Currently the game is discounted by 80 % - for that price it's an okay deal but full price is another story. Paradise Lost (PL) is yet another walking sim inspired by the Bioshock-idea of visiting the remnants of what was once a very interesting place to figure out what happened to it. In PL's case that place is an abandoned gigantic nazi bunker which you visit while escaping from the surrounding wasteland - in short, WW2 ended differently and you are one of few survivors after a nuclear holocaust. The nazi bunker has been the home of not only nazis but another group of survivors before you arrive and the game deals with the usual theme of religious nutjobs versus rational semi-fascist survivalists as well as usual tropes surrounding nazi ideology, experiments etc. PL is void of any gameplay besides walking forward down a linear path: besides collecting the occasional item, playing voice records and reading letters there is no interaction at all with the world you are in. In order for such a limited experience to be any good, the story, visuals and sound needs to compensate and in PL, they don't. The story is extremely predictable, the voice acting is bad and visually the game is unimpressive (although the graphic design is kinda good in certain places). The music is nice but can't compensate for everything else that PL is lacking. on top of all this, the game is buggy and required a handful of reboots during the few hours a playthrough demands. The game is made by a small indie studio and I can absolutely lower my expectations in many ways but leaving the game unpatched in the current state is where I draw the line.
So I finally played through the very obviously unfinished Trine 3, Frozenbytes ambitious attempt at converting the Trine-series into a 3D-adventure with greater freedom for the player. The experiment obviously didn't pan out as the developer hoped and Frozenbyte has openly admitted that the they had to stop making the game about a third in because they ran out of funds. Personally, I love shorter games as my life situation seldomly allow for longer gaming sessions and there are a lot of games out there that I want to experience, but Trine 3 does not feel like a complete game - the story (which itself is traditionally bland and adds nothing to the experience) ends abruptly with the heroes saying "two more to go" before fading to black. The heroes and gameplay are similar to previous games but sadly, two out of three characters have been nerfed substantially. Amadeus the wizard can no longer summon planks and his only function now is spawning boxes or smashing levitating objects into enemies (ok, that part is enjoyable). Zoya the thief on the other hand has been relegated to the backseat completely as bugs prevent you from using her bow in a fight unless absolutely necessary - I fought three enemies in a fight and 7 out of 10 arrows hit the ground right in front of me. The game tries to evolve the physics puzzles by using Zoyas rope to attach different objects in order to create pulleys which is neat but both combat and platforming are now completely the realm of Pontius the knight which can float using his shield, smash obstacles, fight of dozens of enemies at a time and dashing to jump further. A tad dissapointing since Zoya was my favorite character. The game looks rather pretty but is surprisingly taxing considering the not so impressive graphics. I will admit however that the final boss, although very easy to beat, is a a fun fight that I enjoyed. Looking forward to part 4!
So I finally unpacked the last box in the house and watched the credits roll. Unpacking lets you follow an anonymous girl, reaching adulthood and moving between homes as the time passes. It's a simple game of clicking with the mouse on objects, rotating them with the right mouse button, and placing them on suitable places throughout the room(s) of your new home. It starts off with a single room and it gradually becomes more difficult. Unpacking isn't exactly a challenging game but the pixel art can sometimes make it a tad difficult to precisely tell what certain objects are (is it a toy? a porcelain figure? A refrigerator magnet?) and it kinda requires the player to have certain culture references. If you haven't, for example, ever celebrated channukah, you might not pick up on the fact that a certain box are matches for the Channukah menorah candelabrum and personally I got confused a by a huge cylinder-shaped can which I can only assume is some sort of hair spray canister somewhere in the world. Placing things in their right place and watch an empty house/apartment turn into a full fledged home is satisfying while the music is very enjoyable and mood filling. My only real gripe with Unpacking is that the OST is missing from GOG. It really ought to be put here as it is an integral part of the experience.
