Last Stronghold title I played was the original, almost a quarter of the century ago. Aside from the obvious jump in technology since, I think Stronghold 4 makes a case for plenty of QoL additions such as convenient building snapping to where it makes the most sense, dedicated ability to repair your walls, etc. Something I didn’t really enjoy was the honor progression system despite the neat heraldry assets. I get this niggling feeling it’s there just to constantly have something to fiddle with rather than using the clear-cut, more linear approach the original game went with and which worked just fine. Narratively, this is supposed to be a prequel, but there isn’t much story in this demo. On the presentation side I sadly walked away unimpressed since no 3D assets could really replace or even replicate those gorgeous 2D sprites, especially when you hover over the buildings to see people working.

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Perhaps because I’m inexperienced with similar titles at large, but ANOMALITH really grabbed me so much I spent almost two hours with the demo. A TPS survival game where Reina Minazuki delves into the anomalous Zone as one of the Divers, this is a surprisingly glum experience that doesn’t go overboard beyond anime aesthetics for characters sometimes clashing with more believable locales. A spooky hospital in this case. You dive in to fight monsters, gather materials in your limited inventory and dump it back through portals. What I enjoyed the most is probably what some may intensely dislike – how deliberately stilted the game feels to play as that lends itself to playing more methodically. Maybe this changes once you unlock more abilities? This is a gun-centric experience based on the demo, which makes you value parry and close-range ability you do get all the more for it.

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I’m not sure if I would classify The Road of Dust and Sorrow as really horror based on the demo, but this 2D action adventure nails the atmosphere pretty well. Mind you, we are dealing with a mother and daughter pair trying to survive in a not!zombies apocalypse scenario. I guess the closest comparison would be The Last of Us based on my brief stint with that one back on PS3? There is some light resource management but I never found myself starved for bullets or baseball bats, both of which you can craft on the spot. From what I’ve gathered based on found notes and conversations there was a miracle crop invented that went horribly wrong and doomed humanity leaving the survivors to pick up the pieces from these Dusters. Pixel visuals match the drab mood game is going for and I while I wish there was more to game’s puzzles it’s clear devs were going for a more accessible approach.

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Curse of Resthaven certainly makes for an interesting genre blend, I’ll give it that. Protagonist accepts Imperial commission to a seemingly cursed island all the while searching for his niece who went missing on that selfsame island. At its core an adventure game, but one where you’re not solving puzzles by combining items as much as upgrading the town itself so you can claim goods from stores which you in turn sell to various ships as well as buy goods in a fluctuating fantasy economy. Narrative part comes in the form of questioning people based on various clues you’ve gathered as you uncover local mysteries. Going on expeditions with various hireling companions that play out in CYOA fashion are also a factor. It’s hard to determine just how well all of this will gel together based on the demo, but I’m getting a hint of on-the-rails Vagrus – The Riven Realms vibes from this one.

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One element of At Fate’s End immediately standing out as its defining aspect is easily the production. So much effort has clearly gone into gorgeous 2D visuals and animated scenes, down to using what is either fictional or some language I couldn’t immediately place for spoken lines. Story regarding the young Princess of Swords, Shan Hemlock, who has to go around challenging her siblings for power is an intriguing premise. In the demo you’ll only “resolve” the situation with boisterous sister Camilla who’s been a poor ruler of her territory, but this gives you firsthand experience of the clues system as you suss out what exactly is her deal. Gameplay-wise you’re looking at 2D action adventure with some platforming and abilities your unlock, mainly from your other siblings. Entire thing is presented in the form of Tarot cards you use for everything. Bit of a feature creep with long walks to reach places.

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In what appears to be a trend for these demos, Arisen Force: Vonimir is yet another game punching above its weights in terms of what it offers. I went into it expecting a JRPG only to get an action RPG instead. From a fantasy setup of Aurelia’s father, the king, going missing during the last monster invasion, to your taking control of her and her underlings as you handle what seems to be a tax matter. In the writing department you’re struggling against an awkward translation that can’t keep consistent tone to save its life. You get a party of characters, but only control one at a time and I think combat itself is barely average. Time-to-kill for bosses was too long for a combat system that has you using a single button and spending easy-to-come-by stamina for abilities. Low number of grunt samples and high frequency of their use got old REAL fast. AI is also used for some art assets if that’s a deal breaker.

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Brawler set in Indonesia about a revenge story of some kind, possibly with implied human trafficking, I have to say Acts of Blood left a lukewarm initial impression. With punches, kicks, special executions and parries in your repertoire the easiest parallel to draw as far as combat goes would be Batman: Arkham games, which exposes some design flaws in this one. Combat itself leans more on the cumbersome, I suppose you’d call it realistic side, but issues arise. There’s a reason camera should zoom out further from default OTS perspective if you’re supposed to be fighting groups of enemies or why they should be color-coded in such a way that PARRY indicator doesn’t blend in with their outfits, for example. Something Acts of Blood has overlooked and marred an otherwise enjoyable combat system. I did like how meaningful skill upgrades were even if controls could use some fine-tuning.

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I wouldn’t say Dinghai: The Ocean Pillar is unlike anything you’ve ever played in your life, but I think it does a fairly good job at being a stage-based roguelite. It’s the RPG progression systems, dual weapon set approach and generally drawing inspiration from Chinese mythology that hook you in. Story? Eh, I’ll admit to being lost. Something about a youth by the name of Yi who ends up being “possessed” by the ancient Abyssal Dragon in a pact as latter now gets to resolve old business. Mythical aspect is really the background stuff as clearing zones with drop preferences for you to gradually bulk up your character is the meat and potatoes here. Oh, and Yi is also a talking chicken now. Compared to other Chinese projects Dinghai seems to have decent translation effort put into it, though. Game also looks great as it also utilizes engaging camera work at times at the expense of free camera.