The five most thought-provoking indie game demos at LudoNarraCon 2022

gamepur.com:

The annual LudoNarraCon once again comes with a variety of indie game demos. While the online convention only takes place from May 5 to May 9, most of the demos present at the show should be available long after. So whether you are looking for something to play on that weekend or trying to find a narrative-heavy game to satisfy your cravings, this list should serve you well.

In this gambling game, you play as the comrade of Comte de Saint-Gemain, a famous scallywag and criminal. Together, you swindle the rich and famous in 18th century France with parlor tricks, manipulative strategies, and just plain cheating. The trick is remembering how all the different scams work and to pull them off with maximum deftness and efficiency, lest you get caught in the act.

Though each scam is simplified to be handled with a controller, you must remember the particular motions and symbols of each trick, sometimes resulting in confusion and failure. You can get arrested or even killed after getting caught in a scam. The narrative comes both out of classic interactive fiction choices and out of the systemic mix of attempting constant, quiet, subtle robbery.

A romantic visual novel with depth and style, The Mask of the Rose is set in the same world as the browser game Fallen London and the RPGs Sunless Seas and Sunless Skies. Set shortly after London fell under the surface of the earth, the game casts the player as a character of their own invention, thrown into a dense murder mystery. The character creator is lean, but evocative, borrowing from the more extensive trappings of the browser game.

The demo encompasses the opening 40 minutes of the game and it starts strong, letting you flirt with roommates and