EGX Rezzed 18 roundup

EGX’s younger brother Rezzed once again made its appearance at London’s Tobacco Dock for 3 days showcasing the upcoming indie games as opposed to EGX’s AAA focus.

Nintendo like last year have showcased several indie games that will be launching on the Switch this year.

Pode – Henchman and Goon

It often takes two in order to solve a puzzle and Pode is a good example of this. Pode puts players in control of two very different creatures; a fiery sun and a dark rock, who must use their unique abilities and work together in order to find their way through a fantastical world influenced by Norwegian culture that lies before them: For example the sun would use their rays to make plants grow and that their leaves would be used as platforms to jump for the rock. Those wishing to go at it along can switch between characters, or grab a friend and play locally in order to work together.

I attempted the single player mode and found controlling both characters at the same time difficult as you have to focus on holding both joycons. Definitely best in co-op mode.

Pode is expected to be released in 2018.

Bad North – Raw Fury

This tower defense game puts you on a singular island and you have to defend your house against the hoard of enemies that sail from the mist surrounding the island.

You have several classes of warriors from spearmen to archers and they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Selecting your characters to move only slows down the invaders as opposed to halting completely so you still have to make your decisions fairly quickly. Losing your group means they are gone for good and the houses provided they aren’t destroyed can be used to heal groups so if you’re is in danger be sure to rush them to the houses.

This game looks promising despite it’s quick and difficult gameplay.

Bad North is planned for a Summer 2018 release.

Lumines Remastered – Enhance

This remaster of the original Lumines which was released on the Sony PSP back in 2004 hits the Switch was well as the PS4,XBOX ONE and Steam in May 2018. The demo just had the first level from the original, but you can tell that they have definitely made it fix the Switch in terms of controls and graphic improvements.

Travis Strikes Again – Marvelous Entertainment/Suda 51

Travis Touchdown returns to the gaming world with his latest title “Travis Strikes Again” which is a spin-off as opposed to a sequel. This demo puts you in the fictional game “Electric Thunder Tiger II” in which Travis and another character called “Badman” must hack and slash through the herds of mooks trying to attack you.

Both characters have their own basic and heavy attacks (press A to dodge, Y for  regular attack, and X for a stronger heavy attack. They also can perform special attacks by using the L Button or a tandem attack by positioning themselves to each side of an enemy and holding the R Button. Special moves have a cooldown meter, but normal attacks won’t always maintain their effectiveness. Travis’ Beam Katana has its own battery meter, which needs to be recharged regularly by holding down the control stick and shaking the joy-con.

This demo had some edits specifically for EGX Rezzed, which contains dialogue very self-aware of where it is being played but also teases more for future conventions (gamescom) meaning that those demos will have more content. Some of the gags from the previous games made their returns such as saving on the toilet.

Travis Strikes Again is expected to be released in late 2018.

West of Loathing – Asymmetric

This RPG from Asymmetric puts you in the Wild West making a living through doing missions and collecting items. As well as the unique visuals, Loathing’s humour is everywhere you look: dialogue, quest text, item descriptions, even in the settings menu. One example of this is you have the option to stick your hand into a saliva-filled spittoon in hopes for finding an item, and there was a little tussle as the game repeatedly suggested it wasn’t a great idea by becoming more and more descriptive about how disgusting the spittoon content’s were. At the end of it you are rewarded with a “Nasty Ring”.

This title is out on Steam already and will get a Switch release in 2018.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn – Wired Productions

Shaq Fu was on the Megadrive/SNES back in 1994 and was met with universal disdain and had the reputation among the worst video games of all time.

Shaq Fu: A Legend ReBorn, ditches the 2D 1v1 beat-em-up for a scrolling beat-em-up along the likes of Streets of Rage in which Shaq beats up mooks with his foots and occasionally weapons like bats and swords. Attacking the mooks builds up a power meter and can unleash several special moves such as Shaq stomping enemies with his size 22 sneakers, unleash a massive mass range attack, and can stun opponents with a dash attack which can break shields.

The humour is based on cliched Oriental movies/games as well as mocking Shaq Fu myself on occasion, that keeps the game interested alongside the improved gameplay.

Shaq Fu is scheduled for a June 2018 release.

Deru – Ink Kit

This puzzle title from Swiss developer Ink Kit was nested away from the other Switch titles and was located in the Indie Basement sector. This puzzle game looks simple yet amazing at the same time and the simple concept takes some getting used to. This concept is a simple  – black and white lines intersect across the screen and each player is either a white or black shape. You can block the lines stream of the opposite colour (white shape blocks black lines) but touching your own colour’s beam will eliminate you (black shape touching black lines). Deru requires both players to work together in order to solve these puzzles and enter your specific target.

EGX will be in the UK next from 20th to 23rd September 2018 at NEC Birmingham

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Tags: 2018, deru, EGX, nintendo switch, rezzed 18, shaq fu, suda51, Tobacco Dock

This post was written by Cyburn, posted on April 20, 2018 Friday at 6:15 pm