The reality is something much more intriguing - a vaguely Metroid-structured series of challenges that combine jumping with interpretation of opaque dialogue. The signs from afar for Z-Z-Z were not good - pseudo-profound quotes about dreaming and waking life, and spartan shots of endless platforms. I have learned, over the years, to fear the self-proclaimed philosophical or psychological platformer - that legion of Braid descendants that feel they can say something meaningful about the human condition through the medium of repeatedly jumping and failing. I'm not usually much of a shmup fan, but this makes two I'm going to leave on my hard drive this week.
#Conarium house upgrade
It tries a bit too hard to push a rather flat storyline, and the tutorial section is something of a pop-up message assault on the senses, but the action feels like a sweet spot between manic and tactical, and I'm digging the highly tweakable upgrade path. Feels a little like R-Type with a purpose beyond high scores, in that you'll end each mission with a clutch of loot, money and points to spend on tailoring your ship to your preferred playstyle. I'm definitely keeping this one around.Īlso performing eugenics experiments on shmups and RPG concepts, Drifting Lands is an attractive side-scrolling shooter with a big emphasis on creating your own bespoke powerset. It works extremely well - though lacking the clever-sick visual invention of Isaac, it's got an air of gothic strangeness to its enemies and environments, and pulls off that permadeath just-one-more-try thing without feeling hollow. A shmup in which navigation through a network of random rooms is a logistical puzzle, rather than a linear run through handcrafted screens. Y'know how The Binding Of Isaac is a pairing of bullet-hell shmup and roguelike? This is that idea inverted - roguelike proc-gen and upgrade structure hung around actual pew-pew spaceship shooting. Though initially causing consternation in the RPS chatroom due to a mistaken belief that it was something new from the studio behind FEAR, Blood and Shadow of Mordor, the good news is that this is a wee humdinger. Oppressively swirling snowstorms and a gloomily-lit, half-abandoned arctic base do lend Conarium some Thing-like atmosphere, however, and I'm curious to discover if it finds a rhythm - and its horror feet - despite an underwhelming start.
#Conarium house full
I suspect this is the kind of game that struggles to make its case if only played for ten minutes, but then again the terrifying likes of FINDING A ROLL OF SELLOTAPE and LOCKER FULL OF SMALL EASTER ISLAND STATUES aren't the most immediate hooks.
This week: myriad monochrome, haunted ice stations, smart shump remixes and the singular glory of painted lines.Īn unashamedly Lovecraft-inspired first-person adventure-horror game, lookin' mighty fine thanks to the Unreal Engine but soundin' mighty silly thanks to an English-feigning lead actor whose every spoken line is a world tour. I play a glut of titles for ten minutes each, discard any rotten ones, then choose which ten make the weekly round-up, as well as picking one stand-out favourite. Welcome back to Unknown Pleasures, our weekly round-up of ten promising but under-reported games from the torrent of new releases on Steam over the past seven days.
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