You only have one bullet in the best game demo I played this week

Plus: Ubisoft "disappointed" in VR sales...and a packed calendar of new releases

Children of the Sun. Screenshot: René Rother, Devolver Digital

Children of the Sun is an upcoming video game with a killer concept: You’re a sniper who tracks down cultists—in a camp, at a gas station, on a bridge, maybe near a warehouse—and in each area you must take the entire group out using just one bullet.

Thankfully, you can redirect the bullet using magic powers. 

First, you scout the scene, then tag the enemies, aim, fire, and the bullet flies out. Once your shot hits the first enemy, it can be ricocheted onto another and another, so long as it keeps hitting eligible targets (cultists, usually, but the gas tanks of their cars also qualify).

Children of the Sun may sound grisly. Looks it, too. But it’s not really a murder game. It’s a puzzle game. Spot the enemies and then, with one shot, connect the dots.

An overhead bullet trajectory view of how I cleared Children of the Sun’s second level. Each bend of the line is a redirection of the sniper’s bullet after hitting a target. Screenshot: René Rother, Devolver Digital (Captured by Game File).

The game is from developer René Rother and publisher Devolver Digital. It has no release date. But it’s got a PC demo, available for at least a few more days as part of the latest Steam Next Fest.

It’s one of a stack of Next Fest demos I’ve sampled over the last 24 hours that showcase how creatively surprising video games continue to be. 

Several others also held my attention…