Slow and steady wins the race, so here's a pick from Steam Next Fest after playing through dozens of titles already: Silly Polly Beast. It's not the most attention-grabbing of titles for an action game, and it's potentially misleading if you have kids and think it's the title of one of their night-time reads. Definitely not.
Silly Polly Beast is a top-down/side-scrolling action game with a story that connects a girl, her sibling and a lighter. But how? Within a minute or two, it's clear that the world isn't the way it appears, and a ferocious wolf approaches a sleeping Polly, only to disappear, though leaving its footprints behind for her to follow.
She embarks on a mini-quest using teen stealth tactics (pulls a hood over her head when it isn't raining) and finds an abandoned skateboard with 'STFU' emblazoned on the bottom. This isn't a mode of transport à la Deadly Premonition 2; instead, it is used to smash up obstacles and melee enemies. Chased by the fuzz, she takes a fall, is knocked unconscious, and then awakens in a Hellish underworld, making a pact with some tormented soul to free them. Ah... the adolescent years.
Source: Steam
Wielding a pistol and then a tactical shotgun, Polly blasts away shadow-like enemies, navigates spiky blobs, and performs rituals that make her spawn the wings of a spawn. With the exception of that mechanic, Silly Polly Beast is magnetising from the very beginning. It implements classic Resident Evil techniques and loading areas by holding down an action button to advance, but it's not remotely retro.
The visuals are eye-poppingly good, and when looking up the details of the development team, Anji, paused for a moment to soak up the fact that this is the work of a solo developer for the past four years. That doesn't qualify a game as 'you have to get it on that basis' as Silly Polly Beast makes an immediate impression on its own merits. However, solo developer? Wow.
Silly Polly Beast is an instant recommendation along with Sopa, and Ari Bukta and the Anytime Elevator. This easily goes to the top of the highly-anticipated watchlist. Try the demo now during the Steam Next Fest.
Do you know who else is silly? Sally Face.
