Cecile, one of LadiesGamers’ guest writers, visited the Paris Games Week Expo. Time to hear all about it!
Last weekend, the Paris Games Week Expo was on from the 1st to the 5th of November. It’s the second games expo in Europe after the Gamescom in August. This is the first time I have visited the Paris Games Week Expo, and I went there on Friday at the opening to be able to test a maximum of games.
I went to the Paris Game Week Expo with two friends who started the day by trying some fighting games like Naruto: Ultimate Ninja and Teken 8 at the Bandai Namco booth when I was just watching them.
Paris Games Week
Ubisoft attended, and they had many stalls featuring Nintendo Switch games, where we could try Prince of Persia’s The Lost Crown. It is an action-adventure platform game that will be released in January 2024 on PC and all consoles. I had to wait thirty minutes in the queue, but it was worth it, even on Nintendo Switch,
Prince of Persia’s The Lost Crown was very fluid. The combat was fun and satisfying, but unfortunately, I couldn’t play for a long time, so I saw only one biome and couldn’t experience the Time Powers abilities.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
I also tried Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth from Square Enix. Additionally, that was the first time I’d played a Final Fantasy game, and I played it on the PlayStation 5, so naturally, I was a little lost. But this kind of event is the moment to try a game you would never play otherwise. Besides, a very nice and patient person helped me to fight and use the special moves or to cure myself, so I enjoyed my time with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Danghost
Then we went to the Made In France Video Games Space, a part of the expo about French Indie games. We started with three video games that we could play together.
The first was Danghost from Umeshu Lovers. It’s playable solo, but playing in multiplayer mode was a lot of fun. Danghost is a puzzle arcade game where you have a ghost of a specific colour appearing at the top of the screen, and you must choose which column to place it in and decide if you want to keep it or to make the ghosts of the same colour next to it disappear.
Of course, the ghosts pile up, and you lose when the screen is full. You could also choose from twelve characters that have different abilities.
Karmazoo at Paris Games Week
Then we tried Karmazoo, playing the three of us with the person at the booth. It is a multiplayer online co-op puzzle platformer that you can play from two to ten players. The game contains fifty characters, each with its own ability. For example, one of my friends was a watering can, and the other was a plant.
During the game, the first one needed to water, and my second friend had to make the plant grow, and then we could climb the plant. I know it sounds funny, explained like that, but it’s a true co-op game where you must solve puzzles together to progress in the level, and don’t forget your friend, you must stay together in a bubble.
Karmazoo from Pastagames will be available on the 14th of November on PC and all consoles, including the Nintendo Switch. There is a local cooperative mode, but we couldn’t try it.
ENDLESS Dungeon
The next and last game we played together was ENDLESS Dungeon, a twin-stick shooter from Amplitude Studios. They previously released Dungeon of the ENDLESS, which was in the same ENDLESS universe. ENDLESS Dungeon is a rogue-lite action strategy game that we played in co-op. In ENDLESS Dungeon, we had to try to survive the waves of monsters by trying to protect our crystal in an abandoned space station.
This game is also a kind of tower defence, hence the strategy part, with the possibility, for example, of installing turrets that can shoot the monsters. We could choose from a wide range of characters with different weapons.
The problem we had at the Paris Games Week was that we only had headsets without a microphone, so we couldn’t communicate together, which is an important part of the game and would have been much more fun.
En Garde
Then, we started to try solo games. My first game was En Garde, a very fun game from Fireplace Games released in August. It’s a game of cape and sword where you can parry, dash, and fight with your sword. You can also throw crates, barrels or other stuff at your opponents to wear them down.
Your progress in a very colourful city with a little bit of platforming. Usually, I’m not into fighting games, but I had a lot of fun with these very dynamic combats and a little bit of strategy, too. I’ll let Kalina explain much more than I could in her En Garde review here. The developer said to me they might release it on every console. However, I honestly have some doubts about it being released on Switch.
Dordogne
I also tried Dordogne from UN JE NE SAIS QUOI, UMANIMATION, and I immediately loved this game. I noticed it when I saw it on a Nintendo Direct video and found it gorgeous then. But finally playing it confirmed to me that it’s a game I must play. You can find Mina’s Dordogne review here.
