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When we thought gaming couldn’t get any better, 2024 raised the bar once again. Gamers have been eating well over the past year, and we have the excellent developers behind our favorite games to thank for that. This International Women’s Day, we’re honoring six game makers who made the year better via their contributions to our favorite video games. The list is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully shouting out just a few incredible women who work on games, it will encourage more people to look behind the curtain at just who brings these amazing experiences to life. Here's our list of six games you should check out below:

Pinki Li – Writer, 1000xResist 2e2f1c

1000xResist is one of the standout releases of last year. Telling the story of a society cloned from a single teenage girl immune to a disease that devastated the planet, 1000xResist examines everything from Chinese diaspora in Canada, and the building of culture from nothing, to the internal struggle of burden, and loss.

It is not an easy story to tell, and even just playing through it you will need to take time to digest it. However, as one of the main writers on the project Pinki Li tackles these topics with grace, and nuance, while not shying away from showing a darker side to emmigration. 1000xResist’s power comes from the strength of its narrative, and we have Pinki Li to thank for that. It is a powerful game, a powerful narrative, and a powerful experience, and one of the must play games of the last 12 months.

1000xResist launched on May 9, 2024, and is available on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Azusa Kido – Director of daily events, Metaphor: ReFantazio 4q5c4m

Metaphor: ReFantazio is indisputably one of the best games of last year. Developer Studio Zero took their work on the modern Persona series and elevated it to a whole new level with changes that go beyond the high-fantasy setting. Metaphor: ReFantazio splits the gameplay, and story between dungeon-crawling action, improving your Kingly Virtues, and forming tighter bonds with the people you meet.

Metaphor: ReFantazio’s biggest improvement over the Persona series is the wider variety of actions you can do when not on the critical path, and the more lenient time frame you have to complete them. We can thank the director of daily events Azusa Kido for these improvements, as she worked to tweak the formula, make daily life more engaging, and give players more options to individualize their playthroughs. As one of the many amazing women in gaming, Kido’s contribution to Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of the most important additions to the game.

Metaphor: ReFantazio was released on October 11, 2024, and is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5. 

Anna Todich and Anastasia Dyachuk – Actors, Indika 3t7010

Indika is one of the most singular experiences of 2024. There is no other game I can compare it to. It tells the story of a Russian nun who is ostracized from her community as she suffers a mental health crisis. She begins to have a crisis of faith, and on her journey to deliver a letter, comes across a dying man, who believes he can be healed by visiting a holy artifact, the Kudets, and she decides to him hoping to heal herself and reclaim her faith.

Anna Todich voices the titular Indika, and Anastasia Dyachuk worked as her face model making for a dynamic duo of women in gaming. With so few characters in the game, Indika’s strength is in the skill of its actors. Indika’s inner torment can be read through her facial expression and her voice, and as a character study, Indika would not be as incredible as it is without the work of these actors.

Indika launched on May 2, 2024, and is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.

Åsa Wallander – 2D artist, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes 6h1354

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes was developed by Simogo, the same team that created the rhythm-based acid trip Sayonara Wild Hearts. Before I talk about the game and Åsa Wallander’s contributions, I want to shout out Simogo in general for highlighting each of its developers and giving them all the recognition they deserve. Developers are the lifeblood of the industry and they deserve so much more recognition than they receive. 

If Celeste is the hardest platformer anyone can beat, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is the hardest puzzle game anyone can beat, if they put in the effort without immediately giving up the ghost. It will make you feel the smartest and dumbest you’ve ever been all at once. Åsa Wallander’s work is not meant to be noticed; it’s the type of work that players only notice when it’s done poorly. The environmental art is a masterclass in style, sucking you into the world that is beholden to no particular period leaving you with a sense of unease. If you appreciated the atmosphere of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Åsa Wallander is to thank.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes was released on May 16, 2024, and is now available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5.

Saho Nishikawa – Producer, Fantasian: Neo Dimension xhc

Square Enix and RPGs go hand-in-hand, and not only does the company love producing them, but it is excellent at doing so. Not only that but Fantasian: Neo Dimension was developed by Mistwalker, best known for creating the Wii cult classic, The Last Story. From this pedigree it seemed inevitable that Fantasian: Neo Dimension would be an excellent game, but there is something specific that sets it apart.

