Prestige Anime, Movie lots, and breakfast at the end of the world

Hello everyone! It's been a while, huh? Happy to report that my son was born healthy, and a little over his due date, and as a result I have been spending the past month with a little less sleep, a little more stress, and a whole lot of learnings. Taking some time out to wrap my head around this brand new quest we have embarked upon has been fun, but it's also really nice to sit down, scour the new release lists, and see what has been hitting lately. Webfishing seems to be a thing? Mouthwashing looks neat. I can't even imagine that I will have time to play either of those games this year, so instead I have been spending my mornings with a short Animal Crossing: New Horizon session, and my pre-collapse-into-slumber time with Persona 5 Royal. Crazy that it took me nearly 6 years of living in Tokyo to finally have a JRPG click for me, but I am absolutely LOVING my time with The Phantom Thieves. I know, not very indie of me. But I have a few games on my radar of the indie persuasion that I am looking forward to getting around to when our family has a little bit more of a structure.

Oh, I am doing that thing where I obscure the kiddo's face for fear of AI stealing his life. It's too late for me, but maybe not for him!

But anyways, onto the video games.

And what came out this week?

Forgive Me Father 2

Developer: Byte Barrel
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store Page

I love me some Lovecraftian bullshit, and Forgive Me Father has been on my wishlist for a long time. I heard good things about this hand-drawn Boomer Shooter, but just haven't circled back around to check it out for myself. Now after a short stint in Early Access, the sequel has hit Steam and is doing well with fans.

As for what changes have been made between the first and second game, it looks like the sequel is serving up more of the comic-inspired gore fest against the old ones, this time with more weapons and a little more room to develop your own play style. With a collection of shotguns, rifles, and explosive weapons that each have powerful variations to unlock, it seems like you can maybe build out a bit more of a kit that suits your preferences. As someone who just uses the Super Shotgun whenever possible and doesn't care for the BFG, I can totally vibe with this.

And of course because it is DOOM adjacent, you have a thrashing metal soundtrack which is fine, I guess. Reading some reviews there are a few people who are getting some technical issues which brought the recent reviews down to a "mixed", but for the most part it seems this is a worthy sequel that could be a fun weekend romp.

Movies Tycoon

Developer: PixelCraze s.r.o
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store Page

I am really getting back into movies in a big way right now. A small fact about me - before I decided that games were my calling, I always wanted to be a writer/director. Growing up in Australia, a place that lacks any real film infrastructure and opportunity unless you "know a guy", I naturally abandoned that for my first real love, games. No regrets, I am very happy to have spent years working in the games industry and ultimately it has made me far happier, but lately I have been lamenting on the state of the movie industry, and the real death of cinema as we march towards an always-on content streaming world. I also think a lot about the act of having physical media for my kid to pick up off the shelf and make a decision based solely on cover art and a synopsis, but that's a rant for another day.

All of this to simply say that Movies Tycoon has come along at the EXACT right time. All of this is swirling in my mind, and now there's an indie game about building an running a movie studio. Inspired by Lionhead's The Movies I'm sure, this looks like a hefty upgrade, and it seems that you might even be able to block out your own shots and make some interesting scenes.

Start off in a garage space and eventually have a lot that belongs in Hollywood. Featuring a deep character creator, and hosting a suite of creative customization options, Movies Tycoon looks like a real fun simulator in an area that we don't see very often. If I had time right now, I would easily sink a few weeks into this game. Alas, I will just have to make do with some YouTube videos and decide if I can make time for it once life settles down a little.

ROGUE FLIGHT

Developer: Truant Pixel
Steam rating: Postiive
Store Page

If you are a kid of the 80's or 90's and wish you could live inside of Evangelion, then oh boy do I have a game for you. ROGUE FLIGHT boldly calls itself "a breathtaking arcade space combat game inspired by prestige anime", and the gameplay trailer sure does sell it that way.

Then I dove a little deeper, and they definitely put in the work here. This sleep arcade space-em-up features a voice cast in both English and Japanese with some serious cred. On the English side we have voice actors from Fallout 76, Overwatch, League of Legends & Marvel’s Avengers. The Japanese cast includes talent from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gundam, Sailor Moon, Naruto & One Piece. They even got a JPOP artist to perform the opening theme song.

So I guess that's where the budget went, but it does seem like they have packed a compelling game here for fans of this kind of thing. You can play the story mode and then unlock a Roguelike mode, and with over 40 aero designs to unlock, it could be a fun game that has some legs. It sure does look unique, reminding me a little bit of Starwing, but with a heavy anime bend and that's neat.

There's a demo of this one right now, so perhaps give it a shot!

Botworld Odyssey

Developer: Featherweight Games
Steam rating: Mostly Positive
Store Page

Tactical real-time battles seems to be a thing now. Arco employed their version of it the other month, and Botworld Odyssey is unleashing it here with a collect-em-all open-world RPG that sets your out into Botworld where you must discover the secrets and become the greatest Botmaster.

So okay, I don't love the name, and sure, we have seen this done before. But it has STYLE and looks like a real fun time for fans of the genre. It's also getting a lot of love on Steam and I find that fans of this genre and generally pretty critical, so that says a lot. It features a single-player adventure, and a PvP arena for those who want to test their bot composition against other Botmasters out there.

What's worse gang - Botmaster or Webmaster? Let me know in the comments, because I cannot decide. If you are on the fence about the game however, there's a demo waiting for you on Steam.

While We Wait Here

Developer: Bad Vices Games
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store Page

I love a nice concise game pitch. While We Wait Here’ is a kitchen management game with dialogue choices and multiple endings.

Enough said. Your regular work day is ruined by the revelation that an impending catastrophe is on the way. Some of your customers refuse to believe. Others see it as comeuppance for their misdeeds. How will you serve, comfort, and save these tired souls, and yourself?

This is so incredibly my jam. Seeing how people deal with the news that their time is nigh, while also really wanting an egg and bacon muffin. I need to play this! This one is definitely going into my library next month.

And that's a wrap

Thanks so much for sticking around. If you enjoy the newsletter please consider throwing a few dollary-doos my way via the Ko-fi to help pay for our server costs, and cover some indie games for review. I would also really appreciate it if you could send a friend this way. The newsletter is growing slowly but surely, and some of you have sent some really kind feedback my way which really motivates me to keep it rolling.

Also, I need to hear your gaming stories. Right now I can't game as much as I would like, and that's okay, but I want to live through your triumphs and failures.

So as a fun exercise, drop a comment or send me a message at heller@pixelsforbreakfast.net telling me your favorite gaming moment in 2024, or your biggest gaming fail. I might put together a little compilation in the sign off next week, along with my own!