BitSummit 2023

To be honest, I've always been a little intimidated by indie booths at gaming events. Small, intimate set-ups for games that I'm largely unfamiliar with, watched over by the developers. A high likelihood of awkward conversation, a potential mismatch of native languages, and a game-maker observing and judging me as I fail to play their game correctly. Not like the massive, impersonal booths used by big publishers. No danger of anyone talking to me there, other than to kindly ask me to piss off once my 15 minutes are up.

I am, of course, a fucking idiot. At BitSummit 2023, I quickly got over my fear of the indie demo, and found myself having a wonderful time surrounded by innovative and exciting games, and the inspiring and extremely welcoming people who make them.

BitSummit is an annual indie game festival held in Kyoto. A crucial industry gathering, as well as a rare chance for the public to play pre-release games and have a chat with the developers. This was my first time attending, and I loved every minute of it.

I attended on both public days, and the longer I spent roaming the conference hall, the more I discovered. It was overwhelming at first, being surrounded by so many games, 90% of which were completely new to me, but I soon settled in. I walked constant loops of the show floor, making mental notes of the games I wanted to try, and pouncing on them the moment they became available. With each loop, I'd add a couple more games to my to-try list which, by the end of the day, was impossibly long. I could've easily filled a third or even fourth day.

My first stop was Nintendo, where they handed you a Switch pre-loaded with a varied selection of indie titles from which to choose from. A pretty good place to start. Punters were limited to just fifteen minutes, however, so although I did try a couple of games, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk was the only one I really got to grips with. It was mostly just an opening tutorial, but yeah, it appears to be Jet Set Radio in all but name, and that ain't a bad thing. Also, the controls didn't make me want to rip out what little remains of my hair, so that's a major improvement over the source material! Due to the constraints of the demo, I couldn't ascertain whether or not it nails the uncompromising cool of JSR, but it's out in just a few weeks so we'll know soon enough.

Death the Guitar was undoubtedly the loudest game I played all weekend. It was also pretty good fun. In this 2D action-platformer, you play an electric guitar with a penchant for noise-based violence. Using sound, and amplified by massive speakers, you churn your way through enemies and obstacles. Each puzzle-like level is extremely short, and respawns are mercifully fast, which is a good thing given how often I died. In spirit, it reminded me a little of Super Meat Boy, but I haven't played that for a few years and my memory isn't what it used to be. I hope that helps.

Tensei was one of my games of the show. An upward-climber presented in a beautiful sumi-e art style, it's as simple as it is striking. Jumps come in sets of three, after which your upward movement ceases and you begin to free-fall. With each leap your icon switches between different animal forms. Basically, you're moving from platform to platform, trying to best judge what distances you can or can't cover, while avoiding traps and trying not to plummet to your death. Upon hitting certain conditions, you transform into a huge dragon, able to weave effortlessly between obstacles and pushing ever upwards. I'm doing a terrible job of explaining this, and it doesn't help that there's currently very little information online from which to draw from. For now, check out the video at the link above for a better idea of what it has to offer.

Akurra isn't the kind of game I'm typically drawn to, but I'm glad the developer grabbed me and convinced me to give it a go - he complimented my t-shirt - as I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an 8-bit-looking adventure which tasks you with solving block-based puzzles to collect items and move between areas. It provided a solid mental workout, while also providing the tools to undo mistakes and reset without limitation or undue punishment. Good stuff.

Ninja or Die is a fast-as-fuck roguelike - my description, not theirs - that tasks you with stringing together ultra-fast jumps to clear bite-sized levels and take down anyone that stands in your way. In mid-jump you are invincible, and by leaping through enemies you are able to damage them. Essentially, you want to avoid remaining still, as that is when you're susceptible to attack from other, less agile ninja. Stringing together quick jumps was extremely satisfying, and I was also impressed by the pithy English dialogue. It's out on Steam in a couple of weeks, and hopefully home console versions will be forthcoming.

Visually, SCHiM made an immediate and lasting impression. The titular Schims are frog-like creatures that reside in shadow, and everyone has one. Your Schim is separated from its human by an unfortunate string of events, and you must help reunite them, which you do by traversing the shadows cast by people and every day items, moving across a beautiful array of sparingly-coloured environs. It looks wonderful, and I'm interested to see how the basic mechanics are kept fresh across the course of the full game.

I had a chance to check out several other demos, including twin-stick shooter XALADIA: Rise of the Space Pirates, 2D recoil-actioner Momi Bosu, and horror-adventure Strange Shadow, all of which were promising. If I'd had more time, I'd have lined up for the Steam Deck selection, made a reservation for Tokyo Underground Killer, played the Wipeout-flavoured Redout 2, and built up the courage to try Kami Ga Nai, which you control using an actual toilet roll and a sheet of cardboard, or the slightly disturbing MakeFriends in which you use a mannequin head as a controller! The booth for C-Smash VRS, the VR rebirth of the sublime Cosmic Smash, was consistently packed so unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to partake. Also, there were countless family-friendly titles that I absolutely would've made time for had my daughter been with me. 

I also stopped by Edit Mode's booth to make a crucial purchase. I could not resist these vintage Street Fighter 2 toys - if only they'd had Zangief too!

It was an amazing weekend, and I haven't even mentioned all the things I did outside of the BitSummit venue. For example, drinks by Kamo river until the early hours with several hundred game-makers and game-likers, catching up with old friends and making new ones, eating and drinking far too much, and making a point of getting up early to beat the crowds to check out Kiyomizu-dera and Nijo-jo. And all this was happening smack bang in the middle of Gion Matsuri, a month-long festival that takes over central Kyoto and culminates over the same extended weekend as BitSummit. You couldn't have asked for a more vibrant setting.

I'm back home now, but I'm still riding the high of a weekend well spent. Maybe see you there next year?