Hey everybody, Brando here. There was an amazing variety of experiences and surprises at Bitsummit 8, this year’s iteration of the independent game development festival held in Kyoto, Japan.
Here’s a quick roundup of the games I played on the show floor. They’re loosely grouped by genre, but many don’t fit into just one, so read them all!
ACTION
SOL CRESTA
https://www.platinumgames.com/games/sol-cresta
The latest original offering from Platinum Games. A old-school shoot-em-up that’s pure arcade fun. Control 3 ships and use different special attacks depending on their arrangement on the screen. Very traditional arcade game feel – if you die, it’s back to the title screen. Platinum Games brought an actual arcade cabinet to the venue, which was running the Steam version of the game inside. For more platform/release details, check their website at the link above.
PIXELJUNK RAIDERS
Battle space aliens, rescue villagers, and superjump across striking cel-shaded environments. A 3D action roguelike, only on Google Stadia. Made by Q-Games, Kyoto-based development studio famous for the PixelJunk series, several Star Fox titles, The Tomorrow Children, and many others. They also help organize BitSummit!
PIXELJUNK SCRAPPERS
Another Q-Games title, PixelJunk Scrappers is a side-scrolling “waste management beat-em-up” with 4-player co-op. Brawling around in local multiplayer is great casual fun. In addition to cleaning up the streets, there’s other game modes and Mario Party-like minigames like basketball and betting on horse races. This one is on Apple Arcade.
ENDER LILIES
A “dark fantasy 2D Action RPG”, basically it’s a Metroidvania with Soulsborne-y combat, similar to Hollow Knight. The game has solid combat and responsive controls. I played through the first section and narrowly defeated the first boss on my first try, restoring a little bit of honor to the term “gaming press”. The game is already out, with “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam currently.
PHANTOM ABYSS
https://www.devolverdigital.com/games/phantom-abyss
First-person parkour with asynchronous multiplayer where you run, jump, and grapple through randomly generated levels, trying to avoid traps and reach the treasure at the end. I was on a demo build, so I didn’t get to experience the multiplayer phantoms aspect. Punishing, but the fun movement made me want to keep playing and try just one more time, many more times.
SUPER UFO FIGHTER
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/superufofighter/
A two-player multiplayer game where two UFOs fight to suck up items and trophies to earn points. Single-player and online modes are included as well, but it was designed to be a fun game you can play on the couch with someone you’re close with, according to developer VVLabo representative Masuda Tarou. It reminded me of the 2 player battle modes in Snipperclips, and the colorful aesthetic is similar as well.
OLIJA
Solo dev Thomas Olsson spent about 3 years on this challenging 2D action sidescroller with a peculiar atmosphere and fluid pixel art animations. Nice, weighty combat where you can defeat enemies by zooming around through them with a grappling spear.
ME AND (MY) CAT’S ISLAND
Me and (My) Cat’s Island : ver.0.08
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/me-and-my-cats-island-en/
Low-rez art style (8×8 sprites) and curious puzzle action gameplay. Shoot and eat onigiri (rice balls) to alter the properties of your character and the level around you, in order to dodge traps and defeat enemies on your way to the goal. Made by KAJINOYU in GameMaker.
ADVENTURE / VISUAL NOVEL
UKIYO
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/ukiyo/
A story-driven “Japanese cyberpunk adventure game” with striking, almost overwhelming visuals, by Seaknot Studios. In the demo I walked around as a cat gawking at the stunning city imagery and talking to NPCs. Technically the cat is the VR avatar of the main character who is trapped inside the VR world the game takes place in, but that’s a mystery to unravel in the main story.
THE KIDS WE WERE: COMPLETE EDITION
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/the-kids-we-were-complete-edition-2/
By GAGEX. A narrative-driven adventure game with cute voxel graphics and a strong story — it’s about 5-6 hours long and will make you cry, I’m told. This title is out on Android and iOS already (with free versions and rave reviews on both app stores), but it’s now also coming to Switch, with some added content.
RECOLIT
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/recolit/
A surreal little adventure game where you play as an astronaut who has washed up on the shore of a peculiar town. Pick up, put down, and interact with objects to solve mysteries and progress. The game is still under development so there wasn’t much explained in the demo build I played, but the dreamy atmosphere and pretty pixel art visuals were intriguing.
PUZZLERS
AKURRA
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/akurra/
A tile-based puzzle game that takes place on a series of islands. Rather than presenting a set order of distinct puzzles, the game takes a nonlinear approach, leaving the player free to roam around each island. Made by solo developer Jason Newman, with his friend Craig Collver doing the music. Newman did a kickstarter last year to raise funds for development. In order to make the campaign convincing, he put a lengthy (~2 hour) demo available online for free. You can find it at https://www.akurra-game.com/ .
