EGE 2017: 3 SA indie titles to watch

This year’s running of EGE 2017 was all about esports, but that didn’t mean we didn’t get to see some local gaming goodness, with IESA having a respectable stand and Matt ‘RogueCode’ Cavanagh also showing off his long time coming shooter.

Here are three local titles, shown off at EGE, that are worth keeping an eye on. We no doubt missed a title or three (I didn’t even know JetStream was available to play, for instance), so drop us a mail if you want to talk about your game.

VALA

The only one on the list I didn’t get to play, owing to time constraints, VALA (Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse) is essentially a topdown twin-stick shooter.

But the game also incorporates “roguelike-lite-ish” aspects, couch coop play and a quirky sense of humour. You’ll essentially be slaughtering packs of vicious llamas, as the name implies.

VALA is looking rather striking, thanks to its great lighting effects and tons of on-screen action. And with a Windows 10, Steam and Xbox One release, the only question is when it’s actually coming out and what kind of price we can expect…

“Release date isn’t set but within the next few months. And it’ll be around R150,” Cavanagh told Gearburn. The developer added that more platforms are being considered for the future.

PolyGod

What happens when you combine first-person shooting with randomly generated levels and permadeath? Well, PolyGod is another title in this vein, and it definitely shows some promise.

The game is kaleidoscopic and plays pretty decently at this stage. The demo has you armed with a basic blaster, taking out a small variety of enemies that each have their own attack patterns (the tiny blue beetle-type things explode, the conker-type floating enemies fire in multiple directions at once). Take an enemy out and you earn their soul, with many souls being used to acquire “blessings” (double damage, elemental effects etc).

The trailer shows off a variety of weapon and enemy types though. It wasn’t quite clear how many weapons and enemies will appear in the final title, but we spoke to a representative after publication of this article for clarity on enemies.

“In every level there are five enemy types which you will encounter. The total enemies that are in a level depends on the seed of the level — some seeds will have fewer total enemies, some seeds will have more,” Wyndham Davies told Gearburn.

“This means that since we have six levels already in-game, there are 30 different enemies, with five more still to be released with the completion of level seven. After each level players will encounter a Holy Champion which they must defeat to progress to the next level.”

As we understand it, PolyGod also allows you to generate levels by using a word or combination of letters/numbers/etc. For instance, you can enter your name as a “seed” and specific levels will be generated that are tied to that word. This way, you can share the levels with friends and they can play through the same levels in order to better your run.

PolyGod is available on Steam Early Access for R109, with an Xbox One release coming too.

Drawkanoid

Added some temporary particles, hitpause, screenshake and bosses for tomorrow’s expo. #drawkanoid pic.twitter.com/HX4lPRSKzs

— Danny Day (@dislekcia) July 28, 2017

Coming from Desktop Dungeons‘ Danny Day, we’ve got a rather interesting take on Arkanoid.

Imagine Arkanoid, but with the majority of the playfield being fast-paced and full of objects, while the bottom third or so plays host to a super-slow motion playfield. The bottom bit is where you’ll be controlling your paddle, drawing it in the path of the slow-moving ball.

It all makes for a very addictive mechanic, as you figure out the best angles/trajectories for high-scoring shots. You’re also up against a clock (which slows down as the ball enters the slow-mo playfield), with a fun overtime mechanic if you fire off a shot at the proverbial buzzer.

It seems to take an endless form at this stage, as you attempt to last as long as possible, moving through the levels and racking up the points.

Drawkanoid is expected to launch on PC later this year.

Featured image: PolyGod