Steam Next Fest is one of my favorite events in the game of the year and for a reason. For a week, players can try free demonstration versions for upcoming games. These events are the right time for independent programmers to show what they worked on.
And I found what could be my next favorite as a fan of Retro platformers.
Sweept WindIN The charming Developer Weatherfell platformer is one of those many independent games that want to impress during the next festival. The game follows the balls, fresh hatching of duck and checkers, a resourceful tiny turtle, which was swept out of their homes during a destructive storm. Together they have to find a way back, move on chunky forests and fighting terrifying enemies in this process.
When piloting two animals, you will combine their talents to overcome obstacles. The balls can move horizontally from the platform to the platform, shoot into the air with a spin attack and screams in enemies to remove them. On the other hand, the checkers concern the verticality. It can throw the balls into the air and serve as a platform for marbles to jump to the top, enabling the displacement of deadly gaps.
I only played the first few levels Sweept Wind So far, but I can say that I am properly intrigued. During your journey, you work with other animals – including Delfina, the giant Iguana and the fluffy Husky – all of which introduce modern ways of traveling on many game maps. There are many bosses to overcome, the style of retro art is charming, and the gameplay is fun and velvety.
But wait! There are more. I didn’t even talk about my favorite part of the game: collector’s. No platformer could call a real platformer without hidden collector’s items – and a boy, does Sweept Wind Hit the earth running on the front. Each level, including the first tutorial map, has a set of collector coins to find. Some of them are open, but they can be complex, demanding the combination of marble and checker talents. Others are insidiously hidden behind the objects and require you to hunt them. More can still be found at bonus levels achieved through portals. These bonus levels introduce modern goals: beat all enemies or collect all coins on the map, for example, while the timer is at the top of the screen.
These collections are tracked as a map progressed, ordered in such a way that it explains when you missed before You planted far enough at your level. I love when developers design such systems; As a relatively busy person, I don’t always have time to withdraw and hunt hidden items. But I am also a complete heart, which can make the game play quite burdensome if it has a collector’s system. Sweept WindHowever, it makes it satisfying, not being too demanding, and I willingly checked every tiny corner and a step for this 100 % badge.
You can give Sweept WindDemo Whirl alone during the next festival, which lasts until June 16. For those of you who are looking for other demos to try the Destructoid team Ambrosia Sky, resembling game Power washing simulator (if it took place on a foreign planet) and Phase zeroIndependent horror, what fans Resident Evil will love.
