I’m glad I was able to ignore the overall negative sentiment around the game and play the PS5 version of Avowed, which now has the anniversary update. The reason? Avowed is a unique RPG with thrilling combat and an intriguing storyline that features a God in your head.

I really enjoyed my time with this. On the other hand, I’m not sure if I’d be able to recommend this if it wasn’t a game based on one of my favorite anime. It’s definitely for the diehard fans that know the source material and have been keeping up with the series for years. If it weren’t for some of the balancing issues, I wouldn’t have minded some of the painful flaws. Sadly here, if you remove one issue, another two grow in its place.

This feels like a demo for a game that still has a lot of work to go before it’s ready for launch, so I hope the developers get the time this demo needs to fulfill its potential.

Out Steam Next Fest demo let’s plays continue with Titanium Court!

This virtual festival of sorts on Steam has been going on forever, but this year, we’ll cover it in ways we’ve never done before. Over the past couple years, we’ve bolstered our staff a bit to put out more content, and this year throughout every Steam Next Fest event, we’ll bring you hands-on impressions for the games that really speak to us.

Chris Selogy spent some time on the demo for Blossom: The Seed of Life

Let’s spend the next half hour trying out this demo of Replaced.

As someone that prides himself on being able to recommend new, cool music to my pals, Wax Heads just hits all the right buttons so far.

Dear me, I was… is a tale of a woman who, through the many chapters of her life, has experienced the different textures of human nature. Through sublime visuals and heartfelt soundtracks, the game plays the role of an interactive story lived through the eyes of someone who is, by all means, a human being. 

We’re not particularly starving for roguelites. Now a favorite of indie developers the world over for around a decade, it takes a lot for a new one to stand out among the crowd in gameplay, but also in art style. The ones I usually play tend to be on the brighter, sillier side with levity or at least a sense of humor to balance out the drama a la both Hades games. Armatus dares to be a little different with a dark, apocalyptic take for the setting while retaining a gameplay loop that makes genre fans ravenous.

God of War: Sons of Sparta was shadow dropped after long being rumored to be in development. As you’d expect, it sent the internet into a bit of a frenzy, but after rolling credits on the game, those who decide to see it through should find a solid story of a much younger Kratos we aren’t familiar with. The problem is seeing it through will require patience likely too demanding of a spartan.

Imagine my surprise when I got word of Demon Tides, an indie game that intends to recapture that same feeling of thrilling exploration and vibrant world-hopping that Wind Waker and A Hat in Time did. Yeah, it was a no-brainer to dive into this game to see if it hits the mark. And let me tell you, it absolutely does.