Users will have until June 16 to claim the last mystery Epic Games Store game of the bunch, Maneater, as it will be replaced at 10 am CT by Supraland. When Supraland releases, Epic Games Store will announce the new game for June 23, and all will be back to normal. Unlike many of the mystery games, though, Supraland is a much smaller name, so for those interested in what it is, here’s what they need to know.
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Epic Games Store – Supraland
Supraland is an indie first-person Metroidvania puzzle game out of Germany, and developer Supra Games cite Zelda, Metroid, and Portal as inspirations for it. It’s the type that puts gameplay over story, with the majority of the game being broken down into exploration and puzzles, with just a wee bit of combat to keep it fresh. It may seem simple enough with its visual style and its independent gameplay approach is pretty straightforward—set the player free—but it still presents its own challenges.
Metroidvanias are all about finding new abilities, returning to older areas, and finding new secrets hidden there, and that’s true of Supraland too. Players are put into a large sandbox, where a ton of shortcuts, secrets, and hidden passages are closeted by obstacles. At the same time, the abilities that unlock these obstacles promise to be complex and so versatile they remain surprising in their application throughout the game. This is especially true given that players can combine these abilities as they explore the world of Supraland.
With this in mind, Supra Games set out to make exploration incredibly rewarding. If players look to get around something or otherwise “break” the game, they might just find a chest rewarding them for that. This gives the exploration a unique edge but also ensures that players are truly set free in the environment. The other main element, puzzles, gets very similar attention. Supra Games sought to design puzzles that were more about thought and realization than lackluster or over-the-top execution.
In other words, once players solve a puzzle in their head, the gameplay required to do so is pretty straightforward. But because of how much of this puzzle game is a mental one, Supra Games reject puzzles often seen in other games to ensure that it is mentally challenging and intriguing. This promises to make Supraland a more unique experience compared to other puzzle games.
Combat, once again, plays a relatively minor role in the overall structure of the game, but players will find that it is old school, fast-paced, and fun. It uses high-speed elements akin to shooters like Unreal, Doom, and Quake, putting players against hordes and letting go wild.
Following The Epic Games Store’s selection of free mystery games with an indie title may seem rough, but if anything, the Epic Games Store has always had an eye for excellent indies and hidden gems. For many, Supraland may just be that and find its way to stand alongside Maneater, Wolfenstein, and so on.
Epic Games Store users get a handful of free games every month.
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