Let's Play Some Demos! - Part 28

"Let's Play Some Demos!" Video Series YouTube Playlist 

Welcome to Part 28 of the Let's Play Some Demos! | LPSD series!
Thank you for your patience! I have been exhausted for the past week. I haven't been able to do much, since getting back from the Renaissance Fair. Big events tire me out. It affected my partner for a few days, too, but it was worth it!

For those who are new, I aim to provide commentary and feedback on game demos for educational purposes! In addition, with how saturated Steam is, let's get these indie games some attention, shall we (and the occasional AAA game I think isn't getting enough attention)?
For this episode, I used some of the demos I had grabbed from the Myths & Legends (I think) & Women's Day Sale Steam Events! 

RULES!
Typically, there are 4 demos. Each demo gets 30 minutes, not including the adjustment of settings and character creation. I might up it to 5 and/or play a great game for longer if there are technical issues. Or a demo finishes before the timer goes off.
And NO AI's spit, aka. plagiarism laundering.

Today, I, attempted, to play 4 demos for your enjoyment:

1. Altered Alma by 2Awesome Studio - Available: Coming soon
   Altered Alma combines the beloved classic Metroidvania formula with RPG elements, dating sim features, a slick pixel-art presentation, and a gripping story. Whether you want to beat up bad guys, find love, or just explore the beautiful cyberpunk cityscape, Neo Barcelona awaits!
2. Grimshire by Acute Owl Studio - Available: Q2 2025 A deadly plague threatens the village of Grimshire. Manage your farmland, forage the bounty of the wilds, prevent your harvest from rotting away and keep the root cellar full. Can you help bring the community together and survive?
3. Old World by Mohawk Games - Available Old World is a revolutionary new historical strategy game where you lead your dynasty over generations of rule against rival kings and queens. Wage massive wars, manage your court, and build a dynasty — or watch your empire crumble to dust. What legacy will you leave behind?
4. Shape of Dreams by Lizard Smoothie - Available: 2025 Shape of Dreams is a unique game that blends action roguelite with MOBA-style gameplay. Venture into the dream world, edit your hero's Memories, and create your own champion. Face all challenges solo, or play with friends in up to 4-player co-op.

The links above are to the games' Steam pages.

Why was it an "attempt" to play? Because Old World made me rage quit. And, after looking back at the footage, what I needed was, almost, right in front of my face. I even moused over it at one point, and it didn't register. 1-800-MYY-BAAD (if you don't get this reference, check out Kat Williams).

To a point.

Because of the revisit, I will be able to give a complete opinion, and it will be via the "Layered Compliment Sandwich". Thank you for your patience.

Altered Alma is definitely one to watch! Even though I was struggling, and cussing, it was a delight to play! I mentioned it a few times in the video, it reminded me of Hollow Knight and Constance! The possibility of romance was a fun little twist. The pixel art was amazing, though you really have to try to make me hate it. I don't know if I got used to it, or if it got better over time, but playing the game was a bit of an issue due to it being a bit shaky. It was giving me a headache. Like Jack was lagging as they were moving or the pixels were having difficulty staying together? I didn't really see it when I looked at the video, which is good for viewers. Getting back to the cussing, I am SHIT at blocking/parrying. And it got me killed. If you've watched me play these types of games before, you knew it was coming like I did. However, this is a game that was a bit better than previous ones at teaching me how to block/parry. Wall jumping was more difficult than in other games, but the teleportation blade helped with that. THANK YOU! I was having fun zipping around! When it worked. Did I have to point it at a wall or a ceiling to have a more tangible place to teleport to and/or was the spot I was trying to teleport to too far away? I'll find out later!

