I don't know how I missed this thing back in '98, I must have been playing Carmageddon. If you were born in the 80's and still hang out on GOG, this is a must. Surpisingly good arcade racing to be had here, demands skill but it still a bit off it's rocker. The strangest thing is the great sound track, some of these songs seem like that were put together by some pretty serious musicians! Of course the next song may have some 90's German house music vibes, but still, it's pretty good! Clearly this is geared towards some Cult fun, but it's running clean on my Windows 10 - come join the party!
I had a blast with Julia. It has it's flaws, the puzzles are too easy, as it throws a wide net with all sorts of challenges that are paper thin. It has it's moments of jank technically.. but honestly I don't mind a bit given the soul of this creation. This game is steeped in true creativity, from the art to the storyline. And while the tasks are a bit shallow, the unfolding tale is strong enough that I don't mind much when I get to read the next chapter instead of tinkering away at some intricate puzzle. This is no Riven, but if you are a fan of node based first person adventure games, this is an absolute no brainer! Jump in and enjoy the ride.
As Riven is my favorite game, I generally leap headlong into any title of this nature. These days, now that Walking Simulators are all the rage, I generally find myself disappointed. Great premise at atmosphere, but the lack of any challenge makes it feel like a bit of a chore, even with it's short game time. I'll round my 3.5 up due to the fact this was made almost entirely by one guy, so hats off to ya! If you want a quick little story to pass an afternoon with, go for it! If you want a challenge that leaves you pondering and reflecting on... meh. Would love to see what this guy could do with a few employees though!
This game has Meridian 59 flashbacks dancing before my eyes. Not in the quality or effort put into it, but the general feel, the standing 2d objects, the mace... I see a lot of good things going on here, but honestly they need to pump in vast amounts of lore into this thing. If it is just gonna be a casual little FPS then what's the point. This could be a great ARPG or just casual fluff... we shall see.... guessing I know which way they shall go..
At last, this is the DLC I have always hoped for from Fury Software. I am a long time fan, and their WW1 game and War In Europe are true gems. While the WIE is just a treat of a digital boardgame, their other titles often felt too broad. The WW1 sea war should not feel like your fighting the battle of Midway! The American Civil War should not be decided by early game sea tactics............! The scope was often too large, so DLC's (or entire games) like this will really open things up. Just look at the war boardgaming communities, many of the greatest games are just single battles, using even simpler rulesets than this. Which is why I love this DLC, it is like a handfull of great little boardgames set within their wonderful WW1 universe. Can't wait to dive further in, and eventually start yet another full WW1 campaign. Keep up the good work Fury, and consider embracing the smaller format going forward. Operational Art Of War is a classic, but a bit dry and lacking character and full campaigns... there is an opening for you there.
Oh my! What a game. If you are a fan of The Dark Descent, or of horror walking simulators, absolutely check this out. It is short enough that it is worth the jaunt. In some ways it sticks the landing... the dialogues in the end really suck you in. Though in most ways, this game is ridiculous. Being a sequal of The Dark Descent the gameplay is wayyy too stripped down. Just sketched out puzzles with nothing to them. The writing is solid, but completely all over the place and redundant. My frustration comes from the fact that if Frictional games had worked with Chinese Room and taken control of this game.. it may have been one of the best horror games to date. Instead we have a floundering oddity.
Riven is my favorite game of all time, and I am a fan of many genres. Myst 1 and 3 hit all of my favorite notes as well, although not on the same level. From what I can see here, Cyan knows themselves as the ones who brought high level first person story driven puzzle games into existence... I now fear they hope to have the same influence on the genre in VR... squandering away what little time is left, as they should focus on bringing great puzzles to the next generation instead. This game is gorgeous. Unfortunately that seems to be the main focus. In their early games you would walk up to a puzzle and be mystified, slowly unpacking it in your head. When you finally cracked the code it would feel like a miracle! What a joy. This game is wandering through a gorgeous fractured land. Most puzzles I solved accidentially just trying to figure out what the puzzle was about. The only difficulty is keeping the shattered map together in your head. I worry Firmament will be more of the same.. I'll buy it the day it comes out regardless. All I hope for is that Cyan can drop one more truly epic puzzle game before the doors close. Regardless, they will always be dear to my heart.
Great game, in fact, one of the better indie games I have played in some time. Simple little game loop (wooo, we all loop and loop and loop these days.. to nowhere), which is very entertaining. Cartoon spooky in all the right ways. I love that this game was released as a finished product, feels like a damn miracle these days! Charm, fun tinkering, a little story to unfold. But I see you Drudge! Yall stole the Dark Fall 2 Cover so hard it's silly. I see you ;o
This point and click adventure yet is another atempt to recapture the magic of Machinarium, a feet that seems to be impossible. The background art is top notch, some of the character designs are quite nice, but oh my are they wasted. You exist in one area at a time, and the only things you can interact with are the answer to any problem you may have in that area. And there are never more than two or three items, so you will be running, not walking through this game. Mini games are scattered throughout, all of wich are more tasks than challenges. Which is too bad because some of the areas are truly beautiful, begging for more interactions to keep you there longer. I could look past this, if there was a rich story with lively characters. They made a unique robot language for this game, which comes off much closer to annoying than enchanting. On top of that all the robots are malfunctioning a bit in this dystopian world, so the voices are further warped and glitching all the time. I see they were trying to add to the dystopian vibes... but it just doesn't. The dialogues fly by with no real lasting interactions, just on to the next one! There are also a number of bugs in this game, which is pretty rare for a professional point and click. So why 4 stars? Well, it is more of a 3.5. But I will say, if you are ok in beating this thing in a single afternoon for the price, and are hankering for a bit of point and click action.... go for it! If you just love supporting the genre, go for it! It does scratch the itch.. But.. if you are looking for some grand adventure, rich story, or deep challenges, this game will dissapoint.
