If I were to construct some sort of hierarchy of the prominent indie game publishers of the moment, Raw Fury would be somewhere near the top, having assisted with the releases of several notable indie titles over the years. While there have been highs and lows, pretty much ever game they helped put out has been interesting in one way or another. After experiencing what may very well be their strongest lineup yet during a recent virtual presentation that showcased three upcoming games, however, it looks like there’s a chance that the publisher’s near future is going to be filled with nothing but highs.
The first game in Raw Fury’s little showcase that immediately stood out was Gun Jam, another entry into the rhythm-based first-person shooter subgenre created by the likes ofBPM: Bullets Per MinuteandMetal: Hellsinger,which I still can’t believe has enough entries to likely qualify as a subgenre. In the case of developer Jaw Drop games, however, they game up with the idea a few years ago while playing the 2016 version ofDoomwhileGun Drummer– a YouTube channel where firearms are used to cover famous metal songs – came on in the background, things just clicked, and now here they are with Gun Jam.
Unlike the previously-mentioned BPM, though, Gun Jam throws some notable changes into the formula. For one, the soundtrack covers multiple genres, with EDM, trap and more industrial-inspired metal, all better to serve the more vibrant, futuristic setting. And whereas BPM used a consistent metronome that you perform your actions to, here you have different metronomes and patterns in each song. You also don’t have control over what weapons you get to use, as different-colored beats let you know what weapons you’ll be automatically switching to as you shoot to the music, adding a nice hint of strategy as you have to adapt on the fly.
Gun Jam can be described as a quicker, more-arcade-style FPS game, one the developers have compared toBeat Saberin how players can approach new runs. It fact, it was so quick the initial demo I watched over the presentation’s stream struggled to keep up with the action. And after getting some hands-on time with the game, I can confirm that it is speedy, which is no surprise since the demo featured a fast-paced EDM track called “Fuel Cell.” An appropriate name, considering how fuelled up with energy everything felt as I glided around, trying to keep to the beat and clear out rooms of enemies without dying. It nails the modern “boomer shooter” feel (weird as that sounds), and it felt like a thrill to successfully strafe around the demo’s boss and keep to the rhythm in order to deliver the finishing blow. Terrific stuff.
The narrative in Gun Jam about having to rebel against an oppressive “Beat” keeping everyone in line and battling with the power of music might feel cheesy to some, but then again, one of my biggest guilty pleasures isRevolution X,so I can dig such a premise. At the very least, it allows for some astonishing visuals, with the city of Mubel that acts as the setting looking rather colorful with a lot of impressive details while still kind of incorporating the aesthetic touches of classic ’90s shooters. So Gun Jam is indeed shaping up to be one epic performance when it comes out later, and I can’t wait to hear more from it.
The next game showcased was Flat Eye, from one of Raw Fury’s previous partners, Monkey Moon (the developers behindNight Call). It’s a game whose sprawling narrative deals with topics such as humanity’s over-reliance on technology, corporations becoming more and more involved with everyday life, the potential consequences of daring new developments in the tech field, advanced developments in artificial intelligence, and much more. Anyhow, it’s a simulation game where you manage a gas station in Iceland.
Okay, elaborating further, you’re a manager in the near future of one of the titular Flat Eye gas stations, a subsidiary of Eye Life corporate. Well, co-manager, as Eye Life has also put an AI in charge of the place as well, one programmed to find the best path for humanity via the assistance of various technologies that can be sold through stations at Flat Eye, as it’s also a one-stop shop for everyone. They also, at one point, recommended the 1985 cinematic cult classicClueas a result of certain dialogue options, and the fact that this is a game honoring the majesty of Clue immediately makes it a GOTY contender for me. I mean, at no point inElden Ringdid I see any characters recommend Clue, which was a major hindrance towards it being a possible GOTY for me. Common sense, just saying.
The management portions of Flat Eye that were shown off looked fun, attempting to juggle both the retail and management side of things, being the only human employee at the start. The unique style was also attractive, and use of its surroundings, such as utilizing geothermal power, is nicely implemented. The team also clearly had a lot of fun thinking of new technology that could be in the near future (with some bits like plant-based meat going mainstream actually occurring during development), ranging from smart toilets to organ-dispensing machines.
