Sledgehammers, Shopkeepers, and a tonne of SULFUR

Hello friends. How foolish I was to think that I would have time to write this newsletter while I was back home in Australia! Apologies for the radio silence. My family and I visited friends and family, before I made a quick stop off at Melbourne International Games Week to do some scouting around. It was a good, but draining time being back in my homeland.

But now I am back in Japan, staring at the wall of grey cloud and rain that is pelting Lake Biwa, thinking about plans for 2027. Daunting as it may be to think about the industry right now, I still have a sliver of hope that things will, in fact, get slightly better next year. Right?

Anyways, let's take a look at the games.

What Came Out This Week

Virtue and a Sledgehammer

Developer: Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store link

Kicking it off this week is Virtue and a Sledgehammer, a dark narrative adventure from longtime Devolver cohorts, Deconstructeam. You find yourself going back to your hometown, which is haunted not only by your own dark memories, but the android ghosts of your friends and neighbors. As you grapple with being in a place you clearly no longer below, armed with a sledgehammer, you will level the place in search of self discovery.

Seeing Deconstructeam's previous work in Gods Will Be Watching, The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, and Red Strings Club, chances are that Virtue and a Sledgehammer is going to be a heavy one. I kinda feel like this is just perfect timing for me personally, after returning from a visit back to my isolated country hometown. Excited to check this one out, and it clocks in at around 3-4 hours which means I should see the end of it in a week, which is always a win in my book.

SULFUR

Developer: Perfect Random
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store link

After some time baking in the Early Access oven, action-adventure shooter SULFUR has hit 1.0 this week, and has already sold over 200,000 copies. Combining the sensibilities of an old-school action-adventure game with RPG elements, SULFUR is a dark and mysterious shooter that has you exploring the depths of a strange world. You will need to tread carefully as you explore the expansive caverns, which are filled with all kinds of devilish baddies ready to end your life.

SULFUR seems to be putting a bunch of emphasis on creating an open experience for players to explore. Combining items and weapons to build a character that will allow you to go in guns blazing, or stealthily creep in the shadows, means you can play the way your find most interesting. It seems to be taking cues from classics like Thief, and Blood, and has a really cool flat art style that feels like a hellish version of something from Capybara Games.

I first saw SULFUR at Bitsummit a few years ago and it really caught my eye. To be honest, I did think it was another Roguelike shooter, but it seems to be more of an adventure to explore, which makes it immediately hop up to the top of my list. Going to try and check this out on the weekend.

Probably Stolen - Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim

Developer: Questing Goose Studio
Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive
Store Link

Unexpected hit of the week goes to Probably Stolen, a shop keeping simulator with a Cyberpunk theme. Selling 350,000 copies in its first 24 hours, players are tasked with running a storefront that is slinging questionable goods. Thankfully, you are tucked away in the dark corners of a dystopian space station, and utilizing your old contacts from your days as a scavenger, you need to trade in order to survive.

Just like Papers, Please, you will need to use your discretion to know what products you can sell, and what trades you can make to keep things barely above board, make a profit, and pay your bills so you can survive another day. There's also the threat of rogue AI augmented hosts, which are an immediate threat to society as you know it.

It looks dark and gritty, in depth, and quite a lot of fun. The reviews are in and they are glowing, so I do think this is one worth checking out if you like these sorts of games that have you questioning ethics and morals.

Tape to Tape

Developer: Excellent Rectangle
Steam rating: Very Positive
Store link

Another Early Access game has reached 1.0 this week. Tape to Tape is a roguelite ice hockey game where you need to take your ragtag group of amateur players and stop a group of Golfers who are trying to eliminate your beloved ice hockey because it is "too exciting".

Each run has you completing quests to unlock buffs and upgrades for your team as you face off increasingly ridiculous opponents, like a group of cultists, or some farting princesses. It's all silly and fun, but it looks like it has a lot of depth and joy to explore.

This one has been on my wishlists for AAAAAGES, so I am pretty keen to finally sit down with it and see what it's all about. It has a pretty healthy community who have stuck with it for a long time, so hopefully it has some success this weekend. We need more fun takes on arcade sports games.

Queen's Domain

Developer: Freshly Baked Games
Steam rating: N/A
Store link

Finally this week we have Queen's Domain, a PS1-looking fantasy action RPG that puts a focus on traversal and exploration. Picture Dark Souls, Oblivion, and Hexen in a blender, and I think you have an idea of the vibe that Queen's Domain is putting out there.

It seems like it's a fairly expansive adventure too. There are over 50 melee weapons to equip, over 100 enemies to fight, a slew of secondary weapons to mix things up, and dozens of hours of gameplay. At the time of writing this one hasn't dropped just yet (it's out tomorrow), but there is a demo available if you want to give it a spin before dropping some cash on the release. Looks really nice though, and I definitely want to spend some time in it.

That's a wrap

Thanks so much for reading. If you like what you see, please share it with a friend. If you want to help support me to grab some indie games to get some reviews, please consider dropping some money in the ko-fi cup.

See you next week

Steve