Steam games festival (bunch of demos)

[ImmaculateClump]

Here's the main page - https://store.steampowered.com/sale/gamefestival but it's a bit of a mess, including live stream videos and the like, I'd just go to the most recent demos page and maybe narrow down by genres you're interested in - https://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Released_DESC&tags=-1&category1=10

Thought we could share our thoughts about any of these demos we've tried and maybe find something worth having a look at.

Gloomwood



A thief sort of thing, it was alright, I had a fun time playing but don't think I'll buy it, seen it all before and it didn't have me itching to keep playing when it was over.
Enjoyed my hour with the demo but that felt like enough for me.
If you're properly into that sought of thing, you might really enjoy it. The stealth seemed very forgiving though, I wasn't taking the piss or trying to break the systems or anything, but when I got a bit fidgety and stopped trying so much, it seemed very lenient.

Roboquest



A not terrible fps roguelite. Feels a bit bland and soulless, the enemy AI needs working on, it feels a bit like a shooting gallery at the minute.
Hang back with a sniper rifle, and they just stand there waiting for you to pick them off, go in guns ablazing and they don't put up much of a fight. The fast player movement and stuff feels like it belongs in a different game with way more aggressive baddies.
Feels like a solid base, just looked and it's not out until next year, so hopefully it'll change. I don't think this is ready to show, I think it'll put people off buying it. I'll definitely check up on it again next year though.

That's all I've tried so far, but I've got Balrog, School of Magic, The Slormancer and Tallowmere 2 downloaded so I'll report back on those ones.

[ImmaculateClump]

ULTRAKILL



ALL CAPS, if you please. Nice and fast old school score attack fps. You regain health by showering in your enemies blood so it makes sense to go both balls out all the time.
Canny good fun! Best of the bunch so far. Great game trailers are a lost art and they knocked it out of the park with that one.

[ImmaculateClump]

Balrog



Oof, you're not getting all caps mate, you can whistle. Feels like a total none starter to me, wasd movement which is never a good sign in an arpg, and it feels pretty floaty too, I was getting caught on bits of scenery.
I usually like to give things at least half an hour to give them a chance to shine, but I think I've seen enough of that one.


School of magic



Too slow and skill-free, you just have to soak up the enemy attacks, feels like a waste of time to me.


Tallowmere 2: Curse of the Kittens



Luck heavy roguelite platformer with button mashing combat. I saved a kitten! I found a fireball that I could spam and hope that it hit people while I stayed out of harms way.
I don't want to let myself get sucked into this. It's compulsive, low effort crap.
I'll leave it installed in case I want another shot tomorrow. One more game can't hurt, surely.
First game is currently on sale for 72p, which I have resisted - https://store.steampowered.com/app/340520/Tallowmere/

Shady Knight



Found this a bit boring. It's like a sort of mirrors edge parkour thing with melee combat. I get the appeal and it feels quite smooth and satisfying when it gets going but I didn't find it exciting. Might be worth a try if you like the sound of it.