"Let's Play Some Demos!" Video Series YouTube Playlist 

Welcome to Part 24 of the Let's Play Some Demos! | LPSD series! 
For those who are new, I aim to provide commentary and feedback on game demos for educational purposes! In addition, with how saturated Steam is, let's get these indie games some attention, shall we (and the occasional AAA game I think isn't getting enough attention)?
For this episode, I used some of the demos I had grabbed from the Women's Day Sale Steam Event!

RULES!
Typically, there are 4 demos. Each demo gets 30 minutes, not including the adjustment of settings and character creation. I might up it to 5 and/or play a great game for longer if there are technical issues. Or a demo finishes before the timer goes off.
And NO AI's spit, aka. plagiarism laundering.

Today, I played 4 demos for your enjoyment:

1. Angeline Era by Melos Han-Tani, Marina Kittaka & Analgesic Productions - Available: 2025
   An unforgettable and wild Bumpslash Action-Adventure! Explore a world of Fae, Humans and Angels, where hilarious hazards and charming creatures await. Will you uncover its mysteries?
2. ctrl.alt.DEAL by Only By Midnight Ltd. - Coming soon
   With your superior intelligence and sneakiness, you can find a way to escape from this heartless megacorp! (As long as no one realizes you’re actually a self-aware AI...) Spy on humans, offer them deals, and negotiate your way to freedom in a turn-based strategy game of corporate dysfunction.
3. Find-o'-Lantern by ERЯOR 300 - Available
   Solve logical riddles in this simple, yet challenging game based on the classic star battle format.
4. Imperiums: Greek Wars by Kube Games - Available
   Unique combination of turn-based 4X and historical grand strategy with a mythological twist. Explore the ancient world and build a world leading civilization. Survive, expand, conquer... and win!

The links above are to the games' Steam pages.

Imperiums: Greek Wars is also available on itch.io!

With all that out the way, here are my opinions, via the "Layered Compliment Sandwich":

Angeline Era was definitely unique mechanically. The PS1-ish art style was pretty cool, too. The "Bumpslash Action-Adventure" didn't really "hit" until I got into a fight and I, Tets, automatically attacked. THAT was awesome! One less thing I had to think about, until I came across the spiked bug. Then timing was introduced. The most annoying part was the "It's really easy to reload. Figure it out!" Excuse me? I eventually did figure it out, and way to guide the player! That is an excellent way to piss people, or maybe just me, off. And had the timer not gone off, I would have ended up rage-quitting on that puzzle. The camera was a pain, too. Running around hitting and shooting was very entertaining, however. Good game, but it's not for me.

ctrl.alt.DEAL was... interesting. I don't quite understand how the cards have anything to do with being an AI trying to convince people to do things for you... Also, the mechanics, for me, weren't explained well enough. There was more "figuring things out" than there should have been. The concept is AWESOME! But I was confused the entire game and I shouldn't have been. And I was going to complain about the color scheme and the layout, but then I realized it was through the "eyes" of the AI, so, never mind. The font could be bigger; it was difficult to read at times. The idea of "Social Capital" made me a little uncomfortable, and then I remembered I was an AI trying not to get caught. Again, FABULOUS idea! But I didn't really understand what was going on.

Find-o'-Lantern was the game that scared me the most, because riddles, for it to turn out to be my favorite puzzle with lanterns. After I realized it was "Sudoku with Lanterns", it clicked quick. I was disappointed when it ended. Having the little headstones as a way to show when a lantern can't be there was brilliant! The Halloween color scheme was spectacular, too! Make this available on the Steam Deck and I'll ask my partner to get it for me. And then I'll never put the damn thing down, so, maybe not...

Imperiums: Greek Wars reminded me of Crusader Kings III, which I mentioned a few times, but they are DRASTICALLY different. And I immediately mentioned it to my lovely honey when he got home from work. And, unless there was a recent update I missed, Imperiums gives you WAY more control of your cities and military than Crusader. It also had the same problem as Crusader, too much to remember. However, I get the feeling it will be easier to pick up on after leaving it for a while. Don't quote me on that, everyone's memory is different. The art style is memorable. The fact we can see the "chess pieces" move on everyone's board is helpful. Moving around on the board, however, left me frustrated. I would click repeatedly and things would get cancelled out. Either because I wasn't told to Right-click, or because I didn't notice the instruction, which is a problem in of itself. Not a game for me, but I see it being a fun one for the honey.

