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The best Steam Festival demos: strategy gamesA strategic interpretation
A strategic interpretation
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “strategy” as “any game that centres puzzle-solving or cerebral thought”. I’ve taken that surprisingly liberal definition, ran off to theSteam Summer Games Festival, and come back with an armful of videogames that vaguely fall under that umbrella. Some of them are definitely skirting the edges and getting their feet wet, but you should play them anyway.
Below you’ll find a digital board game, a cute puzzler, surreal turn-based tactics, cowboy-based tactics, and…Genesis Noir. I’m really quite excited about Genesis Noir.
Genesis Noir
Right, Genesis Noir isn’t astrategy game. Or apuzzle game. It’s not even anadventure game, as you’d normally understand one. But the demo is bloody good and if none of us had written about it RPS would probably have spontaneously combusted.
The demo is one long improvised jazz piece, pitched against a black and white kaleidoscope of urban comic strips. That might sound like a confusing oxymoron, but Genesis Noir doesn’t care, and nor should you.
You could probably call it magical realism, if you wanted. I don’t know if I do. It’s one of those things that suffers from being thought of in terms of other things. The demo starts with you tuning into the big bang’s background static and ends with you pocketing a cello from a street performer, following a duet where your saxophone melds with the fabric of the universe. The wider story is about jealous gods and a cosmic bullet, but here all that’s just a distant hum.
I won’t spoil anything else about it, because the joy (and it is joy) lies in not knowing what’s next. If the full game can sustain this for more than 15 minutes it will be phenomenal.
Get the free Genesis Noir demo here.
Tenderfoot Tactics
Matt:Tenderfoot Tactics is weeeeiirrrrd. You’re a roaming band of barely-introduced adventurers, out to win a tournament that plays a central role in a strange festival. Some of you are goblins.
You spend a lot of time roaming around, in a third person view where you can jump and everything. The landscape undulates around you while abstract pixel-figures chirp away about honour and forest spirits. It’s more than a little obtuse, in both looks and mechanics.
I like it despite that. It doesn’t look like much else I’ve played, and its world is dotted with humongous deities that view your mortal antics with bemusement. That’s a world I want to know more about.
I’m not completely sold on the tactics part of Tenderfoot Tactics, but I’d still call it promising. You go into separate battles where you move your party around a grid, fussing over positioning. There’s a huge emphasis on attacking units from behind or the side, as that knocks them back in the turn order. I think there’s a danger that could funnel strategies through the same simplistic process I didn’t like about XCOPs, where what you need to do is too obvious - but I’ve only got into some basic scraps so far and it’s far too early to say.
Weirdness goes a long way, for me, and if you like the look of this then you should definitely jump in so you can see it in motion. May the spirit favour your blades.
Get the free Tenderfoot Tactics demo here.
Wingspan
Matt:Engine-building games are ace. I’m not talking about your Factorios or your Satisfactories, though they do tap into something similar. Engine-builders are a genre of board game where you start with nothing and wind up with a beautiful, point-spewing machine, cobbled together through a blend of long-term thinking and canny opportunism. In cardboard form, Wingspan is one of the best. It’s won awards and all.
You’ll want to play birds. These give you victory points, but more importantly, abilities. Maybe you’ll get some extra food when another player takes a certain action, or get to draw a card for free. You’ll also want eggs, because they’re both victory points and upgrade currency. And you’ll want to draw cards, so you can play those birds in the first place.
Playing well is about weaving a path through those three basic choices, adapting as each option gets souped up with your abilities. It’s good at giving players multiple paths to victory, and focusing people’s efforts on bonus points that foster direct competition.
Wingspan isn’t about fierce bird on bird action, though. It’s mostly about sitting back and tinkering with your nests, while sipping a cup of tea and listening to the nice music. This is a real good digi-fying of a real good game.
Get the free Wingspan demo here.
A Monster’s Expedition
That’s pretty neat, but the actual best thing about A Monster’s Expedition is the way you can get your backpack-wearing egg monster to sit down on the coast and waggle his legs around, then watch as the camera slowly pans back and the guitar twiddling ramps up. It’s charming. I’m charmed.
Disclaimer: Phillippa Warr (RPS in peace) did the writing, and you can tell.
Get the free Monster’s Expedition demo here.
Desperados III
Matt:I don’t think this is strictly part of the festival, as it’s for a game that’s already out and the demo won’t disappear in a week like the others. I’d still feel silly if I didn’t include it, though, because it’s fab.
All this adds up to an exciting evolution of a game I already adored. I wanted more Shadow Tactics. From what I’ve played of Desperados III so far, I’d say I got something even better.
Get the free Desperados III demo here.
If you’re looking for RTS or city builders, action games, strategy games or management games, check out our otherbest of the Game Fest lists here.
Whatever you call it, hit ourE3 2020tag for more from this summer’s blast of gaming announcements, trailers, and miscellaneous marketing. Check outthe PC games at the PlayStation 5 show,everything at the PC Gaming Show, andall the trailers from the Xbox showcase, for starters.