Every background, every environment, every scene, is created physically before being put into the game. Everything except the sprites and the UI, including the towns and the battle grounds are dioramas; real life paper craft, and models that make up the backgrounds. It takes the 2D-HD art style that became popular with Octopath Traveler and pushes it to the next level. Producer Saho Nishikawa’s work focused on the creation of these dioramas, alongside the special effects that make them blend so seamlessly into the game. We hope that more women in gaming push game art like this in the future.

Fantasian: Neo Dimension was released on December 5, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

The post International Women’s Day in Gaming – Six Incredible Game Makers That Made Our Year appeared first on Siliconera.

In a world in which most big titles make it to lots of platforms, the PC has become a haven for indie projects to shine before they get the resources to spread further. That shows in this year’s PC Game of the Year finalists!

These awards represent the consensus of the Siliconera staff. Multiplatform games are considered on the platform for which they received the most staff . For more of the year’s award selections, check out our Game of the Year 2024 archive.

1000xResist 631c40

If your game is so exclusively narrative-focused that there’s not much else, that puts a heck of a lot of pressure on that narrative. But hey, pressure makes diamonds! It’s hard to put 1000xResist down, as it captures your attention and won’t let go until its story is fully told. (See Jenni's full review of the game for more on what makes the game so special.)

Crow Country 354t6d

Snipperclips developer SFB Games’ love letter to PS1-era survival horror, Crow Country shows both a profound knowledge and appreciation of those games and a desire to tell its own sort of story within those confines. It nails the look and feel, but it doesn’t feel like a cheap imitation. Many recent indie homages have shown just how difficult it can be to thread that needle. (Check out Daniel's review.)

Winner: Balatro 3d5e3x

There are some who scoff at the accolades Balatro has been earning. We’re guessing most of those people just haven’t played it! The game has ed the rarefied air once occupied by Tetris alone, games that you encounter and immediately realize you’ll be playing for the rest of your life. Congratulations, Balatro! You’re the 2024 Siliconera PC Game of the Year!

What is your PC Game of the Year 2024? Let us know in the comments!

The post Siliconera’s PC Game of the Year 2024 appeared first on Siliconera.

Sometimes, you play a game that just captures your interest in such a way that you can’t escape. You need to play it every waking moment until you get through it for your own peace of mind. Because you have to know what is going on. 1000xResist is that sort of game, as its powerful narrative and insight into both real and imagined experiences practically beg you to see them through to the end as quickly as you can.

Watcher is one of six prominent sisters in the Orchard, a civilization buried underground, attempting to survive hundreds of years after alien entities known as the Occupants came to Earth. Their arrival brought a plague to the planet, one so devastating that only one woman named Iris survived. Before the rest of humanity fell, she eventually became capable of creating clones of herself. These women didn’t possess the same immunity to the disease, but could live masked and underground. But now this society may be under threat, as Principal, head of the Orchard, orders Watcher to “commune” with the other heads like Bang Bang Fire, Healer, and Knower to investigate a possible traitor in their midst that suggested something wasn’t right regarding the ALLMOTHER that made them. It’s up to the player to follow Watcher on every step of the journey, observing and making critical decisions that will shape the sisters forever.

1000xResist blends elements of both walking simulators and visual novels, if you need more clear-cut explanations for how its story is told. However, neither explanation is exactly adequate. It’s more of an experience than everything. We’re seeing this cinematic retelling of a critical historical figure’s life in this alternate world. Since the current life of the sisters is so foreign to us, we’re only able to attempt to best interpret what is going on and take away how people’s pain, and that of those related to them who came before them, shape their future. How we can use what we learn from that to carry onward and make new choices.

From chapter to chapter and communion to communion, experiences in 1000xResist can vary. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. But perspectives can involve a first-person or third-person view, for example. You may be in a situation with more interaction, involving shifting between available and unlocked time periods to advance Watcher’s progress and take in new information. It could involve scenes set in a smaller space, with Watcher walking around as the ALLMOTHER, and interacting with items or talking to people. There will always be moments where you’ll be teleported to a more barren space with minimal color schemes and objects, then need to leap with the triggers to rappel to fixed points and reach certain people to trigger conversations and memories between people critical to the ALLMOTHER’s development. Lighting, perspective, casts, and other elements can all change to suit the situation in an instant. 