MIXOLUMIA
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/mixolumia/
A falling block puzzler like Tetris or Dr Mario, with a diagonal twist. The diagonal arrangement makes it a bit harder to predict what chain reactions will occur once you get a match and blocks start disappearing, but the sound effects make it feel great when it does happen and you land a big combo. Great sound design and electronic music soundtrack. Made by @davemakes .
STAR CHASER IN SEA WORLD
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/star-chaser-in-sea-world/
Simple grid-based puzzler, very small scale but cute. The game was made by a single developer (TamTamGames) using just Unity and free assets from the internet, over the span of about two and a half months. Available on mobile and Steam.
GOLFERS
CURSED TO GOLF
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/cursedtogolf/
Made by Kyoto-based Chuhai Labs , this game combines familiar golf gameplay (time button presses to determine the power/angle of your shot) with a not-so-familiar setting: 2D roguelike levels with a variety of traps, tricks, and power-up cards that spice things up and make for a fun twist on the golf genre. Charming pixel art and animations, and a delightful chiptune soundtrack.
RPGOLF LEGENDS
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/rpgolf-legends/
Made by 2-person team ArticNet, over the course of 2 years. The game is packed with humor and charm, and the player can run around doing side quests, battling monsters, fishing, sailing, and exploring the towns and islands of the world. Oh, and golfing. Release date slated for 2022, with more details revealed at this year’s Tokyo Game Show.
DARK HORRORS
INSCRYPTION
https://www.devolverdigital.com/games/inscryption
Creepy occult atmosphere, cards, and lots and lots of sacrifices. You play a card game against some dark entity shrouded in darkness. Very intriguing setup, with “out of game” elements (you can walk around the room where the card game is being played and interact with other objects). The demo left me wanting to play more and find out what lurks beneath the surface of this mysterious card game.
SONG OF HORROR
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/song-of-horror-2/
This homage to classic Resident Evil just released last week. While the game does aim for the classic RE audience with fixed camera angles, tank controls, and a big mansion to explore, it also has some unique mechanics of its own, like putting your ear to a door to hear what’s on the other side before deciding to open it. Features 13 playable characters with different abilities, dialogue, and interwoven stories.
MISCHIEF MAKERS
RAIN ON YOUR PARADE
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/11277/
Out of all the games I played at the show, this was probably the funniest one. It’s simple and mischievous, like Katamari Damacy or Untitled Goose Game. You play as a cloud who can rain/snow/lightning/tornado on whatever is below you. Fulfill objectives in each level, like raining on every single person in attendance at a wedding. Usually your mission is to ruin someone’s day, but not always! Another level parodies Counter-Strike’s classic de_dust2 map, where you need to prevent waves of incoming counter-terrorists to keep them from defusing the bomb, and that’s not the only parody, I’m told. Already out on Xbox Gamepass.
DUNGEON CRAWLING WHILE ALSO LIVE STREAMING SIMULATORS
LIVE IN DUNGEON
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/%e2%97%8flive-in-dungeon/
On one hand it’s classic fantasy RPG dungeon crawling and monster battling, and on the other it’s live streaming and interacting with your audience commenting in the chat feed. Literally, your left hand controls the in-game movement and RPG commands with WASD, and your right hand presses the arrow keys to reply to viewer comments. It’s a very original concept and accurately captures the effort of trying to play a game somewhat competently while simultaneously engaging with the stream viewers. The game has a slick Persona 5-like UI, get a taste of it on the official website . Available now on Steam.
STUDENT CREATIONS
KOARABYSS
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/10451/
A single button game about a koala sliding down into the abyss. Jump on platforms to avoid obstacles, and jumping also increases your speed briefly.
PRINCE OF LIGHT, TOWER OF SHADOW
https://prince-of-light.studio.site/
I’m not sure if that’s the full official English title (or if there is one), but this is a 2D puzzle platformer where you switch between the Prince and the Shadow characters, utilizing their different abilities to solve puzzles and progress through levels. Made by Caffeine Zombie.
CHOOSE
https://bitsummit.org/en/game/choose-2/
A 2D puzzle platformer where levels take place on a mobius strip. Snip and swap sections of the level to reach the goal. Requires some brain bending. Made by students (Kumagoro) at Nihon Kogakuin College for an exhibition at their Kamata campus. They even made their own engine from scratch (just C++ and DirectX)!
CONCLUSION
That’s everything I played! Being able to just sit down at a random game, go in completely blind, and then chat with the developers right then and there was a treat. A lot of passion and hard work went into all these games, and I wish I could have played more. Many of them are out already, or have demos or trial versions. If any of the titles on this list piqued your interest, follow the links provided to find out more and show them some love. You might discover your next favorite developer.
- Straight from the Source: Shuto Mikami (RUINSMAGUS: COMPLETE) - October 19, 2023
- Straight from the Source: sewohayami (100animalease) - October 17, 2023
- Straight from the Source: Kotaro Dendaira (Aojuji Hospital: Tokyo Eidolic Anatomy Division) - October 10, 2023
