“Unlocking the Retro Action Experience: Dive into ‘Followers of Ys’ at Steam Next Fest!”

I’ve never felt so delighted to be surrounded by insects as I do while enjoying the Steam Next Fest demo of Angeline Era, touting itself as a “wild Bumpslash Action-Adventure!”

Although the thought of pill bugs and weevils usually makes me shudder, the hunchbacked beetles adorned with red dots, spikes, and acorn masks in the unfamiliar landscapes of Angeline Era have me chuckling. Their fragile minds fail to grasp that they are no match for my forceful collisions with them. This prompts them to retaliate, and my short-statured hero swiftly slices their tiny forms apart with just a hit or two. Thus, it is a “wild Bumpslash Action-Adventure!”

With a heap of bug corpses behind me, I jump through Minecraft-like puffs of grass and dust looking for additional foes, occasionally pressing Y on my Steam Deck to explore seemingly obstructed paths for another route.

At one point, doing this activates a disguise overlay complete with a timer, and I need to quickly leap over tree roots and defeat a tough adversary before I’m permitted to delve deeper into the shadows. These surreal fantasy moments remind me of my favorite aspects of the irreverent, early Zelda games, as does the dialogue from the rather helpful beetles wearing hats, who reveal all-caps confessions like: “I CANNOT JUMP. I CANNOT ESCAPE. MY FATE IS SEALED.”

Playing as a pixelated traveler with large brown eyelashes and, as I mentioned, a short stature that seems impervious, I appreciate their despair while continuing my bumpy journey through beautifully crafted platformer levels. The developers at Analgesic Productions, who also created the ethereal Zelda-like Anodyne, describe the setting as “an Ireland-inspired, lush world of forests and ruins.”

“A realm influenced by Irish mythology and ancient Christian lore,” the press release notes, while the game’s Steam description declares that “fans of Ys“—the JRPG pioneer of bump combat—might also want to “take note!”

Indeed, there is much to celebrate about Angeline Era’s demo. Its buttonless combat feels both meditative and enchanting, while consuming optional slabs of meat at checkpoints is purely medieval. To me, this represents the ideal type of action game—one that prioritizes style and atmosphere over practical requirements. Many levels can often be completed before I proceed and acquire a new weapon, or a unique crystal scale…

I’m genuinely impressed. Accompanied by a soundtrack that flows like a waterfall, Angeline Era blends tangible combat with the fabric of fantasy, as the game notes in its Steam…