Slayblade lets rip a huge Y2K nostalgia trip, and the battle top roguelike's Steam Next Fest demo is a must-try

Nostalgia is arguably the most powerful selling force in the world (aside from FOMO). If you told a Millennial (like myself) that there’s a demo for a Beyblade roguelite game with PS1-era audiovisuals at Steam Next Fest, they’d have it wishlisted before you got to finish your sentence. Questionable Obey-inspired logo aside, Slayblade is here to make you wish you hadn’t sold your Dragoon, Drigger, and Dranzer at that yard sale all those years ago.

Beyblade was certainly a formative part of my youth. I fondly remember snapping up the last Draciel on the shelves of my local toy store during the height of its craze. Spamming duel after duel against neighborhood kids in those flimsy plastic Beyarenas was peak 2000s behavior, and Slayblade is looking to recapture that by having you become the king of the streets, while uncovering the truth behind your dad’s disappearance.

Starting at the bottom of the chain, you’ll have to work your way up the indie game’s circuit, clearing out the local riff-raff and mowing lawns to accrue the funds necessary to compete in larger tournaments and secure upgrades for your top. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a few extra bucks laying around on the sidewalk. If your hubris gets the better of you, you could challenge a back alley demon who is substantially stronger, resulting in a swift battering and a return to the title screen. You’ll want to do some serious tweaking before taking on the big guns.

With 60 interchangeable parts to collect, divided across heads, bodies, and tips, Slayblade is all about building the right tool for the job. Each piece has its own modifier, so, for example, using the winged Vampire Body in nighttime battles decreases your opponent’s spin by 50%. Meanwhile, the Dart Lord’s Bod puts up barriers around the arena, which is ideal if, like me, you’re prone to flinging yourself out of it.

You can also theme setups around specific effects, like mid-round power-ups and auras. It’s not immediately obvious what everything does, which effectively translated into me swinging my ‘blade around and hoping for the best for my first few attempts; some extra tutorialization or clarity improvements would come in handy here. Nonetheless, going into a fresh run not knowing what sort of ‘blade you’re going to cook up next is rather exciting – the roguelite format is a perfect fit.

While indie developer Henry’s House has yet to confirm Slayblade’s release date, you can at least give it a test spin (sorry) on Steam by heading here. While you can’t enter the first tournament yet, the vibes are already immaculate. With the ongoing revival of Y2K culture, I can see it being a popular pickup among more than just the old heads who were there at Beyblade’s zenith.