Sep 20, 2019Reviews
Quench, developed by Canadian indie studio Axon Interactive Inc., is a puzzle game about herding different tribes of animals through many obstacles. You are a bird named Shepherd that will guide these animals through an emotional pilgrimage using your power of the elements. I found the puzzles surprisingly varied and the story to have unexpected twists of intrigue and betrayal that I won’t be spoiling but rather be giving my impressions on my experience. The game is available now on Steam here and the Nintendo Switch here, the latter being the version I will be reviewing today. The myPotatoGames team would also like to thank the developers of Quench for giving us this review code!
The main focus is on the young new leader of the Elephant Tribe, Shaman located near the Western Elder Tree. It is Shaman’s duty to gather all of the other following tribe members: Springbok, Wildebeest, Zebra, Baboon, and Lion. Together they will travel to the Eastern Elder Tree and bring offerings to pray for prosperity and good fortunes. This is especially necessary as you have become aware that the lands to the East have become dry and hot, leaving many to go hungry, and dark spirits or smokebeasts have been plaguing their homes. You, the player, are born from a single fruit of the Western Elder Tree. I found this to be an interesting premise as elder trees grow in subtropical areas in real life and flower elderberries. It is even said in folklore that they ward off evil and give protection.
Just when you think that the story would simply be about a voyage of hope, leadership, and union (which is a great story in its own right), the game is filled with tragedy, loss, and more questions I needed answered. I had previously not given much thought to the smokebeasts as I just figured they were enemies and that was that but there’s a lot more to it.
There are different types that you will contend with that have their own ways of dealing with them. However, because you cannot zoom in and the levels can become quite chaotic, it can be hard to differentiate between Cindertsags and Ravagers (which took me a while to figure out which enemies those names belonged to). I think the game would have greatly benefited from a glossary or monster guide to not only show you the difference of appearance, but also to remind you how to defeat them (temporarily or otherwise).
There are a total of 28 levels, half of which are more like an epilogue where you return home and fight the final boss. The first few levels are like tutorials showing you how to use the Power Wheel and your Weather Powers which are as follows: rain, lighting, wind, and earthquake. There are groves that have stones to indicate either a resting spot or an area that requires a specific element to activate.
At first I thought that the symbols on the stones where there to show you which power to use, but they are actually there to tell you which power you will receive. There can be more than just one stone and therefore the amount displays how many different powers you will gain in return for the one used. It took me several levels to see tiny triangles, maybe butterflies, floating around the groves with their color giving you a hint to the element needed.
As your herd of animals walk, their stamina will drain. The tougher the terrain, the faster that bar will deplete. The specific rest areas need to be lush with green to have any effect on restoring stamina to your animals. If your stamina is empty, one member of the herd will die one after the other. When the levels were easy enough, I restarted the levels when an animal died thinking that if I run out, eventually I’ll have none to shepherd in the harder levels. I’ve also come to care for these animals and didn’t want to lose a single one. However, the number of animals you have will go back to their original count after every level. If you’re thinking “Well the elements are obvious; rain re-hydrates trees, earthquakes get rid of boulders, wind blows away sand, and lightning destroys thorns.”, you’re in for a spin later on.
Elements will also have some secondary benefits or problems such as rain healing your tribe or calming smokebeasts, lightning create brush fires in dry spots, wind uncovering enemies, pushing them away or speeding up your animals, etc. These are all things you have to take into account before using your powers. Luckily, the game will pause when you choose your power and lets you take a look around to plan out your paths and strategies. What I enjoyed the most is that there are usually several different ways to arrive to the same goal and your powers aren’t limitless. Therein lies the deeper puzzle aspect; you must ration your powers and/or trade them wisely. Meaning, you can and will run out of your powers if you’re not careful.
Once you have told your tribe of animals to set for a specific course, you cannot turn back. Sometimes even the most careful planning will be ruined by unexpected surprises as you watch your herd scatter away from a hidden enemy or having stragglers in the back that are slowing down the herd and draining more stamina.
Things start to get really intense when you have more than one tribe of animals to control and they are placed in different areas of the map in your levels. They also have unique characteristics that you need to be aware of at all times. For example: elephants are great swimmers but are much slower on land, wildebeests can easily climb slopes, and baboons can throw their firestones at certain enemies. You’ll probably use a lot of your lightning to quickly revive fallen animals but it can be quite frustrating if it happens in the water or right in the middle of your tribe because you can accidentally kill the ones that are alive.
