Best Of Steam Early Access: February 2017
Every month, Pop Geeks looks through the extensive entries to Steam Early Access – some of which we may have already reported on – and brings you some of the best indie games that are worthy of your attention, all in a listicle form counting down to our favorite. From horror games, to RPGs, and puzzle solvers to adventure games, these are some of the best indie entries to Steam Early Access. If you see one that tickles your fancy, why not head over to the games Steam Greenlight page and give it helpful hand? Not see some of you favorite entries? Let us know in the comments below!
Buck
Buck is a story-driven, 2D Action-Adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. You play as Buck, a motorcycle garage mechanic who decides to leave everything he knows behind in order to find the truth behind a girl’s disappearance; all while struggling to adjust himself to a world he doesn’t fully understand. Traverse the wasteland while fighting and talking your way through junkyards, mountain passes, ghost towns and survivor outposts while trying to piece together the reasons that brought this world and its rugged inhabitants to their knees. The game has a number of features, including:
- Traverse the sands of Venganza: a carefully built 2D world with hidden passages, dark secrets and remorseless characters.
- Destroy enemies with Buck’s own hand crafted, upgradeable weapons.
- Earn Scraps and loot unique items to upgrade your arsenal, craft ammunition and improve healing items.
- Negotiate with the salty denizens of Westown, wayward merchants and mysterious mercenaries, each with their own goal and agenda.
Estranged: Act II
Estranged: Act II follows the story of a fisherman, stranded on a mysterious island during a violent storm. The game continues after the events of Estranged: Act I, which followed our hero’s adventure in a search for a way to get home. Experience what the island has in store as you uncover the secretive Arque Corporation, burrowing ever deeper into their dangerous and haphazard operations. The game has a number of key features, including:
- Adventure game with puzzle elements
- Immersive story driven environments
- Unique characters and narrative
- Familiar first person shooter gameplay
Wartile
Wartile is not a turn-based strategy, but rather a real-time affair with cooldowns that keeps the action going, but still leaves you just enough time to plan your next move or play a figurine ability or special power card. At its core, this is a game about positioning and decision making. Experience a living, breathing tabletop video game that invites the player into a miniature universe full of small adventures, Norse mythology and challenges that require real time strategical decisions. The game has a number of features, including:
- Four beautifully handcrafted diorama battle boards each with its own environmental theme and with three difficulty tiers. Can you beat them all ?
- A unique One vs One multiplayer competitive battle board, where you can settle the score against a friend or random players.
- Three Unique Viking classes each with unique combat style & ability cards who can be leveled up to level five.
- A selection of godly and tactical cards at your disposal.
- Diverse selection of enemies, each with their special abilities and traits
- Collectable equipment some with magical powers for you to harness.
- Expandable objective system that continuously can grow within each battle board
- A campaign board with a Norse tavern for hiring your crew, a armory to equip & train them and a collection deck for your selections.
A-Tech Cybernetic
A-Tech Cybernetic is a visibly beautifully elaborated sci-fi game taking place at external and internal venues, whereby players are exposed to such effects and impacts, which are not possible for a human being to experience in real life without any dangers. The enemy consists of robots created by the humans, which are very realistic-looking enemies with an unbelievably detailed finish. You will have the chance to liquidate the enemies raiding on you! Take possession of the weapons in your surroundings, and try to survive as long as possible! Pistols, machine-guns, shotguns and several other weapons will be at your disposal, to become the hero of A-Tech. But beware, if you run out of ammunition, you can only count on your fist. Collect as many points as possible.
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul
Armed with a flashlight, you find yourself exploring what appears to be a quiet average looking home in a woodsy neighborhood. Before long, you discover you’re not alone as you unravel the mystery of what’s gone on in this house and struggle to survive the terror that begins to hunt you. This original story, based on the mythology of the massively popular PARANORMAL ACTIVITY film franchise, is built from the ground up for VR. You freely walk through the environment using Room Scale combined with our Immersive Movement Role-play System (IMRS). After the tutorial, you’re on your own. Zero onscreen directions or HUD in your face, you’re never taken out of the immersion all the while exploring the multiple floors of this massive nightmarish house.