I've sampled some BoomShoot demos today so I figured I might share my experiences and give some recommendations.
1. Coven
A rare case of a boomer shooter that opts for fully polygonal graphics instead of using sprites for most of its assets. That is, 1997 polygonal graphics that were spruced up with copious amounts of particle effects that no computer at the time would be able to handle. Lovely.
The game is pretty metal. You play as a woman fresh off of a witch trial during which she was obviously found guilty, and the game starts with a POV of you being burnt on a stake. You then literally claw out of your grave as a she-devil revenant who can now cast actual magic and devour corpses for sustenance. Cool.
Gameplay-wise it's kinda like Dusk but with its own distinct visual style and unique set of gimmicks, such as a limb-based damage system where you can hack your enemies to pieces and even spread their guts around like confetti. My favorite way to murder someone is probably an overhead chop to the head which literally cleaves the body in half. Awesome. But other than melee weapons, you also have a fairly standard but hugely satisfying arsenal of firearms consisting of dual pistols, a pump shotgun, a crossbow, grenades, and of course the boomstick, which is fucking amazing and god damn it I can't get enough of blowing enemies into smithereens with it. Each weapon has its own unique alternate mode, some of which use magic with its own separate mana pool, plus I picked up the Necronomicon along the way, which allowed me to see hidden secrets.
Overall, good shit. Highly recommend it. It's definitely something to put on your map for the future.
2. Darkverse: Rogue
Eh, not really my cup of tea. I turned it off after about 10 minutes because it's a fucking roguelike, and even though its visual style is distinct, in this case, "distinct" doesn't mean appealing. At least not for me. Moreover, you're playing as not-John Halo, with a not-Cortana constantly talking into your ear, and not-343 Guilty Spark hovering over your head throughout. The game also begins with not-Cortana awakening you from a cryo bed.
How original.
Anyway, the most unique aspect of this game is its attempt to incorporate Souls-like combat into its gameplay. This essentially means that most of your moves and attacks will consume stamina, you can't pause the game, and everything poses a significant threat to your survival. However, apart from that, I don't know, man, it's just another roguelike. It's a genre that I never liked in the first place, and at this point, it's becoming so ubiquitous that every game seems to repeat the same tired gimmicks. It's becoming a tiresome fad of its own. Game developers, please, just stop doing it already and come up with something new.
I'll pass on this one tbh.
3. Selaco
If this game was a chick, I would let her sit on my face.
4. Turbo Overkill
Basically, if you were vibing with Ghostrunner's style but couldn't cope with its 1-hit kill gameplay, and also you wouldn't mind if it had guns, then this is the game you should be playing. Heaps of fun, although I can only take it in short bursts, otherwise it gets really exhausting, lol.
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