Something that aggravated me towards the harder levels was the fact that instructions for the objectives where not at all clear. The main idea was there, but I struggled with what exactly it was that I was supposed to do when there were too many path choices that weren’t linear. Moreover, there was a level that told me to herd my animals to the water but I didn’t see any. Do I bring them south? North? Where do they want me to go? When this happened, I had to experiment quite a bit and then restart once I’ve figured out where everything was and what it did. Thankfully, not all levels where like this and sometimes a glowing ring showed you where you should head to.
I didn’t mind that the gameplay had low-poly graphics with very simple designs except when it came to not being able to clearly see what was what if there were several things bunched together. However, it helped when hovering over certain areas with your powers as they would light up if you were using the right one. Then I would get frustrated again when the game would often lag or not respond to my commands. At the end of each segment of the story, there was a wonderful recap with beautiful backgrounds with a “cave drawings” art style. That, coupled with the soundtrack, made the game feel like it was truly inspired by African culture.
Every single level in the end was unique and changed with the story in mind. They can be pretty challenging but are grouped up into shorter stages so it’s not much of a drag if you need to do it over. The animals are adorable and every tribe leader has an interesting personality that made me care about the story just all the more! Sure I’ve had my fair share of troubles with the controls, explanations, and speed, but it was overshadowed by the games heartfelt narrative and exciting strategic puzzles. If you want to learn more about the game, need support, or want to chat with the developers, you can do so here on their Discord channel.
Sep 17, 2019Quick Bits
Jenny LeClue, created by Mografi, is about being a detective, crime-solving, and helping Jenny make some tough choices along her adventure which will ultimately shape her destiny. Now the developers have announced that the game will be releasing on Steam, GOG, and now Apple Arcade on September 19th, 2019! That’s only a couple of days away for us to be able to investigate the strange town of Arthurton. There isn’t a release date yet for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch versions but there’s a possibility they will be coming later this year. For more information about Jenny LeClue, check out our previous article here.
Thanks to Apple Arcade, the indie developers of Mografi have expressed that they can launch with the localization in 14 different languages, and original music by SCNTFC. SCNTFC, AKA Andrew Rohrmann, has composed and produced the soundtrack for Oxenfree, along with other amazing indie games.
As you can see, I, Henry, love to play mystery games like these ones here! Moreover, I have to say, I’m pretty good at getting to the root of things!
Aug 28, 2019Interviews
Platypus Adventures is an action-adventure, story-driven single-player game currently in early development by solo developer David Richards. We here at myPotatoGames spoke with the creator himself during an interview about some of his future plans and things he is currently working on. David Richards was inspired by the Australian beauty that surrounds him and wanted his artwork to feature that subject matter to which he is deeply passionate. All characters in the game will be anthropomorphic animals based in Australia. The platypus is an extremely iconic animal in his hometown, and since they happen to be his favorite, wanted to raise awareness on these beautiful creatures.
We’d like to thank David Richards for answering our questions and providing us with beautiful screenshots. We’d also like to reiterate that this game is in early development therefore everything mentioned below is subject to change.
You mentioned the animals will be anthropomorphic. Do they speak?
David: The sound they make is a single localisation and not an entire spoken sentence. You’ll see the translation of sorts via speech bubbles above their heads. I’ve effectively recorded a bunch of vocal cues from voice actors to date.
Is there a story? Does this platypus have a long journey ahead?
David: The game has some sci-fi themes and some darker themes which I haven’t touched on yet. It’s a relatively short game that could last about 2.5 hours.
What kind of gameplay mechanics or actions players can perform?
David: There’s swinging, climbing, swimming, sliding and a whole lot more! There’s this whole action side that includes combat, that I haven’t really shown off yet. For the most part, the gameplay consists of environmental hazards which are all completely unique to each area. Exploration is key here as there will be no mini-map or anything like that. Meaning, you have to guide yourself around the world using real visual cues in-game.
Are there any secrets for the players to discover?
David: Yes there are huge secrets! Some are even very hard to find. So hard actually, that I don’t expect people to ever find them. Others are more obvious, and are supposed to be seen. For example: I’ve signed my name in the game, and I’ve got a little shout-out to the love of my life in there too, etched on a rock.
Are planning to release Platypus Adventures on PC?
David: PC for sure. I’m looking into some pretty big prospects, which could allow me to do a console release too however this would probably add at least another year of development time.
Follow the progress of Platypus Adventures on Twitter here and on the Discord channel here. For other interviews with game developers, check out our article here: Critter Cove: An In-Depth Interview on this Cute Adventure on the High-Seas. If you love Australian wildlife, check out these articles here: Dinkum – Explore an Island Inspired by the Wild Australian Outback and TY the Tasmanian Tiger Coming to Switch Thanks to Successful Kickstarter.
