It has never been so fun to cut a whole level in tiny slices. The game is short, but the freedom and the tools you get (a laser that cuts through rock, a retractable rope with a hook and a rocket) make up for it. Mastering these tools allowed me to reach all areas where I wasn't supposed to go - the level designers didn't place precise collisions or proper textures in these areas because they didn't expect that anyone would ever get there. This probably sounds bad, but it is extremely rewarding. If Tiny & Big just consisted of linear levels, I wouldn't recommend it so much. But I replayed the game a lot to get all the achievements, and with each playthrough I discovered new, unexpected ways to go through the obstacles in front of me - shortcuts, alternative paths, hidden places, physical tricks. That's what made it all worth it, and I had to play again and again.
Prehistoric 2 is a humorous french game, full of secrets, hidden levels, alternative routes, and interesting interactions. This is a game in which you have to explore and discover what is possible, even if the possibilities are a little absurd (hitting in the air with your club reveals hidden bonuses and paths, jumping on animals helps you to get access to areas that are hard to reach). It's also a very hard game. Finishing it feels like a real accomplishment. In contrast, Prehistoric 1 seemed to be pretty linear and boring. But the second game is a retro experience I kept playing decades after it was released.
The author claims he is inspired by Another World, The Dig, and Ico (as far as I remember). This immediately made me buy the game at 20$ price. Unfortunately, everything in this game is extremely boring. The puzzles are boring, the story is boring. There's no real twist, no way to be emotionally invested or intellectually stimulated. The game fails to scare you, to make you feel sadness or empathy, or to surprise your mind, even though it's obvious that the author tried. It's ironic that Quake 2, an action game, has level design that is more interesting to explore, than an indie adventure game like Lifeless Planet. The only reason I'm giving it 2 stars is that it's still impressive that only 1 man has created all of this. The graphics are very nice (for an indie project), there's attention to detail in the geology, etc. But it can't change the overall impression of the game. Another World, The Dig, and Ico are orders of magnitude away from Lifeless Planet.
This is a turn-based game in which every room and every battle is an intelligent, logical challenge. The enemies are some of the most original creatures I have ever seen in a game. For example, The Puffies can't be killed, and they can't kill you, but they can try to suffocate you with their love and block your movement with their hugs. The Tar is a substance that grows until it fills everything - corridors, hallways, rooms. If you try to slice the Tar with your sword, it breaks down into smaller Tar vermin that attack you. You have to find the source of the Tar's sentience, the thing that makes it alive, to stop it from growing. The Brains are helpless enemies that make every other creature in their area of influence smarter. A smart enemy is a real disaster in DROD - but you can still find a way to trap it, to scare it, to bluff or even make it do something in your favour. I'd suggest starting to play from the DROD2, because there you have an actual story, NPC characters with their own agenda that can hamper you or help you, and a companion (your obnoxious nephew who, when he's in the mood, can take simple orders from you). The game requires a lot of patience and diligence. It rewards you with its unique ideas and puzzles, but you really need to be hardcore to make it through the whole game. Sometimes when a hard puzzle seems like a drudgery you just have to rest and come with a fresh mind.
What makes this game unique are the amazing, expansive, interrelated spaces that you explore, and the interesting puzzles. The game has some flaws, but the excellent, intricate level design, made by Neal Boyd and Heather Gibson (the level designers of Tomb Raider 1 and Tomb Raider 2) makes for an awesome experience. If you like to be challenged by confusing, enormous levels like the ones in TR1 and TR2, if this is your type of gameplay, you should totally play it. Project Eden was probably the first attempt to make co-op puzzle multiplayer that can be seen in modern games such as Portal 2 and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Life. It was also one of the first games to try to show the body of the character in first person (although less successful than Mirror's Edge). In its single player, Project Eden is reminiscent to The Lost Vikings - characters with different equipment and abilities, controlled by the player, help each other. For example, the hacker lady can control machines and buildings, even if her fragile body is locked somewhere; the rover can go into small holes where only rats and electric roaches can go, etc. The story bits are sparsely scattered across the levels, but the narrative is quite original, the journey towards the abandoned depths of the dystopian futuristic city is depicted well, and, especially at the end, the game manages to provide story by integrating it tightly with gameplay. It's a must see, but I wouldn't like to spoil it any further.
The game has a very good level design that lets you explore different logically interconnected areas. If you get stuck on the puzzles, you can get a hint from the hero, but other than that, you don't get the annoying hand-holding and linear gameplay that permeates most games today. The art style is interesting and memorable. The story is told using gameplay; despite the fact that there is so little of it, it is emotional, meaningful and engaging.
