Displaying items by tag: Atmospheric

Red Candle Games delivers horror as poignant as it is piercing, showcasing for the international game community the horrors of authoritarian communism. Although Detention has several points which can be improved, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; players will walk away – or run, screaming – with a fresh, thoughtful gaming experience.

Elena is a promising idea cut off too soon. The music is soothing, the gameplay is entertaining, and the mystery is compelling. If the story had a second chapter to look forward to, I would be excited to play it, but as it is, Elena feels too incomplete to live up to its promise.

All in all, Quern is the ultimate scavenger hunt, and perfect for any exploring puzzle master. It is great for its genre and definitely a must have if you love brainteasers, exploration, and uncovering mysteries. Zadbox Entertainment very elegantly integrated cryptic puzzles into a well-designed and even more cryptic world that any challenge seeker would love to explore for hours on end. My advice to you… leave no stone unturned and CLICK EVERYTHING. Good luck!

I would highly recommend beholder because the art and music style perfectly captures the story. The struggle between the decisions is one that causes real struggle and emotional turmoil. This may not be a game you come back to over and over, but you’re going to sink your time into a few play throughs to try and make the ‘right’ decisions, whatever they may be.

Neptune’s Flux feels like an incomplete demo, or at least a project that’s still in beta testing, but the current status is completed. It’s a fast game to play through, which isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker on its own, but on top of that the landscape is boring and the storyline is lukewarm. I fear this story-driven saga will fail to be memorable past those initial two hours of playtime.

With an efficient combat system, robust and far-reaching interactions with NPC’s, Tyranny is a game not to be missed. The myriad of choices you have and the different ways that the game can be experienced lend a high level of replayability. The well-defined yet flexible character creation system allows you to experiment on the fly an remain effective. Best of all is how developed the cultures of Terratus are and how visible the differences between them are.

Might and Delight took the artistic style that they were known for and opened it up into a bit more of a diverse landscape, one that offers different seasons based on where you are on the map, and interesting landscape quirks that make exploring fun.

Take my review with a grain of salt. Through the Woods has mostly positive reviews on Steam, but for a twenty dollar price tag, I cannot recommend it. It gets a below average score from me, yet I'll close with this: for a first project, Antagonist shows much promise, and I'm anxious to see what it does next.

As much as I wanted to enjoy this game, Karma. Incarnation 1 feels lifeless. The story is severely lacking, gameplay is thin, and even at $8.99, it isn't worth buying. AuraLab and Other Kind Games could have put a lot more work into it, and with the talent they have, perhaps they would have had a hit. This, though, feels rushed out and unfinished, and that's a shame in light of what it could have been.

King’s Quest breathes fresh life into the fantasy adventure puzzle genre by reviving the story of a decades-old series. Although it doesn’t have the same feel as the traditional Sierra games, it stands on its own and does not violate the original. In terms of story-line, Chapter 4 starts strong but loses its emotional impact quickly. The level is puzzle-heavy and lacks some of the adventurings from previous chapters. The gameplay is solid, though, and remains fun and enjoyable throughout.

If you’re ready to let go of the hustle and hurry of the week, sink into the beguiling mystery of Pavilion. There are so many questions when you start the game. Is this all a dream? Why are we here? Who is the woman in white? The only way to discover the answer is to play.  I found Pavilion to be more than a puzzle game, it was an interactive art piece, where I was allowed to participate.

The Bunker is a heart-pounding journey through the mind of a lone survivor as he struggles to come to grips with a complicated past. It does an excellent job at drawing attention to what many have cast off as a forgotten genre in gaming.  It's unlike any other experience you'll have.

The backstory surrounding the mysterious events you find yourself in are beautifully thought out, with motives and perspectives changing your own thoughts and opinions of what happened on the Nautilus. If you enjoy a good story, do yourself a favor and have a little chat with Kaizen.

Jotun is a beautifully hand-drawn, top-down, exploration and boss-bashing game with some puzzles thrown in for good measure. Scandinavian Mythology is not often presented so well. Unlike those fussy gods, I'm impressed.

De-Void's story and atmosphere are impressive. The focus is exploration, with slow-paced objectives and lore-reading. Don't let that numb you: you'll find yourself wanting to learn more, and the solution works. It may be conservative in terms of action-oriented gameplay, but that isn’t its selling point, and what it does right, it does very well.

Obduction needs more love from Cyan to be able to compete with competitors of the genre, and it needs a lot of changes to ever be in the same category as Myst in terms of charm, depth, and immersion. Nostalgia, I'm afraid, just isn't enough to make Obduction a noteworthy gaming experience.

Deceiving camera angles, unpredictable enemy AI, and an inconsistent difficulty spike with puzzles make the promise of an enjoyable indie horror game with unique mechanics unattainable in its current state. 

Due to its similarity to Five Nights at Freddy's, CASE Animatronics has put itself in the position of having some big shoes to fill. Although it has some rough edges, it more than delivers. For ten bucks, I think it's well-worth seeing the surprises CASE: Animatronics has in store. Last Level: please don't eat me anymore.

Bear With Me isn’t a stand-out example of a Point-&-Click adventure, but the fact that it’s episodic makes me hope that some of the bugs and complications in this first chapter are ironed out in later additions. The dark humor and Noir vibe of the game are a great contrast to the nostalgia of playing through a child’s imaginary adventure, and it reminded me of Among the Sleep and Fran Bow with all the toys, puzzles, and make-believe.

Realm of Shadows is a great marriage between Telltale Games and the Batman Universe. Each scene makes you feel like you’re playing in a comic book, art direction is strong, music adds the appropriate touch, and voice acting is especially good. I'm excited to don the suits for further exploration, but I also hope Telltale shakes up the formula and works out the bugs in the next episode.