My eyes hurt from the extreme 90s CGI style of this Next Fest demo, and I couldn’t be happier

Ah sure I’ve enjoyed the nostalgic resurgence of Quake/PlayStation-grade 3D art in video games, but I am fully blown away by indie game Fragrance Point looking like the truest classic 3D computer graphics: the shiny pre-rendered CGI from TV show transition cards, adverts for double-disc dance music compilations, and Windows Media Player skins. My eyes are still reeling from the gloss and glitz and pulsating lights of the Steam Next Fest demo, and I welcome this pain. Grab the demo now and set out to explore a space station as a bopping security bot with snazzy boots and endless projectile lipstick.

I honestly couldn’t tell you what Fragrance Point is at this point, and it’s one of those games where I’m delighted to not know the shape of it, to not basically know what it is from having played something similar, to discover as you go. I suppose it’s some sort of explore-a-platform-o-adventure game? Possibly? The eponymous space station Fragrance Point has started sending signals after a century of silence so in we go as a stylish security bot, and what a joy it will be to play the full game and figure out what it is.

You can explore places you initially think you shouldn’t be able to go. You can talk to robots, or at least chirp while they talk to you. You can collect spiky balls. You can jum about and rocketdash to break things. You can fire exploding lipsticks. Honestly, what more could you want from a video game?

I really dig this 90s CGI style. The knobbly surfaces. The gloss. The floral and tendrilly shapes somewhere between organic and mathematical. The spikes. The non-tiling textures. The weird character designs. The palette. The lights pulsing to the music. The curved architecture. Just delightful.

Only complaint: I wish I didn’t have to toggle the invert camera option several times to make it go normal. That’s all. Delighted with the rest. Especially the way my eyes still hurt.

You can download Fragrance Point’s demo from Steam. The game is made by Halber Ball.

This Steam Next Fest runs until Monday the 12th of February, so grab the demo while you can. We’re playing heaps of Next Fest demos so hit our tag for more recommendations.