#This retro-inspired indie platformer swept me off my ft—and you’ll strive it without cost throughout Steam Subsequent Fest proper now – Destructoid

Steam Subsequent Fest is one in every of my favourite gaming occasions of the 12 months, and for good purpose. For per week straight, players get to check out free demos for upcoming video games. These occasions are an opportune time for indie builders to indicate off what they’ve been engaged on.

And I’ve discovered what could possibly be my subsequent favourite as a fan of retro platformers.

Windswept, an lovable platformer from developer WeatherFell, is one in every of these many indie video games seeking to impress throughout this Steam Subsequent Fest. The sport follows Marbles, a contemporary duck hatchling, and Checkers, a resourceful little turtle, who’ve been swept away from their properties throughout a devastating storm. Collectively, they need to discover their method again, navigating thick forests and preventing fearsome foes within the course of.

As you pilot the 2 animals, you’ll mix their abilities to beat obstacles. Marbles can glide horizontally from platform to platform, launch into the air with a spin assault, and yeet Checkers into enemies to take them out. Checkers, then again, is all about verticality. He can throw Marbles into the air and function a platform for Marbles to leap on high of, permitting for the traversal of lethal chasms.

I’ve solely performed the primary few ranges of Windswept up to now, however I can inform you I’m duly intrigued. All through your journey, you’ll workforce up with different animals—together with a dolphin, an enormous iguana, and a fluffy husky—all of which introduce new methods to journey across the recreation’s many maps. There are many bosses to beat, the retro artwork model is lovable, and the gameplay is enjoyable and fluid.

However wait! There’s extra. I haven’t even talked about my favourite a part of the sport but: collectibles. No platformer may name itself a real platformer with out hidden collectibles—and boy, does Windswept hit the bottom working on this entrance. Every degree, together with the primary tutorial map, has a set of collectible cash so that you can discover. A few of them are out within the open however could also be difficult to get to, demanding you to mix Marble’s and Checker’s abilities to achieve. Others are sneakily hidden behind objects and require you to hunt for them. Extra nonetheless will be present in bonus ranges reached through portals. These bonus ranges introduce new targets: defeat all of the enemies or accumulate all of the cash in a map, for instance, all whereas a timer ticks down on the high of your display.

These collectibles are tracked as you progress by means of a map, ordered in such a method that makes it clear once you’ve missed one earlier than you’ve superior far sufficient into your playthrough of a degree. I am keen on when builders design their methods like this; as a comparatively busy particular person, I don’t all the time have time to backtrack and hunt for hidden gadgets. However I’m additionally a completionist at coronary heart, which may make enjoying by means of a recreation pretty aggravating if it has a collectibles system. Windswept, although, makes it satisfying with out being too demanding, and it’s saved me desirous to test each little nook and cranny for that 100% badge.

You possibly can give Windswept‘s demo a whirl your self throughout Steam Subsequent Fest, which runs till June 16. For these of you on the lookout for different demos to check out, the workforce at Destructoid additionally recommends Ambrosia Sky, a recreation harking back to Energy Wash Simulator (if it came about on an alien planet), and Section Zero, an indie horror that followers of Resident Evil will love.