19th's Steam Next Fest Impressions Jun 2025 Edition - Day 5
Shorter one today and late. Had a busy day yesterday.
Occlude
Occult Puzzle Solitaire
The game is framed as a ritual, a means of people to undo a past mistake. Each "game" is framed as a different person with a different sin.
At first glance it's a simple solitaire variant. Move cards around on stacks, and send them to each suit's two discard piles in ascending or descending order. You can only move one card at a time, and have a single "purgatory" space to get one card out of the way. Taken alone it's already a pretty alright solitaire variant
The gimmick is that each level has a different set of hidden rules, noted by the coins on the top right. If you fulfill the secret conditions, the coins flip into place. You et a bad end if you flip no coins, a neutral end if you only flip some, and a good end if you flip all. It's really challenging. I was only able to finish the first game.
I do really like this idea, but have some minor quibbles.
You're given free undo's, but the second you place a card off the tableau, you cannot undo past that point. I understand this prevents brute forcing, but I'll often learn I broke a rule somehow by doing that discard.
The Game could also use a bit more signposting. The undo or reset button will start flashing if you've reached a point where it's impossible to fulfill the conditions, but it never says this. You have to notice it yourself. I wasted time on impossible games because of this.
I am hoping the individuals stories of each deck start building on each-other instead of just being isolated set dressing
Yoram
A mansion drenched in heavy rain. Heirs gathered, each eyeing the family fortune. And you—who committed a murder in their midst. As a chain
A victorian murder mystery, starring a murderer.
You play as Irene Lindham, the youngest and disgraced daughter of the incredibly wealthy lindham family. When her father unexpectedly passes away, she's one of the few available to help manage the funeral arrangements.
As the family gathers, her alcaholic and estranged husband, divorced in all but legal standing, barges in. While alone, there's an altercation, and she kills him in an act of self defense.
Desperately trying to cover her tracks, she learns that his is not the only murder being investigated that night. Now she has to try and pin her murder on the other killer.
There's a lot I like going on here. Irene's narration is great. A desperation for independence while also denying it's possibility, a combination of guilt and mild resentment towards those who both care for and belittle her. For Umineko heads it feels very Natsuhi.
There's a confrontation system, similar to phoenix wright style cross examination. It feels somewhat thinner, but I like its framing. Less a struggle for truth and more a desperate gambit for survival, even if it means using lies or intimidation.
There's seeds of an overarching conspiracy going on, that her accident was a wrench in some larger plan, and I'm excited to see more.
Main problem right now is bugs. I started yesterday and got softlocked, but the devs were prompt in fixing the problem. There were some other issues, though, like the wrong name appearing in a textbox or a UI element covering up important info during a confrontation, but the remaining ones can be worked around, and the devs seem on the ball with fixing them.
Sping
Abstract One Button Swing Platformer.
You play as a little guy. Press a button to hook onto the nearest anchor point and swing around it. collect all the whatsits and complete the stage.
This is a mobile game. I don't mean this as a prejorative, this is a port.
It's perfectly fine. Good sense of momentum. IT takes a bit too long for it to feel legit challenging. There are a lot of modes but I didn't bother to try them all.
Didn't really inspire anything major in me, just… if you want a pleasant mindless mobile experience, it's there.
