the illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25
for this steam nextfest demo review thread, i will be tapping into Apollo's divine gift of prophecy and attempting to scry how people will be talking about these games in eight to ten months, when they are out. i'm partaking deeply of the sacred fumes and i'm attuning myself to the whispers of a phantom chorus
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25
FORBIDDEN SOLITAIRE: your classier breed of streamer will enjoy this game, as will aging millennials who played a lot of CD-ROM games growing up (like yours truly). there will be UNHINGED discourse online over whether this counts as "an Inscryption-like". unfortunately, rinky-dink mobile knockoffs of this game that remove the unique graphics and narrative framing device in exchange for More Microtransactions will make approximately $1,000,000,000,000 more than this game https://store.steampowered.com/app/3414580/Forbidden_Solitaire/
Steam：Forbidden Solitaire

Forbidden Solitaire is a card-slashing horror game about unearthing the contents of a cryptic 1995 CD-ROM that should have never existed. From the creators of Ancient Enemy and Home Safety Hotline.

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25

ZERO PARADES: FOR DEAD SPIES: ohhh my god. the ratio of people who have An Opinion on this game vs. people who have actually played it will be fucking unreal. by pandering hard to Disco freaks (none of whom trust ZA/UM by this point), all of this game's positive aspects-- its clarified stat system, its more in-depth health mechanics, its intriguing John Le Carre-influenced burnt spy plot-- will not matter in the face of one question: is this Art, or just a Product?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2863680/ZERO_PARADES_For_Dead_Spies/

Steam：ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies

優れた才能を持ちながらも苦悩する主人公となって絶望的な任務に挑む、ストーリー重視の諜報RPG。壊れたネットワークのピースを拾い集め、「歴史の終わり」で絡み合う残虐な陰謀を解き明かし、自らの価値を証明せよ。さもなくば…再び、すべてが水の泡となる。

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25
unfortunately the only definitive way to really determine this is to play it while critically comparing it to Disco Elysium, other texts ZA/UM's current and former creators have written on the topic of games and of the relationship between creativity and capital, and possibly just theory in general on making entertainment our current hyper-capitalist death spiral. congratulations. you are now officially a paranoid academic leftist with a broken heart. this is Disco's final, fatal gift to you
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25

VAMPIRE CRAWLERS: this game will have two kinds of players:

1. Those who think it is, y'know, fine.

2. Those who are experiencing severe health symptoms from being nailed to it every waking moment like the cursed film in Infinite Jest.

there will be many, *many* mods for this on Nexus which replace nearly every asset in the game with a dizzying miasma of infantile, half-melted anime women. for the second type of player, this game IS sex.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3265700/

Steam：Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors

世界を壊滅させるコンボで魔物の巣窟と化したダンジョンを突き進め！Vampire Survivorsがお送りするVampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcardは、ローグライト要素ありのカジュアルなターン制デッキビルダー。自分で組み合わせた手札で、TURBOTURNTM制覇に挑戦しよう！

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25

500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ and CICADAMATA": These two share the same prophecy because they share the same fate: they are exclusively for edgelord transgender speedrunning submissives who have rewired the motion sickness gland in their brains to serve as twitch reflex boosters instead. i will not be playing much of these games myself, but i'm sure i'll be in a spit chain with many, many people who are, and who won't shut up about them during sex

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2571410/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3817250/

500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ on Steam

A 3D-Platformer where you play as a contract killer and your eyes glaze over.

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25
i want to be clear though: the aesthetic decisions for these games are fucking flawless. i'm not wired for them, but. 500 Caliber Contractz's Options menu is styled like a DeviantArt page circa 2006 with little flashing 88x31 GIF buttons that say shit like "KILL THE PRESIDENT", and i'm sorry, but that's perfect. i predict i will be THINKING about these games a LOT
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25

HELLSLINGER: I couldn't test this out because it's built in GZDoom and doesn't have controller support. it also appears to have been forged from a gonzo furry webcomic on ComicGenesis in 2006 and then shot forward in time, in some sort of reverse 12 Monkeys-style situation. the scrying pool's results are currently inconclusive. in this prophetess's opinion, though, no trailer i've seen has made me actually physically fist-pump in real life harder than this one

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2140540/Hellslinger/

Hellslinger on Steam

Blast your way through the hordes of Hell as you strive to reclaim your soul in this narrative driven FPS. You are Hellslinger, a master of the gun. Shouldn't be too hard right? All you've got to do is slay the Lord of Hell and stop his invasion of the mortal realm

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25

TITANIUM COURT: this is it. this is The One. this is going to be the game that makes the entire indie game community fall in desperate hormone-addled-teenager-grade love with it. it will get snubbed at the Game Awards, and all of your jaded, snooty game dev friends will say this is further proof that old man Geoff couldn't find his ass with both hands. and they're right, too. your spouse or relative who Doesn't Usually Play Many Games will fucking ADORE this game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2364580/Titanium_Court/

Titanium Court on Steam

A surreal strategy game for clowns and criminals.

