Even as someone who tries to keep of with as many notable indie game publishers as possible, Kepler Interactive is one who hasn’t been on my radar for a while, or at least someone who immediately pops into my mind when I think of notable publishers. Part of that may be due to the fact that they only officially formed two years ago, or maybe because I’m more familiar with co-founder and CEO Alexis Garavaryan’s other venture, Kowloon Nights, a gaming fund that has helped support titles such asSpiritfarer,RollerdromeandSea of Stars.But Kepler has made some waves by publishing the likes ofSifuandTchia,and now a recent showcase of upcoming games, as seen in their Gamescom 2023 lineup, has made it clear that Kepler is building up to become a major force in indie publishing.
The showcase started off relatively low-key, albeit with the latest entry in a beloved series, that beingCat Quest III.The latest entry in the action-RPG series sees a shift towards a more pirate-themed setting this time around, casting you in the role of a privateer - or rather, a purrivateer (yes, expect a lot of puns with this one). Naturally, things started out with our hero picking up gear such as a stat-boosting pirate bandana, then dealing with enemies such as a massive mouse mini-boss with a mix of magic spells and a new Blunderpuss weapon, highlighting a lot of fast, impressive action throughout travel across the lands.
But you certainly don’t travel by foot alone in a pirate game, and that’s where Cat Quest III appeared to deliver a unique twist in the form of your pirate ship, which was unlocked after the mini-boss. With it, you can freely explore the oceans, lay waste to enemies with cannons, and strengthen up your vessel as you gain XP as well. What is impressive, though, is how players can seamlessly go from sea to land in an instant, hitting the ground in split second after hitting land. Not only does this make travel fun, it opens the door for nice bits of strategy, as seen with a boar boss later on. It can be lured out into the open, near the shore, and then you leap back into your ship and fire at it with more heavy artillery, swapping between the two approaches and making for a good combo of attacks in the process. It’s impressive (and adorable) stuff, and we’ll see more cat piracy when Cat Quest III comes out next year.
Pacific Drivewas up next, and while I had already hadhands-on time with the game earlier this year at PAX East,I was still excited to see where this bizarre road trip survival game would go next in another hands-off presentation. As it turned out, it would be heading into one of the Expansion Walls, massive structures meant to contain the supernatural happenings in the Olympic Exclusion Zone. They didn’t work, but we still have to head through them to progress, which involves looking for an opening, driving our car in, and being prepared for the dozens of creepy mannequins inside, posed in various ways around the industrial area. After emerging, our main character tried to activate one of the Stabilizer, which would allow them to create a gateway to their high-tech garage, where they can soup up their car even further.
Unfortunately, more obstacles known as Anomalies were there to get in the way, including pillars of earth emerging from the ground that somehow seemed to have more mannequins embedded in them, and a flying Anomaly known as an Abductor, which flipped the car over and make it trickier to deal with the emergency event triggered by turning the Stabilizer on. Thankfully, the car can be flipped over easily, but it burns the remaining battery in the process. These are just a couple of the forty or fifty Anomalies so far, and uniquely, Ironwood Studios has said that there won’t be any real combat or enemies, persay. Nor are there any mechanics like having to manage your hunger or thirst, as seen in other survival games.
The focus here in Pacific Drive is primarily on your station wagon, when was explained as somewhat of an exoskeleton, having a “symbiotic relationship” with the player. You take care of it, scavenge for fuel if needed, equip it with new parts, fix it with your tools (which can be used anywhere in the world now), and in return, you…well, don’t perish, obviously. The emphasis on the station wagon, even with the high-tech equipment, creates an interesting contrast with the more otherworldly Anomalies and paranormal happenings, as if to act as a symbol of sanity that you have to keep a hold of in order to survive. It’s a setup that makes for a truly unique survival game, and we can’t wait to see more of it when it comes out in 2024.
But the big draw in my eyes, anyway, was the final game in the presentation. It was a first in-depth look at the gameplay forUltros,the psychedelic metroidvania game that turned headswhen it was first unveiledduring May’s PlayStation showcase. Kepler will be publishing developer Hadoque’s unique twist on the genre, which once again seemed to offer up a land of contrasts. There were familiar bits, like our main character being a masked female heroine, but then there were gameplay elements like gardening that evoked more peaceful imagery, and on the opposite end, you have the ability to devour guts to regain health in between combat. It’s an odd game, in case you couldn’t tell just by looking at it.
Odd as it may seem, though, there’s still classic metroidvania gameplay at the core of Ultros, as we saw our main character gracefully leap through the air, off walls, across platforms, and slash and smash through obstacles and enemies. That last part is important, though, as the better you are at hacking and slashing enemies, the better quality parts you get from them. Alongside that, we also got to meet a gardener called…well, Gärdner, who teaches us about planting seeds. You plants seeds, you grow fruit. And what do you do with fruit and creature parts, you may ask? Well, that’s where Ultros gets unique again, as the skill tree with our lead’s unlockable abilities and memories (such as the ability to land an extra combo hit, for example) depends on our nutrition level.
The nutrition-based mechanics are a rather clever twist on experience mechanics, and they fit in perfectly with the world, which has this mysterious emphasis on an “organic” feel. Notably, the first major area we went into was the Temple of Motherhood, which unsurprisingly, has a heavy emphasis on statues and imagery-evoking maternity. Combined with the growing of plants as a gameplay mechanic, it made be wonder if there was a bit of an intentional play on “kindergarten” here that might be elaborated on later. But for now, we met Qualia, a shadowy character that seem like our hero’s counterpart, leading us to the Enraged Beast, a huge insect-like creature that acts as the first proper boss.
This was all just a taste of things, though, as there’s still the time loop-based gameplay to experience more of, and uncovering more of the story as the the titular Ultros awakens, a dark being located at the center of the massive space sarcophagus we’re in. So far, though, Ultros looks incredible, with gameplay that’s smooth as butter while offering up unique twists, and eye-popping visuals courtesy of El Huervo. The developers wanted something where art and movement goes hand in hand, a brutal take on interacting with nature, and an exploration on how to be at one with the world, among other things, and just looking at Ultros in action, it looks like in can deliver on such themes when it comes out in 2024 for PC and PlayStation platforms.
So with three must-have games set for a release next year, and much more to likely come (such asFlintlock: The Siege of Dawn,which wasn’t shown off but is also due in 2024 now), Kepler Interactive are set to make massive waves as an indie game publisher. Not only are they definitively on my radar now, but with a few hits such as these, it wouldn’t be a shock to see them on everyone’s radar as well.
