The devs of a legendary indie Zelda-like have a new retro action game with "bumpslash" combat, and its Steam Next Fest demo is a gem: "Fans of Ys, take note!"

A screenshot shows the pixel art characters of Angeline Era floating through stars.

I've never been so happy to be surrounded by bugs than I am while playing the Steam Next Fest demo for Angeline Era, the self-described "wild Bumpslash Action-Adventure!"

While the sight of roly polies and weevils usually makes my skin crawl, the hunched beetles wearing red spots, spikes, and acorn masks in Angeline Era's demo-exclusive overworld simply make me scoff. Their mushy minds can't comprehend the fact that they are no match for the propulsive strength of my bumping into them. This triggers them to attack, and my crop top-wearing adventurer slashes their little bodies apart in one or two hits. Therefore, a "wild Bumpslash Action-Adventure!"