It was EGX in London last weekend, and I got to attend with some dear colleagues from TheGamer. I had far fewer appointments than at Gamescom, which meant I could spend more time wandering the convention floor and playing indies that caught my eye. This is the Indie Spotlight, so here are the indies I had the most fun with at this year’s show..
Unspottable – Quick among us
Among us peaked during the lockdown. When we couldn’t see our friends in person and we were all paranoid people about to break the quarantine rules, what better activity than accusing your friends of being alien impostors? Well, with technology reigning over us again, it’s time we put a social deception robot game in the spotlight. Unspottable has been out for over a year but lacks an online mode – something the developer is currently working on – so it didn’t get the same explosive growth among us. However, I liked the fast, tense laps much more.
The object of the game is to get into NPC robots and try to kill your opponents before they kill you. Everyone looks the same, meaning the first step of each level is figuring out who you are – it’s trickier than it sounds. You can walk, run and hit, that’s all.
Each stage has a different gimmick to keep things fresh. In the nightclub you have to follow the steps on the screen and move with the dancing crowd. When someone gets caught, ‘PUNCHED’ appears on the screen behind the DJ and she drops a sick beat, it’s intense. Just keep moving to the beat and hit anyone who doesn’t move with the groove.
In the prison courtyard, spotlights make the NPCs buzz and lunge, but players pass unfazed. If you are seen, you can turn off the lights to run to a new part of the yard and start the chase again. There is also a supermarket and a sushi restaurant, where you can get groceries or food and escape without killing anyone to earn bonus points.
Unspottable is a fantastic couch party game that I hope will reach a wider audience once it gets online multiplayer. Until then, you can now buy it on PC and consoles.
Sinbad – What if Super Mario Sunshine but Arabian Nights?
Imagine Mario rocking a smooth turban that also turned into a magic carpet? Frankly, he would probably be blamed for 9/11, but that’s not the case here. Sinbad is “Mario Sunshine on crack,” as developer Russel Al-Medenni told me. You play as a young boy who is transported to another world with his friend turned into a magical turban. You must stop an evil spirit – think Jafar in Aladdin – from corrupting the world with a literal Arabian night.
Sinbad looks like you remember Mario Sunshine. There is a bright, colorful city with lots of inhabitants to do little quests for. The monsters I saw on the EGX demo were spider date creatures – creepy, but a nice touch that adds an authentic Middle Eastern flair to the experience. Al-Medenni said he wanted to incorporate elements of his culture into the game, and he’s done a fantastic job. The turban also acts as a replacement for FLUDD, acting as a magic carpet, weapon and trampoline all at once.
A person playing the demo walked to the edge of the map and started walking along the outside wall in a 2D platformer sequence, and a challenge saw the camera shoot up in a bird’s eye view as the protagonist walked down winding streets. All stages also contain expanding orbs of the night, literal Arabian night, studded with stars and brilliance that threaten to consume the whole world.
If you want Arabic influences in games that are cute and silly, Sinbad is one to watch.
Squad Blast – A blast for the whole team
Last but certainly not least, we have Squad Blast, a 2D tactical team shooter inspired by FPS games. Developed by Ultra Horse, this free-to-play title currently has a European playtest running until October 9. Jade King, editor of my own and main features, has strapped in for a few duos and gone to town to play noobs…that’s what I wish I could write. We lost two out of three games.
2D and tactical shooter are terms that don’t often go together, and Ultra Horse knows that. To use both the 2D and FPS angle simultaneously, the team has implemented FPS staples such as bullet spread, motion tec, a diverse selection of heroes to choose from, and game modes such as TDM and payload delivery. On the 2D side, we have pickups, physical bullets that you can dodge and jump around, and playful, eye-catching visuals.
It feels like a new idea, even though many compared it to Awesomenauts. The firefight is tight and the movement is fast and easy to understand. In a 2v2, it’s going to be a bit of hell, so I can only imagine how hectic the 4v4 games will get. Communication was key as me and Jade only managed to win a match if we synergized our skills and pushed and pulled in a smooth rhythm. The developers are pushing Squad Blast as an esports title, and I can see why, it has all the right ingredients.
There is currently no release date, but you can now request to participate in the playtest.
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