Wishlist Friday! Cool New Games Out This Week 08/18/2024 - 08/24/2024
Welcome to Wishlist Friday, the part of the week when we look at the newest indie releases to add to your Steam wishlist. This week is packed! I wanted to cover even more games, but time constraints forced me to slim this list down to just five games! So in alphabetical order…
3 Minutes to Midnight® - A Comedy Graphic Adventure
Publisher: Scarecrow Studio
Genres: Adventure game, Puzzle
Developer: Scarecrow Studio
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, MORE
Engine: Unity
Price: $24.99 USD (currently on sale for $22.49)
Steam Description: Somewhere, in the middle of nowhere, an explosion shatters the night. Everyone wakes up with a jolt. Where are they? Who are they? It turns out that whatever blew up in the desert seems to have done more than just wipe their memories clean.
Embark on an adventure with Betty as she delves into a town where danger lurks at every turn, and characters are as deceiving and bizarre as they come. Featuring a power-hungry mayor, a potbelly pig with a vendetta, a sheriff obsessed with the supernatural, and believe it or not, a kraken who doesn’t read fine print.
Oh, and there’s also this itsy-bitsy thing about a doomsday plot to eradicate everyone’s very existence. But hey, let’s worry about that later, shall we?
Thoughts: 3 Minutes to Midnight is a very wacky adventure game that seems to be a throwback to the Lucas Arts games of the past. If you’re familiar with those, you know exactly what to expect. I highly recommend watching a little bit of the game to see if the sense of humor appeals to you, as I can see players being turned off by it. Personally, I loved it. Join Betty, who’s admittedly not the brightest bulb, on her quest as she traverses a town straight out of the 1950s full of colorful characters. Try not to die too much in the process.
My Lovely Empress
Developers: GameChanger Studio, Neon Doctrine, Another Indie
Genres: Indie game, Strategy video game, Strategy
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S
Engine: Unity
Publishers: Neon Doctrine, Another Indie
Price: $19.99 USD (Currently on sale for $16.99 USD)
Steam Description: My Lovely Empress is an empire management sim inspired by Asian mythology. As the Emperor of the Crimson Empire, you will build relations with neighboring rulers, balance internal factions, and ensure the prosperity of your people, all before you reap their souls to resurrect your beloved empress.
My thoughts: My Lovely Empress is part of a series of psychological horror games. The main character loses someone they love, and players follow as they deal with their grief in a proper and wholesome manner…by dabbling in the dark arts and trying to resurrect them. I’ve never played any of the games, but I’ve heard things get very messy. My Lovely Empress is the current take on the formula, and the scope has been expanded greatly from previous games. Not only in the main hero trying to win over monsters and bring back his dead life, but now has an empire he must keep happy. From the past demo it seems the writing for this iteration is fantastic, and there’s a lot of replaybility here. This seems like an ideal hopping on point for the series.
Perfect Hand of Nostalpix
Genres: Role-playing game, Indie game, Adventure, Strategy
Developer: PERENNIAL HEARTS LLC.
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Publisher: PERENNIAL HEARTS LLC.
Steam Description: Perfect Hand of Nostalpix is a remaster of the 1989 digital card game classic. Defeat your foes with a deck you tweaked to perfection by collecting, upgrading and evolving each card, in this blast from the past enhanced with new mechanics!
Thoughts: Full disclosure, I’m not entirely sure if this game is an actual remaster or not, but I’m thinking it’s not. That said, this seems kinda neat. Perfect Hand of Nostalpix features a monster collecting card game that’s simple, and quick to play, but has just enough depth to keep players invested. I’m not sure if there’s more to it, or if that’s the whole game. Players appear to be able to level up their monsters with abilities and levels as the game progress. It looks pretty stylish with its pixel art. Overall, this game looks to be a small but fun card battler, with the main goal to garner attention for the studio’s upcoming kickstarter.
(There’s no trailer video for this game.)
Tactical Breach Wizards
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Developer: Suspicious Developments
Engine: Unity
Genres: Indie game, Adventure game, Role-playing game, Strategy video game, Adventure, Strategy
Publisher: Suspicious Developments
Price: $19.99 USD currently on sale for $17.99 USD
Steam Description: In Tactical Breach Wizards, you lead a team of renegade wizards in kevlar through turn-based battles to unravel a modern conspiracy plot. Combine their unique spells in clever ways, or rewind time to try every crazy plan you can think of to punch a Traffic Warlock through a 4th story window.
My thoughts: Is there much cooler than wizards with guns? In all seriousness, I played the demo of this, and trust me when I say there is a potential game of the year material in this one. The combat is addictive and fun, serving more as puzzle boxes that require a fair amount of planning. As good as the combat is, I found myself looking forward to the nuggets of story that dropped in between. The story in engaging, and is without a doubt one of the funniest things I’ve read in a long time. The devs straddle the line perfectly between being snarky without being annoying.
Sunset Hills
Developer: Cotton Game
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS
Publishers: Cotton Game, Asmik Ace
Genres: Indie game, Role-playing game, Adventure
Price: $17.99 USD currently on sale for $16.19
Steam Descriptions: After being discharged from the army and starting to write novels, Nico embarks on a trip to the world with the roar of a train, encountering all kinds of people and events on the way, and experiencing the new world after the war, and the real purpose of Nico's trip gradually emerges ......
My Thoughts: Sunset Hills is a gorgeous adventure game. That said, there are a few caveats— this game features the first two chapters which is about eight hours long, and will be completed via DLC. Which seems kinda gross to me, but if that’s not a dealbreaker for you, there’s something neat here. The main selling point of this game is its atmosphere, with gorgeous watercolor visuals, and a cozy, serene feeling to the English inspired cities it takes place in. However, there definitely is a darker side to the story lurking (After all Nico is a former solider), and without a doubt it’s going to make me cry if I play it. For those looking for a cute yet serious narrative based adventure game, this is the game for you. Be warned though, from the reviews it seems the puzzles may be a bit obtuse, so it might help to have a guide prepped.
That’s all I got for this week! If I were to recommend one of the bunch, it has to go to Tactical Breach Wizards for being just too dang good. See you all next week, when we’ll look at even more games. If there’s one thing that’s for sure, it’s that the game making machine never stops churning.
