Bokida: Heartfelt Reunion's lovely launch date trailer
Hack and slash but gently
One of the nice things about garnering a reputation for liking restful, pretty exploration games is that people start sending you more emails about restful, pretty games. Bokida: Heartfelt Reunion [official site] is a game we've written about before but not for years so the reminder that it was going to be out on 17 May was welcome! I've played a bit of the game and, while I can't offer a verdict yet because embargo, a short demo is out for all. The launch trailer follows after the jump.
"Open your eyes as the messenger of a dark world and go on a journey to awaken its lover, the neighboring light world. Find and solve puzzles to transform the landscape of the light planet into a place of color and shape, and bring the two worlds together."
What that translates to is exploration and collecting of fragments across minimalist environments. As part of the navigation you can use blocks you place to either fill in gaps or alter your momentum, you can slash at things, push things with sonic waves and get rid of debris. It's very much a pottering type game.
The demo on the Bokida website is pretty short but it matches the first section of the game in the build I've been sent so it teaches you how to use the different tools at your disposal, it just doesn't give you any challenges to really explore what they can do once you've mastered them. It also doesn't have some of the swooshy, cool movement boosty bits!
I'll try to get some footage together to better explain what I mean when I've played a bit more. Until then, demo is here!