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TFI Friday: three new indie games where you’ll plan every moveWatch your step in Sokobos, Ravenous Devils and System Purge
Watch your step in Sokobos, Ravenous Devils and System Purge
After you move house there’s a weird period where you keep trying to get pans out of the fridge or cutlery from a drawer that doesn’t exist. In fact, I’m lagging several years behind and still trying to get cutlery out of the drawer in my flat share in London four years ago. Yesterday I walked straight into the sofa for no earthly reason. In this time of doubt and not knowing where your own two feet are stepping, I present to you three new indie games to help you plan your footwork. And all for under a fiver! Howzat then?
Sokobos
Sokobos Official TrailerWatch on YouTube
Sokobos Official Trailer
I liked Sokobos immediately. There is an opening cutscene where a 2D little chonk of an ancient Greek man who takes up one square of the map, and moves like - well, like a character in a pixel-art sokoban game - walks past his wife (blip blip blip) to the edge of a cliff and stares wistfully out to sea, burdened with the weight of terrible purpse. It is very clear this is what is happening even though these are very small blocky 2D characters. It made me laugh a lot.
Ravenous Devils
Ravenous Devils Launch TrailerWatch on YouTube
Ravenous Devils Launch Trailer
I started playing this as kind of a joke, but you know what? This is bloody alright. It’s good plate-spinning, like a time-attack game, and you upgrade your business to open more revenue streams as you go. Plus the animations for Hildred putting people in the mincer are great. It’s not perfect - your recipe book is slightly random, and large enough that there’s no way to really plan ahead for orders. I also recommend waiting for as long as possible before upgrade your pub to have tables. You can almost make more money without ‘em.
I have not, however, seen enough people pointing out that the tag line “the secret ingredient is crime” is a joke from Peep Show.
System Purge
System Purge - Official Steam Launch TrailerWatch on YouTube
System Purge - Official Steam Launch Trailer
System Purge is a cool platformer where you’re a small witch trying to infiltrate a partly dormant science facility. I am unclear as to why, but I really like the slightly grungy look of the place. It’s some sort of post-apocalyptic setting, so the levels are partly metal and partly moss and silent, bobbing little mushrooms. This place is the titular system, and the purge refers to its attempts to get rid of you. This may not be a hugely original premise, but man if I’m not also really enjoying it.
Your jump has a satisfying little boing. It’s a bright bunny bounce of a thing that goes higher and slightly further if you hold the button down. Around you, lasers shoot up and big snap-traps prime their huge jaws to spring shut on you. Big crushers come down from the ceiling. You have to time runs just right, and it only gets harder the longer you play, of course - but restarts on death are instant. It’s a great tube of Pringles of a game that deserves a good scronch. Especially if you have a high tolerance for extremely hard platforming.