Overall, I want Find-o'-Lantern and it is on my wishlist.

As a reminder, Angeline Era will be available in 2025, ctrl.alt.DEAL is coming soon, and Find-o'-Lantern and Imperiums: Greek Wars are Available.

And that's it for the mini-review of Part 24! Thank you for reading!
If this series of videos is something you're interested in, they're available on YouTube, The Titans' Discord, Steam, Rumble, Odysee, Ko-fi, and on multiple blogging platforms!
Don't forget to hit the Subscribe and/or Follow buttons to know when there's more!

—

The Monday, Mar. 17th, and 691st, Artist Shout-Out goes to MHARZ!
Check them out here!

—

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Welcome Gamers!
2:07 - Artist Shout-Out4:55 - Demos' Intro/Rules
7:35 - Angeline Era
40:10 - ctrl.alt.DEAL
1:12:03 - Find-o'-Lantern
1:23:50 - Imperiums: Greek Wars
2:05:59 - Demos Line Up
2:08:26 - Artist Shout-Out
2:09:19 - Up Next: Dex, Part 4
2:10:11 - Farewell

—

• Pilot: CrossCode, Dumpy & Bumpy, Ynglet, Zero Ranger
• Part 2: A Dance of Fire and Ice, 2064: Read Only Memories, Death and Taxes, Underhero
• Part 3: TEKKEN 8, Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition, Secrets of Grindea, Forspoken
• Part 4: Death's Hangover, Fae Farm, Fate/Samurai Remnant, Mini Settlers
• Part 5: All-Star Fruit Racing, Indivisible, SaGa Emerald Beyond, Visions of Mana
• Part 6: Glorious Companions, Tales of Arise, Ultionus: A Tale of Petty Revenge, Cozy Island
• Part 7: The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, Cursebane, Dex, The Lady Puppet
• Part 8: Detroit: Become Human, Little Goody Two Shoes, Luma Island, Tinkerlands
• Part 9: Backpack Battles, Glaciered, Ratopia, Slime Rancher
• Part 10: Captain Contraption's Chocolate Factory, Maid Cafe on Electric Street, Neon Noodles, Tiny Glade
• Part 11: Critter Café, Grimoire Groves, Pixel Cafe, Wizdom Academy
• Part 12: AdventureBarStory, Bone's Cafe, DELTARUNE, Mudborne
• Part 13: Food Truck Simulator, Magical Bakery, Magical Delicacy, Seaside Cafe Rush Hour
• Part 14: Chef's Tail, Espresso Tycoon, Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo, Tavern Talk
• Part 15: Chicken Journey, FANTASIAN Neo Dimension, Terra Memoria, Until Then
• Part 16: Cornucopia®, Hipster Café, Let's Café, Spells & Secrets
• Part 17: Doloc Town, Feed the Cups, Manitas Kitchen, Mushroom Picnic Party, Rift of the NecroDancer
• Part 18: Meadgard: Beer and Plunder, BOKURA: planet, Teeny Tiny Town, Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos
• Part 19: Dungeons of Hinterberg, The Mildew Children, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, Yaoling: Mythical Journey
• Part 20: AI LIMIT, Harmony's Odyssey, Last Time I Saw You, Whiskers & Wizardry
• Part 21: Constance, Dragoon Ascension, Kara Fantasy, Welcome to Elderfield
• Part 22: Crowncity, Dungeon Alchemist, Parliament of Hell 1796, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
• Part 23: The Bear - A Story from the World of Gra, Crime or Punishment, The Star Named EOS, There's No Monsters, Emblems: Sunless Vow
• Part 25: Tuesday, March 25th
• Part 26: Tuesday, April 1st
• Part 27: Tuesday, April 8th

—

MORE INFO & TO SUPPORT

- About MonriaTitans | WGS
- Rendezvous Point Bookshop
- Artist Shout-Outs Criteria
- The Titans' Discord
- Throne Wishlist
- #SubOffTwitch
- YouTube
- Rumble
- Odysee
- Twitch
- Steam

—

Originally published to https://opinionsandtruth.wordpress.com on March 21, 2025.