Have you heard of Nova-111? I barely had, but now I must show it to you. It’s a wonderful surprise of a video game. It’s partially turn-based, partially real-time. It’s action mixed with puzzles. Its on Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Vita, PC and Mac and is coming to Wii U. It just came out. It’s terrific.
In the video above, you’ll see me playing through one of the game’s levels, as I discover more of the game as I’m recording and hopefully show off what makes this game special. At first you might think it’s just a grid-based puzzle-solving game, advancing one turn at a time for the player and computer-controlled enemies alike. Soon, though, you’ll see the real-time elements that force the player to speed up and prove the game’s worth.
Nova-111 seems to have won a bunch of awards at festivals and had been featured at PAX last year. I’d not played it until last week. I’d also not heard of the development studio, Funktronic Labs, though I vaguely remember seeing something on Twitter about them being ex-PixelJunk developers. I do love most of those PixelJunk games, which usually sport the same old-school hand-crafted level design and smart doling out of gameplay ideas that you’ll see in Nova-111.
This is a month when Destiny, Metal Gear, Mario Maker, and more will vie for players’ attention, but I encourage you all to try out this hidden gem. It has some flaws, as I note in the video, but it has started off superbly. I’m a third of the way into the game and am having a great time
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