Not to be outdone by Day of the Devs, The Media Indie Exchange (in case you didn’t know MIX was a acronym) held its own astounding, GDC-adjacent event. It included games I already love — like Until Then — but also gave me the chance to play indies I’ve had on my wishlist for a while and titles I just learned about from the organization’s overflowing showcase co-hosted by the Kinda Funny crew.
Breeze in the Clouds
“I like games were you can learn something while playing,” says meteorology fan and game director SrBilyon Harris. And while I didn’t pick up a ton up weather patterns and pollutant names, I did learn that Breeze in the Clouds is a game I need to play.
It’s a beat ’em up but with the control scheme of Super Smash Bros. Mostly, this means attacks buttons do different things depending on the direction players are pushing the sticks. And there is also a mean shoulder button block that lets you roll behind enemies. My cute corgi character also has “forms” I can trigger by flicking the right stick. The transformation isn’t dramatic, with different forms equating to putting on a jacket or scarf, but they have different special moves. One gives me a wind-swept dash, while another lets me hover around on a cloud for a few seconds – both are good for platforming and combat. The art is phenomenal, and when you get into the groove, you feel so slick.
I almost beat the boss on my first try, with a small crowd behind me groaning as the brute landed a cheap death hit. But death is very forgiving and the checkpoints place you back in the action with minimal delay. There’s one more system to call on in battle when I need to help beat the demo: the power of friendship. Directional buttons summon friends to thwomp enemies with shield-breaking wall of fog, or freeze them with a snap of the fingers. It’s ordered, awesome chaos.
Squirrel with a Gun
It’s exactly what you’d think. A squirrel, a gun, and horde of bad guys to murder. That’s all I ever needed this game to be.
I may have started in the middle of things for my demo, so if there was some narrative explanation for my armed state, I didn’t see it. I spent most of my time doing ridiculous things, like managing to jump really high by shooting the ground with my gun. This stunt did leave me with less bullets when the looming fight ensured, but it was worth it. I met my end after wandering into a saloon filled with gun-toting villains. It’s hard to say what I did to make them angry, exactly, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was — at least a little bit — the rodent’s fault.
Atomic Picnic
I probably should have known from the Atomic part of the title that the Picnic part wouldn’t be a… picnic. But the fact that I several times resurrected the dev brave enough to jump into this co-op shooter with me makes me feel like I wasn’t totally missing the mark. Also, I was killing it with the game’s lazer-like grappling hook.
“Players join forces with up to three other “Loners” and embark on scavenger hunts- called “Picnics” – confronting relentless hordes of monsters,” says the game’s press release. “No two Picnics are ever the same, and players will bond through these trials as they run, gun, explore, collect and upgrade in a fight against waves of monsters and bosses. Each Picnic is a unique adventure, offering different upgrade paths and special events to challenge both solo Loners and groups of friends.”
That all sounds sensible until stepping into the world saturated with color and bad guys. Then all bets are off.
Leave a Reply