Fowl Damage: You Are Your Own Worst Enemy

Last week I was in Los Angeles to attend Summer Game Fest, while there I stopped by the Guerilla Collective showcase on Friday evening to check out some exciting indie games. Many of these games were shown off in a livestream the day before, so I at least had some idea of what I was getting into. I have been writing practically nonstop since I returned from the trip, but I’ve highlighted a handful of games I saw at this indie showcase. There have been several in this series so far. Read about Fallen Aces, Grit and Valor - 1949, or Just Crow Things. There are only a few more games I plan to write about, so make sure to keep checking in for more awesome indie games.

Fowl Damage, a game developed by May Gardens and Red Nexus Games, is not a typo. You play as an egg. This is a unique puzzle platformer because there aren’t any tools or abilities to use. In Fowl Damage, the player has a high enough jump that the fall will break your shell, causing you to start again. So it’s not just about jumping through all the platforms, it’s about figuring out where to jump from and where to jump to so that the fall doesn’t break you.

It’s funny that there were two platforming games about playing as an egg on the Guerilla Collective livestream. I didn’t see Egging On at the showcase, but the trailer looked interesting too. While Egging On is a 3D game focusing on more realistic graphics, Fowl Damage remains 2D, with a pixelated smiley face on the egg. It will even show emotion when jumping as if the egg gets a little nervous when high in the air.

One big difference is that Fowl Damage has an ongoing demo for Steam Next Fest, so if you’re reading this the day it’s published, you still have time! Next Fest lasts until June 17th, which is tomorrow at the time of publishing. That’s not to say that the demo will be gone, I don’t know if it will still be playable.

I had a lot of fun with the demo. It starts slow. There’s no pressure to move quickly. There’s no limited number of lives or anything like that. It’s great to begin to get a feeling for the kinds of heights and puzzles you’ll be up against. Then later on in the demo, a claw starts to try to grab you, putting pressure on you to move and think quickly. Still, there are no limited number of attempts so that you can try repeatedly. But precision and timing become the name of the game.

I finished the demo in about twenty minutes, which is rather short, but if you don’t have a lot of time to play games these days, it could be a perfect short experience. It’s not much of a criticism, wanting to have more time to play and more game to experience is more of a compliment than anything. I guess I can be patient and wait until September to play the rest of the game.

The full version of Fowl Damage launches on September 13th. Make sure to add it to your Steam wishlist, to support the developer, be the first to hear about any updates, and get a reminder for when the release date rolls around. Check back soon for more indie games!