Check out the games that Apogee brought to Boston for PAX!
It feels like every year that Apogee is showing games at PAX East, I have to check the out and this year was no different. I was able to check out two games that Apogee was showing off this year. One game is set in a cyberpunk-like environment and the other has penguins making their way up a mountain. It’s time to talk about Turbo Overkill and Bread and Fred.
First up is Turbo Overkill, a first person shooter. I’m not usually a fan of FPS games but this game felt different to me. In first person shooters I tend to have trouble aiming at my target but I didn’t feel that way in Turbo Overkill. It felt like I could line up my shot and fire. I also believe there was a lock on mechanic to help with aiming as well. I thin if more FPS games are going to go with frantic pacing, then they should give you a lock on option. You don’t have to use it in Turbo Overkill but it is a nice option to have.
You start out by having a limited arsenal but that will change over the journey. You will be able to find new weapons as well as upgrade your current weapons. If you find a weapon you really like, then upgrade it to fit your needs. You also have a slide ability but it gets better than that. You have a chainsaw that can kill enemies when you slide. That way you can set up cool slide combos and attack at the same time.
I didn’t have trouble exploring the locations during the demo. Sometimes cyberpunk could translate into dark but it wasn’t hard figuring out what to do/where to go next. Jumping/dashing/and sliding felt smooth as well. When a game wants to be fast, the controls have to be smooth/tight and Turbo Overkill has that.
The other game I got to try was Bread and Fred, a game where you guide two penguins up a mountain. Think Celeste but with two characters and they’re penguins. If you don’t have someone to play the game with, you can play solo where there’s one penguin and a rock as the other character.
Mastering what role each player will have during gameplay will be key when you play Bread ad Fred. Momentum will be key as well since there are some pretty tough jumps to make. One of the penguins will have to be the anchor and let the other penguin swing to the other side of the jump. In contrast, there will be jumps where both Bread and Fred will have to hang from one side and let the other climb and swing to make a jump. Your timing with your co-op partner will be key as well as some jumps require both of you to jump at the same time to set a move up further down the line. If you think you’re going to have trouble making a jump, you can set up a check point that will bring you back to that spot if you fall all the way down the mountain.
It took a little while for me to get the hang of the controls as I found myself pushing the wrong buttons at the start. After I got the feel for it, the developer and myself were making jumps as a team and climbing up the mountain like a pro!During the demo time, Apogee showed me a speed run video for Bread and Fred and whoever was playing was amazing. They were doing things I would never have thought to do.
It was a fun time checking out Apogee at PAX East as they always bring their “A” game.