TSORF is a walking sim, plain and simple. It's the story of Nicole, a young woman who travels back to a shut down hotel that she has inherited from her now deceased parents. The family's history ended in tragedy due to your father having an "inappropriate" affair and without spoiling the story: this is where the title of the game comes in. Nicole is forced to check out the vacant hotel in order to sell it off but manages to arrive during a freezing blizzard and surprise surpise, Nicky is now trapped in the hotel and starts trying to unravel the tragic story of Rachel Foster. The screenshots might look pretty but this is not a visually impressive creation (although the in-game rendered cutscenes are nicely animated) and technically it is functional but not much more than that. Movement is sluggish and gameplay-wise there isn't much besides walking forward and equpping a flashlight once in a while. Basically a 2.5 out of 5 stars, there are better walking sims to play but if you enjoy a short semi-scary story, give it a shot.
Industria is a curious title that, in this day and age, ticks a lot of my boxes. Classic linear campaign? Check Lonely and eerie setting? Check Short and to the point? Check Non-regenerating health bar and a manual saving system? Check Still it sadly kinda falls short as the game is after all made by just a couple of guys and it shows. The gameplay is rather stiff and dull with uninteresting shooting and the entire game can be completed in a few hours. The game should be seen as an homage to Half-Life 2, to put it politely, and I wouldn't be surprised if the game started out as an ambitious mod for said game. The game puts you in the shoes of Nora, an east german scientist who gets mixed up in an experiment gone wrong at the same night as the Berlin wall comes down. Pretty neat idea but the game does nothing interesting with the concept - the characters talk english and all you do is shoot robots charging at you. The biggest problems are the technical short comings however. I recently bought an RTX 4070ti and decided to try the card out on Industria. The framerate was all over the place with frequent drops below 60 and stutter in certain scenes. During the end of the game my save file got corrupted and the game started crashing until I re-started from an earlier checkpoint and had to go through a rather difficult part to my frustration. The music is pretty nice and Nora's voice actress is doing a fine job but the plot vague to the point of feeling nonsensical. All in all, I wish I could recommend Industria as it is a game I really want to like but the flaws are simply too many.
The music of Spiritfarer is like 70 % of the experience, you definitely need to buy it.
The game is short and simple but oh what a treat it is to blast your way through the alleys, drug labs and roof tops of Hong Kong. The visceral gore when sending off goons to the afterlife is incredibly satisfying and game sports some really nice visuals. A solid recommendation if you like the idea of a Hotline Miami/John Woo crossover.
So, story wise this game might not impress that much but the game itself is a lot more fun than certain people will admit. Good solid shooting with good pacing and bullet time effect that is still fun to use. Enjoy!
So, I finished ADD yesterday after about a dozen hours or so. Lore-wise it's the usual post-apocalyptic tale where the few people that survived the nuke war/plague/catastrophe are fighting over scarce resources but in this game, WE'RE UNDERWATER! You goof around in a miniature submarine, fighting your way through pirate-held territories and do chores for different factions for fuck knows what reason wth the over-arching task is to save the world. Gameplay-wise it's a Descent-style shooter with the usual types of weapons and ships to choose from. It's pretty okay but with few surprises and even fewer twists to spice up the action. Traversing the ocean floor and seeing the remenants of our civilization (you visit both the pyramids and the heart of Berlin) is pretty cool but the visuals are unimpressive while still demanding on the GPU. I really wish the developers had done more with the underwater theme but besides a few caves there are few things to remind you of it. The music is pretty good but the voice acting is sub-par to put it politely. All in all, a very average game that won't give you fond memories but if you want a few hours of braindead shooting, knock yourself out!
In Time Loader you play as a small sentient robot that is sent back in time by its creator Adam. After a tragic accident during his childhood, Adam is confined to a wheelchair and he now sends his creation back in time to stop this accident from occuring. Time Loader is essentially an easy platformer with some rudimentary puzzles and, besides a VERY brief episode towards the final minutes, completely void of any dangers. You manouver around Adams house while your enthusiastic robot comments on the settings and Adams personality traits (like his love for video games). The visuals are rather simple and the gameplay is as mentioned very easy and kid friendly but it is also very satisfying when completing the puzzles and watch your robot roll away to face the next obstacle. It's a short game that ought to take a skilled player no more than a couple of hours to beat and there are very little incentives to return to TL once you've beaten it. Still, makes for a nice relaxing experience during a sleepy sunday afternoon!
