The first ten games set to feature in the SXSW Sydney 2024 Games Festival Showcase have been revealed, with fair representation from local and international game developers. The headliner of the pack is Hyper Light Breaker, from US developer Heart Machine, but there’s also plenty of familiar faces from the local Australian development scene, too.
Mystiques from Lemonade Games is getting a showcase at SXSW Sydney 2024, and Blood Reaver from South Australia’s Hell Byte Games has also been selected. Beyond these games, there are titles from Belgium, China, the United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand, and beyond.
“We are so proud to announce these ten games as our first official selections for SXSW Sydney
2024,” Luke Lancaster, Head of Games and Screen at SXSW Sydney said. “Every one of the teams that made these games has crafted something bold and distinctive, and we can’t wait to help share their work with you this October.”
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The SXSW Sydney Games Festival Showcase will feature over 120 new and upcoming games, from Australia and around the world. Submissions remain open for eligible developers until 25 July 2024, so there’s still plenty of time to submit games for the showcase (via the SXSW Sydney website).
As announced, here’s the first wave of games confirmed to appear at SXSW Sydney 2024:
- Blood Reaver from Hell Byte Games (SA, Australia) – “A dark fantasy, wave-based, first-person shooter where you play as ‘The Nameless Blood Reaver,’ a member of an ancient order. It is your duty to prevent demonic uprisings across the world while uncovering the cause of the unholy scourge.”
- Curiosmos from Céline and the Darlings (Belgium) – “Curiosmos is a cute and playful space adventure through the solar system and the wonders of the cosmos. Create your own friendly planets from stardust and give them gravity. Jump from orbit to the planet surface to play with the terrain and atmosphere to create different planetary circumstances.”
- Demon Spore from DinoBoss (UK) – “Demon Spore is an intense action rogue-like inspired by 80s monster movies where you have to blast your way through tentacle hell as a failed lab experiment gives birth to a rapidly growing viral horror.”
- Diceomancer from Ultra Piggy Studio (China) – “Diceomancer is a roguelike deck-building game. Despite aspiring to live a peaceful life, fate forced you to embark on an adventure. Make the most of your deck and dice in a world filled with swords, magic, and guns, all to restore the tranquility you once knew!”
- Fruitbus from Krillbite Studio (Norway) – “A journey of flavours and friendships awaits you in your cosy, customisable food truck! Forage for fresh ingredients to create your own menu, then feed tummies and souls with home-cooked meals.”
- Hyper Light Breaker from Heart Machine (USA) – “Enter the Overgrowth, a new land in the world of Hyper Light. Play alone or with friends to explore massive biomes, defeat brutal monsters, create new builds, survive the mysterious Crowns and overthrow the almighty Abyss King in this adventure.”
- Mystiques from Lemonade Games (NSW, Australia) – “A haunted exploration game about four horrible women, Gem, Aspen, Winnie and Barb, who try to save a failing antique store by adopting a new business strategy: developing psychic powers.”
- No Case Should Remain Unsolved from Somi (South Korea) – “No Case Should Remain Unsolved is a detective game where players uncover and piece together memory fragments to solve a long-forgotten case. Follow former police detective Jeon Gyeong as she acquires clues and testimony relating to the case of a missing girl. But with each uncovered memory, only one thing becomes clear: everyone in Seowon’s vicinity was lying.”
- Rose and Locket from Whistling Wizard (New Zealand) – “Rose, a former outlaw, travels through the spirit realm of the Underwest. Take up the once-forgotten skills of the gunslinger in this action-platformer adventure, and journey along the breathtaking landscapes on a quest to rescue your daughter’s spirit.”
- Window Garden from CLOVER-FI Games (Phillipines) – “Window Garden is a cozy game that allows you to create and decorate your own virtual indoor garden. With aesthetic cottagecore and wholesome gameplay, learn how to grow plants, succulents, fruits, and vegetables, mirroring realistic gardening experiences.
SXSW Sydney 2024 takes place from 17-24 October 2024 in Sydney, Australia.