Which means that these elements can always match the current mood of 1000xResist. From insights into the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests, reactions to a deadly pandemic brought on by visitors known as Occupants, and responses to Iris behaving like a typical teenage girl who may occasionally be selfish, disrespectful, or cruel, Sunset Visitor addresses and captures it all. More importantly, it handles it all tactfully. There’s a rawness to the emotion and recreation of memories of Iris’ activist parents, Iris’ own behavior toward Jiao as teenagers, and other situations that arise when viewing the ALLMOTHER’s past and investigating sisters. 

The only real issues I have with 1000xResist feel like ones that would happen with any first game from an indie developer like Sunset Visitor. Sussing out where Watcher is when she’s in the Orchard and finding where her sisters are is a huge pain. There are no quest markers or detailed quest log, not to mention no map, so finding your way around is more frustrating than atmospheric. The first time I needed to use Watcher’s warping abilities to fly around during a communion, I felt incredibly lost. A better introduction to that would have been great. But given spaces aren’t often too big and there’s no real risk when learning how to dash to the spheres in those memories, they’re minor qualms. Once you find your bearings, they’re easy crosses to bear.

I’d even say that the issue with the lack of map, navigation assistance, and introduction for those memory portions forced me to take in more of the atmosphere. I needed to spend more time in the Orchard while finding my bearings. This meant I happened upon more other sisters who would be under Bang Bang Fire, Fixer, Healer, Knower, and Watcher, and thus got additional context about the world. It meant maybe seeing more scenes and insights into them. For example, exploring the Orchard for sisters in chapter two meant Watcher ended up getting a package outside her quarters that offered more insight into her relationship with a sister.

1000xResist is provocative in such a way that its characters, events, and lore keep tickling your brain and urging you to continue. You may put the game down for a moment, intending to do something like eat or sleep, but you won’t stop thinking about it. The themes, arguments, and history it suggests keep at you until you go back, pick up your controller, and continue Watcher’s investigation. Even then, when you uncover the truth and reach an ending, it doesn’t leave you. It pulls you back in for more. What did you maybe miss? What would you change? You need to return to the Orchard.

Hekki allmo.

1000xResist is available for the Nintendo Switch and PC. 

The post Review: 1000xResist Never Lets You Go appeared first on Siliconera.

Valve's Steam Next Fest is on, and hundreds of new and games are getting free playable demos to for all and sundry this week. Until February 13, 2023, the front pages of the Steam storefront will engage in a "celebration of games," with developer-led livestreams of titles, as well as the opportunity to personally experience a slice of what's next up on the world's biggest PC game store. Of course, with all those new games available for the sampling, it can be tough to choose which to try out in the limited time available. Some demos might remain online after the festival, but the general assumption is that they'll be unavailable for a while once the fest is over.

To that end, we've gone ahead and selected a handful of titles we think are worth trying out, via their Steam Next Fest playable demos. Check them out below, and recommend your own favorites in the comments.

Note: The following games were picked by Siliconera staff out of the Steam Next Fest selection. The full lineup is viewable at this link and via the Steam client. System requirements and availability may vary by title or region. 1r4v3o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tNA6FvTDDk

Affogato 31h5y

Affogato blends coffee, conversation, and tower defense into a new style of RPG. The gameplay uses a "reverse tower defense" style, and players help a sorceress make her new café business successful by helping clients fight their "inner demons." Between battles, they'll converse with customers, build relationships, and use a realistic coffeemaking model to brew the perfect cup.

Check out its Steam page and grab its Steam Next Fest demo at this link. The full release is due in 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7uWrjl95k4

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge 2g4w4r

A new title from Inti Creates, Grim Guardians is inspired by gothic horror in the "Metroidvania" vein. Two sisters must challenge a demonic castle that has consumed their school, hunting demons throughout the 2D, multi-floor labyrinth. They'll earn weapons and equipment from defeating bosses that unlock more areas to visit. Players will control the siblings in tag-team fashion, swapping sisters as the situation demand. Jump-in co-op also allows two players to control both Kamizono sisters on-screen, should the mood arise.

Grim Guardians launches on February 23, 2023. Its store page and demo are here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nra31mia8Y0

Mr. Saitou 5h2n6u

Mr. Saitou comes courtesy of Laura Shigihara, the singer-songwriter best known as the lead composer and sound designer for mega-hit title Plants vs. Zombies. It's a follow-up to her previous game, the story-based adventure Rakuen, and focuses on the titular Mr. Saitou. He's an average white-collar worker struggling to find meaning in a workaday existence. An accident lands him in a strange fantasy world, leading him to unexpected friends and adventure. Shigihara says that Mr. Saitou is "short and sweet", with a non-combat story and an original soundtrack.

