During my visit to gamescom 2022, I had the opportunity to discover three titles from Focus Entertainment, two of which I was able to test directly.
Aliens: Dark Descent - Coming to PS4/5, PC, Xbox One and Series in 2023
The title, a tactical squad developed by Tindalos interactive, is shown to us thanks to a gameplay video that is quite interesting in form. Everything takes place 20 years after the end of Aliens 3, via missions with different objectives. In the video, you prepare everything you need for your survival before embarking on a merciless fight against the xenomorphs. You will have turrets, movement sensors which will allow, once placed, to follow movements on the map. The heart of the fight will be done in slowed down time to allow you to better manage the action, better position yourself, try to avoid attacks, etc... a big strategic part in short.
The graphics are quite beautiful and offer us a very captivating visual experience with the infestation punctuated with sounds that we expect with this kind of game/licence. All in all, it's a successful bet, especially with the little extras, such as a persistent level that will leave your xenomorph victims in the middle of the field, or your marines... if they haven't been kidnapped by the aliens to make cocoons!
You will have to manage your team in a special way by avoiding that its stress rises too high, especially with Facehugger ambushes for example, or other very violent traumas. Pills will be there to help them fight, in order to succeed in saving NPCs which will have many advantages for you like additional technology, among other things. You can decide when to leave, either to save your soldiers or when the mission is over. Once the end has come, your soldiers will be sent to the medical wing and you will be able to upgrade your marines, their weapons, their equipment and their abilities in order to prepare them as well as possible by providing them with tools to weld the doors.
In conclusion, this game promises good things to fans of the genre, with a good dose of horror and stress due to the license and a good package of mechanics already proven for some, unusual for others. See you in 2023 for a more complete overview!
Blacktail - Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, December 15
This action-adventure game, developed by "The Parasight" studio, tells us about the origin of Baba Yaga, the evil witch of Slavic mythology. However, contrary to legend, you will be able to make her a good or a bad witch depending on your choices and actions throughout the game with the various NPCs and creatures in the game. For example, during the demo, we had the choice between destroying a plant that blocked our way and killing the animal inside, or saving it. This will impact how you see the game in the end.
Many paths or aids will only be accessible if you are of one alignment or the other. It will be a good idea to think carefully about your actions, although this does not impact the talent tree or the crafting (to my knowledge). Because, another interesting fact, the game will only take place with bows regarding your weapon, but also with abilities that will have powerful effects. But more than that, you will have to collect many components in order to increase your talent tree, or simply to make yourself arrows and potions to survive in this world. Moreover, your mobility being extremely limited, a dash will be available to help you dodge or just go faster. The latter does not depend on any resource, it will be more than useful to you.
Baba Yaga and its captivating landscapes.
As for the atmosphere, it's like being in a Lewis Carrol tale, as we have on the one hand an ultra magical side, but on the other hand a flawed side. Like mushrooms with rather unhealthy stumps, or enchanting and fleeting spirits. For example, a spider refused to talk to me because I was "good", and her friends poisoned me, while a leaf spirit opened the way for me by knocking down a tree. How can we tell the real from the fake and the good guys from the bad guys in this story? Be careful, because your enemies will be numerous!
In conclusion, this game is one of my favorites this year. Between fantasy world like "Alice in Wonderland" and Slavic mythology, I can't wait to be able to play it a little more than the demo version which left me at the end. I expect a lot from this title, which is not a vulgar FPS sauce fantasy that we could cross at every street corner. It has that little extra thing that hits the mark. I strongly advise you to follow its evolution!
Chants of Sennaar - Coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in 2023
Developed by Rundisc, the title offers us a very special experience. In predominantly red and yellow tones, our character is a traveler who will have to decode riddles by learning the language of the natives who have not spoken to each other for a very long time. Inspired by the myth of the Tower of Babel, this game will immerse you in a prophecy that challenges you to restore balance and uncover dark secrets.
I had the opportunity to test this very encouraging point & click for half an hour, with puzzles that are certainly simple for a start, but which will tend to become more complex as you go along, while increasing the number of symbols learned. . Are you afraid of getting lost? Each end of the scene will ask you to validate the symbols, and once these are correctly replaced in the book, you will have a validation. It will take a lot of ingenuity and stealth throughout the adventure to successfully overcome it, but who knows what you will find at the end?
Of course, in my opinion, this has a small harmful part because, by automatically validating once the good runes have been found, we lose a little the "decoding" side, whereas a function which would have made it possible to note the runes by saying "can to be that it is this one" would certainly have been more difficult, but more interesting in terms of challenge. Afterwards, for young players, it can be very interesting and fun, training the brain to reason logically, especially with the use of word and idea associations.
In conclusion, I really liked this very soft and colorful side (ok, there are mostly colors, yellow, red and blue for water) that emanates from the game. I couldn't go very far during this demo, but the sweetness and ingenuity of the title should seduce more than one, hoping that it continues like this.
Summary
The three titles from Focus Entertainment are very promising and have shown us what they will be made of in the future. Obviously, this will never be worth a real experience of several hours on each title, but that is enough to affirm that the potential is there. Go to each title release to tell you what I think, because I really can't wait!
