Rising Star Games Tour

Geoffrey Wright | October 8, 2015 | Feature | 4 Comments

When you hear the name Rising Star games you will think of great titles like No More Heroes, Zero Escape or Harvest Moon. However though they have been quiet of late and I was very surprised to find out that they were taking a bunch of indie titles to EGX this year.

Whilst at their booth this year I spoke with Rising Star’s PR Front Man, Tyrone, about this sudden change and he explained that the times are changing in the games industry and publishing indie titles is the best way forward.
With so many great games that struggle to get noticed I believe it is great that well established publishers are seeing the potential in these smaller developments.

After finishing playing all the games on offer by Rising Star Games I found that they all followed one similar trend; they were all quite addictive. I found my self becoming lost in all the worlds that have been created;

The cute, innocent world of Poncho was adorable to be part of. The blood splattering chaos of I Want To Be Human was insane but a hell of a lot of fun. Superbeat Xonic, a rhythm game that will test anyone’s reaction skills with its J Pop and stunning visuals. For fans of old school isometric games, Lumo is perfect for you – A simple game of exploring and advancing through puzzles will keep any lover of the genre entertained. Working your way through the shadows in One Upon Light proved to be rather challenging but was such a different experience that I found a love for it. Then that leaves us with Lumini, a game that is really hard to describe – you move around ancient ruins with you swarm of Lumini and you must protect them on your journey. I was very confused about what I was doing with this title but after a while I did find my self become lost within the world.

There was a huge variety of games on show and I am sure there is something for everyone here. Lets take a brief look at the games that were on show;

Poncho | Delve | PS4, PS Vita, WiiU, Steam| October 2015

Humanity has been extinct for centuries, leaving their robotic creations behind to fend for themselves. These robots have formed tribes and communities of their own, trying to make a way of life without purpose now their masters are gone.

On your journey, you will have to make some hard choices and ultimately decide the fate of humankind. With multiple areas and paths to explore, you’ll never be able to see everything in a single play through. Poncho is about making you feel like a kid again, exploring outside and looking under rocks to see what you find. There’s treasure in every nook and cranny in this world, and nothing is quite as it seems… There’s always more than one way to accomplish your goals.

I Want To Be Human | Sinclair Strange | PC | Fall 2015

Driving a stake through the heart of every vampire love story ever told, I Want To Be Human isn’t your age-old tale. Boy meets vampire girl, boy falls in love with vampire girl, boy gets turned into weaponised hat by evil forces trying to take over the world… wait, what? There is only one thing a vampire girl can do: go on a bloodthirsty rampage of death and destruction in a quest to get her boyfriend back!

I Want To Be Human is packed with crazy platform blasting action, a pulsing electropunk chiptune score produced by Mindless Self Indulgence’s Jimmy Urine, wildly dark tongue-in-cheek humour and a cartoon body count in the thousands. Players will set out on a journey through hell and back (literally) to save vampire girl’s beau through five worlds of blood-soaked monochromatic mayhem.

I Want To Be Human Key Features:

Vampire Justice – Love, betrayal, and endless destruction, all drenched in pixelated gore that spans five different worlds
Bullets for my Valentine – Upgrade your trusty shotgun and take the fight to the flock – the ones who are responsible for turning your boyfriend into trendy headgear
Tongue, meet cheek – Discover a world packed with off-the-wall dark humor and a unique art style that could only come from the mind of Sinclair Strange
Pulsing electro-punk tracks from Mindless Self Indulgence frontman, Jimmy Urine

Superbeat Xonic | PM Studios | PS Vita | October 2015

Offering over 50 unique tracks, multiple play modes and a completely new interface that makes use of the PS Vita’s touchscreen capabilities, SUPERBEAT: XONiC is a revolution in rhythm action gaming. High-speed intuitive gameplay mixes with a spectacular soundtrack featuring both popular songs from the BEATCRAFT series and all-new tunes, while local and worldwide leaderboards let you pit your talents against players around the globe. Jump in the laid-back beats of 4 TRAX mode, then ramp up the challenge and try to keep up with the frantic rhythm of 6 TRAX and 6 TRAX FX before experiencing endless gameplay with Freestyle mode.

Key Features:

Feel the beat – utilize your PS Vita like never before
Put your skills to the test on 50 hit tracks with 4 different modes of furious beats
Conquer the world – Climb the global leaderboards to earn your place as the number 1 DJ in the world
Best experienced with headphones!

Lumo | Triple Eh? | PS4, Xbox One, PS Vita, PC, Mac, Linux | 2016

Not just a fresh, modern take on the classic isometric adventure style, but also a love letter to the golden age of British game development (the 80s) and everyone that made it so great. We won’t try and slap a label on it – we simply want you to see it as the first great game of 2016.

Once Upon Light | SUTD Studios | PS4 | October 2016

Set in a world where the rules of light and shadow no longer apply, One Upon Light sees you exploring the ruined remains of the Aurora Science labs in search of answers. What happened here? Who are you? And, most importantly, will things ever be the same again? The answers are there to find but whatever you do, don’t go into the light…

Game Features:

Top-down puzzle gameplay sees you using the unique properties of light and shadow to explore and overcome obstacles
Use switches, blocks, carts and other techniques to create shadows, blocking out the light that will otherwise end your adventure…
Employ the power of the Shadow Echo to ‘record’ shadows as they appear, then use them to progress even if the real shadow vanishes
Visually charming and inspired by classic black and white cartoons, One Upon Light is a true test of skill, brains and photophobia.

Created by the extraordinary talent of Singaporean developers SUTD Game Lab, the game will be published digitally across western markets by Rising Star Games through another successful indie partnership.

Lumini | Speelbaars | PC | Out Now

Lumini is a relaxing flow adventure game in which you take control over a swarm of innocent little creatures called lumini. After being gone for thousands of years, the balance on their home planet has shifted. With their return, the lumini find themselves in a hostile environment from which you need to keep them safe. On this journey you’ll need to find out what happened in the past while trying to restore the balance on their planet. Using their special bond with the planet’s energy, the lumini can replenish their swarm to replace their fallen comrades. Evolving their kind into an ever adapting and stronger species.

Key Features:

Discover the history of the Lumini and their mysterious home world
A mesmerizing flow-based experience with accessible controls and gameplay
Divide your Lumini swarm and control both groups simultaneously to solve puzzles and unlock the mysteries of the Lumini home world
Evolve your swarm into different species with unique abilities
Immersive and fully adaptive audio score