Check out Mr. Saitou's store page at this link. The game will launch on March 24, 2023. Its Steam Next Fest demo is only in English, but the full release will multiple languages, including Japanese, French, Dutch, Korean, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Turkish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITlbiOSd3Vc

WitchSpring R 533y6k

A new title from WitchSpring3 Re:Fine developer Kiwiwalks, WitchSpring R returns to the well of witch-raising. It's a story-driven RPG that brings together daily life simulation, collection, crafting, and battle. Players control Pieberry, a bunny-eared witch living in a secluded, monster-infested forest. You'll help her reach the outside world to walk amongst the humans, and will need to help her gain power, find resources, and train her attributes.

The game doesn't have a release window, but Kiwiwalks says that the Steam Next Fest demo will last 2-3 hours, and include a tutorial. Check it out at this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_f5fGNtg6k

Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum x484d

From developers AstralShift and VisuStella, Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum is a "remastered" edition of Pocket Mirror, a legendary horror RPG. Despite being created in RPG Maker, a popular game development tool suite for independent and hobbyist developers, Pocket Mirror impressed with its visuals and story. GoldenerTraum updates the visuals further, as well as adding more features, like a new ending, 2D animated sequences, a New Game+ mode, and additional content. Players will be able to switch between the new art style and the classic one.

According to its store page, the game doesn't yet have a release window, but you can grab the Steam Next Fest demo at this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXGc7QMHTXU

Radio the Universe 142w1f

Radio the Universe might feel familiar, and it should. Its creator, known only as "6e6e6e" (or "sixe") has been working on it for nearly ten years. It was first funded via Kickstarter in 2013, and has been in development ever since. Now it's playable at the Steam Next Fest, though it doesn't have an announced release window (it was last planned to be ready by Winter 2020). Players take on the role of an immortal wanderer, traveling through the ruins of a mysterious city, taking on dangerous enemies and fighting to survive.

Here's its Steam store page, from which you can the playable demo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBhHesn3ka8

Banchou Tactics 35l2i

A tactics title themed after Japanese high school toughs, Banchou Tactics has been in the works at Secret Character. It is inspired both by games like Final Fantasy Tactics and titles like River City Ransom. Players take control of various school-age street fighters caught up in a gang war to determine the toughest and strongest delinquent in the city.

The demo is available at this link. A release date hasn't been specified, but it was last set for a Q1 2023 debut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRlI7dsID3s

Wandering Sword 4h6i6a

A Chinese-developed RPG boasting visuals in the vein of Square Enix's recent "HD-2D" productions (like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy), Wandering Sword promises wuxia-inspired adventure in its STeam Next Fest demo. Players step into the role of Yuwen Yi, a warrior who is recuperating in a mountain village after a brush with death. Players will guide Yuwen on his journey through the land, learning various martial arts and weapons, and mastering their meridian points in pursuit of pure martial prowess.

The game is planned for a 2023 release. You can grab its Steam Next Fest demo on this page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3XXgRpIKp4

1000xRESIST 6f272q

A narrative adventure set at the end of the world, players are placed in the role of Watcher, a clone member of a secret sisterhood living in a closed facility called the Garden. The sisterhood worships "The Allmother," the last surviving human. When Watcher's closest sister, Fixer, uncovers a dangerous rumor, Watcher must explore history through a time-shifting tool to uncover a lie thousands of years old.

1000xRESIST is playable as part of the Steam Next Fest, and launches fully in 2023. Check it out on its store page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2CDeQx63kQ

Shadows of Doubt 4r505r

An entry into the venerable "immersive sim" genre, Shadows of Doubt uses low-poly visuals to "fully simulate" a functioning cityscape in an alternative 1980s timeline. Players take on the role of a private detective and use gadgets and sleuthing skills to solve cases. Players can get to know any one of the hundreds of NPCs in the game, each with their own daily routine, and take a variety of routes to meet their goals.

Check out the store page to access the playable demo. Shadows of Doubt doesn't have a release window yet.

The current Steam Next Fest runs until February 13, 2023.

The post Check Out These 10 Free Steam Next Fest Demos appeared first on Siliconera.