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Norland
is a game that communicates its intent well through screenshots. (credit: Hooded Horse)
The
Triple-i initiative
is a gaming showcase that gets it, and is also in on the joke.
The thing Triple-i gets is that most gaming "showcases" are full of corporate fluff, go on way too long, and are often anchored around a couple huge titles. Triple-i's first event on Wednesday delivered 30-plus game trailers and teases within 45 minutes, and there was a consistent intrigue to all of them. There were some big names with some bigger studios loosely attached, and the definition of what is "triple-i" is quite vague, maybe intentionally. But there were a lot of games worth noting, especially on PC.
What kind of games? Triple-i's website notes the announcement "may contain traces of rogue-lites." At a breakpoint in the showcase, the omniscient text narrator notes there are "Only a few more rogue-lites (promise)." Triple-i was stuffed full of rogue-lites, roguelikes, survival, city-builders, deckbuilders,
Hades
-likes, 16-bit-esque platformers,
Vampire
Survivors
and its progeny, turn-based tacticals, and then a car that sometimes has legs. There are strong trends in indie and indie-adjacent gaming, but also some real surprises.