Not one, not two, but three games were shown to me during my meeting with publisher Humble Games. The "Package Tour 1h" featured 3 titles with various styles, which shows that the publisher is not closed to a favorite genre, very far from it!
Midnight Fight Express
Developed by one man (and composed by Noisecream, the man behind the soundtrack of My Friend Pedro), Midnight Fight Express took advantage of the opening night of Gamescom to release on PC, Xbox and Playstation. The Switch version has been delayed to the end of September, the publisher announced via a tweet.
As we saw in the various trailers, the game is a mega-nag title where we embody Babyface, a guy revived by a drone who tracks all his actions and gestures and who tells our protagonist to blow the face of the members of a criminal organization that wants to take over the city overnight. Melee strikes, firearms, use of the scenery... everything is good for killing enemies in a chain, with gameplay furiously reminiscent of Batman Arkham, as confirmed to me by Jacob Dzwinel, the creator of the game, who is a big fan of the trilogy. The commands respond well, the combos follow one another, and the person who has the controller in hand seems to master the title more and more as the runs he performs. With each level completed, we earn dollars that we can spend to expand our wardrobe. Clothes, haircuts, tattoos, enemy skins, you can unlock everything for a few thousand dollars... Enough to restart the levels to perfect your score, earn money or appear in the general classification.
Mineko's Night Market
Going from a game that causes hemoglobin to flow per liter at each tatane to a game where you craft bouquets of flowers to sell at a local market, it's a little shock, but it's mostly good! In Mineko's Night Market (whose announcement dates back to 2018 ...), we play Mineko, a little girl who arrives in a village with a Japanese atmosphere and who will have to make friends with the different inhabitants by completing small very cute quests, such as collecting 5 flowers, making a bouquet of them, then giving it to someone, or even freeing cats imprisoned by men in costume... and then having a race on the back of cats where you win a cup in a local tournament.
After having crafted a few objects, we go to the night market of the village and we put on sale the different products we have in our possession. Several inhabitants will follow one another and ask for an object at a price that can be negotiated. It is up to us to negotiate effectively, taking into account the relationship established with the different characters who come to our stand, and the average prices practiced elsewhere.
Probably the most feel-good game of the day. Players looking for a challenge will certainly remain unsatisfied, the game offering - let's be honest - none. However, we will keep a big smile while browsing this world filled with Japanese references, with a small fear however: that we do not turn too quickly in circles. Answer at the end of the year!
Moonscars
Back to crass violence with Moonscars, a ruthless 2D soul-like. For the latter, I was offered to play, but not being frankly very skilful on this type of game, I left my interlocutor controller in hand. Considering how he struggled, no regrets. In his defense, he was only able to try the game a few minutes before my passage. The homework was however done, since he was able to approach the scenario, the universe and the wishes of the developers vis-à-vis this demanding title.
We embody Irma the gray, who wakes up and tries to understand the origin of her presence here. To do this, she must find the Sculptor. Before finding the latter, however, you will have to cross a dark and labyrinthine world where the enemies will not give you any gifts. On the ground or in the air, these come out from everywhere to take you from life to death, and you will have to manage your dodges and attack timing to perfection to overcome the many enemies of the game. choose several types of weapons. Large weapons have a slow animation but do heavy damage, while light weapons hit fast but do less damage. Sorcery also has an important part in the game, and will be used wisely to change the course of a confrontation. I'd be lying if I told you that I'm impatiently awaiting the release of this title, since I'm quite closed to the genre, but no doubt this is a title to watch for fans of the genre, as it seems check all the boxes of the metroidvania/soulslike genre. Release set for September 27, on all physical platforms.
Note in passing that Humble Games and Xbox have teamed up to offer a series of titles on the Game Pass subscription. Midnight Fight Express is already accessible through the program, while Moonscars will be when it is officially released. In addition to the works mentioned, we will also have Coral island the 11/10, ghost song 3/11, and 3 other games on dates not yet communicated: god, signalis et Infinite Guitars.