Grimshire reminds me of a few things, with Stardew Valley being the first thing, despite never having played, and Welcome to Elderfield, a horror Stardew Valley (tired of hearing about it, yet?). At first, I didn't know why it reminded me of Doloc Town. I thought it was because of the pixel art until I realized it was because of the community building. And the fact you have to attack an item to put it into your inventory. And, while writing this, I thought of Fae Farm and Cornucopia®. Do I think other games coming to mind is a bad thing? No. Because Grimshire is unique enough to stand on its own two feet. Who doesn't wanna be a bunny! Also, the fact the different professions grant you different stats is something I haven't seen in this type of game, before (unless I forgot). Getting to the story, it definitely grabbed my attention. We were saved from a capital city going up in flames, and we have no memory of it. "Amnesia" storylines usually have me rolling my eyes, but, this time, we have a reason to not remember - trauma. I wanna keep playing so I can find out what happens next. And the neighbors are already interesting. Curiosity, hopefully, won't kill this rabbit!

During the revisit, Old World snagged me. I was only planning on going for 30 minutes, and then the video ended up being almost an hour long! I ain't even mad, it was fun! And it's what a game is supposed to do! I recommended it to the lovely honey to find out he had already heard about it. Now, one of the first things I complained about when loading the game was the size of the text. And I forgot to look around to see if I could increase the size of it. And it was one of the reasons why I rage quit. It is the job of the game to teach me how to play, which means the tutorial, initially, failed. I did my due diligence, trying to look through the tutorials, and couldn't find what I needed to be able to proceed. That is not my failing! What they got right was the fact my not being able to find it annoyed me the right way; it made me want to look back at the footage to see what I missed. Well done! I got to enjoy the art some more! It was FANTASTIC! The animations were smooth and fun! I, also, loved how they did the "fog" on the map. If the Scout got too far away, the fog closed in behind them. The strategy of it all drew me in. I will, definitely, be playing it again!

Shape of Dreams was also recommended to the lovely honey as a potential couple's game. I GREATLY enjoyed it! It gave me Hades/II, Cursebane, and Whiskers & Wizardry. I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting others... It was a DELIGHT! Despite all the spiders. I hate spiders. The creature design was AWESOME, even the spiders, and progression felt great! The fact we were being hunted as we were exploring the world, while being attacked by locals, was a nice twist. I could talk about the art all day, but what I'm going to focus on is the lighting and how it changed as I travelled. It perfectly set the mood for the situation! The mechanics were... interesting due to the fact I don't know how I feel about the keybindings. I got the feeling they couldn't be changed, so I didn't try, which I regret. As extensive as the game is, mechanically, why wouldn't I be able to change keybindings? Next time I play, I'll check. The Skill Tree was engaging and had me excited! The myriad of memories I could snag and upgrade had me thinking strategically and doing some introspection. It being exciting didn't mean I'd use it. And I didn't need a fire blade and an ice blade, as cool as it would have been. I DID need the Shield, however! I'm pretty sure it's what saved my behind a couple of times. If it gets enough attention, I see Shape of Dreams being one of those games the mainstream, AAA publishers won't understand why it's popular.

Overall, I want all of them, and they are on my wishlist.

As a reminder, Altered Alma is Available: Coming soon, Grimshire is Available: Q2 2025, Shape of Dreams is Available: 2025, and Old World is Available.

And that's it for the mini-review of Part 28! Thank you for reading!
If this series of videos is something you're interested in, they're available on YouTube, The Titans' Discord, Steam, Rumble, Odysee, Ko-fi, and on multiple blogging platforms!
Don't forget to hit the Subscribe and/or Follow buttons to know when there's more!

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CAUSE OF THE MONTH
The theme for April is ADtistic (ADHD + Autistic) Awareness Month, so, the causes of the month are ADDitude and The Color of Autism.
For more details, click here!

