Preview: Repentant (PC) ~ Has the Little Kite flown?

Official website

For those who remember Little Kite, I have talked about last year in December, I have some interesting news for you. The developer Anate Studio contacted me to announce the sequel called Repentant! Or is it a sequel? Let’s look at what’s released so far. As usual, feel free to give your opinion on the content of this article and/or the game in the comment section down below.

Information for the developer

It’s a dramatic point & click adventure about a man who is trying to atone for the sins of the past.

The story in this game shows the events that took place seven years after the events of the game Little Kite. The main character, Oliver, survived but suffers from pangs of conscience because of his behavior in the past. This led to the fact that his family left him and because he is obliged to continue criminal activities. But soon, he gets a chance to atone for his sins by helping another person.

Everything will occur in a small store with three characters. Oliver is a man who has a dark past. A shopkeeper decides to rob his own store, together with the help of a girl. This decision was made thanks to severe life circumstances.

Despite the characters and references to the previous game, this game can be played and enjoyed even if you haven’t played Little Kite.

The game will be available for Windows and Mac.

Video with gameplay demo:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ2xPO78kx4&t=5s

Stay tuned for news of developing progress

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anatestudio/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/anatestudio

Developers site: www.anatestudio.net

Personal thoughts

I really enjoyed playing Little Kite. Because some parts of the story stuck with me personally. So, when a mail arrived from the developer in my inbox talking about a new game and a possible sequel to that game, you can say that a hype train left the station for me.

Looking at the screenshots and gameplay demo, a few things can be concluded. In terms of art-style, atmosphere and gameplay, nothing much is going to be changed. And that’s a good thing! Visually, this game looks amazing and I’m a big fan of the style. It reminds me of games like Hotel Dusk and older Broken Sword games.

Gameplay-wise, it looks like this is going to be a point-and-click game. Why change a working formula? The previous game in the series was also a point-and-click adventure game and a highly enjoyable at that.

While you might notice some typo’s here and there in the preview video, I’m not too worried about that. Since the developer said that the video only has a draft version of the text and the proofreading will happen later in development.

In terms of the story, I’m quite interested. I’m honestly expecting a story where betrayal and a mystery will be the central focus of the game. While the game will take place in one place, I’m curious to see how this place is used. There is a lot that can be done with only a few rooms, that fact is proven by all the “escape the room” games that exist.

Watching the preview video, I am even more hyped to play this game. I really like details like the names of the places showing up when you go from screen to screen. This makes it a lot easier to navigate in a point-and-click game.

The only thing I didn’t really like in the preview video was one minor thing. The looping of the sound-effects inside the store with not smooth enough. If you pay attention, you can hear when the sound effect starts and when it stops. That’s all.

Real talk now for a moment, the developer is planning to possibly release this game upcoming spring. If you can create an adventure game in a year with at this quality, I have a lot of respect for the developers. Creating games isn’t easy and I really hope this game succeeded. I can’t wait to see more from this game and I can’t wait either to play it. So, if you are as interested as I’m in this game, I urge you to follow the developer on Twitter and Facebook for more updates.

So, that’s everything I wanted to say about this game for now. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, take care and have a great rest of your day!

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Preview: Neon Valley Revenge (PC) ~ Let’s Go Shooting in Tron?

Official website

Recently, I came across a game on the world wide web called Neon Valley Revenge. This game is so interesting, I wish that there was already a demo I could play. So, let me tell you when I’m so interested in this game. I also got in contact with the developers and the CEO told me that a demo might come in the future. In any case, let’s take a look at Neon Valley Revenge. As usual, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your opinion on the content of the article and/or the game.

Let’s Go Shooting in Tron

I chose the title of this article for a reason. This game is going to be a shooter set in a sort of Tron-ish looking world. It’s going to be an online shooter too.

From the currently released material on their website, I’m not sure if this game is going to have a single player campaign.

I think there is no need to talk about the visuals in depth since the screenshots in the article will do the trick I think. A picture can say more than a thousand words after all. But, if you want to see the game in action, you can look at this teaser trailer where the developers show off some combat mechanics. You can find more information about it in their article about the video.

