Continued from Part 1!
Steam Keys: The Five Games Continued
Ikaruga can be defined in two simple words: Bullet Hell. Games in these genres are maddeningly difficult due to the incessant amount of “bullets” flying around your screen as you attempt to avoid them and shoot down enemies in return. There are tons of other games on Steam under this genre, like Jamestown, but Ikaruga sets itself apart from the others with its notorious difficulty and steep learning curve.
Bullet Hells are easy to get the hang of eventually, but Ikaruga’s twist is going to ensure that that is not going to happen with you any time soon. All bullets are either black or white and your ship can switch between black and white. Only bullets of the opposite color can destroy your ship, e.g. you can tank white bullets if your ship is white. In addition, hitting enemies with the opposite color inflicts double damage.
It’s… overwhelming. Give it a try and you’ll get a run for your money.
This game. This freaking game. Super Meat Boy has been the poster child for difficult games for a while now. It starts off simple enough but quickly ramps up the frustration to insane levels, so much so that you can find videos on YouTube of people suffering through the game while screaming their heads off in rage. Yet even so, it’s all strangely addicting.
The fun of Super Meat Boy really comes down to two simple things: 1) the movement is slick and responsive so you know that every mistake was truly your own fault, and 2) the respawn after death is instant, which leaves no time for you to even consider quitting. Success is always just within reach, making it that much more infuriating when you fail.
But it’s a good kind of fury – the kind that floods your veins with endorphins when you finally succeed. And that’s why we play games like this, isn’t it?
This is the game that revitalized the wonders of the idea of an extremely difficult game. It’s Dark Souls! Which game? Take your pick; there are a couple lying around on Steam that you could buy for a steal. Wait for a flash sale or maybe the next big sale to get them. You certainly will not be disappointed.
If you’ve no idea how this game plays as, think of Monster Hunter meets Warhammer; a vestige of high, dark fantasy that’s been near non-existent in modern times with a dead simple control system. Fight gigantic monsters, undead humans, and a whole bunch of other stuff in this medieval, post-apocalyptic world. Every encounter, even with just grunts, can be an absolutely brutal experience. Dark Souls isn’t the first in its name though as it is only the spiritual successor of the game, Demons’ Souls released on the Playstation 3, though both are still from the same developer, Fromsoftware.
Don’t mind the accusations of overhyping; the Steam keys are damned well worth the price tag. Which Dark Souls? Take your pick; you won’t be disappointed.