It's eXploit and eXpand without the Xterminate. It scratches a very similar itch as a euro-style board games do, build up your galactic economic engine, invent tech, get points (or stars, in campaign mode). Except it uses systems that would have been impossible or unwieldy in a physical medium. An absolute treat to everyone who likes clever tight thinky games. "So... if I do this, then I can do this, and also use this, and then I'll unlock that, so that I'll be able to... hmm hmmm... but what if I did this and that instead, that would give me... hmmm hmmm"
Children of Morta is quite fun! Nothing ground-breaking, neither in terms of story nor gameplay, but it's put together nicely: well-tuned, well-paced in terms of progression and with good atmosphere. The fighting has more of a Diablo feel than your usual action roguelike, which I like. The pixel art is absolutely gorgeous with distinct colour palette and the music is nice. Didn't blow my socks off but I also have nothing significant to complain about and I enjoy my time in this world.
Hollow Knight is one of those games that reminded me that I #loveindies. I don't need the big budget part of the industry at all if titles like that continue to crop up. The game has a unique spirit. Tells a story unlike any other. Through it's graphics, music, text and gameplay. Tells it in a way that is very engaging, feeding you tiny bits of narrative, leaving you to put the pieces together yourself, purposefully leaving a lot of blanks for you to fill, unanswered questions that keep the mystery until the very end and beyond, but it still feels cohesive and deliberate throughout. The metroidvania approach of freely roaming the world is reflected in the approach to storytelling, which unfolds freely, not linearly. Figuring out what this world and its inhabitants are about is a game in itself. And what they are about is not just another set of game-story clichés, it's original, it's fresh, they devs didn't pander to anyone but told a tale that they wanted to tell, that they believed in and you can feel it. There's humour, there's darkness, there's seriousness, there's wackiness and weirdness. The gameplay is tight, and will test your intelligence, speed, precision. It's not a game for a lazy afternoon to just go through the motions, it engages you, keeps your brain active, challenged. It requires persistence and frustration tolerance and rewards that with a strong feeling of accomplishment. The only problem is that sometimes it's hard to tell if that difficult part is required to progress or is it there just as a test of skill, for bragging rights, and if those items are important or just collectibles for completionists and achievement hunters.
I would call this title a relatively slow-paced narrative-driven exploration game with roguelike elements. It's definitely not for everyone. It's like fishing - some consider it mind-numbingly boring and frustrating, but for others it's a relaxing meditative experience. Mind you, the analogy is not 100% true, there's a certain type of tension to be had, if you allow it: a constant undertone of menace with a slight spike here and there, rather than a ceaseless rollercoaster of adrenaline you get in other games. It all depends on your mindset and playstyle, however. It is possible to ruin the game for yourself easily with the wrong approach. Death is very easy to avoid if you know what you're doing or mindlessly grind stuff but the key to have fun is in ignorance and risk-taking. Really, try to go out further with your underpowered starting ship. What this game rewards is challenging yourself and willingness to put the pieces together yourself. Go in blind, don't read guides. If you like figuring stuff out yourself and you can put up with some frustration, you'll be delighted (the only thing the game lacks, in my opinion, is some form of in-game note-taking, 'cause you're gonna have a hard time keeping track of anything if you don't take notes.) Last but not least, you've probably heard that the game is lovecraftian-themed right? In my opinion, it is only partially true. The game's world is unique. And bizarre. The places you visit sometimes feel like they came straight out of a Victorian version of David Lynch's Twin Peaks. I have to say, this game sucked me in. And it all comes down to this: I haven't played anything like that before. It has originality, uniqueness, distinct atmosphere, in how it plays and in how it reads and in how it sounds (great soundtrack) and looks. And that's exactly why I #loveindies . No AAA studio can grant you that kind of experience. There are many 'solid' games that leave me cold, because I've been there before. Not this one.
I just forced myself to quit the game, it became addicting in the first minutes after i figured out the controls. Haven't yet finished it, but already want to speak some kind words about it. Basically the game is: a great platformer (jumping, collecting coins, occasionaly fighting a monster), a great adventure (solving logical puzzles, discover the, very nice so far, story), and great audio-visual homage to old pixel-art-with-lo-fi-synth-music games. It also has a pretty open world for exploration. It will test the dexterity of your fingers as well as skills of your brain, and provide cute easthetics for the eye and nice tunes for the ear. It's everything you'd expect from a good indie: excellent gameplay that's in every bit against the mainstream formula of no-difficulty-hand-holding, cliché story, brawl and big tits, gore gutter splat, multimillion-dollar marketing etc. A product of passion, a work of art.
For me this game is all about the atmosphere. Cheesy, humorous, anime-inspired, gory, absurd... It is one-of-its-kind game for me, the kind that is so lacking in todays game world. Although it didn't break much ground in terms of gameplay, one can't mistake this game for any other. There is no second Shogo, as there is no second Blood.
First of all I don't agree with what many reviewers complain about - lack of complexity of puzzles and short playtime. Firstly becouse this game has enormous amount of "unnecessary content". If you only focus on what's necessary, you finish the game in mere hours. Finding all the "cool" stuff is quite tricky. I haven't seen the game with so many stuff you can miss if you follow just the main plotline. Secondly the game was MEANT to be simple and movie-like. It's like accussing a netbook that it has a small size monitor. Sure playing SHD movies won't do but that's not what the netbook is for. That being said, one must admit - the script is awful and consist of the most cliched horror tricks, acting ranges from mediocre to terrible, music, camera angles, directing, tension - all of this is plain silly. If it was a movie, i wouldn't bother. But as an "interactive movie" it has its charm. First of all, as a piece of gaming history. Secondly, i actually immersed myself in the gameplay, just by the fact that I was directing the protagonist, that i was the player, exploring the mansion, wondering what happens next. Thridly, well, it's just unexplainable, this kitschy, nostalgic charm. The creators were too much focused on the ideal of an "interactive movie" so they tried to force on the player what i would call "fake replayability". By that i mean that if you do things in the certain order you progress further without being able to backtrack and see what scenes you have missed and most of the time you cannot reload becouse there's just one save slot. If you die at the end and choose to quit instead of retry, then the whole game saves as a "movie with a bad ending". That's a bit unfair. If you want a really good fmv type game, see Gabriel Knight 2. If you're a kitsch-loving freak or are interested in the history of computer gaming you have to take a look on this one.
