Hiring adventures, dicey roguelites, and avenging cats

Hello friends, and welcome to another Indie Dispatch. Last week we launched out Next Fest demo, and now I am preparing for a seemingly never-ending slew of events, so I’ve been tired. I haven’t played that much, and I certainly haven’t been playing any of the cool indies that have hit Next Fest that I do want to check out before it ends. Instead I have been curling up on the couch for 30 minute chunks at the end of long soul crushing days, making my way through the final hours of Mass Effect.

I haven’t played Mass Effect in a hot minute. This is my third time playing the seminal sci-fi RPG, a rarity for me as I barely play any game twice, let alone three times. Even after all these years later, it astounds me just how well the original Mass Effect onboards it’s players into a high stakes political thriller where humanity is trying to be taken seriously. From the opening moments where Shepard immediately calls out that the mission he is on doesn’t make sense, and asks the brass to level with him on their true intentions, it sets the stage for a world where no one can be trusted, and humans are never at the top of the food chain. Shepard is the best we’ve got, and he’s trying to just do his part to complete his mission, and hopefully show the rest of the galaxy that we aren’t all assholes.

Except if you’re playing Paragon I guess.

This is kinda rambly. Did I mention that I’m really tired? But I am rounding the corner on the final hours of the game and while it certainly is dated in may aspects, there is just such a dense and interesting story throughout the campaign that feels timeless, and also hasn’t been surpassed in many ways. When I look at the state of AAA games today… where did it all go wrong? Don’t even get me started on where it all went wrong for BioWare. And hey, maybe there’s an argument to be made that terrible industry conditions but also renewed scrutiny on worker’s rights means that we don’t get these insane pressure cooker games that were built on the hearts and souls of endless crunch anymore, and that is why everything is so bland and by the numbers now? There is a thought in here, I am sure, but I am far too tired to work it out right now.

Just know that Mass Effect is still great. It makes me incredibly happy to see that it still stands the test of time, and it makes me long for a time where AAA games were interesting and doing cool things. But it also makes me sad that with each retirement, and studio closure, we are getting closer and closer to AAA just not existing. Maybe that is a good thing. This is an indie-focused website, and I am an indie developer myself. But there is also just something about the spectacle of a AAA game that I don’t want to go away fully.

Enough of this though. Let’s talk about what happened this week.

dicey roguelites

Developer: Brava Games
Steam rating: N/A
Store page

Kicking things off this week is roguelike management sim Guilds of Greybrook, a digital dice and card game that has you managing a guild in a fantasy world. Rather than playing as the heroes, you will need to recruit and pay them to complete your quests, negotiate contracts, and decide what side of the power struggle you want to be fighting on.

You will need to hire the very best, train them up for the challenges ahead, and upgrade their dice faces to try and tip the odds in your favour. The art is VERY tabletop coded, and I am totally here for it. This looks like a pretty fun game to sit down and noodle around with. I have always been a huge fan of games where you play as the supporting cast rather than the adventurers, so if you like tabletop games like Lords of Waterdeep, this one might be for you.

Developer: Vekaria
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Did you ever think to yourself “wow, I wish QWOP had some guns in it”? They Killed Your Cat is basically that premise. Some goons killed your cat ala John Wick, and now you are running down corridors murdering those responsible. You are controlling movement of each leg manually, you are reloading your weapons

A short but relentless first-person shooter featuring manual reloading, walking, and blinking, with settings that let you customize your experience. Every “normal” action has some kind of friction, for example, to reload your gun you need to pop out the magazine, insert a new clip, then slide back the safety before shooting. You need to reach a computer terminal and interact with it in order to save. And yeah, you need to take each step individually. This looks stupid, but in a fun way, and the reviews definitely seem to be saying exactly that.

Developer: 1M Bits Horde
Steam rating: Mostly Positive 
Store page

I spotted this one on the release schedule and immediately thought of Pyxel from our community! Nested Lands looks to be a survival medieval combat game, taking a little bit from War of the Roses, a little bit from Valheim, and a touch of Manor Lords. Billed as a settlement-building RPG in the middle of a plague-ravaged world, this dark and gritty combat game has you looking for peasants to join your settlement, as you assign jobs and crafts for them to help you continue building up your town.

The trailer does seem to focus mostly on the combat though, which could be a good thing if you wanted less sim and more clashing of swords. It does have a vibe though, and while it isn’t for me, it is getting a good rap from folks on Steam and it could very well be a game you want to check out if this is your kinda thing.

Developer: countlessnights
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store page

The next “let’s take a random thing and roguelite it” is here, and it’s called Dice A Million, a roll ‘em up that has you trying to roll 1,000,000 with a set of dice. As the numbers grow you will be unlocking more dice with crazy unique effects and modifiers, and getting some cool powerup rings for your hand. Speaking of the hands, there are 10 to choose from which indicate your player class. Also, the developer wants you to really notice their “cutting edge next-gen graphics”, which were all drawn on Microsoft Paint.

I dunno. Personally Balatro was cool but it never really grabbed me like it seemed to grab everyone else in the world. These games are just not for me, which is weird because I love deckbuilders so much. But I am sure that many of you will want to check this one out and lose countless hours to it.

Developer: IrishJohnGames
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store page

Nauticual politicians searching for booty should look no further than Rise of Piracy, an action adventure RTS that has you comdicey roguelitesmanding a small fleet of pirates as you rise to control the seven seas. You will start with a very small ship and some coin, but as you progress and build notoriety, you will be sinking vessels, getting big barrels of loot, and building out a fearful fleet that will engage large colonial fleets in naval ship warfare.

Why did I mention nautical politics? Because you don’t HAVE to be a pirate in Rise of Piracy. The campaign is very sandboxy and allows you to create your own story as you visit ports, trade with merchants, and build relations with other factions. Perhaps you are just a land baron who is looking to sell goods rather than find bountiful loot? It seems like Rise of Piracy will allow you to do that.

The game is in Early Access and they have a very comprehensive roadmap. It is also published by the reboot of Microprose, one of the rare publishers that have come back from the brink of obscurity and they just seem to GET IT. They have a flavor of games, and they take interesting swings. If you’re into RTS and are thinking about getting an eye patch, this might be more interesting than Windrose for your pirate dreams. 

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See you next week - Steve