Montreal DemoNight 2018 was held at the Société des Arts Technologiques (SAT) in downtown Montreal on January 30th, “a speed dating style” event for game developers to show off their games regardless of if still in development or completed. Each game developer has a five-minute timed presentation to show off the gameplay and key features of their game. Montreal DemoNight 2018 saw seventeen titles in total being presented, which we’ll offer opinions on in this recap.
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Far Cry 5 – Ubisoft
Kicking things off with one of the heavy hitters Ubisoft’s upcoming game Far Cry 5 has already been generating a lot of buzz at the various festivals its been shown at and unsurprisingly they chose to dive in with a gameplay sequence as this latest entry see’s the action moving stateside to the fictional setting of Hope County.
This first story mission sees you rescuing Boomer the dog one of the numerous friend for hire that you will find in the game. Boomer can be used for recon and tag enemies. We also got to see a bigger mission in the gameplay sequence to liberate one of the outposts and the fact that Far Cry 5 is systematic means anything can happen really adding a sense of unpredictability to the game.
Much like the previous entries in the series there are different approaches to get through the mission with Boomer a fun and adorable companion to acquire as you fight to liberate Hope County.
Far Cry 5 is set for release on March 27th, 2018.
39 Days to Mars – It’s Anecdotal
39 Days to Mars is an upcoming puzzle coop adventure inspired by classic adventure games which are designed to feel like a short story. The story centers around two British explorers and inventors called Albert and Baxter that has built a spaceship and strives to be the first to land on Mars. The twist is that they are also quite bad at being inventors so they need to work together to solve through the puzzles when Murphy’s Law hits them. With that said, they describe the game as one about working together, exploration and engineering. The puzzles are asymmetrical and the art style looks like sketch work which is very charming and from the gameplay can seem frustrating however the developer also talks about it being forgiving for those who aren’t great at problem solving as they will still arrive at Mars.
39 Days to Mars is by a solo developer and has been in development for 3 years and is expected to release on Steam this year. You can see more details and wishlist it HERE.
King of the Hat – Hyroglyphik Games
King of the Hat developed by Hyroglyphik Games has been a frequent title appearing at our event recaps. With their win of the Audience Choice Award at Canadian Game Expo Montreal last year, they earned the trip to go to Casual Connect at Disneyland in January 2018 and ended up winning the Best Multiplayer Game at Casual Connect.
King of the Hat is set in Hatlandia where everyone’s hat is their soul. With quick and fast-paced rounds to first get 5 points to win the game, King of the Hat’s goal is to stomp on each other’s hat. The character’s hat can also be their weapon therefore it must be used wisely because whether the hat is on their head or on the ground, once its stomped on, the character loses. Simple, fast-paced and thoughtful, King of the Hat is expected to have a full release next year.
You can find our interview with the developers here.
Outward – Nine Dots Studio
Nine Dots Studio aims to create a new RPG subgenre with Outward as the third person adventure here features a normal adventurer and explorer who is vulnerable. The game can be played both solo or in coop mode. It features survival in the wild as one of its key elements with some fierce creatures roaming the lands. The key to the game is to be smart about how to survive. Outward’s character can cast magical spells if done correctly. One of its unique features are its dynamic defeat scenarios that doesn’t simply respawn its character where it left off but rather in an unknown location. There are various storylines that allow for added replayability as well.
Raygun Gadabout – Quantum Duck Studio
Raygun Gadabout is an upcoming 2D adventure platformer game inspired by exploration, Metroidvania and the ability in games to travel to different planets. The art is colorful and cartoonish. The game is filled with combat and the character has the ability to shoot with their weapon however, it relies heavily on balancing well both the shooting aspects and finding the right times to use their deflective barriers to project items back at the enemies. The exploration aspect is explained as semi-free roaming.
Raygun Gadabout is expected to launch a Kickstarter campaign around March or April.
Save Your Nuts – Triple Scale Games
Save Your Nuts is an upcoming party game with both local and online coop for up to 4 players with emphasizes on cooperation and competition. Currently there is a selection of 8 different maps and during their presentation we got to see two modes presented.
The more indepth mode is called Capture Your Nut which is a twist on capture the flag where the squirrel team versus the dog team must go against in each to be the first to score 5 nuts into the goal. An easy to play game with 3 simple commands it’s one which however difficult to master due to its physics.
The game is currently in development and will have other animal characters and is expected to release some time in 2018. You can find more information on their Steam page here.
Eden Rising: Supremacy – Nvizzio Creations
Eden Rising: Supremacy is an upcoming open world cooperative game set in a persistent world Eden Valley which relies on crafting, looting and base defense from monsters with the game designed for up to 8 players.
Set in a near future Earth where the players land on this imperfect land and joins in as a tribe to restore all the world’s crucibles. One of the key elements here is that players must master the game world and figure out its rules to survive through it. Eden Rising: Supremacy is a few months out from Early Access on Steam.