Aug 9, 2019News
Quench is a story-driven puzzle game set in a colorful world. Help an adorable elephant to guide herds of animals while using the weather to your advantage. Quench is developed by Axon Interactive Inc., an indie studio based in Ontario, Canada. As of August 7th, 2019, you can purchase the game at the following locations: Nintendo Switch (North America), Nintendo Switch (Europe), Steam, and itch.io. Find out more about the game below and how you can help bring clean water to a community in need IRL.
Axon Interactive Inc. has announced on their Steam page the following: “We are proud to announce that $1 from all sales in the month of August will be donated to charity: water, an international non-for-profit organization whose mission is to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. Up to $10,000 will be raised to fund a water project for a community in need, with real-time progress reported back to all players. We’re super excited to see what we can all make happen together.”
Become Shepherd, an avatar of nature, and guide herds of animals on a perilous journey. Each generation, the Elephant Tribe makes a grand pilgrimage. But this time, something is different… Help Shaman, the young Elephant leader, convince the other animal tribes to join her. Protect your herds as they are beset by flood, fire, drought, and the dark smokebeasts that have spread across the land. Control the environment to guide herds of animals and restore their home in this colourful narrative puzzle game!
For another great game with a great real-life cause, check out our article here: To The Rescue: A Little Help For Our Friends. Moreover, you can still make a pledge on their Kickstarter, which has officially been a success and now aiming for their stretch goals. Know that 20% of the profits of the game will go toward actual dog shelters!
Jul 31, 2019Interviews
Playful Fox Games Inc is an indie development studio based in Canada. Their main focus is about building a strong narrative experience that creates an emotional connection. In Animal Bar, you play as the bartender and serve all of the drinks to a wide range of adorable anthropomorphic animals each with their own unique personalities. Get to know your customers by interacting with them and solving their problems. Below are the biographies of four characters in development with a plan to add a total of twenty in the final product. Please note that this game is very early in development and is still a work-in-progress. Therefore, a lot of the things mentioned in this article are subject to change.
Animal Bar is about understanding and learning about your customers and their personal stories as you try to build and run a successful Coffee/Tea/Soda bar. Create an identity for yourself and your bar, specialize or generalize as you choose whether to cater to your customers or create the experience and aesthetic that you want.
Each customer has their history, their own story, and will deal with some type of dilemma. As you build up a friendship, you can help guide the customers through their stories, and help them make key decisions in their lives. Based on your decisions of décor, the times of day that you show up to run your bar, your interactions with your customers and more, you can guide the experience that you, the player, will have with the game.
Simon grew up with a lot of siblings. A middle child, he was largely ignored by the rest of his family and struggles with self-worth issues, constantly seeking approval. In high school his grades were on the higher end but did not stand-out. He hasn’t figured out what major to take in college, only that accounting seems to be something his parents might approve of. Simon is very timid, but also very anxious.
Star is a pop-star phenomenon. Bringing back the retro look and sound of the 80s-90s, she was built for the spotlight and performed on stage from a young age. She was the star of her elementary and high school plays and talent shows. In her senior year, a talent agent picked her up and she’s been a star ever since. She goes by her stage name to all but a select few.
Zoe is a yoga instructor. She’s been on top of all the exercise trends for women including Zumba, step class, and even had a series of workout VHS tapes in the early 90s. She can only ever be seen in active wear, giving the impression that she’s just coming from or going to another class. She runs her own yoga studio which includes a shop selling salt lamps, candles and diffusers.
Stephen once worked as a roadie for some metal bands touring around the country. He has since settled down and started a music shop to spread the tunes to the next generation. Some say he used to be a drummer in a well-known band, but he left because the band went too mainstream. Stephen looks intimidating, but he’s a nice chill guy when you get to know him.
You can follow Playful Fox Games on their official Twitter page here and their Discord channel here.
We’d like to thank Ryan from Playful Fox Games for providing myPotatoGames with this information and these exclusive character screenshots! If you love the idea of serving customers and getting to know them, check out our article here: Coffee Talk – Make Coffee & Conversation. This game is about being a barista to fantastical characters. Stay tuned with myPotatoGames as we keep you apprised on these relaxing wholesome games.
Jul 27, 2019News
Errand Boy, a magical story-driven adventure game, is currently in development by Tree Interactive, an independent game development studio based in San Jose, Costa Rica. The story follows the life of an orphan boy named Watt with a lot of love to give. This adorable little monster delivers errands and spreads joy to the whole town! At Tree Interactive, they’ve been “polishing up a demo that you will hopefully soon be able to play”. Moreover, they’ve also listed the platforms for this game as PC/Steam as well as the Nintendo Switch.
