The Second Annual Dreamhack Montreal event runs from September 8th to 10th, attracting people with or without their own gaming rig to participate in a huge LAN party.
Rows and rows of computers line everywhere. On the big screens are live e-sports competitions with Counter Strike, Hearthstone, Street Fighter V, Star Craft 2 and Smash Bros. Booths of gaming tech from different companies also scatter across the expo area. The LED lights and colorful tubing through transparent PC shells. Finally, we have the Indie Game Zone with about ten companies showing off their games. Most are in development but everyone has something to show. That’s where we are headed.
Day 1 was all about seeing the layout of the show. Dreamhack Montreal has definitely gotten bigger from last year with more booths everywhere. Friday is a slower day with LAN players still dropping in and setting up and the matches are mostly preliminary.
However, it is also the perfect day to catch up with the Indie Game Zone which is a comfortable area with companies and developers surrounding a multiplayer common area filled with bean bags and two televisions to relax and have fun with friends. While there are a few familiar faces, there are also interesting new games presenting including several VR experiences. Here’s our Indie Game Zone recap!
King of the Hat – Hyroglyphik Games
Hyroglyphik Games coincided the launch of their Kickstarter campaign with Dreamhack Montreal. With some new touch ups and a free demo available, their upcoming game King of the Hat brings on some new couch co-op experience in different environments and many charming characters. King of the Hat is a 2 to 4 player couch co-op game which is set in a world where everyone is born with a hat which also happens to be our soul. The game is all about beating our opponents by stomping on their hats. Fun, simple and appealing, King of the Hat offers whimsical and cute characters and a fun family friendly experience for all ages. Check out their Kickstarter campaign here for more details.
Feudal Feud – Urubu Studio
The one man dev team from Urubu Studio is a force to be reckoned with. Feudal Feud had recently been successfully funded on Kickstarter. For those unfamiliar, Feudal Feud is an upcoming free to play mobile diplomatic strategy game. Since the last time we talked to him, the game has had structural updates. The length of a life cycle has been decreased a few days. The time for buildings and soldiers to move have been more balanced. Overall, the polish and balance is in the works.
Save Your Nuts
There is nowhere better than Dreamhack to show off co-op games. Save Your Nuts is a twist on soccer. The game supports 2 to 4 players and features dogs versus squirrels. The goal is to kick and toss around a nut into respective goals to score points. You can pick up power-ups. For example, hot dogs are shields and there are various items to dig in the soil to find like jetpacks and such. Save Your Nuts is currently in development.
Aftergrinder – Grave Danger Games
Recently released on Steam in late July, Aftergrinder is a tough challenging runner game. Some may call it a vein of a rage game. Aftergrinder is a simple idea from many perspectives: level design, character design and world build. It offers three worlds with a total of ninety levels in a fast-paced experience to dodge different obstacles and react quickly. Dying is inevitable, so just accept it and focus. A quick chat with Grave Danger Games revealed that this team may be small with two developers with over 15 years of experience in the gaming industry and teaches game and level design now. In fact, Aftergrinder started out as a prototype and idea from a student project and with their help, it was polished into this end-product. You can find the game on Steam here.
Darwin Project – Scavenger Games
Darwin Project had a short reveal during E3 2017 in June. Something of a battle royale multiplayer experience, it’s one to look out for. Having about 8 players set-up for each match, they had live commentating for each one. There are many different features. While its art style may resemble a little of the Overwatch type, it has crafting and different biomes as well as a hunger games zone shut up system where zones will be nuked in various orders and a set time for players to escape. It is about being the last man standing and from the matches, it seems that its one is multilayered and one to look out for.
Away – Breaking Walls
Breaking Walls upcoming debut title is an immersive virtual reality experience which lets the player experience the story of various animals. The playable demo shows off taking on the role of a vulture as it soars through the trees and forests in beautiful environments. The game essentially will be a survival game with different animals and different story episodes which will further unlock open world exploration. Other animals mentioned for example are sugar glider and iguana. Breaking Wall aims to release this next year. For those without VR, there will be a version also which is currently in development as well.
Mini Guns – Riposte Games and co.
Mini Guns is a colorful and cartoony real-time PvP strategy game where the player controls a mini army into battle. The game strategy is flexible to how you choose to approach it whether it is infantry, vehicles and air. There are both single player mode and cooperative. As you play, you will collect points that will open up your options to more choices if what to deploy. It is currently available for free on iOS and Android.
Other games present in the Indie Game Zone included Prison Boss VR, Mages of Mystralia, Cefore, Bootleg Systems, and Chiaro and the Elixir of Life VR.