You have completed countless exciting simulations as a cyborg, thief and cyborg thief. Now try to do it as a running demonic dominatrix. Brush Burial: Gutter World is a clever and crazy new batch of misery from Knife Demon Software. He turns you back into Fennel, a swamp devil with a pointy tail that you can use as a whip and grapple, throwing props around and knocking crossbow bolts out of the air.
The fennel here seems just as nimble as the previous one, great. Burial by brushjumping from head to head like a tick, but they enhanced their moveset with an injection of overclocked koppōjutsu. You can lure enemies into traps and perform twisting, crushing strikes, but the catch is that you are vulnerable during execution. This is much, much more unpleasant. Those little fatal jerks at the end of the animation are more visceral than anything in Doom Eternal. I'm not sure I can watch the trailer again. Here.
Eat Gutter World demo on Steam. The full version will feature four levels with an emphasis on replayability to experiment with bending the spikes in different directions and unlocking cosmetics. I love Fennel's wardrobe. Adam Jensen never managed to wear a corset and knee socks, and this made him even poorer.
The game's environments are wiry, occult creations in which all objects look as if they have been given shape. Mournful and ramshackle spaces that feel both wildly improvised and carefully designed. This is a realm of ugliness and deprivation, and you don't have to treat it well. “Get lost in the slippery guts of a colonial chassis,” the Steam page comments. “Make wealth out of misfortune.” Here's a summary from the developer.
- Carefully designed and interconnected levels with multiple paths to the goal, full of hostile or friendly NPCs who respond to crimes such as theft, trespassing and murder.
- Fast paced, snappy combat, simple but robust, encouraging the use of improvised or stolen weapons, environmental objects, and a unique melee takedown system.
- Dozens of unique cosmetic items that can be unlocked by completing gameplay challenges as well as completing game levels.
- One “Large Contract” and three “Smaller Contracts” must be completed. There are four levels in total, designed to be replayed.
I learned about a new demo from Issue Attic developer Liz Ryerson, who collected some Next Fest gems on Bluesky. Ryerson also mentioned 「TERROR」type: 【ALCHEMY】which I find very attractive despite the horrendous typographic choice. It's essentially an immersive simulator where you play as a bomb maker, mixing reagents and racing through the shadows.
If you're not into immersive sims after watching Fennel turn guards into pretzels, maybe check out the demo Evil egg – a sparkling sound that reminds me of the old Macintosh hit Crystal Quest. Thank you, Liz.
