5 picks from Galaxies Autumn showcase
✨ reach for the stars
Hey folks!
Quick one from me today with my picks from the Autumn edition of Galaxies, a showcase put on every April and October. I have had the absolute pleasure of working with the talented folks behind Galaxies years ago at GameSpot, and have been fortunate to host the BAFTA Games Red Carpet with host Jane Douglas for the past couple of years, so I was thrilled when they asked if LFG would support this Autumn's Galaxies showcase.
It was a fun show with a good few exclusives, including some fab new looks at games I've mentioned previously on LFG such as a new trailer for Contact Protocol, and the release of a level editor demo for MR. RECORDS.
If you missed the show and its post show with the lovey Kinda Funny crew, you can catch it here, and my 5 personal picks from Galaxies Autumn are below! Enjoy.
Deperson
As soon as this trailer started, I jumped up and asked my cat Peanut, "What on earth is this?" She didn't answer, but if she did, it would have been a moment that would fit right in with surreal psychological horror game Deperson. Its premise reminds me a little of NAME OF THE WILL, where the playable character is stuck in a world of surveillance and obedience, only Deperson seems to offer more choice-driven gameplay. There's a demo out now that I've immediately started downloading.
PARCO GAMES
Are you ready to step into a dark and mysterious world with Aaron, who is afraid of his own shadow? A file that has been closed for years is opened again, the forgotten ones wake up from their sleep and the silence is broken by screams.
My Penguin Friend
Maybe I'm penguin-pilled because of Penguin Colony or because I think those lil' guys are just plain adorable, but I think that My Penguin Friend looks like a cute time. I will admit, I felt a little bit of whiplash at seeing a penguin on a skateboard followed by "inspired by a true story." Maybe penguins have talents I don't know about, but the game looks to be a mischievous puzzle game in the vein of Untitled Goose Game or Bad Magpie.
Good Gate Media
Washed up thousands of miles from home, Dindim, a little penguin on a big journey must puzzle across an unfamiliar, tropical coastline, and forge an unlikely friendship to find more than just his way home.
Appulse
Look, I don't know how much time you spent playing 3D Pinball: Space Cadet back in the 90s, but I know I certainly spent a hell of a lot of time on it, and Appulse looks to be scratching that very same itch... but with a twist. Appulse is also a top-down shooter and and roguelite, which means that my little lizard brain is going to be lighting up more than a pinball being flung around a machine.
Raw Fury
Appulse is the fusion between pinball, top down shooter and roguelite where you need to protect your mothership from invading robots. Each shot affects your ball's trajectory, allowing you to control it in the heat of the battle. Upgrade your equipment and conquer new spaceships to win the war!
SOMBRAS: negative frames
The pulsing beats of the SOMBRAS: negative frames trailer may be what initially pulled me in, but the concept is what sold me. Confront versions of yourself in a mirror dimension of your hometown, all the while taking pictures of the unsettling things you find there. After having a charming photography adventure in TOEM 2 recently, I'm itching for something a tad darker. This one also has a demo available that I'll be checking out this weekend.
Entalto Publishing
‘SOMBRAS: negative frames’ is a first person narrative game with a focus on photography and light horror elements. Follow Shiomi, a Japanese-Spanish photography student, as she is spirited away in a dark mirror of her 2000s Japanese town and must confront fragments of her own psyche.
Satellite Odyssey: Jupiter
It's hard not to think of BioShock when you see the art deco dripped art direction of Satellite Odyssey: Jupiter, but its premise of having an amnesic protagonist trapped on a spaceship where the service robots have turned violent is actually a little closer to Judas. But unlike Judas, Satellite Odyssey: Jupiter is a noir detective story that features puzzles and crime scenes to piece together, and its jazzy vibes are perfection. There's an hour long prologue experience available now, too.
Antifreeze Games
🪳🤖 Rogue machines, mutant insects, and jazz echoing through deep space 🎷🎶 A stylish blend of survival horror and noir detective mystery wrapped in a decopunk aesthetic. Beautifully unsettling.
Thanks for reading! I'll catch you tomorrow for this week's pick. Here's a hint: 👻🎨🏨