We don’t know much else about the game so far and their intentions on other platforms for their release of Chapter 1 but we do know that the art-style is stunning, the music is great, and the optimistic hero of the story, Watt, is all about helping others during their time of need. See below for the description and sneak-peek trailer of Errand Boy.
Errand Boy is a story about an orphan boy looking for his place in the world. Establish relationships with other creatures and find meaning through the acceptance of responsibility. Help the town flourish through help and avoid crisis of an incoming catastrophe. Errand Boy is the first chapter of a five chapter game.
If you’re interested in Errand Boy, you’ll also want to check out this other episodic and story-driven game in our article here: Doggone – Help a Lost Dog Find Home.
Jul 19, 2019News
A Juggler’s Tale is an atmospheric 3D puzzle sidescroller set in a medieval puppet theater play. The game is currently in development by a team of indie developers made up of: Sven Bergmann, Steffen Oberle, Enzio Probst, Dominik Schön. The release date window is between late 2019 and early 2020 coming first to PC, and then PS4 and the Nintendo Switch.
This hauntingly beautiful and creepy art-style coupled with the story’s tragic tale reminds us of the movie Coraline. Alternatively, Coraline is turned into a ragdoll when stumbling upon the Other World. In A Juggler’s Tale, you’re trying to escape the life of a controlled puppet forced to perform! All the while you can hear the narrator explain Abby’s actions and the voice of the antagonist tempting you to return. Most of which is being recited in rhymes might we add. Although you must forge on and help Abby to navigate the dangers of the world, and free her from her strings (shackles)!
Play as the string puppet Abby as she flees from her captors into freedom and adventure: a world of beauty and wonder – but also danger! She finds herself in a war-torn, medieval fairytale, surrounded by ravaged, starving citizens and hunted by the relentless cut-throat, Tonda. Who can she trust? Can she avoid the traps and betrayal? Despite dangling from her threads, Abby learns that she can still influence her destiny – if only by winning over the audience. Help Abby navigate a traumatized, yet hauntingly beautiful world. Lead her forward through riddles and around traps, evade her pursuers and find – perhaps – freedom!
To follow the creators on their official website, click here. Furthermore, if you enjoy the telling of sombre fairytale stories and solving puzzles, check out Another Sight – Fantasy Adventure With A Cat.
Jul 14, 2019Feature
As E3 2019 is winding down, we here at myPotatoGames would like to list a few games that may have been overshadowed with all of the news going on on Twitter! If you’re a fan of marriages in games like Story of Seasons, or Rune Factory, then maybe these games are perfect for you! See below for the latest news on these very popular dating simulation games!
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator is now coming to “Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android soon”, says publisher Game Grumps. To celebrate the new releases, the creators have made special mixtapes for each Dad on Spotify here and there may be new characters in the near future! In addition, the game has already been released on Steam and PS4. However, we recommend waiting for the new features if you haven’t already played this.
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator is a game where you play as a Dad and your goal is to meet and romance other hot Dads. You and your daughter have just moved into the sleepy seaside town of Maple Bay only to discover that everyone in your neighborhood is a single, dateable Dad! Will you go out with Teacher Dad? Goth Dad? Bad Dad? Or any of the other cool Dads in this game? With minigames, sidequests, and a variety of paths and endings, Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator is this year’s most anticipated Dad-based game.
Monster Prom 2: Holiday Season is the sequel to indie game Monster Prom, a multiplayer dating sim. Beautiful Glitch, the creators based in Spain, have surpassed all of their Kickstarter goals and the game should release sometime in 2020 on PC. This new title is basically 3-games-in-1 with 3 separate vacations you can take: Summer Camp, Winter Retreat and Roadtrip. Moreover, each game is smaller than the original one, but they’re the same size when put together if you want to try out all three!
You have 3 weeks to get a date for Monster Prom! Go through absurd and funny situations, raise your stats and seduce one of your classmates. Beautiful art, bold, unapologetic dialogue and hard choices make up this Multiplayer (1-4 players) Dating Sim. Be your worst self.
Half Past Fate is a romantic narrative-adventure game about three relationships that form either over the span of eight hours or eight years. It’s developed by Serenity Forge, published by Way Down Deep, and is set to release in 2019 on Steam here. Half Past Fate is currently being showcased at The Mix in Los Angeles.
Follow the adventures of six people who stumble their way through love and companionship in a hybrid 3D pixel-art world. Lead them through their daily struggles, quirky events, and life-changing decisions. Featuring a full cast of diverse characters with contrasting personalities, Half Past Fate takes you through intersecting stories over varying time-spans that show how love can grow and develop in unexpected ways.
Want to know more about our most recent announcements of E3 2019? You can check out our article on indie games here.