It’s these modules, however, that shape the narrative in interesting ways and spice things up. As the setting of Flat Eye is shown through the lens of an AI, customers aren’t given any actual features, just appearing as silhouettes because they aren’t important to the them. Unless “Premium” customers with their own unique stories are drawn in via certain modules, that is. In the demo shown, this involved a young man wanting to experiment with a module that could help them live longer and more or less keep them permanently young. Unfortunately, through the dialogue and choices made, the module ended up taking off years from their life instead. Whoops.
Afterwards, our AI used the knowledge gained from this experience and the reactions to it in order to map a path concerning where the technology would lead to…and it suggested that once the tech is perfected, the resulted would lead to a massive social divide between the permanently young and well-off who would know keep a grasp on their money and power for an indefinite amount of time, and everyone else. Again, whoops. The AI is pragmatic, though, and decides to halt things on that particular project down the road. They’re also the only voiced character in the game, and one that nicely balance acts of being both profound and humorous, something the entire game seems to excel at as a whole so far. It’s a provocative yet chill title, with the team believing that there’s room for less-threatening management games, and it’s a unique narrative experience I can’t wait for more of when Flat Eye comes out later this year.
The final game being showcased was Superfuse, and this was the big one. Even before its reveal, it was being teased as Raw Fury’s biggest game yet, which is a bold claim and one that feels hilarious after the release ofNORCO,which is not only Raw Fury’s highest-rated game so far, but is also the second-highest rated game of 2022 on bothMetacriticandOpenCriticas of the time of writing this, with only Elden Ring above it. So needless to say, the bar has now been set high, and the fact that the number of references to the Clue film in the gameplay portion shown was zero means it isn’t even the biggest game here…
I kid, of course. Developers Stitch Heads still have quite the ambitious game in mind with Superfuse, being an action RPG game best described in layman’s terms as a cross between Diablo and The Boys (with a bit of Invincible as well). Set in a future where humanity fled a dying Earth and headed into space, a force known as the Corruption causes the wealthy elite to create the Enforcers to deal with the issue, utilized superpowers that they can augment themselves with. Unsurprisingly, it’s a bit clear that space billionaires don’t have the people’s best interests at heart, though.
Indeed, a chunk of satire is targeted at issues like wealth disparity, the billionaire space race, global warming and more. But what potentially concerned this writer was the idea of satirizing superheroes in a manner such as this, as a lot of takes in worlds such as this tend to lean towards being more cynical in nature. The team at Stitch Heads assured that this won’t be the case, instead focusing on all kinds of people who may be jerks, but a lot of whom are genuinely good people, including heroes such as the Berserker played by Eli Harris (so thankfully, less the comic book version of The Boys and more the TV version). So it sounds like a lot of care is being put into the game’s story.
The Berserker was showcased in a gameplay demo where the Enforcers are tasked with investigating potential Corruption in a frozen mine. The tried-but-true dunegon crawler gameplay was on display, with hordes of enemies to fight, lots of loot and powerful armor and weapons to find, and tons of areas to explore. That was all fine, but what stands out in Superfuse are the comic book influences, both in terms of aesthetics (complete with comic panels that appeared during important dialogue) and the use of superpowers. The big hook is that as you expand your skill tree, you can modify your powers with various fuses. A lightning axe you can throw can be modified to split into an additional blast upon hitting enemies or home in on them. Or, in a particularly impressive display of fuse combos shown by the devs, a simple shockwave effect can be turned into a spread of deadly zig-zags unfolding like a flower in a circular fashion, which made short work of a lot of enemies, including the eventual boss.
Taking a spin with the demo afterwards, I can confirm that the power modifications are indeed just as fun as was shown to me, and were a joy to experiment with and deploy in battle as I tried to figure out which mix of fuses made for the best attack strategy. And besides, who wouldn’t love engineering their own dream set of superpowers? That said, it was also still clear that Superfuse is still in the early stages of development, as the AI could still use some work, and the mouse-based controls felt slightly iffy. Still fun and action-packed, mind you, when all is said and done, the game still has a ton of potential with more to be added to game later, and its take on superheroes should hopefully be fun to check out when the game comes to Early Access later this year (with a full release in 2023 afterwards).
So that was a quick look at a trip of titles to look out for courtesy of Raw Fury’s little showcase, and that isn’t even covering other titles in the pipeline for this year likeCassette BeastsandSKALD: Against the Black Priory.So yes, it looks like a string of highs are in the future for Raw Fury, and here’s hoping they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon (though more Clue references could help achieve that).
