The Coolest Games We’re Playing At Summer Game Fest 2023

I hadn’t heard of Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior before Summer Game Fest, but now it’s a game I can’t wait to play again. Developed by Sand Door Studio, this top-down action hack ‘n’ slash is novel and polished: fight opponents and obstacles, rewind time, and work with past versions of yourself to progress through challenging arenas. The core goal is to destroy every enemy in the arena as quickly as possible. Impressively, the development of Lysfanga started as a student project at ISART Digital, an international video game institute, and is now part of Quantic Dream’s new indie game publishing label. 

Before starting a fight, the camera hovers over the arena – often featuring door switches, forcefields, and other traps – and allows you to chart the best path forward. While you can make quick work of weaker opponents, more complex enemies require precise coordination to defeat. For example, the Twins are a pair you must eliminate simultaneously, which is only possible by killing one, rewinding to the start of the fight, and targeting the second unit. At the same time, your remnant loops your previous actions. Another favorite is a shield-bearing enemy that requires you to draw its attention on your first path and then attack from behind during your second. 

Perhaps the best sign of a great gameplay system, I found myself quickly reloading arenas repeatedly to best my previous completion time.