At this year’s Tribeca Fest, we played games about psychic babies, demonic skateboarders, and dark web Twitch streamers.
Usually after an event as busy as Summer Game Fest, I’d crawl into my bed and sleep for a week straight before thinking about another video game. I didn’t have that luxury this year. As soon as I returned home to New York City, I was eager to head over to Tribeca Fest to see even more games. While the media festival is most known for films, it expanded into video games over the past few years that appear as official selections. Some of those games go on to become award-winning hits and critical darlings, like Immortality, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Venba, and more.
This year, the festival featured seven games, which were playable for attendees. This year’s crop included several anticipated indies that have been on our radar for years. Though I may have been exhausted from a full week of demoing games at Summer Game Fest, I was excited to see what the festival had on top this year. It did not disappoint. The seven games on display all represent a bright future for the independent game scene. Trust me: You’ll want to add all of these to your Steam wish list.Goodnight Universe
Goodnight Universe won this year’s Tribeca Games Award, and I could immediately see why as soon as I played it. The unique project comes from Nice Dream, the studio behind the fantastic and innovative Before Your Eyes. That game used eye-tracking technology that let players control its story just by blinking. Its follow-up continues that trend but goes even further. Goodnight Universe stars an infant named Isaac who realizes he possesses psychic powers. During my demo, I’d blink to change a TV’s channels, hold my eyes shut to levitate objects, and swipe my mouse to toss my far-off toys into a cabinet. The web camera could even pick up my smiles and frowns, allowing me to answer some questions with my face. It’s a wildly creative project that is already earning praise.Skate Story
There are a lot of skateboarding games out there (including the upcoming Skate revival), but I promise that you’ve never played any quite like Skate Story.
