When you have a media badge at GDC, I feel like you’re either going to be on the expo floor a lot, or stepping foot on the expo floor is going to be a rare occurrence. In my two years going to GDC as media, I definitely fall in the latter. But when I do have time to check out the halls, I’m always in awe of what I see in the international pavilion.
Last week I set up an appointment with Brazil Games to see four fun-looking titles being made by Brazilian developers, and while they all had some neat aspects, Talaka stood out to me the most.
Part of the fun in Talaka is memorizing enemy movements and adapting for next time, assuming you aren’t lucky during the run you’re on.
Talaka is a side-scrolling action roguelite with a beautiful hand-painted watercolor look oozing with style. While I’m not the biggest roguelite fan, there was something about the game that immediately clicked with me. In fact, the entire demo clicked with me. I’m not gonna say I was good, by any means, as I died my fair share of times. I don’t know if he was telling a white lie, but the founder of Potato Kid, the developer, watched me and said “Man, this job is so much more enjoyable when you’re watching someone actually skilled play.”
Talaka‘s controls were tight and really responsive, and everything just felt fluid and natural. At times, I felt like the game was more of a Metroidvania just because of the level design requiring you to jump down ledges and whatnot, and I could sense the developer smile next to me as I used the terrain to my advantage, stabbing at enemies on platforms above me from right below them knowing they couldn’t touch me.
I like the way the rogue buffs are displayed. It makes them seem more obvious.
The game’s core loop revolves around treating each screen you’re in like an arena. More often than not, the object of each section is to kill all the enemies, and once you do that, you unlock some sort of buff that’ll make the journey through each level easier. On top of picking that buff, you have some agency as to what kind of room you’ll be in next. Will it be a room with a defense item as the spoils? Or maybe you’ll go into a room that’ll heal you? It’s really typical of the genre, and I also got a good taste of the progression you can make after you expectedly die.
In the demo, in three times I died, it was followed up with a conversation that had a lot of humor to it, primarily because the protagonist kept breaking the fourth wall. I found this to be quite a breath of fresh air, especially in a game rooted in Brazilian folklore and history. Going through the biome I went through felt like experiencing history through animation and tapestry, and I really enjoyed beats and melodies that really beckoned the music of the south. Anyway, access to permanent power-ups after those deaths gave me a deeper understanding of how your weaponry and movement affected play. When I got access to these double boomerangs, it all of a sudden felt like I was playing shoot-em-up, and it added such a different element to the game, especially after I killed the miniboss I was up against pretty easily.
While the game has no release date, both its stunning visuals and dynamic controls already feel polished.
I personally don’t know much about Brazilian history, but this game definitely made me wish I took notes so I can do some reach. Either way, it looks like there’s still time for me to do some learning. There currently is no planned release date for Talaka quite yet, but we do know that when it does, Acclaim is aiming for it to be on the PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as the Switch. Talaka is definitely shaping up to be quite a promising title, and we’ll definitely keep our eyes on this one.
Last week I set up an appointment with Brazil Games to see four fun-looking titles being made by Brazilian developers, and while they all had some neat aspects, Talaka stood out to me the most.
When you have a media badge at GDC, I feel like you’re either going to be on the expo floor a lot, or stepping foot on the expo floor is going to be a rare occurrence. In my two years going to GDC as media, I definitely fall in the latter. But when I do have time to check out the halls, I’m always in awe of what I see in the international pavilion.
Last week I set up an appointment with Brazil Games to see four fun-looking titles being made by Brazilian developers, and while they all had some neat aspects, Talaka stood out to me the most.
Part of the fun in Talaka is memorizing enemy movements and adapting for next time, assuming you aren’t lucky during the run you’re on.
Talaka is a side-scrolling action roguelite with a beautiful hand-painted watercolor look oozing with style. While I’m not the biggest roguelite fan, there was something about the game that immediately clicked with me. In fact, the entire demo clicked with me. I’m not gonna say I was good, by any means, as I died my fair share of times. I don’t know if he was telling a white lie, but the founder of Potato Kid, the developer, watched me and said “Man, this job is so much more enjoyable when you’re watching someone actually skilled play.”
Talaka‘s controls were tight and really responsive, and everything just felt fluid and natural. At times, I felt like the game was more of a Metroidvania just because of the level design requiring you to jump down ledges and whatnot, and I could sense the developer smile next to me as I used the terrain to my advantage, stabbing at enemies on platforms above me from right below them knowing they couldn’t touch me.
I like the way the rogue buffs are displayed. It makes them seem more obvious.
The game’s core loop revolves around treating each screen you’re in like an arena. More often than not, the object of each section is to kill all the enemies, and once you do that, you unlock some sort of buff that’ll make the journey through each level easier. On top of picking that buff, you have some agency as to what kind of room you’ll be in next. Will it be a room with a defense item as the spoils? Or maybe you’ll go into a room that’ll heal you? It’s really typical of the genre, and I also got a good taste of the progression you can make after you expectedly die.
In the demo, in three times I died, it was followed up with a conversation that had a lot of humor to it, primarily because the protagonist kept breaking the fourth wall. I found this to be quite a breath of fresh air, especially in a game rooted in Brazilian folklore and history. Going through the biome I went through felt like experiencing history through animation and tapestry, and I really enjoyed beats and melodies that really beckoned the music of the south. Anyway, access to permanent power-ups after those deaths gave me a deeper understanding of how your weaponry and movement affected play. When I got access to these double boomerangs, it all of a sudden felt like I was playing shoot-em-up, and it added such a different element to the game, especially after I killed the miniboss I was up against pretty easily.
While the game has no release date, both its stunning visuals and dynamic controls already feel polished.
I personally don’t know much about Brazilian history, but this game definitely made me wish I took notes so I can do some reach. Either way, it looks like there’s still time for me to do some learning. There currently is no planned release date for Talaka quite yet, but we do know that when it does, Acclaim is aiming for it to be on the PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as the Switch. Talaka is definitely shaping up to be quite a promising title, and we’ll definitely keep our eyes on this one.
by Danreb Victorio
