Freedom Games was one of the few booths that reached out to me during E3 2021 Media week, which actually took place June 7-11. I didn’t know what to think when their list of games came into my inbox, but as I went through all of the games, I was pleasantly surprised by each one of the titles. There is one game that I’ll have a separate deep dive on, as I was able to ask the developers a few questions, but overall there are a lot of genres represented here and one game, in particular, Dark Deity, is out right now.
I should note that the presentation itself is less than 15 minutes and each game features an introduction by the individual developer. I really appreciated each one of the developer’s stories, as they all had their reason for getting into game development and why they created that certain game. If you want to find out more about any of the games, each of the headings has a link to the game’s website.
Dark Deity
Developer: Sword & Axe
Dark Deity was actually shown a little later in the showcase, but I put it up front because of the shadow drop they did yesterday on Steam. The game was made by a group of students while in college. Quite frankly this is a Fire Emblem fans dream here with 54 classes, great art both in exposition scenes, and gameplay reminiscent of the 3DS FE games while on the field of battle. Upgrade paths abound, bonds are there between characters, and battles are the expected grand tactics-filled affairs. So if any of that gave you flashbacks I’d say go check this out.
Speaking of checking something out, we have gameplay of Dark Deity up on the Youtube channel right now as well.
Dreamscaper
Developer: Afterburner Studios
Dreamscaper is Rogue-Lite Action RPG set in a dream world. Where the female main character goes to bed at night and in her dreams enters a hellish atmosphere with a skeletal Statue of Liberty, witch enemies, and other weird creatures. From the trailer, it looks like you’ll also solve puzzles, and because the game has Roguelite elements the main loop is going on runs. By defeating the simpler enemies or the various big bosses you can earn meditation points which are used to upgrade skills for the next run. So if you like the scary art style or Rogue-type games this one might be worth a look when it releases on August 12 on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
Airborne Kingdom
Developer: The Wayward Band
This town-building simulator takes place literally in the sky, hence the name, Airborne Kingdom. The game follows the path of many city simulator games where you must meet the needs of the people and also remember that everyone is essentially living on an airship as well. The game is actually already out on Epic Games Store. The big announcement here is that it is coming to consoles as well at some point in 2021. Along with that, the game will now have an additional harder difficulty mode, New Game Plus, and a Sandbox mode too.
Coromon
Developer: TRAGsoft
This is the game that I will have more of a deep dive on later in the week. On the surface, you see the picture or watch the trailer below and will say “that’s just Pokemon.” However, after playing the demo that’s available for free on Steam and the E3 Preview build it is most certainly way more than just the aforementioned pocket monster game. Coromon is in essence a monster tamer that much like the MMORPG Temtem does not hide the fact that it is most influenced by Pokemon. However, it goes beyond just trying to ape the retro art style, many of the mechanics, and have cute monsters. Although some of them are pretty cute, to be honest.
The brother developer duo cites The Legend of Zelda and Golden Sun as the influences for this game and you can clearly see them there in the demo and trailer. There are puzzles you have to go through when trying to reach a boss and bosses themselves can have various things that get in your way. Providing a lot more strategy than just figuring out their weakness and exploiting it. I’m just upset that the full game isn’t coming sooner than Q1 2022 to Steam and Switch, but at least the demo is out there for anyone to try out.
Cat Cafe Manager
Developer: Roost Games
This is a fairly simple concept, make the Cat Cafe that you’ve always wanted. Train your staff, adopt cats, build and maintain the cafe and do it over again until you make enough to gain more of all of these things. A rather peaceful game with some very interesting characters as well. This game releases on Steam and Switch in 2022.
To The Rescue
Developer: Little Rock Games
Fun fact, I am also from Little Rock Arkansas where the developers of the game are from as well. To the Rescue is essentially a dog shelter simulator with a very cutesy art style to boot. You have to do everything from building any area that’s needed for a dog’s housing to feeding them, giving them medical attention, and yes, you can pet the dog in To The Rescue. The really great thing is that the game also has a message about helping out in the community and 20 percent of the game’s proceeds also go to the Pet Finder Foundation as well. If you are interested, the game comes out on Steam and Switch in Q4 2021.
Slaughter League
Developer: Microwave Games
I can definitely relate to the struggle of this developer working multiple jobs to be able to do the actual thing you love doing, (which is this stuff right here for me). Slaughter League is one person’s idea of a deadly Ninja Warrior where murder awaits anyone that doesn’t nail the obstacle course in the correct way. There are three multiplayer modes, a stage builder, lots of gore, and some weird customization options as well. Although it doesn’t actually release on Steam until 2022.
One Lonely Outpost
Developer Aurorian Studios
You could easily call this a Space Farming Sim, but what makes One Lonely Outpost standout is that it offers two different ways to grow. There’s the natural path or the synthetic path. If you like tending to your garden and methodically getting through a game the avenue is there. However, if you want to see things come up quick, albeit in a bit more costly way, there’s that option as well. Plus, the art style is pretty cute and there seems to be a lot to explore in the vast reaches of the great beyond. This hits early access on Steam sometime in 2022.
Sizzle Reel: Sands of Aura, Tower Rush, Anuchard
Sands of Aura literally delves deep below the sand to uncover a world that lies underneath. This top-down action game features big spaces to explore, customization for weapons, clothes, and other equipment. Upgradeable abilities and Souls-like combat too. Chasu Entertainment’s game comes to Steam early access in 2022.
Tower defense games can be a mixed bag sometimes, but the ones that have something that stands out usually triumph above others. Tower Rush features some certainly over-the-top characters and a bold cartoony animation style as well. Between the colorful units on the good side and the zany enemy types this is certainly a feast for the old eyeballs. When it comes to the actual gameplay, there’s a shop, the addition of more units, and all that, but I’ll be searching for more on this game for sure. Sadly, it looks like the wait will be a bit long as this isn’t hitting Steam until 2022.
Honestly, it seems like all three of the titles that received less of a showcase may be some of the most appealing to me. Anuchard is an Action RPG with a unique art style, but it also has a certain bizarre premise. Your character suddenly discovers they are the next one to become the Bellweilder. Not only do they get a freaking bell as a weapon, but it also serves the purpose of reclaiming souls and solving puzzles too. I’m getting some portable Kingdom Hearts vibes from this for sure. Might as well say it one more time, this game also comes out in 2022, but at least its hitting the Xbox One and Xbox Series systems along with Steam.
Overall this was a well done 15-minute showcase that highlighted a variety of games coming from all sorts of unique creators. For my own personal tastes, Coromon and Anuchard are the ones I’m looking forward to the most, but I am also intrigued by the premise in Dreamscaper, and certainly Sands of Aura and Tower Rush too. Hopefully, you found something that at least got your attention here as well.
