These days, it’s easy to get caught up in hype, to let the current carry you to this game or that game, to play something because you feel like it’s the game you should play even if it’s not the game you want to play. And then, if the world wide web is any indication, one can get sucked into wars about what game is “objectively” the best, could be mocked because of their tastes, or any number of other silly flame battles disguised as debates. I’m old and the world sucks and I hate it, is what I’m trying to say.
But then I went to BitSummit, an independent game convention in Kyoto, Japan. I played a whole mess of games that felt reminiscent of the titles that got me into gaming, and as I look back, the multiplayer titles stick out in my memory the most. As much as I love a great single-player experience, there’s another special kind of joy in sharing such a game with friends and family. These four games featured at BitSummit gave me something at which to nod my approval.
Yeah, yeah, I know a couple of those are already on the market. But it’s not like they’re ancient history, and I sure hadn’t played them before the show. As the old NBC re-runs marketing spin used to say, “If you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you!”
PlayStation action was a little limited at BitSummit, but if you’re down for reading about games on other systems, or want to stare at the back of my head, feel free to check these out on GameRevolution:
- 22 Neat Games I Played at BitSummit
- 7 Lessons From a Japanese Indie Game Festival
- Tell Your Shitty Game Opinions to My Bald Spot
BitSummit PS4 Multiplayer
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Wild Guns Reloaded
You're super old school if you recognize Wild Guns, originally a Super Nintendo game. It's bringing its two-player action back for PlayStation 4 with technological improvements, though it's largely the same game it always was. I'm gonna take a guess and say most people reading this never even heard of it, because I had a lot of Super Nintendo games but never heard of this back in the day.
It's a fun 2D shooter with couch co-op, and we can never have enough of either of those things. NatsumeAtari expects to release this within 2016.
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Just Shapes and Beats
The premise is as simple as the title: Just Shapes and Beats is just shapes and beats. Beats pound while shapes come flying at you and up to three partners in time. Avoid them or die trying. The uproarious laughter that came from each group's BitSummit play session was a pleasant reminder of why a lot of us started playing games in the first place. It's not always about system-straining graphics or mind-bending narrative; sometimes we just want something to interact with, that's gonna make us all laugh together. Just Shapes and Beats was succeeding at this all weekend long. Seems like a fantastic fit for those needing a party game.
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Moon Hunters
Damn, dude. Look, the PS4 version of this game has some problems, but a lot of those issues are not so big on the PC. So I'm gonna use this PlayStation-based platform to promote the non-PlayStation version of a game, because damn it, it's just the right thing to do. Play Moon Hunters with local co-op on your PC.
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Enter the Gungeon
This was out in April and it's been reviewed here. But hey, it was my first experience with it, and I offer my testimony that the 2-player co-op mode is mad fun. This is published by Devolver Digital, the same publisher that brought us Hotline Miami. Those guys are proving to have quite the eye for insanity. They did us all a favor when they published Dodgeroll's Enter the Gungeon.
