show: This free to play anniversary puzzle piece by Rusty Lake is a lovely celebration. It has that classic Rusty Lake art. Weird but solvable puzzles when you use that awkward thinking. Special achievements. Secret links. You do yourself a disservice of not only playing this but when you get to the end to keep playing to the secret secret endings.
Detective Dotson: While I personally do not find the game play mechanic fun, it is well done and I can see others absoluting loving this tribute to Bollywood mixed with a rather simplistic but thought provoking secure clues and connect the words to make a detective design. The pettable animals is a huge plus. If you haven’t tried Dotson give it a go. I must say the demo I once played feels like a different game than the one I played as part of Ludonarracon, but there’s a charm there.
The Berlin Apartment: This is an extremely strong demo for what seems to be a very big game yet all in one place. We only get snippets of two sories that are contained but I can only hope we learn of the many people before 2020 and maybe even who moves in after the repair. The art makes you want to explore the world more but the demo does not allow for much exploration, it is built to truly be a snippet but one worthy of download and wishlisting.
When my power returns I plan to delve deep into the rest of Ludonarracon and will share more thoughts at that time, including a review of despelote.