BRING BACK PC ZONE Debug is the latest games magazine to have offered a satisfying thud as it hit the MCV doormat this month and what’s interesting about it compared to the other newcomers and returners to the newsstand is that there is no obvious reverence for the games or technology of old. Instead of being retro, the focus is very much on the latest and greatest games, specifically those of an indie persuasion. “There are so many indie games now,” says
Dean Mortlock, Debug’s editor (and that of the aforementioned Sega magazine), admitting that while there may be too many titles for one magazine to reliably cover, an attempt to offer a flavour of the most enduring, interesting and current indie titles was something that he and his fellow co-conspirator (Wave Game Studios’ founder Daniel Crocker) were keen
THE HUB ARCRUNNER
READERS’ CHOICE
We asked people on our Discord what they’d been playing. They said…
TYLER J. GRAHAM
WE WAITED 10 YEARS FOR A SEQUEL, BUT WE FINALLY HAVE TESLAGRAD 2
RELEASED 27 APR
FUTURE SHOCKER
TIME TO RUN FOR YOUR LIFE IN CYBER-THRILLER ARCRUNNER
A
n AI has gone rogue in this brand-new Cyberpunk-fuelled roguelite actioner, and it’s up to you – and potentially two others – to reset it. Sounds easy? It’s not, as there are loads of things between it and you, and they all really, really hate you.
So that AI then. You’ve been brought in to stop it, and you can either play solo or online with up to two other people. Stopping it involves shooting your way through four different zones, each with around seven levels each. Head out on your run, battle through the levels and collect pick-ups to update your weapons. When the run ends, you keep the upgrades, which is a nice touch. There are three class types to choose
from: Hacker, Soldier and Ninja, each with their own special skills. Want to go
THE BACK CATALOGUE The people who made this also made…
10 Ways to Safety Outsmart the infected in this isometric shooter.
WATCH IT 32
CELESTE PC, PS4/5, Xbox Series, Switch
I know it’s an older game but I keep coming back to it. It’s so hard but I’m determined to complete it!
in sneaky? Pick the Ninja. Want to blow everything up? The soldier’s the one for you. Watch the video for this one and
you’ll see that ArcRunner looks decent enough. Cyberpunk we’ve seen before, and the gameplay dynamic is also a familiar one, but as you’ll see, it does look like an awful lot of fun. Dean Mortlock
INFO
Developer Trickjump Games
Publisher PQube
On
PC, PS4/5, Xbox Series
Demo PC
BABY-MAN VS MAN-BABY Spectrum
Another original and beautifully presented game by the makers of Lockdown Town.
LEO HARRISON
RABBITS AND GARDENING. COULD BUNHOUSE BE ANY MORE ZEN?
RELEASED APR/MAY
WHAT’S UP DOC?
Equipped with a greenhouse and a patch of land, you spend your time tending to fruit and veg before selling it on for carrot currency. Plus there’s also the requisite options for customising your little world, from gate colour to which irresistible hat to deck your bun in. But that’s not all. As decreed by
the king of anthropomorphic sims, Animal Crossing, social stuff is a must. Expect yoga sessions, some fishing, plus general gambolling around the woodland, like all rabbits should. Bunhouse could well be a
relaxing antidote for the daily blues, and a great way to grab some alpha-wave chill. Neil Randall
33 INFO
Developer Reky Studios
Publisher Digerati On
PC, PS4/5, Xbox Series, Switch February 20
BRING BACK PC ZONE As well as via the magazine, the Debug team intends to be a vehicle to promote indie games through events,
to deliver, not just for indie fans, but for the indie- curious. “There are the indie people that will know the genre well and regularly buy the games, but equally we want to try and appeal to the people that are a bit more casual or that don’t buy more because they’re not quite sure which are the best games.”
BRING BACK PC ZONE Debug isn’t the first games mag to devote itself to indie gaming (that accolade likely belongs to the defunct Indie Game Magazine), nor is it the only one around at the moment (Patch Magazine – also UK-based – is nearing its 20th issue), but Debug is perhaps the most substantial, coming in at 80 pages; the vast majority of which are devoted to previews and reviews. Debug even has scores, with the average (in the first issue, at least) a comforting and reliable 7/10. While Mortlock admits that previews and reviews
have been “done to death” in terms of being the stock- in-trade of traditional games mags, it’s the format that best serves what Debug is trying to achieve, which is to help gamers find titles they might enjoy rather that
THE CURSE OF MCV? Late last year, in the wake of Wireframe
magazine celebrating its fifth anniversary, we interviewed its editor Ryan Lambie about the highs and lows of maintaining an analogue product in the digital age. Despite the challenges of working with meagre resources and long lead times, we were told that the future was assured for the UK’s games magazine, but before we had time to publish the interview, Raspberry Pi Press had declared Wireframe an ex- publication.
It was soon incorporated into gaming website WhyNow, but just as there isn’t much CTW in MCV – or arguably much MCV in MCV/DEVELOP – the Wireframe logo in the WhyNow header seems destined to disappear before too long. Of course, it’s extremely doubtful that our interest in Wireframe precipitated its downfall, but we can’t help but be mindful of events in the wake of interviewing the editor of Debug at its birth.
April/May 2023 MCV/DEVELOP | 25
FORGIVE ME FATHER PC Forgive Me Father combines pulpy comic visuals with dark Lovecraftian atmosphere. And, above all else, it’s a damn good shooter!
DAVEY SLOAN
Far from being a straight sequel to 2013’s Teslagrad, the developers of Teslagrad 2, Rain Games, have tweaked almost every aspect of it – including introducing a new protagonist in Lumina, a young Teslamancer. As the name would suggest,
Teslagrad 2 is all about the electricity, and Lumina has to use her many powers to keep enemies at bay while at the same time traversing the levels. The sequel is set in Scandinavia – which enables the developers to claim that this is the world’s first Scandivania, which just about sums up the gameplay perfectly. Dean Mortlock
INFO
Developer Rain Games
Publisher Modus Games On
PC, PS4/5, Xbox Series, Switch February 20
A CURRENT AFFAIR
TESLAGRAD 2 / BUNHOUSE THE HUB
RELEASED APRIL
“Obviously, the days of selling large numbers of magazines are long gone, but I think if you have reasonable expectations and sensible budgets, then there’s no reason why you cannot make a small profit.” Dean Mortlock, Debug editor
going into the making of a game that they’re already familiar with. It also means that in the process of seeking out new games and experiences, Debug might eventually be a kind of beacon that developers as well as gamers gravitate towards. By way of example Mortlock mentions Idu, a “strategic plant-growing sim”, which might have remained in glorious obscurity had its creator not made themselves known to Mortlock on the mag’s Discord. That’s not to suggest appearing in Debug is a surefire route to success and riches, but that the printed page offers a distinct avenue for exposure that’s traditionally been denied gaming’s more esoteric projects.
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