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 25
that's enough prophecies for now. the vapors are getting to me. more games on my list include Denshattack!, Pragmata, Hypnos, Calx and Luna Abyss; if you've got any other suggestions, feel free to lemme know
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
Okay enough doomscrolling for this morning. It’s time to re-enter the Oracular Caves of Gamer Prophecy and continue my Next Fest demo review thread! Last night I played some more BIG budget stuff, and the results were… whelming, mostly
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
PRAGMATA: After years in development, the cultural impact of this lush, zillion dollar triple-A game will be… in three years you’ll probably pick it up for six bucks in a Steam sale, or in one of those free Epic store giveaways. You got reminded of it from an Easter egg collectible in Resident Evil 9, and you’re sure you’ll get around to playing it eventually. Maybe. If there’s nothing better to do. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3357650/PRAGMATA/
Pre-purchase PRAGMATA on Steam

Capcom’s newest IP—PRAGMATA. An all-new Science Fiction action adventure with its own unique hacking twist! It is the near future, and protagonists Hugh and his android companion Diana, must work together as they make their way through the cold lunar research station.

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
DENSHATTACK!: while this game was a little too twitchy for this prophetess to master, I have full confidence it will attract a truckload of quick-reflexed young scofflaws who are mere months away from having some very interesting revelations about their gender. At AGDQ, someone will set a new speedrun record for this game using a Densha De Go! arcade cabinet as a controller, and it will be the sickest shit you’ve ever seen. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2524850/Denshattack/
Denshattack! on Steam

Flip, trick and grind your train in a fast-paced, off-the-rails ride through a colourful Japanese dystopia. Outmatch rival gangs, wreck a shady megacorp, and take back the tracks with nothing but skill, speed, and style.

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
CALX: People won’t remember this game, and that sucks, because it’s rock solid. There are no pick-3 roguelike aspects, there’s no in-depth, character-studded plot, there’s no addictive Skinner Box game loop. Twelve years ago, the pitch of “abstract Moebius-inspired Nier-alike heavily inspired by the works of Aphex Twin” would’ve been a slam dunk, but these days this game is gonna get lost…. unless some of you decide to challenge fate. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2022640/CALX/
Steam：CALX

ワープに汚染された惑星、サイロを駆け抜けろ。シーカーとしての動きを極めよ。ダブルジャンプ、ダッシュ、浮遊、グラップリングを駆使して進むは雰囲気漂う遺跡群。スキャンを実行し、謎を解きつつ、静寂と熱狂が押し寄せる緻密な戦闘に挑め。

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
SNIPER DAN: one of your friends or coworkers has a nine year old who will be obsessed with a bad Roblox knock-off of this game that lets you actually kill the townspeople. You debate explaining why this is Bad to his parents, but doesn’t that smack of “violence in video games” fearmongering? And are they really gonna care if you frame it as an issue of artistic integrity? They’re probably dealing with enough right now as parents. Jesus, when did you get so *old?* https://store.steampowered.com/app/2841650/Sniper_Dan/
Sniper Dan on Steam

Sniper Dan is a ridiculous, family-friendly 3D Hidden Object game with a big twist. Use a high-powered sniper rifle to solve low-stakes problems. Scope the scene, spot the problem, and shoot the solution. No violence. Just wholesome chaos and good intentions!

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
At the earliest opportunity you try and sit this kid down in front of Sniper Dan, an all-ages, nonviolent hidden-image mischief simulator, to sell them on the real deal. No dice. The kid immediately takes aim at the bulbous Playmobil heads of the humans capering around in the game’s diorama and pulls the trigger, one after the other. BANG. A window washer. BANG. A hot dog vendor. BANG. A woman riding a bike. Their heavy breaths whistle through their nose as their eyes stay nailed to the screen.
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26

The game doesn’t give them any satisfaction for this, no crit noise, no cranial firework of gore, and yet they remain fixated on their grim task. Now you KNOW you’re gonna have to talk to their parents about this, and there’s nothing a parent wants to hear less than a childless person telling them how they should be raising their kid.

Maybe it’s fine if you don’t. It’s probably fine, right?

Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
HYPNOS: Jacob Geller will make a 45-minute long video about this, either alone or as part of an essay on megastructures in gaming. Citing both the works of Tsutomu Nihei and H.P. Lovecraft, this game’s two most obvious influences, he’ll draw some sort of parallel between this game and our postmodern culture’s isolation, trapped as we are within massive structures of inscrutable, ineffable authority. It’ll be a great watch! However, no one you know will play this game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2861210/HYPNOS/
HYPNOS on Steam

HYPNOS is a first-person adventure and exploration game, set in a lovecraftian megastructure fever dream. Enter the Nameless City at the edge of Dreams. Follow the trail into the shadow of the Holy Mountain. Embrace your destiny.

Show threadSrolFeb 26
@irisjaycomics Oh fuck this looks awesome
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAY
@srol the dev of this game won a lot of praise for their previous title Blackshard, which appears to be more of similar! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3223390/BLACKSHARD/
BLACKSHARD on Steam

BLACKSHARD is a first-person exploration game. Wander through a strange megastructure, the Labyrinth, to unravel its mysteries... Your behavior within the Labyrinth will define the outcome of your journey. What path will you choose to take?

Feb 26 at 9:41pmWeb
Show threadSrolFeb 26
@irisjaycomics now I know why this looks familiar, I played the demo of this years ago. I got to check it out
Show threadthe illustrious IRIS JAYFeb 26
@srol yeahhh!!!