Another Stellar Day of the Devs: Summer Games Fest Edition
Like barbecue on the grill and the last day of school, the Day of the Devs: Summer Games Fest edition is a sure sign that we have some warm and lazy days ahead. Every year Tim Schafer and his team comb through hundreds of submissions, looking for the best indie games to highlight. They know how to pick ’em, and if a game appears in the Day of the Devs presentation there’s a pretty fair chance it will make a splash.
So, in no particular order, here are a few of COG’s favorites from the presentation.
Dreadmoor
What do you get when you combine horror and fishing? Something like Dreadmoor, a dark first-person fishing adventure game set in a submerged, post-apocalyptic world. Fish in murky waters, upgrade your boat, craft survival gear, and fight monstrous creatures that lurk under the water and on the land. What’s on the end of your line, a bass or a badass monster?
Tenebris Somnia
Tenebris Somnia has a strong hook. It’s a retro 2D survival horror game that flips back and forth with movie-quality live action cutscenes. Or maybe it’s a horror movie that flips into a retro 2D action game. Either way, it’s visually unique and, as the developers point out, “made with absolutely posivitively no goddamn generative AI.”
Threads of Time
Every Day of the Devs has a few games that visually impress. Threads of Time is an era-spanning, turn-based RPG inspired by the timeless classics. Players embark on a journey through time, gather a party of charismatic heroes from across ages, and uncover a plot that threatens to unravel the past, present and future. Threads of Time has a unique art style that combines rich and painterly environments with retro-pixel characters.
Slap Out of It!
Rubber hose animation is definitely enjoying a renaissance, and you can add Slap Out of It! to the roster. Slap Out Of It! is a slap-and-solve adventure that stretches your wits and your noodly arms to their max. It’s a “beautiful celebration of stupid” that will keep you thinking and laughing at the same time as you slap the bejeezus out of the world and solve puzzles.
Lazy River
Lazy River is a bit like first-person-roaming through a sim water park made by a seriously demented designer. Actually, it’s a co-op shooter/physics sim where the goal is to survive rafting along a lazy river in the “galaxy’s most unregulated waterpark.” There’s an element of zombie-killing, too, because “some guy peed in the pool and the pee mixed with the space water and turned all the guests into zombies that want to kill you.” Lazy River looks like a fun, wild ride.
Blood Dungeon
From the creators of Nidhogg, Blood Dungeon lets players murder hordes of monsters in a 2D platforming auto-shooter. Players parkour around the levels as they collect blood, gold, and bones to increase their powers. An extremely colorful and explosive pixelated world is the stage for the game’s frenetic, addictive-looking gameplay.
33 Immortals
33 Immortals is a co-op action-roguelike for — wait for it — 33 players, based on Dante’s Inferno. Play a damned soul, and rebel against God’s final judgment. Dive straight into epic 33-player co-op battles with instant “pick-up and raid” matchmaking. Cooperate with your allies to survive against hordes of monsters and massive, challenging bosses. Definitely not a single-player game, but gamers with a fear of strangers and public failure rest easy. There’s no voice chat or squeaky-voiced 10-year-olds telling you to get gud.