The ‘Games of Norway’ is a Steam festival hosted by Devs of Norway, to promote games that celebrate the bustling Norwegian gaming seen. There are tons and tons of developers from Norway, creating a large variety of different games. We’ve selected our favorites from the Games of Norway sale:
Pode
“Going on an adventure with a friend is a treasured old trope, and Pode allows you to do that, solving puzzles and learning powers together, which is just super cute and overall adorable.”
The magical, co-operative journey Pode is an adventure in friendship
Metal: Hellsinger
“There’s a lot to love in Metal: Hellsinger, and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. The brief, thrilling stages backed by outstanding music fly by, and the campaign ends just as you feel the mechanics have given you all they can. You’ll leave satisfied, and maybe keen to give a stage another go just so you can enjoy that soundtrack again — stage 2 was a particular favourite of mine. This is a great little package and will hopefully do a lot to push this admittedly rather niche sub-genre further forward. It’s a hell of a good time.”
Milkmaid of the Milky Way
“The art style is absolutely amazing, and it’s clear that the developer has a massive amount of passion regarding the Lucasarts (and resulting studios) classics. The similarities between an out of their depth, blonde, wannabe pirate who is accused of being a dairy farmer on occasion – with their high trousers and white button shirt – and the protagonist here, is a delightful nod too.”
Conan Exiles
“Conan Exiles is a pretty game, and it is a good game, but right now it’s a little bit too overwhelming. There’s no easing the player into the gameplay and it is certainly rather hard and tiring collecting enough materials to construct structures, then dying and having to start all over again. But it is an experience that I hope will find its way back into my life. I wish to return to a world that is less brutal, and a world that I can wiggle my junk around without being chased by a crocodile type creature, because Conan Exiles knows what it wants to be, but doesn’t seem to be there yet.”
Ikonei Island
“Overall though, it has to be said that Ikonei Island is an absolute blast to play. With its vast array of gameplay mechanics and stunning visuals, it’s clear that Snowcastle Games have spent a lot of time listening to the community and perfecting the game. Any fans of exploration/single-player games are sure to find something here to captivate their interest.”
The Holy Gosh Darn
“It turns out that there is a way to save heaven, but it’s with a painting called The Holy Gosh Darn, which you don’t know much about at all. You will need to find out what this artifact is, how to obtain it, and get it put at the Gates of Heaven! It’s a challenge, but makes for a fun adventure.”
Manual Samuel
“All in all, Manual Samuel is an enjoyable but short game which feels more like a party game than something you would go through on your own. The dialogue is funny and the gameplay is difficult enough to provide a challenge, but ridiculous enough to generate laughter over frustration when it all falls apart. A fun way to spend a couple of hours, but maybe turn the voices off unless you love the word ‘faeces’.”
Morkredd
“The idea behind Morkredd was originally concocted as a purely cooperative game as an entry for a one week game jam which took place in January 2017. Aside from the obvious features you can see above, a core point that they wanted to focus on was that stepping into the shadow of another player could also kill you, making cooperative play a double-edged sword. Back then the plan was to have the game three-player, three is — after all — a crowd.”
Morkredd is a puzzle platformer about staying in the light at all costs
Moons of Madness
“Moons of Madness mixes action style sequences with some fairly straightforward puzzle-solving whilst throwing in some stealth mechanics for a varied albeit linear experience. Shane’s descent into the madness that surrounds both Mars and his past is a story-heavy one but one that can’t settle long enough on what genre it wants to be recognised for.”
Fruitbus
“A lot of the gameplay in Fruitbus is your character talking to individuals and making food for them. At first, the main food you’ll be making is salad; chopping up fruit, putting it into your bowls, and serving it to those who order it. Everything within this game feels really tactile, from the way that you cut various fruit through to how they fall into the bowl. Adding new dishes on the menu is as easy as carrying the dish to the menu board.”
Fruitbus has you creating fruit salads in memory of your grandmother
Fugl
“The game lets you glide serenely across picturesque landscapes, or choose to ramp up the tension as you soar up steep cliffs and through tight cavern holes, whilst at the same time allowing you to morph your physical form. There are no set rules, which means that the free-roaming gameplay lets you discover the beauty and secrets of its world at your own pace.”
A special mention goes to Owlboy, which looks lovely too. The Games of Norway festival is a fantastic, community-led showcase of amazing talent. You have until May 18th to check out these games.
