Big Brotaru – or the proof that Belgium has many game dev talent.

Big Brotaru – or the proof that Belgium has many game dev talent.

On May 7 the monthly meet-up event Brotaru organised a showcase of upcoming games made in Belgium. Because they reached the magical 50th happening they wanted to do something special, and oh boy did they managed to do that! The idea for Big Brotaru? Show Belgium games on a big movie theater screen, no trailers or pre-recorded gameplay! Each game had only 300 seconds to show real time gameplay, I do wished that some games had more time but the five minutes was more than enough to show the main concept and some neat gameplay parts. The main idea that Big Brotaru wanted to do is show that Belgium has many, many talented developers and that mission or quest was completely successful. Belgium is more than Larian Studios, so I want to say a big thank you to all people who put time and effort into this event. It was worth my time and I went home satisfied and proud for everything that is coming from Belgian hands.

Who were the actors on screen?

The evening was over pretty quick with a selection of 16 different games, from the fancy visuals from Nanotale to the simple but oh so addictive gameplay from Rebound. It was a pure joy to see all the Belgian game projects. We have listed every single game here with the main website and social media link.

Nanotale (site Twitter) // Baby Dino Adventures (siteTwitter) // Journey For Elysium (siteTwitter) // Hoverloop (siteTwitter) // Ary and the Secret of Seasons (site Twitter) // Panoptic (siteTwitter) // Rebound (siteTwitter) // Flotsam (siteTwitter) // Trifox (siteTwitter) // Boa Bonanza (site) // Ghost on the Shore (siteTwitter) // sU and the Quest of Meaning (siteTwitter) 30 Birds (Twitter) // Elevator game (siteTwitter)

What is coming for Xbox?

From all the games shown only a handful are coming for Xbox One, you should really keep an eye on them though. Not only do you support Belgian devs by promoting, buying and playing these games, I’m pretty damn sure you’ll have a great time with them too!

? Hoverloop (from Not a Company)
In this free-to-play (!!) arcade combat game you will play with drones who have variable abilities. Made especially for local co-op and addictive online battles Hoverloop will be a force to reckon with. The mix between Rocket League and Twisted Metal Black might be the next big thing for streamers.

? Ary and the Secret of Seasons (from eXiin)
This award winning game has been on my radar since Gamescom last year. You control the four seasons to solve puzzles and explore the beautiful environments. The cartoony visuals immediately stand out and kinda reminds me a little about Fable.

? Baby Dino Adventures (from Sleepy Panda Games)
While this isn’t 100%, the maker did say “maybe an Xbox version” I sure hope Xbox gamers can play this family friendly platformer. If Xbox lacks one thing it is games that EVERYONE can play. While Baby Dino Adventures looks and plays rather easy it did have quite a few crowd reactions, the charming visuals and gameplay stole my heart so I’m sure many gamers will like this retro experience.

? Trifox (from Glowfish Interactive)
Three different combat styles that you can freely mix and pretty sweet visuals that resembles some Ratchet and Clank moments. Trifox is something special and it was on my watchlist since I first saw it in 2016.

My five favorite games

It was hard picking five games, pretty much all games I saw have lots of potential. Ask me again next week and the chance is high that this list looks entirely differently. (The below list is in random order)

  • Ary and the Secret of Seasons (Exiin, Fishing Cactus)
  • Panoptic (Team Panoptes)
  • Baby Dino Adventures (Sleeping Panda Games)
  • Hoverloop (Cronos Interactive)
  • Nanotale (Fishing Cactus) (Please, please, please come to Xbox, this is perfectly possible as the console supports keyboard-inputs)