B3

Greedy Guns

Last day of E3 and we’re back to look at some more overlooked games for B3. You can find the first article in this series here. I dug really deep this time looking at ‘all games at E3’ lists and a few unorthodox methods to find those titles you’d never hear about. I’ve got three titles here for your perusal so be sure not to bypass these best bits:

Yesterday Origins (PC, Xbox One, PS4)

Pendulo Studios have been making point and click adventure games for over 20 years now; they’re best known for the Runaway Series which is quite popular in Europe. Yesterday Origins acts as a sequel/prequel to John Yesterday’s first outing. John is a special guy; He co-owns an antique shop in Paris with Pauline. And they’re both immortal. The game jumps around through time but mostly focuses on John and Pauline’s search for the cause of their immunity… to death. The first Yesterday was grim mystery that dealt with the murder of multiple homeless people. It looks like the dark setting and ability to play as multiple characters will be back for the sequel. With medieval torture, the Spanish Inquisition, and a lot of religious imagery, Yesterday Origins looks to be a suitable romp of inventory collecting and puzzle solving.

Beyond Flesh and Blood (PC, Xbox One)

Mecha in Britain. I almost want to just stop there. But Pixelbomb Games, a developer proud of their Manchester heritage, have a unique take on the genre that breaks away from the Japanese tropes. These VR controlled suits have an Aliens power loader feel to them and look quite nifty. In the future, mecha are needed to visit the Earth since it has been overrun by robotic drones and creatures from beyond the stars. The trailer features impressive looking environments, action in and out of the giant suits, and British accents. There’s even a point where it looks like you can steal unattended mecha. The game launches sometime in 2017 for PC and Xbox One and apparently has VR support. It could be interesting to take a trip to futuristic Manchester.

Greedy Guns (PC, unannounced console)

You didn’t think I’d get through this list without having an indie platformer did you? A lot of the more obscure games I look through fit this category but Greedy Guns stands out from the rest. Developer Tiu Atum has put together a co-op metroidvania bullet hell barrage that looks incredibly fun. The game is full of secrets, power ups, and ridiculous enemies that you can push back with your yell ability. So grab your armaments and finally get to work for the evil corporation to loot alien planets for DNA and treasure. Surprisingly enough, Tiu Atum is actually holding a Kickstarter for Greedy Guns during E3 which is a ballsy move. They’re at £7600 of their £10,000 goal and have a little under 2 weeks left. I honestly didn’t think I’d be doing my usual crowdfunding shtick here but I guess these games are everywhere!

And three up and three down for those games on the E3 floor that you probably won’t find anywhere else. Even though the show must end for 2016 I’ll be back with at least one more B3. So keep on being CCC (cool, calm, and collected) and I shall return with more obscure goodness.

Leif Conti-Groome
Leif Conti-Groome is a writer/playwright/video game journalist whose work has appeared on websites such as NextGen Player, Video Game Geek and DriveinTales. His poem Ritual won the 2015 Broadside Contest organized by the Bear Review. While he grew up playing titles such as Final Fantasy VI and Super Double Dragon, he doesn’t really have a preference for genre these days except for Country; that’s a game genre right? Leif’s attention has been more focused on the burgeoning communities of niche Japanese titles, eSports and speedruns. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada and makes a living as a copywriter.