The games just keep coming and whilst next week has a theme, this week is quite the mix. So let’s just get going and drill down to the core of the round up.
Drill Core
At its core (sorry) Drill Core is a roguelike, strategy, mining and colony sim. I’d describe it as Dome Keeper meets Oxygen Not Included. Yet in its favour, it definitely treads its own path and is more than worth your time and money, even at this early access stage.
It is a game made up of two parts. The first has you drilling to the planets core, mining resources to allow your colony to survive, grow and prosper. The second is to protect against the planets fauna, which seems to have a problem with you stripping their planet of resources.
It is an excellent mix for balancing the two objectives, making sure you continue to dig deep, but also being prepared to defend. Where Dome Keeper was mainly done using a single character, in Drill Core you sort of automate and have a team of workers do what you require.
You’ll earn various upgrades that will make work more efficient and your life a lot easier, as well as giving you the chance to improve your arsenal to do defend your base from above.
Each run you have feels pretty intense and is quite meaty too. I am finding it can take between 2-4 hours for each depending on how you do. Initially I think runs ended in 30-90 minutes as I learned the various aspects.
Drill Core is a game that rewards experimentation and with a fairly decent level of comedy writing it never really feels like I am just going through the motions, the character really shines in a way I didn’t expect. With it running well on Steam Deck too, it is a game that should have a long term home on your device.
Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action
I’m not usually one for JRPGs, purely because I find I struggle to understand the mechanics, or just simply don’t have the time needed to justify playing them. Literally all my own doing and nothing to do with the genre itself.
However Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action (Keylocker from here on) grabbed me when I played the demo during a Steam Next Fest. I’m not sure what it was, but it just had something that peaked my interest.
Thankfully my response from the demo has carried over into the full release. Now this does have the trappings you’d expect. A lot of dialog being the main one, but Keylocker does away with some of the more infuriating one. There are no random encounters, everything is deliberate, which I very much welcome.
The battles are where the game shines though, by mixing turn-based combat with real-time rhythm action elements. So you select your attack, defence, etc and then you need to perform an input string to perform the move. Similar to what you may find an a Dance Dance Revolution game.
So the more impact your action has, the more difficult the inputs. It is a really interesting idea that fits the story and world perfectly. As with music being outlawed, it makes sense that those who harness the power of music can use it to great effect.
There is a clear influence from the likes of Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger. Hell the game’s store page even mentions them. But that is just it, they are influences only. Keylocker treads its own path and does so wonderfully well. The art-style, the gameplay, the sound design all combine to give a great experience.
It may be a case (for me at least) that it is one and done. But I am more than fine with that, because I can enjoy my time with Keylocker and then move on.
REKA
We had games that have you building on the back of giant space turtles, other creating viallages on wandering beasts. So why not now a game that has a hut with chicken legs as a travel companion? Well that’s the concept behind the intriguing REKA!
You play as Reka, who is an apprentice of Baba Yaga the witch. Who sets out on a journey of discovery and other mysteries that slowly unveil themselves. But you’re really here to know what the giant chicken-legged home is all about!
As you move through the utterly enchanting world, you have a basic hut with legs as a companion. But the further you go, the more you do, the more you collect, you can start to build and improve your hut so that it becomes a proud home… with chicken legs.
Now whilst it sound like it should be something from the same stable as the likes of Goat Simulator, I Am Bread or such, this is actually a very heart-warming experience which is very grounded in its approach. Reka will solve quests on her journey, befriend nature and take you places.
There is so much exploring to be done and things to craft, with a sense of discovery that keeps you wanting to spend ‘just another 5 minutes’ playing. Every single time I’ve loaded REKA up, I have lost trrack of time and just become utterly lost in the world and the mysteries within.
REKA won’t be for everyone, but if you fancy something that is a little bit off the cuff, without being silly, then this is a game you must try. I will say that the home customisation is well done, but don’t get too focussed on it, because for me, that isn’t where the game shines. It is in the journey itself and the people you meet.
A well crafted game that I am glad I got to experience.
