New developer Humanyoyo Studios recently released a demo for their up-and-coming game, CleanFall. This roguelite puts players in the shoes of an unnamed protagonist as she attempts to complete her never-ending objective: to go deeper down into the planet’s underbelly. Fans of games like Terraria, Spelunky, and even Don’t Starve should welcome the challenge of CleanFall. Though just a demo at this moment in time, CleanFall shows a lot of promise and passion from its creator. This playable teaser deserves some love, so here are 5 reasons you should play the CleanFall demo.
A Strange World
Upon first inspection, not much is made clear about CleanFall’s setting. Playing the game unveils more questions than answers. The player’s character starts in a facility full of futuristic tech and even a teleporting car. Interestingly the rest of the planet shows no sign of this sort of technological advancement. Though this lack of clarity is confusing at first it doesn’t fail to pull you in with the strange world in front of you. Who is the main protagonist? Why is the wildlife on the planet so aggressive? What’s the deal with the giant angry mouth below the planet’s crust? All questions that remain unanswered yet add so much to the allure of CleanFall.
Quirky Inhabitants
Even when ignoring the strange planet CleanFall takes place on, the actual inhabitants of said planet are just as weird. The protagonist is under the watchful eye of her boss, a tall slender figure adorned in gentlemanly attire. While his motives are not made clear (much like everything else in this game), he does have one simple request: to descend. This creep will monitor your progress and check in on you every now and then. It sounds nice, but it’s almost certainly not out of kindness.
This menacing fellow isn’t the only weirdo you’ll meet along your never-ending mission, either. Other NPCs can be found chatting to the player as calmly as can be. It seems fairly normal until the realization that you’re surrounded by dreaded flesh-hungry monsters sets in.
Despite being as far as you can possibly be from the concept of normal, the writing in CleanFall is top-notch. Many of the characters have memorable lines and their own humorous and twisted personalities.
Challenging Gameplay
The idea of a roguelite game is to keep going. No matter the danger, perseverance is key, and this is the case for CleanFall. With all the dangers that inhabit this unforgiving planet, it makes sense to have a multipurpose tool. The pulse rifle is the protagonist’s main crutch in the game. Not only can it be used to scare off the local wildlife, but, much more importantly, it can dig through the soft crust of the planet. On top of allowing you to go deeper into the planet, it lets you harvest valuable ores you need to purchase other equipment, such as turrets, mines, and throwable weapons.
Getting deeper into the planet acts like a double-edged sword. While the creatures become more deadly and numerous, the available loot is ever so enticing. Reaching certain levels also grants you access to upgrades like additional battery life or abilities such as a double jump. When the inevitable happens and you die on your quest, the game resets itself, and you once again must traverse the underbelly of this wretched planet, hopefully getting deeper than before.
Intriguing Art Style
CleanFall’s visuals are a sight to behold. Humanyoyo Studios used what little budget they had to great effect, as the art direction of this game is unique, to say the least. CleanFall loses nothing visually, even with a 2D perspective. Stylistically, the game comes across like a living, breathing oil painting. A simple glance might suggest these backgrounds and environments are simplistic, yet the deeper down the planet you go, the more you realize how visually stunning these backdrops can get. Going from the earthy browns and greens of the surface level to the deep reds and blues of the vast caves and hellish chasms not only represents a sense of progression but gives a lot of personality to a setting that could have just looked like any other.
Free to Play
If all of those reasons weren’t enough to check out CleanFall, maybe the prospect of it being a free experience might just do the trick. It’s not uncommon for demos to be free, but for Humanyoyo Studios to release one before ever releasing a full-fledged game suggests a great level of care has been put into the process of crafting CleanFall. The team clearly wants the game to be as great as possible, so, with enough feedback and people trying out the demo, their true vision of CleanFall can hopefully come together. It’s going to be a while until the full game releases. Until then, Humanyoyo Studios has plenty of time to make CleanFall a game to remember.
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