There are some games I didn't get to try out, but didn't seem like I missed much (The Order; The Evil Within and Shadow of Mordor are nearly out). Just didn't have enough time for Elite or Hotline Miami 2. My favourite part of these is getting to chat with developers for a longer time than you expect and basically interview them about how it all came about. It's nice to know there are so many more influences now from other pieces of media than the usual sci fi and fantasy wells.
Sunset Overdrive - After a 1:30 hour wait, this was a disappointment. Watching it, I was set that this was going to be a great game for Xbox One. Stunning particle fx and colour vibrancy makes it stand out, along with the interesting weapons. Nice library fit with Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare. Once I actually played it, the dealbreaker was the movement speed. Before we started, the hosts even answered one of the most frequent questions they've had which is why there's a lack of sprint. The explanation is they want players to grind more than walk on the ground. They also said don't aim because that's boring. I followed their suggestions and even on grinding, it's still slow as molasses. You don't speed up as you get better or grind more. The platforming isn't as fluid as other games, there's not much of a flow. It doesn't help when there is a comparison analogue like Infamous. I seriously don't get the design decision of why you're so slow with a game trying to focus on platforming. Also, it confirmed my fears of having boring zombie enemy AI even in a horde mode.
Bloodborne - Not as hard as expected. Even for someone who's spent about 5 hours collectively across the Souls games, the controls were easy to get adjusted to. I played as the plague doctor build with the two blades that can become a dual blade. The gun is I think a blunderbuss, so it's only effective in very short ranges, at which point you might as well L2+R2. The enemies' attacks are very well telegraphed, so I didn't have much issues with backstepping and retaliating. Throwing pebbles to single out enemies from mobs is great. Healing with blood vials is much faster than Dark Souls 2. I hope the 24fps is made more stable to a steady 30fps by Feb. I died at the RE 4-like burning bodies at the stake area where 5-6 enemies ganked me with long-range pitchforks.
Virginia by @VariableState - Played 15 min of this. Very cool full body awareness, rare in indie first person games. OMG. Are you a fan of Thirty Flight of Loving (jump cuts), Twin Peaks (setting), Kentucky Route Zero, and X-Files? You should have this on your radar. It's pretty much a FBI agent slice of life narrative game. I pointed out that the character is female, but the character model in the shadow comes off as a bald dude and they chuckled at that, probably will be improved. Apparently the camera is like a 3rd person game but they put the camera into the head area. The music is great, got that jazzy low-tempo groove. Had a great chat with the devs, Jonathan and Lyndon (Terry wasn't there), they seem like very cool dudes.
A Light In Chorus - Mindblowing particle fx, it's like those art light installations or a starry night coalesced over objects that you can freely pass through. Has an ethereal quality, filling out stuff like Unfinished Swan. If you're a sucker for first person exploration stuff like Proteus but with more puzzle mechanics, have this on your radar. The demo had you exploring a theme park, circus, ferris wheel, and a black wood. You can replace inventory items and so spell out Marvel's Circus or put a hat in the right place. The sound design is brilliant as it's very location-dependent, so like you can hear flies if you stand under a street lamp post or the whooshing of the ferris wheel. The developers were art students really into visual art stuff, so that shows. There will be a narrative but right now it's still a ways off.
The Marvellous Miss Take (
trailer) - Carmen Sandiago stealth art theft game with no violence (not even non-lethal takedowns) and lovely art style? Very ghosting-freindly, as a thief game should be ideally. Such a polished and fun game. It's point-and-click to move the character around and entirely based around the mouse. If you hold down LMB, then you'll whistle. If you hold down RMB, you'll throw a sound recorder (that you have to find on the level) to distract harder stuck guards. If you get caught, you drop all the stuff you stole and stick your hands up, but it's so cute that failure just makes me laugh. I got to level 5 Trafalgar Square which is when the difficulty ramped up as cover points and using the sound recorder became priorities. After that, you unlock another playable enigmatic character who's helping you out. I don't know what else to say except that I'll definitely buy the game when it comes out. I mentioned it to Mike Bithell in his Volume Q&A, he admires this game too.
Galak-Z - Now that I've played it, I get the hype. Juke, slide, thrust, boost around and blast asteroids or dragon-ships. The inertia just feels so great. I love the Wolfenstein/Doom-like face in the corner reacting to every shot. My one complaint is after killing an enemy, the loot can be thrown really far away (damn you, space physics!). Oh and the framerate dips to 15fps, like really low levels because of all the stuff exploding. I'd really like an in-game map, cause you can get lost (in space!) and not sure where your next objective will be, so can get repeating the same loop.
Calvino Noir - Looked cool as a noir 2D stealth sidescroller but man does it feel early in the controls. It's a transition from a mobile game, so another stealth game using just the mouse button. Way less refined than Miss Take. You can click on a walk or sprint stance, and you can point your mouse to move the character around. But it feels unnecessary for a 2D game than an isometric game like Miss Take. I don't see what you'd lose from direct control. The issue arises when you point at places and also point at cover points for the character to crouch behind (a bit like the upcoming Not A Hero).
Never Alone (
trailer) - You guys, this could be the Brothers of this year. I thought it'd be a breezy narrative adventure but it's quite a challenging cinematic puzzle platformer. Based on Alaskan native culture, you play as either a young girl or an arctic fox (you can switch with Y). While you're playing, there is some narration from an Inupiat elder. There even is local co-op which works even better. Definitely will get this game, and play with my sister. If one of you dies, it's so sad ;_;
There were 2 demo stations and each had different levels. Very clever setup. One level had you braving against the environment, and the other was against green spirit enemies that try to grab you between platforms. The character interplay is great, lowering or making platforms for the partner. Crouching has you brace the wind in one level as it pushes you back and can throw you off a platform, while crouching in the spirit level means you just crouch away from their grubby hands. In the spirit level, there are also good white spirits that form platforms for you. The snow and water effects look incredible. So many cool animations, like when you land after a big jump and stumble or sob to your knees in despair when your partner dies. Had a fantastic chat with the people, even recommended some indie games (Papo and Yo, But That Was Yesterday) to the dude who's on the non-profit E-Line Media side and usually played AAA games before working on this project. I asked and they didn't want to call it an educational game because that has negative connotations but there are 40 hours of video documentary about Alaskan native culture :O