Inverse – Always Minds Studios
Inverse is an upcoming sci-fi first person shooter that supports cross play, cross platform, PC VR multiplayer elements. The game revolves around gravity inversion and environmental hazards. The goal is to acquire pickups and utilize them to the player’s advantage. The maps are procedurally generated.
Boyfriend Dungeon – Kitfox Games
Boyfriend Dungeon is an upcoming roguelike dating game. No doubt an interesting blend of genre showcased here as it talks about wielding boyfriends and finding weapons that transform in humans who become dating targets.
It might feel like a very random mixture of gameplay however the appeal here is to see what the endgame and twist is going on between procedurally generated dungeon crawls and chatting with potential dates (or mom if you prefer).
Boyfriend Dungeon is expected for release in 2019 and you can find info on Steam.
Chiaro and the Elixir of Life – Martov Co
Chiaro and the Elixir of Life is an upcoming VR fantasy adventure compatible with both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The goal of the story is to build a machine and bring it to life while also a character-based experience with the demo we saw being focused on introducing the game mechanics through the construction of a buddy AI called Boka who is a steam-powered penguin.
It is currently in development and looking to release this year. You can see more information on Steam here.
Feudal Feud – Urubu Studio
Feudal Feud is an upcoming free mobile diplomacy and strategy game which enables a world for about 100 players to unite to fight over territory. The game has some unique features. For one, this is based on real-time and every movement will take up different lengths of time. Feudal Feud also has a vassal system where you build and grow territory and negotiate with other players as well as declare war if you are feeling confident. Dominating players will not always be there as each player has a limited length of time where they will naturally die and start again allowing other players to dominate their territories. Check out our developer interview here.
Feudal Feud is expected to release by Summer 2018.
Speed Brawl – Double Stallion Games
Speed Brawl is a competitive speed brawl, as simple as that. Double Stallion Games described it as a mesh between Streets of Rage and Sonic the Hedgehog where it blends together cooperative, frantic high speed and platformers while fighting hordes of enemies.
Set in a post-apocalyptic Victorian era. Each level requires 3 battles and crossing the finish line to complete it while racing against the clock. Some interesting features are the tag team features where you can swap between characters while it is also possible to call in characters to assist during a battle which is a riskier move.
Speed Brawl is expected to release in Summer 2018.
Abyss Crew – Aquarealm Studio
https://youtu.be/sIX4oX7m7ew
Abyss Crew is a multiplayer cooperative game where you team up with up to three friends in a steampunk underwater submarine setting to play as four separate roles: pilot, radio operator, gunner and engineer. Together, through communication and strategy, the crew needs to navigate the dangerous waters to find crystals.
Vroom Kaboom – Ratloop Games Canada
Vroom Kaboom is the debut title for Ratloop Games Canada and is essentially a tower defense game where the weapons are vehicles. There are a variety of vehicles ranging from motorcycles, cars, trucks and tanks along with airplanes. The goal is to crash into the enemy’s towers and destroy them. There are deck-building elements where the cards in the deck chosen will transform the car onto the screen where the player can then drive and choose how to attack the enemy. However, tower defense works both ways and the team must decide to play defensively or offensively against their opposing team to win. In terms of defense, there are static items that can reinforce the towers to obstruct damage. There will be an online mode upon release that will support up to six players in their three modes of 3v3, 2v2 and 1v1. At the same time, there will also be a single player campaign available. The game is set for release in May 2018 on PC, Playstation 4 as well as in VR for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PS VR.
Omensight – Spearhead Games
Omensight is the upcoming Spearhead Games project. The big question revolving this story is to figure out why the world is going to end in a couple of hours. Just like their previous game, Stories: The Path of Destinies, they pride themselves at blending gameplay with story. This game is decision based and will have choices which will have its impact to the story. A unique feature and angle to say the least. More info can be found on Steam.
Project Awesome – Empty Clip Games
One of the earliest in development games on Montreal DemoNight goes to Empty Clip Games with their upcoming game Project Awesome which showed off somewhat of a sandbox style. The game was inspired by the new destruction tech called Blast and with this the game’s two objectives is that it can create anything and destroy everything. There will be an editor and players can customize their own troops. So far, future plans are a little blurry but they expect to hit Steam Early Access later this year with a solid editor and various game modes.
The InnerFriend – Playmind
The InnerFriend is an upcoming third person adventure game that focuses heavily on an atmospheric experience to instigate contemplation and self-exploration. This is Playmind’s first IP for their midsize studio. This upcoming psychological game plays as a journey through the dreams and nightmares of a child and aims to connect an adult disconnected from their inner child to reconnect with it. The game will have ten levels and is expected to release in 2018.
That’s a wrap for the Montreal DemoNight 2018 recap! Which games caught your eye?