Steam Greenlight Spotlight: The 31st

https://youtu.be/jYYs_e3Yoc4

Today’s Greenlight spotlight shines on The 31st. The 31st is a uniquely Halloween-themed FPS developed by a small indie team of three people. First off, I’d like to apologize for the lack of a spotlight for yesterday, but I was away celebrating the holiday. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk a bit more about the 31st. Being a huge fan of all things relating to Halloween, I immediately was intrigued by the idea of playing a shooter that included themes based on my favorite holiday. From what the Greenlight page describes, it seems that The 31st will featured a humorous story as well as many other silly elements, making the game a lighthearted experience. While the screenshots may make the game look as if it is an atmospheric horror/exploration title, a simple look at the gameplay trailer will immediately set this straight.

One of the shining features of The 31st would have to be their supremely well-designed and visually appealing environments. I find this extremely impressive based on the fact that their team only features a single artist. I am extremely impressed by the visual quality of the game and I admire the work ethic of the artist who must be tirelessly working to make their game a reality. This is not to say that the other team members are not doing the same, of course. Making a game is no easy feat, and to see a team of three having such a solid-looking game is very impressive to me.

Let me also just go off on a short rant about Kickstarter. First of all, The 31st does have a Kickstarter campaign running currently, which you can find here and I highly recommend considering funding their project if you like the concept. To keep my rant short and simple, I will say that I cannot stand when games create a Kickstarter campaign with no organization, no information, and a development plan that is all over the place. I commend The 31st for having one of the most organized and well-planned Kickstarter pages that I have ever seen. The developers clearly and simply lay out all of their plans for the game, including weapons, levels, and enemy types. This means that potential backers know exactly what they are getting into if they decide to give money to The 31st. Again, I would like to commend the developers for their hard work and effort as well as their organization when it comes to creating their game.

The 31st will feature six levels, each apparently humongous and hiding many secrets and areas to explore. One criticism I have with The 31st stands with the way that the shooting gameplay looks. Granted, I haven’t had my hands on the game, but some of the guns look almost as if they don’t provide enough feedback when the bullets or projectiles connect with the enemies. There was a particular gun in the trailer that didn’t look like it was firing anything at all, but again, I could be missing something. Other than that, I will say that The 31st looks like a ton of fun and I am looking forward to seeing what they do with the game as the development progresses. Finally, there is also a multiplayer deathmatch mode which will do very well to add to the replay value of the game. If the levels are as large and contain as many secrets as the developers make it seem, the campaign will provide many hours of fun, and when you add the multiplayer to that, it will hopefully provide countless hours of entertainment.

The 31st features an extremely solid concept, backed up by gorgeous visuals and an impressive soundtrack. The dedication and hard work of the three-person team cannot be overlooked, and definitely deserves to be in the Greenlight Spotlight. If you like the sound of The 31st, and would like to help them get on Steam, you can find their Greenlight page here. The 31st will be my go-to game when I’m looking to experience the thrill and enjoyment of Halloween.