So…this should have been out a good bit ago. That was the goal, actually, but a steady rotation of illnesses through the family and wrestling with an 8-month-old who just wanted to move and explore the house got in the way. Just pretend it is still early April, and we are all fresh off the hype train that was PAX East, alright? Perfect!
As with any PAX experience, I find myself reflecting on the memories and awesome games I got to check out. In the post-COVID world, PAX East seems to be defining itself more as an indie-focused event with fewer big-name developers showing off upcoming releases, and 2024 was no different. Luckily, some great indie titles still left a mark on me, and here are a few that I think you should know about!
Heading Out
Heading OutAs a sucker for striking art direction and a lover of roguelikes, when I heard about Heading Out – a roguelite driving game – my curiosity was instantly piqued. Now, I’ve never been much of one for driving games or visual novels, which are the two main gameplay systems in Heading Out. But something about Heading Out just pushed me to check it out, and I’m glad I did.
Developed by Serious Sim and published by Saber Interactive, Heading Out tasks you, the Interstate Jackalope, with traveling the roads of the United States and outrunning your inner demons to reach that specific run’s destination. In typical roguelike fashion, the stops and events you encounter on your way are randomized and can include things like towns to resupply in, inns to sleep in to let you drive longer, races to improve your reputation, and visual novel-esque scenes. These scenes will put you in situations like whether or not you stop and help a person on the side of the road will come up. If you stop, the supernatural cloud chasing you across the country that is the physical manifestation of your fears will get closer to you, but your reputation among people may improve, netting you some perks in that next town you visit.
What I wasn’t expecting with Heading Out before hopping into my demo was that this game isn’t particularly child-friendly. During my time with the game, I came across a family that had seemingly all been murdered while stopping to get some water, and I accidentally ran over a girl’s dog and opted to help her bury it – both of which were presented through static black-and-white comic scenes. Heading Out’s Steam page further warns folks that this game is not going to be a chill ride across the USA, recommending it for mature audiences,
“The story of Heading Out addresses racism, mental health (anxiety, depression), inequality, and other social issues… One of the game’s villains uses hate speech against minorities. Most adult characters use vulgar language.”
The entirety of Heading Out looks almost like a comic book, using primarily greyscale for its visuals, with the exception of a few elements where bright and vibrant reds, yellows, and blues appear to draw your attention. As someone who isn’t the biggest driving or VN fan, it was 100% the visuals that pulled me in to give Heading Out a try.
Coming away from Heading Out, while I don’t think that this game is quite for me, it still left me impressed with how well its seemingly odd mix of gameplay works in the end. I will be curious to see how its story and messaging around racism, mental health, inequality, and the plethora of other societal issues lands and is received when the game releases this week on May 7th, but at the very least, I can say that Heading Out looks good and is an interesting new take on the roguelike genre.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo
One of the things that I love the most about PAX is randomly stumbling on a really cool game that I had never heard of and being instantly hooked. This year at PAX East 2024, that game wound up being Pipistrello and The Cursed Yo-Yo – a top-down action game in a similar vein as The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap – that puts you in the shoes of a blue mouse demon thing named Pipistrello as you take out some crime lords with your yo-yo.
Developer Pocket Trap really has nailed the feeling of those classic GBA action games, which have a distinct feel and visual style. It’s different from, say, one you may find on the Super Nintendo – a special sauce, if you will – that I can’t explain as much as I can just feel. In the demo, there were a few areas to explore and check out. I opted for the dungeon skyscraper that saw me jumping across metal beams, triggering switches, and trying (and failing) and swatting away airborne foes that were pestering me. The whole experience took me right back to the days of tackling Zelda dungeons on the go, and it all felt really good to play.
The big hook of Pipistrello is utilizing and customizing your yo-yo using badges to augment its properties – such as giving it thorns – to help you in your quest. With classic yo-yo moves like walking the dog, I loved being able to hurl the yo-yo at enemies from a distance or how it’s used to interact with the environment, such as turning cranks that are out of reach. On top of all that, the game also features what appears to be a rather robust skill or leveling tree, too! Be still my beating heart!
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo doesn’t have a set release date yet, but it can currently be added to your Steam wishlist, and fans of GBA-era action platforms should get on that right away!
Lucid – Game of the Show
From the moment I was pulled into an impromptu demo showcase of it back at PAX East 2022, I knew that Lucid from Matte Black Games was going to be special – with its gorgeous pixel art and nods to some of my favorite retro games, there was something that just pulled me in. At long last, at this year’s PAX East, I finally got my hands on a controller and got to try it out. It turns out that it is far better than I was expecting, and I was right. This game IS something special.
Lucid (categorized as a “Celestroidvania” by its creator, Eric Manahan) drops players into the fur coat of Oenn as he seeks out answers to the calamity that tore apart the world. While much of the story still remains a mystery, what is clear right from the get-go, even in the demo, is that Lucid is just a joy to play. Movement is the star of the show, and it felt that every new room or area I entered was another opportunity to test and refine my reflexes or just show off. Jumping and dashing around, resetting my jumps, bouncing off enemies – it all just played like a dream. No joke, the fact that Lucid is still a ways off and feels SO good to play is an incredible testament to the talents of Eric. It handles better than a lot of AAA titles after they’ve launched with exponentially larger budgets and teams!
As a kid of the 90s, I adored picking up on and noticing small nods and homages to the games that Lucid clearly takes inspiration from, such as the Mega Man X-esque font that was sprinkled throughout the demo and the totally not Super Metroid world map. Sitting next to Eric as I played the demo, I lost count of how many times I looked over at him, and we just smiled, both acknowledging that I saw what he did there.
Now, tight and responsive gameplay with nods to classic titles is cool and all, but unless they look good doing it, then what’s the point, right? (a healthy dose of sarcasm right there, just in case you couldn’t tell). As a sucker for pixel art, Lucid’s “crystal-punk” aesthetic blew me away during the demo, with detailed environments, attack effects, enemies, and Oenn’s frilly coat all displayed in those sweet, sweet little colored blocks. Seeing as the intro forest area and its denizens look so good, and I can’t wait to see what the other regions look like in the final release.
It’s not hyperbole when I say that, not since Shovel Knight has an indie title excited and impressed me as much as Lucid did, and I’ve only had an hour’s worth of time with it. Already, it is clear that Eric has the skill, passion, and talent to have been able to get Lucid to the state where it is already with so much time left in its development. Everyone I spoke with, including peers and friends alike at PAX, sang Lucid’s praises, and I am happy to lend my voice to that chorus. If there is one downside to Lucid, it would be that it isn’t in my hands right now, but I know that the wait will be worth it because, like I said before, Lucid is something special. Everyone needs to keep their eyes on this game and Matte Black Studio.
