Previews & Early Access

8May

By Kyle McGrathNo Comments

Dark Pals: The 1st Floor – PC Preview

Happy to be checking out another studios attempt at the Mascot-Horror theme. This time we get Dark Pals from the team at Skunx Games. We enter another ruined factory called the Upwards and attempt to find out or escape, who know? If you are in the market for a new horror Dark Pals' demo is available now on Steam. Here we go again. Gameplay We awake in a run-down toy factory with no context of how we got here. We then use a small octopus that looks like it is sporting a ski mask to solve some puzzles and progress the story. Most of the information we learn comes from Televisions that play around the levels, with a Mr. Grin spewing the typical stuff. The puzzles themselves though are not that bad, with most being related to colours, and some others come from shooting targets. Between al...

7May

By StuartNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Wilderdark – Demo Preview

Last week we posted the news that Team Junkfish, the masterminds behind iconic horror-survival, Monstrum, are back! And boy oh boy are they back. Wilderdark was announced to a raptor-ous reception, and over this past week, we also had access to their new demo. Available now on Steam, so check it out here. In The Dark, No One Can Hear You Scream If you like what you read, I urge you to go and check out the demo yourself. Even Wishlist while you are there. Gameplay Being touted as a horror-survival, you are immediately greeted with a nice dark forest and a campsite. Don't be fooled though, the campsite means that someone has come before you. You've been sent to this island where the dinosaurs and plantlife have been infected with some mysterious ectoparasitic organism. Meaning that every...

29Apr

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Morbid Metal – PC Early Access Preview

Morbid Metal, a third-person action roguelite by SCREEN JUICE is available now in early access. With publishing by Ubisoft, become an agent of destruction while shifting between characters mid-combat, combining attacks and abilities to overcome sectors of machine foes. You can currently check it out only on Steam. Metal Meets Metal in this Hack 'n Slash Roguelite This game originally caught my eye a few years ago. I added it to my wishlist after finding it, but believe I must have removed it after not seeing much news on development so I didn't notice the news ramp back up over the last year. I think StarRupture was the last game I had a similar wishlist experience with. Was I just as impressed with the re-emergence of Morbid Metal? Find out below! Gameplay Morbid Metal is a third-...

Gray Zone Warfare – PC Early Access Preview

17Apr

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Gray Zone Warfare – PC Early Access Preview

Gray Zone Warfare is a tactical FPS in early access by MADFINGER Games. Take on missions solo or with a squad of your own as you explore a persistent, remote Southeast Asian island in both PvE and PvPvE combat. The game is only available on Steam. Tactics are Needed in the Gray Zone I'm no stranger to first-person shooter games. My most consistently played series over the years is without a doubt Battlefield. They provide a nice blend of ground and vehicle combat that I think draws me, alongside the steady paced action. Gray Zone Warfare is one that I've seen but not really taken a look at as far as FPS games go. I was guessing it would be a mixture of Rainbow Six Siege and Squad from the tactical standpoint. Let me share what I found thus far in my time with the game below. Gamepla...

15Apr

By Kyle McGrathNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Dead as Disco – PC Preview

Dead As Disco is being made by the team at Brain Jar Games, Inc. and is going to be the new rhythm beat'em-up coming to Steam's store. We are going to be playing a character named Charlie, and in this preview I will be fighting against two bosses. If you are a fan of these style of games like No Safe Roads, or Muse Dash, then this might be up your alley. Want to try it for yourselves, then head over to Steam and give the demo ago. Who said Disco is dead? Gameplay In this preview I was able to play two of the boss fights we can expect in the full game of Dead as Disco. And they are Arora, and Hemlock, who will have Charlie boogie bashing his way to them through small dance stages of enemies. All while bringing the "beat" down in-time with the levels track. There are not that many contr...

Don’t Lose Aggro – PC Early Access Preview

14Apr

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Don’t Lose Aggro – PC Early Access Preview

Don't Lose Aggro is an action roguelite where you are the tank. Oren Koren, the developer, has taken the role and created a roguelite game loop around doing just that. It will be available in Early Access only on Steam. Tanking Can Be Slow... I bet you didn't expect me to be writing about another roguelike game, did you? Oh wait... yeah you probably aren't surprised. I'm not either at this point and I enjoy seeing the different flavors that are out there. Check out my thoughts on the early access build of Don't Lose Aggro below. Gameplay The "holy trinity" of player roles, damage-per-second (DPS), healer and tank, are commonly found in multiplayer games. Don't Lose Aggro extracts the tank role and puts it into a solo player experience where your task remains the same - get your par...

13Apr

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Animalkind – PC Early Access Preview

Animalkind is a cozy crafting co-op now available in early access on PC. Play as a small, lovable quadruped summoned to a mysterious island with development and publishing by Uncommon Games. Explore the open world with the assistance of an ancient mech and develop a growing community, alone or with a trio of friends. It's only available now in early access through Steam. Animalkind of Adorable I should really have shown this game to my daughter first to see her reaction. She loves games with animals as well as crafting games like Minecraft. Just the sight of the critters I'm sure will excite her to play. But anyhow, Animalkind looks pretty cute to me too so I thought I'd check it out. Let me tell you about it below. Gameplay Animalkind is an open world co-op crafting adventure wher...

Celestial Return – PC Early Access Preview

17Mar

By Tyler DenyerNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Celestial Return – PC Early Access Preview

There’s subtlety, and then there’s Celestial Return. Developed by Metaphor Games and published by Shoreline Games, this neon-soaked detective RPG doesn’t creep onto your screen so much as bleed into it. This doesn’t ease you into Netherveil City. It throws you in, neon-first. Coming to Steam, and currently running a Kickstarter. Celestial Return - Not quite a star Before we really get into Netherveil, I’m curious, are you the sort who clicks every dialogue branch just in case, or do you streamline towards objectives? Gameplay You play Detective Howard, a worn-out investigator armed with a rusted badge, a sentient rose that refuses to stay quiet, and a pocketful of dice that matter far more than you’d expect. Netherveil is a dying city. Suicides pile up. Corpses crawl. Conversations fra...

16Mar

By Kyle McGrathNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

PIGFACE – PC Early Access Preview

While on Steam I was looking for a new FPS game, with some grungy visuals. And luckily I came across PIGFACE, published by DreadXP, and created by Titolovesyou, comes an ultra-violent shooter. Where we take down gangs, by any mean necessary. PIGFACE is currently in early access on Steam for £8.50, which is not that bad of a price. Murder has been served. Gameplay We play as a character, whose name I think is called Exit. Who awakes in an old rundown building with no recollection of why she is here. The player quickly finds out that a bomb has been surgically implanted into Exit's head. And must now fulfil missions for a secret team. After finish the tutorial the player is sent to an apartment where you can, take on missions, or change their appearance. So far there is not a lot in PIG...

Fallen Tear: The Ascension – PC Early Access Preview

16Mar

By PaulNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Fallen Tear: The Ascension – PC Early Access Preview

If there's one genre of game that has a tonne of fantastic indie representation already, but I'm always willing to accept more of, it's Metroidvania. Enter Fallen Tear: The Ascension, a new and debut entry from a studio in the Philippines. Winter Crew Studios, a sub-company of publisher The CMD Studios, was spun-up in 2020 with the express purpose of creating Fallen Tear. They launched a crowd-funding effort on Kickstarter in 2024 and garnered the attention of over 3000 backers. Now, they are bringing the game to Early Access on Steam with the intention to use this period for balancing combat builds and in-game economies along side the games community of players. The Early Access build represents a small portion of the beginning section of the game, and I've spent about a dozen hours tr...