Fly-over report between Thronebreaker and review I'm working on next. Just got in the mood for some demos so I went with a theme. I have no idea why it's so convoluted to find a free games on Steam not categorized as demos or F2P titles like MMORPG, MOBA, etc. Great Humble Choice just added way more games than I saw coming as well so backlog grows ever steadily.
That was unexpectedly touching for such a brief opening to a full game. In any case, I'd say said description explains perfectly my own impression when it calls it a slice-of-life adventure. Not much context is initially given when you see a highschool boy hanging it with a a kid as she narrates the ending of a story she's writing to him and gets him all emotional. Not soon after they recover their Red Book which seemingly has supernatural powers and can fix all problems by going into a person's mind aka Space Dive. I won't go into spoilers, and there is a twist at the end of the demo, but there's a reason why a girl is hanging out when she should be at school and Magic Red Book itself is treated as matter-a-fact by both of our characters as we assume the role of a boy and jog around this idyllic town in 2D sprite fashion. Makes me wonder if “jumping into people's minds” will be a key mechanic and lend itself to even more easy puzzles in the future.
VERDICT: Good and stuff and A Space for the Unbound is a game to check out when it releases. Story in particular has me intrigued whether there will be different periods in time, if it's a memory thing or something else. Appealing artwork definitely adds to the package and compensates for what is obviously an indie production. Art from adversity, as you might say.
Keep it simple and straight to the point. I like it.
Shocking number of cat purring sounds in the game.
Having played merely a handful of these sorts of “first-person horror walking simulators” types I've come to realize they're not really my thing. Not to say that diminishes what Lust from Beyond has to offer with this demo affair, though. It's just not something I'd classify as really horror as much as TERROR because it relies on shocking imagery, this time of sexual nature so it gets extra points, and unnecessary jump scares. Which is weird given that painted over that rather simplistic approach to gameplay it appears to be really atmospheric... well, if you're into pleasure-seeking cults dabbling into more than they could handle with you taking the role of a new initiate where even more is held from you. I would say character models were definitely not on-par with impressive level visually and it stood out for me. Giving everyone masks was probably a good cost cutting measure in that respect.
VERDICT: It's a skip for me. I'm sure it's good at what it sets out to accomplish, but going over locales with a fine comb to find all the collectibles so you can get every tidbit of the story game otherwise appears to be light on isn't exactly what appeals me. What I saw was also pretty open with nudity so if that's a draw for you go right ahead.
[Alien Danger Sense = ACTIVATED]
Hmm. I'll just show myself out, right? You be you.
Some comparisons to much more established Blacksad are inevitable considering we're dealing with an anthropomorphic detective here, but I'd say Howard Lotor the raccoon PI works just fine on his own based on this very brief prologue bit I experienced. In fact, I was actually surprised it's not even a point & click adventure game instead falling under that rather awkward WASD control category, fact somewhat alleviated by being a 2.5D game so you don't have to think much about traversing the environment itself. Throw in rather rudimentary dialog system, albeit one that's not fluff and has a purpose, alongside one actual puzzle that threw me for a loop before realizing I could move objects on the board around and you have makings of a solid game.
VERDICT: Backbone definitely STAYS on my wishlist until release. Although in my opinion pixelated art style would benefit by being just slightly zoomed out game absolutely nails the noir look and atmosphere it was aiming for. Demo turning real grim towards the finale was a twist I did not see coming. If there's one negative I have to point it's lacking sound design, though. Downplaying your score to immersive level I understand, but there's barely any notable sound throughout the demo other than the bar song.
Sleazy bars are a given for Noir stories.
Don't go breaking any laws now, kid. Or “selling nuts” will take an entirely different meaning.
I had seen you were playing A Space for the Unbound prologue and it made me wanna try it too, but I’ll also add Backbone to the list, your review convinced me. I like those demo reviews, thanks for trying those and sharing with us. A while ago Steam did some sort of mini event were there was a bunch of demos to try for a day or two, and it was really interesting, there was a lot of good stuff in the lot! I wish it happened more often.
Oh god. I’m so rarely on Steam my sighting has become something worth noting. :P
I’m glad these are useful to someone because they’re just short write-ups and not really intended as reviews seeing as they’re free so anyone can try them out. Yeah, I remember that event. I don’t think I played ANYTHING when it was ongoing.
I haven’t touched a demo in years, but I fondly remember the times as a kid, when you could spend hours replaying the same little demo again and again :)
Backbone sounds and looks really interesting. I’ll have to keep that game in mind. And play the demo!
I was crazy for PS1 demo disks that came in various magazines at the time. So much so a certain theme is burned into my memory.
It is nice to see demos still exist, though. One could say it makes sense they would return when the market becomes so overcrowded people become picky what they’ll buy.
Thank you for these discoveries.
No problem, hope you enjoyed the read.