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TIMESTAMPS - Video 1
0:00 - Welcome Gamers!
2:17 - Demos' Intro
5:35 - Altered Alma
46:28 - Grimshire
1:20:02 - Old World
1:36:45 - Shape of Dreams
2:26:50 - Demos Line Up
2:29:41 - Quick Critique/Thank You/Links
2:34:14 - Rendezvous Point Bookshop Plug/Viewing
2:35:57 - Up Next: Let's Play Some NSFW Demos! - Part 6/Password: LPSNWD 6^
2:37:34 - Farewell

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TIMESTAMPS - Video 2
0:00 - Welcome Gamers!
0:36 - A Word
2:35 - Old World
54:54 - Quick Critique
55:16 - Demos to Finish/Plans to Finish
55:58 - Final Critique/Farewell

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"Let's Play Some Demos!" itch.io Collection

• Pilot: CrossCode, Dumpy & Bumpy, Ynglet, Zero Ranger
• Part 2: A Dance of Fire and Ice, 2064: Read Only Memories, Death and Taxes, Underhero
• Part 3: TEKKEN 8, Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition, Secrets of Grindea, Forspoken
• Part 4: Death's Hangover, Fae Farm, Fate/Samurai Remnant, Mini Settlers
• Part 5: All-Star Fruit Racing, Indivisible, SaGa Emerald Beyond, Visions of Mana
• Part 6: Glorious Companions, Tales of Arise, Ultionus: A Tale of Petty Revenge, Cozy Island
• Part 7: The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, Cursebane, Dex, The Lady Puppet
• Part 8: Detroit: Become Human, Little Goody Two Shoes, Luma Island, Tinkerlands
• Part 9: Backpack Battles, Glaciered, Ratopia, Slime Rancher
• Part 10: Captain Contraption's Chocolate Factory, Maid Cafe on Electric Street, Neon Noodles, Tiny Glade
• Part 11: Critter Café, Grimoire Groves, Pixel Cafe, Wizdom Academy
• Part 12: AdventureBarStory, Bone's Cafe, DELTARUNE, Mudborne
• Part 13: Food Truck Simulator, Magical Bakery, Magical Delicacy, Seaside Cafe Rush Hour
• Part 14: Chef's Tail, Espresso Tycoon, Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo, Tavern Talk
• Part 15: Chicken Journey, FANTASIAN Neo Dimension, Terra Memoria, Until Then
• Part 16: Cornucopia®, Hipster Café, Let's Café, Spells & Secrets
• Part 17: Doloc Town, Feed the Cups, Manitas Kitchen, Mushroom Picnic Party, Rift of the NecroDancer
• Part 18: Meadgard: Beer and Plunder, BOKURA: planet, Teeny Tiny Town, Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos
• Part 19: Dungeons of Hinterberg, The Mildew Children, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, Yaoling: Mythical Journey
• Part 20: AI LIMIT, Harmony's Odyssey, Last Time I Saw You, Whiskers & Wizardry
• Part 21: Constance, Dragoon Ascension, Kara Fantasy, Welcome to Elderfield
• Part 22: Crowncity, Dungeon Alchemist, Parliament of Hell 1796, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
• Part 23: The Bear - A Story from the World of Gra, Crime or Punishment, The Star Named EOS, There's No Monsters, Emblems: Sunless Vow
• Part 24: Angeline Era, ctrl.alt.DEAL, Find-o'-Lantern, Imperiums: Greek Wars
  
• Part 25: Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee, Lord Ambermaze, Night Dessert, Through the Nightmares
  
• Part 26: Atlas Wept, LEILA, Winter Burrow, Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, When The Past Was Around
• Part 27: ATRI -My Dear Moments-, Kimochii Classroom, Tea for Sana, VORON
• Part 29: The Axis Unseen, BLADECHIMERA, Europa, Moon Tower
• Part 30: Tuesday, May 27th
• Part 31: Tuesday, June 10th
• Part 32: Tuesday, June 24th

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MORE INFO & TO SUPPORT

- About MonriaTitans | WGS
- Rendezvous Point Bookshop
- WGS Project Page - itch.io
- Artist Shout-Outs Criteria
- The Titans' Discord
- Throne Wishlist
- #SubOffTwitch
- YouTube
- Rumble
- Odysee
- Steam

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Originally published to https://opinionsandtruth.wordpress.com on April 28, 2025.