Here's everything shown in the Humble Games showcase
Heist sequels! Tropical retreats! Musical RPGs! More!
Still hungering for more indie-flavoured video game news following last night's big Xbox showcase? Well, you're in luck, courtesy of Humble Games, which has just given its slate of upcoming titles an airing in a series of its own reveals. And if you missed it, you can catch up with everything the publisher shared by perusing the words below.
Things got off to an exciting start with in the form of Monaco 2, the sequel to Pocketwatch Games' acclaimed heist caper. Unsurprisingly, chaotic heists remain the focus in this follow-up, but there's a new emphasis on verticality in the procedurally generated stages - made possible thanks to a visual style shift to fully, isometric 3D. It'll also be playable solo and co-operatively, although probably not for some time, given it's still "early" in development.
Coral Island, which made a splash on Kickstarter last year, is described as a "re-imagined farm sim" by its developer Stairway Games. As in other games of its ilk, players can farm, build, and form relationships (a community of over 50 islanders is promised), but there's a bit of an ocean conservation twist tied to its tropical setting too, with players needing to clean and protect the surrounding reefs. Release information is limited, but it's available to wishlist now on Steam.
Moonscars comes from Moldovian studio Black Mermaid and draws inspiration from both the Souls series and the art of Dutch masters to serve up a striking, side-scrolling action souls-like (that reminds me an awful lot of The Game Kitchen's wonderful Blasphemous) coming to PC in summer 2022. "Desperation" is promised.
Ghost Song, developed by Old Moon, is a kind of pastel-hued Metroidvania with a strangely soothing sci-fi art style and an emphasis on "atmosphere and mystery". It sees players waking from a long slumber on the surface of the desolate moon of Lorian V, whereupon they must delve below the surface to discover the secrets that await - and shoot a whole bunch of things in the process. It'll be out on PC at some currently unspecified future point.
Next up, we got a look at Signalis, a sort of 3D action game with a lovely retro art style vaguely reminiscent of the likes of Flashback and Another World. It's described as a classic survival horror experience, "full of melancholic cosmic mystery", and puts players in the role of Elstar, a technician replika, searching for her lost dreams. Developer Rose-Engine promises puzzles and nightmarish creatures when Signalis arrives on PC and Xbox this autumn.
Infinite Guitars, by Niko Niko, is a rhythm-action RPG sporting an appealing Saturday-Morning-cartoon-style aesthetic. Set in a world devastated by a great mech war, expect exploration, adventure, upgrades, and battling - all themed around guitar-based rhythm combat - when it eventually releases on platforms yet to be revealed.
Chinatown Detective Agency, a hard-boiled cybernoir mystery from General Interactive Co, serves up an intriguing combination of classic point-and-click adventuring and real-world investigation - requiring players to step away from the game and do some real-world research to solve puzzles as they whizz around the globe in pursuit of dastardly criminals. It's coming to PC, Xbox, and Switch, on 7th April.
Curious Panda Games' The Iron Oath is a turn-based tactical RPG "where the fate of your mercenary company rests on your decisions". It casts players as the leader of a band of soldiers-for-hire, tasking them with enrolling new recruits, managing their operations, and undertaking perilous missions across the harsh land of Caelum as they seek to build their company's renown. This one is entering Steam Early Access on 19th April and a demo is available right now.
And finally! We got a nice new teaser for Summerfall Studios' intriguing Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical. Previously known as Chorus: An Adventure Musical when it came to Kickstarter in 2019, this one is being helmed by Dragon Age creator David Gaider, and is described as "one part narrative-driven adventure and one part interactive musical". Despite the musical focus (and a soundtrack by Austin Wintory), Summerfall is keen to stress the RPG elements at Stray Gods' core, promising the likes of branching dialogue, meaningful choices, plus interactions and consequences that shape the story, when it eventually arrives.
