Playing Every Game in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality
PEGBRJE: ‘Eves Drop’ and ‘Fools Fortune’
2D games make the world go round.
Eves Drop is a cyberpunk arcade roguelite created by 8points, an international indie studio started in the USA. Players are part of an elite hacking group called Project EVE aiming to stop Big Brother from implementing their massive surveillance system and controlling the entire country. Everything is in place, all that is needed is for a lone operative to ‘dive’ in to their core and shut it down. In this case, somewhat literally.
Players will replicate their ‘diving’ skills — as any good cyberpunk does — by actually diving through the code of Big Brother to reach the core. Each region of the dive is protected by a barrier protocol that will block the protagonist’s entry and force them to set off the alarm, ruining the mission. To open the barrier, players will use the code snippets represented as orbs to break through.
When the player lands on a ball, they immediately latch on to them, and their arrow keys turn in to arrows that can fling that orb in a specific direction like a slingshot. If the orb crashes in to another orb, or hits one of the barrier walls, it can be destroyed and whatever it contains is then activated. Blue orbs contain code snippets that are vital to opening the barrier. Each one destroyed will grant more of an opening to slide through at the bottom. The rest contain various power ups, from shields to lasers to drills to extra movement.
There is no ‘health’ bar for the player, and they can run in to anything dangerous at their discretion. The consequences of these actions instead effect the protocol barrier at the bottom. Every instance of damage taken will close the barrier slightly, eating away at the progress the player had accrued. It is a genius way of keeping the high pace and chaos that the game wishes to embrace. If the player is unable to do so, they will lose the entire run as they are crushed against the electric top and the police will hunt them down.
As an ‘infinite’ diving game, it will become highly chaotic to the point of barely being able to tell what is going on, but that is where Eves Drop really shines. The constant ricochet of orbs while you bounce around the field is amazing, and the aesthetic helps to capitalize on the fun. Since it’s a roguelite, the game goes fast and loose since you know that once the game ends, it is back to the start to try again.
If you like cyberpunk games while also enjoying infinite-styled arcade games, this is a great play during a break.
Fools Fortune is a narrative card game by GearSteak, an indie developer based in Canada. Players are a ruler in a medieval land, attempting to govern over their kingdom as best they can. The only way to know for certain if the decisions are right is to acknowledge that there are rarely ‘right’ decisions, and to let the tarot cards guide the way.
Players will start by drawing three cards to represent their strength, intelligence and agility. These stats may appear odd at first, but will become crucial as they determine how likely certain actions will succeed. Once finished, the game will begin by the player drawing a middle Tarot card and reading the event that occurs. Here the players will make a decision, indicated by dragging the tarot card to the left or right . This will also allow for the player to read both choices and make their decision. Whatever choice they make will cause a reaction to occur.
The most common occurrence is that a stat is highlighted, and the player is prompted to draw from the crescent moon deck on the right. The goal is to draw a number lower than the player’s own stat, so that higher stats are rewarded. Succeeding can reward with stat increases or gold gains, while failure can result in a loss of either or both.
Some choices will not allow the player to draw a card, but instead will draw a card for them from the serpent deck on the left. This indicates that the player has gained equipment of some kind that can assist them moving forward. Some outcomes will result in no cards being drawn at all, being a direct gain or loss to stats or gold.
There is one that is different from all the rest, however; the Death card. This ends the game completely, for death cannot be avoided.
It’s a simple yet intriguing game of narrative choices, reminding me of the many others that have come through the bundle, like Democratic Socialism Simulator. You can only make choices that you feel are right or most beneficial, and hope that fate smiles on you. You could become a saint, slowly losing funds before being taken over by a rival kingdom, or rule with pure brutality and get executed. Regardless of your choices, death is always the ending; that’s the only certain fate.
If you like narrative choice games and card games that could be played in real life (with some workarounds) then this is a great game to try out.
