Yep, demos. Demo reviews at least.
Henchman Story is a cartoony comedy visual novel about life as a henchman for a supervillain named Lord Bedlam. You'll live life within the ranks of other henchmen in dorm-style accommodations within the secret hideout or out in the field, holding your ground against superheroes who want to foil Lord Bedlam's operations.
The Pizza Situation is an indie game project about a freshman college student named Roni. He has a dream about seeing a girl with pink hair at a party and her stealing a slice of pizza from him. His goal is to use social networking to solve the problem and prevent this girl in his dream from doing so in real life.
The idea of this game is you're a cloud. The end. Just kidding, sort of. The cloud has a special place in the story, because it can go anywhere it wants and rain on anything at any time, says the storyteller. Eventually you'll develop some other powers like thunder and well, you'll see.
Ader the buck is your basic rural raised one-eyed stag from the country, protagonist and comic relief. He's jumpy and blasting into nervous confrontation with just about everybody in the game. I enjoyed his character because he managed to say things just as much inflammatory as they were polite and humble. He's basically a goofy guy who you'll probably enjoy.
A Long Journey is such an amazing collection of genres, it's holistic in its approach. We're talking space outlaw, trading sim, story click, adventure. The art is beautiful, the design is brilliant, and well, this game is one to keep an eye on. And it just got boosted by a major Kickstarter success, so expect to see it further developed and probably make it to full release.
Loco Motive is a standard Clue/family drama set in 1939 aboard a train in Switzerland. The conflict is a very classic trope, a tried and true one. Like all mysteries, just being in the genre usually checks all the switches into place for creating all the elements of an effective plot and engaging the audience.
Beasts of Maravilla Island is a mindful and progressive concept revolving around the science, hobby, and storytelling of isolated ecosystems and their sometimes astonishing, in this case even magical, discoveries. It's a game about collecting documentation and exploring the flora and fauna of an environment, where combat or violent interaction is non-existent.
incess Farmer is essentially a complex row matching game, mixed with some RPG and storytelling elements. With some pixel graphics and a cozy story about bunnies, it's a lot of fun. The stylizing is pink and indie in the best way, and it is fun just to look at. I'm pretty much a sucker for anything with this style. I'm not totally sure what you would call it, but it puts me in a happy place.
Phoenotopia is more than a cozy pixel-art game about a hero with pink hair. There are some pretty deep theme but also pleasant gameplay. For a sample, a group in Phoenotopia known as the last councils decide the fate of humanity. This game has emotional and philosophical depth. But once again, it's buffered with some enjoyable run and jump platforming. In my playtest of the demo, I enjoyed the open world environment and sense of adventure. I also love that I can play on super easy difficulty levels or super difficult difficulty levels. Accessibility is a great thing to pair…