I’m still running through demos from the Steam Next Fest. And it’s getting pretty hard to decide what to write about at certain times, so I’m continuing my quest to hit every demo I’ve played instead of forcing myself to make decisions. This Multi-Game Monday isn’t a preemptive strike against forgetting about Tuesday. No, this time around, I’m doubling up. Starting with something different.
‘Absolum’ — Yep, shaun hit this one
For the first — and likely only — time, I picked a game Shaun already highlighted. Why? Because I loved it so much, I thought it needed another go around three months later. Given that he already got into the meat and potatoes of it, I’ll just talk about my experience. Especially given he invoked the name of what is probably my favorite story ever in Lord of the Rings.
And upon starting the game up, I saw some of its fantasy trappings. Then again, Tolkien basically gave everyone the blueprint for the genre, so it’s hard not to have his elements all over it. Then, I started playing. It’s one thing for the cutscenes to be beautiful, but Absolum is insane to see in motion. The animation is incredible, lending weight to every attack and movement of each character. I can’t wait to see the full release when it gets here. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find Shaun. We need to talk.
Steam has some ‘Strange Antiquities’
Now this one is another right up my alley. For as much time as I spend listening to stuff like Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities and Lore podcasts, you’d think I’d have sought out more games like Strange Antiquities. Well, it found me this time. The second game from Bad Viking, Strange Antiquities is a puzzle game where you help run a store that contains many occult-related items. Your job is to help the customers that come in by giving them the item that corresponds to whatever their current need is.
And I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of the game just doing that. You play as the apprentice to Thaumaturge Eli White, who runs the store. He makes a point to tell you that you probably shouldn’t touch anything, and you definitely shouldn’t go into any locked cabinets or doors. Well, this is a video game, so you know we’re going to end up doing that at some point. There’s clearly more to the store than just the items on offer. And I’m excited to find out what that may be whenever the game gets a release date on Steam. In the meantime, I think I’ll try out the first game in this series, Strange Horticulture.
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