Something that gets me interested in the game is the fact that the wall jumping. This opens up the map in so many different directions and I can’t wait to see how hectic matches can be online. Also, I like that there seems to be a 1^st and 3^rd person mode in the game. Personally, I like to play my shooters in 1^st person, but if there is going to be an option, this will please both parties.

Also, if the music from the video is going to be any indication of the soundtrack that this game will have in store, I’m getting even more hyped for the game. I think that the music really fits the presentation they are going to this game. There are some hidden hints placed in an article about the music that might possibly get into the game.

In another blog post, the developers confirmed the wall jumping amongst other forms of movement. Two other things that are pretty interesting is the air control and the dashing. It’s quite clear that this game is going for a futuristic vibe. I like the execution in this game since it really fits the theme visually. So, the artist did a great job in design everything.

Speaking about the artist, the main developer Jonathan D. and David Belli made the animations. Now, do you want to hear something even more impressive? Besides those two, there are three other people working on this game. The team is presented in this blog post.

So, the developers also revealed a bit how it’s going to work in the gameplay department. For this, I point you to a page talking about one of the maps. There will be commands to easily and quickly do things like vote and kicking players.

There are other various bits of information on that same page. You can find the control scheme and some information on how high scores and weapon load outs will work. Currently, the controls won’t be customizable, but the keyword is “currently”. I personally hope that the developer knows that “QWERTY” isn’t the only keyboard layout. I know, I know; it’s a pet peeve of mine, but I hate it when I play a game using my “AZERTY” keyboard and I have to place my fingers in a weird position to play the game.

So, I’m going to keep an eye on this game. When the demo is ready, I’ll surely give it a shot with my friends who are into shooters. From just seeing the already released (press) material, I can’t wait to see this game become a finished product. There is, even more, to discover on their website when it comes to art and screenshots.

Now I would like to thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading the article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article on my blog but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care. And before I finish this article, I want to share the press kit for this game with you. So here it is! It’s written by the CEO of the developers Daydream Productions, Jonathan D.

Press kit

Daydream Productions presents

Neon Valley: Revenge is an online shooter with Neo 80s design influence. Full of retro neon-infused graphics and hardcore gameplay features, join the digital frontier of Neon Valley and claim your place at the top!

Features

• Health shield system inspired by Halo: Combat Evolved
• Agility focused movement for freedom of control. Wall jumping, dashing and air control
• Assortment of weapons and gadgets with unconventional mechanics
• Skill and style based points scoring system
• Online multiplayer
• Arcade style high score leaderboards
• Neo 80s design and synthwave music

History

I have been dabbling in game development since the tender age of 14. Mostly working with pixel art and some basic programming using the program Beyond. And after my education, I worked on several projects with friends or freelance based. However, after many of them fell through, I felt like I had to just go for it and push through whatever challenges lie ahead. To develop my own game, a project I could use to broaden my skillset and begin as a professional game developer. I aimed for a game design within my reach… Something which did not go so well.

Neon Valley is a project I have worked on the last 2-3 years. Mostly in my free time and a lot of the time which should have been my sleep. As I am originally an artist and designer I had to learn programming, so I could begin developing my own ideas. This project was for that purpose but as it developed I wanted to take the extra step. So I took it to the next level, revamped a lot of the art and turned it into a somewhat full-fledged game. Or at least direct my goals towards that. Neon Valley transformed from a small prototype shooter to an online multiplayer shooter.

I had to learn not only C# programming in Unity but also pick up how to program networking. And beyond that VFX, designing game mechanics, Lighting, bla bla bla oh my god. So it has been a rough couple years for this little artist, something very out of my comfort zone. It was not the straightforward copy paste of my 14yr old projects. But I love it none the less and am very excited to present my figurative but-also-kind-of-literal blood sweat and tears.

Goals

I wish to tailor-make a competitive online shooter that allows a diverse variety of gameplay styles. Currently, there is only a handful of items in the game. However, over the next few months, I will be designing more characters, weapons, and gadgets, testing them one by one with the players. Experimenting with the gameplay feel and a variety of gameplay mechanics at the player’s disposal. I hope to over time develop Neon Valley into a place where players can develop their own gameplay styles without feeling forced into specific “Meta” gameplay.