Jusant
I tried Jusant from DON’T NOD on the Xbox Game Pass booth, another incredible game. Jusant is a puzzle climbing game where you must find your way to the top of a tower. With the right and left triggers of the controller, you grab the climbing holds as if it were your right and left hands. You can also set bolts and attach your rope to it. It’s very intuitive, and the feeling of climbing is very good.
A stamina system also exists, as you must rest during your climb. But resting is the moment to appreciate the wonderful landscapes. As we climb the tower, we find letters that, I guess, explain this world. Unfortunately, I could not play for a long time, so I didn’t read the letters I found. I mainly focused on climbing.
The graphics and the ambience are excellent. My friend played it in better condition than me and told me that the soundtrack was amazing, but I couldn’t really hear it at the Paris Games Week.
Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior
I also tried and liked Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, a tactical Hack ‘n’ Slash game from the developers SAND DOOR. I had difficulty understanding what the game was about. I was in a kind of arena, fighting monsters, and then a sphere exploded, and I was dead. I tried to destroy the sphere or tried to kill all the monsters before the sphere exploded, but nothing worked. And I finally understood that when I died, my “past self”, my sort of ghost, reproduced the fight I did before dying.
So, actually, I could fight the monsters I didn’t kill the first time. To finish the arena, you must kill all the enemies in three tries. When the arena becomes more complex, you have to synchronise your clones. For example, you have an enemy with a shield that can only be killed from behind. With your first clone, you strike him on the shield to occupy him. Then, you can strike him in the back with your second-time loop.
It’s the same principle with a button to lower a barrier. With your first clone, you push the button, and on the second loop, the barrier is down, and your second clone can pass. It’s difficult to explain, and I hope I’ve clarified myself, but when I understood the gameplay, I thoroughly enjoyed looking for the best solution to finish the arena. The concept of combining with yourself is very original.
Felon-e
Finally, I tried Felon-e from Jumbo Mana, which is more of a prototype than a video game. You must find the liar among three robots that you can interrogate, speaking to them via a microphone, and an AI is answering your questions. The developers don’t know exactly what they will do in the future, as currently, it’s complex to use AI with all the checks and warnings of risks.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
Furthermore, my friends played a few games while I was watching, and here is their opinion: they tried Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden from DON’T NOD, which is an action RPG that will be released on the 13th of February 2024. Watching them play, it looks like an Assassin’s Creed-type game. But someone from the publisher said that it’s also like Life is Strange, and your decisions can have dramatic consequences. My friend said it looks like The Witcher 3, with many interesting quests, dialogues, and decisions. He found it very beautiful, which I concur with from just watching him play.
A Last Song
They also tried A Last Song from Anomalie Studio, a rhythmic adventure game where you must cure the planet with the power of music. You have nine music notes to clean and heal some plants. The developers mentioned they would probably keep the game on PC as it would be difficult to adapt to the controllers.
My friend found it very chill initially, but suddenly you have to fight a boss. We mentioned that to the developers, who said he was not the first to say so and that they were planning to add some mobs before the boss to prepare the player. They are eager to hear the players’ opinions as they develop and improve their game for a release in 2024.
Toad of the Bayou,
Moving around the Paris Games Week Expo, the last game we played was Toad of the Bayou, a rogue-lite turn-based deck-building game from La Grange. One of my friends is very fond of this type of game and found it very interesting. It’s also like Into the Breach; you must place buildings on the board.
I didn’t play Toad of the Bayou, but watching my friend play, I can say that the pixel art graphics are astonishing. From far away, I didn’t even notice it was pixel art, but close to the screen, I was really surprised by the details of the board. The design of the cards with the toads is also very nice. It should be released in mid-2024.
Women in Games At the Paris Games Week Expo
I could also attend a conference about Women in Games, which was very interesting. There were conferences all day, but of course, I couldn’t attend all of them.
I stayed at the Paris Games Week Expo all day but couldn’t try every game I wanted. For example, I didn’t try any games at the Microids booth, even though I wanted to try Tintin Reporter Cigars of the Pharaoh, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express or Flashback 2 Requiem.
I really enjoyed my time there; it was great fun to try all these games and to be able to discuss with the developers. For sure, I’ll go back next year.