Even with chunky headphones on, the desperate clack-clack-clack as I jab at an Xbox d-pad playing through the Chivalware demo is a constant drumbeat. This room in Paris is filled with high-end gaming PCs, and even with windows open, it's a desperate heat. As the last demo in a day filled with them, fellow players slowly abandon their posts and trickle out. Yet, I don't notice I'm the final one left in the room until I die at the end of a particularly lengthy roguelike run, glued to the intense action and so many biomes deep I'd been half-expecting a PR to cut me off anyway. Chivalware has the juice.
Clearly inspired by Mega Man Battle Network, any player of Capcom's real-time RPG series will be familiar with the constant maneuvering responsible for my d-pad twiddling in Chivalware. This roguelike takes the concept of summoning weapons on a grid that also contains enemies up a notch, having the tiles double as a color-matching grid. Chain together matches and you'll charge up your battery to spend on attacks, the most recent of your three colors dictating the weapon type you have in hand. Flub a match, and your energy is depleted, leaving you vulnerable to enemy attacks.
