Kathy Rain is mostly serious game with occassional cynical jokes balancing a mysterious detective story and personal struggles. The gameplay elements are traditional which means there are no timed events but also that there are some more old-timey puzzles like a maze. The latter wouldn't feel like a punishment if a game implemented an option to skip walking cutscenes from one screen to another. The visual side of Kathy Rain is beautiful, a result of attention for details and of ability to draw a bigger scenery. Walking in the rain at the cemetery was just, wow, breathtaking. Combining it with the nicely done soundtrack, it made me to stop playing for a moment to enjoy the atmosphere from time to time. Regarding the story, I should say upfront that I am not a fan of "bigger-than-life" plot intertwined with family ties. Kathy Rain reminded me of Gabriel Knight 1 here and there, including the theme, but it felt like it didn't exactly know what to focus on - family or the bigger deal? It kept peddling between two, unable to decide what has the higher priority, and the conclusion wasn't as strong as it could have been due to it. On the other hand, I like that there are obvious attempts to not use stereotypes, so we get a quite interesting side-kick and some unusual residents. I wouldn't mind Kathy Rain 2, the game has a potential to grow into something truly magical.
I don't play tower-defense games but Defender's Quest is laughting super-positive tad with addicting gameplay. And developer's opinions about many things, including DRM, is the icing on the cake.
Idea of AC was a breath of fresh air. Playing as a non-white protagonist and exploring different culture of Middle East with real cities rebuilt in the game is truly unique. This game introduced parkur mechanism and it is enjoyable to jumping roofs. What really drags AC down are two things: 1) A lack of story layers - Let me explain. The game felt way too long and repetitive. Moments including a story, either main or unique side story, are sparse. You will spend much time running, climbing and jumping around without any real progress in the story. 2) No subtitles - If English isn't your native language and you don't understand spoken English perfectly or you are hearing impaired, you won't enjoy the story. Almost everybody speaks with a heavy accent, people speak to you during battle roar. I would give 2/5 to this game because it wasn't really enjoyable gaming experience. I had to force myself to play AC. I missed plot details sometimes because a lack of subtitles and occasional bad sound balance, so I had to search for transcript. I don't want to play it again. However I didn't. Why? Because I stared in silent awe when I climbed on the highest tower in 12th century Damascus and saw that epic panorama of recreated real city. I like to listen to the great soundtrack. I liked to play as Syrian and meet Muslim characters who aren't terrorists for once. And because it opened doors and provided necessary background to the greatest episode in the series - Assassin's Creed 2.
The game is a hidden gem. Sort of survival surreal thriller dragged down by brutal survival elements and punishing rare auto-save points. Positives: - A lot of interactive characters around - Many endings reflecting your actions - Random encounters depending on day, day time and your actions - Cryptic dialogues - Heavy, mysterious atmosphere - Avant-garde, very unique visual scenery Negatives: - Your progress saves only once in the beginning of day - It's survival game at its finest. If you don't find enough supplements, you are screwed two later If you are unsure, do yourself a favor and read Rock, Paper, Shotgun Butchering Pathologic series.
I admit I'm wary of indie scene. It can be a place giving a birth to unique and good games but more often than not it doesn't. When Blackwell was sold for $2 here, I gave it a try. This bundle was first thing created by Wadjet Eye Games I played and I was intrigued. The ghost theme and episodic nature discouraged me at first but it turned out well. Authors managed to add an interesting twist, spreading over the whole series, to your usual ghost stories which made me feel like I am really moving somewhere instead of not just dealing with "monsters of the week". Although I had to get used to macho Joey, characters are likeable and believable most of the time. Music is great; a compilation of jazz, electro and ambient. Visuals are old-schol yet Wadjet Eye experiments with different approaches. I don't have to like them all but I appreciate the constant effort to improve. And voice-over is pretty awesome for an indie title. It also contains the most innovative system I have recently seen in adventure games. There is something like cross-reference where you can combine different conversation topic as and create a new clue. It felt natural. I would welcome more locations and characters in first 3 episodes; they felt kind of short due to it. 4th one is well-balanced and probably my favorite. I enjoyed the series and I look forward to play more episodes when they'll come. Note : If you don't like a cliffhanger, be aware of the fact this series isn't finished. While each case is closed per episode, the overreaching arc is left open.
The game looks awesome for an independent development studio. Visually, it's Mafia of indie scene. No load screens, high details, fluent movement of characters, everything has its place, a believable changes of weather. I really liked to walk around and enjoy the view. The background music is simple but very well-done. It has the strong, orchestral tones which perfectly convey the dramatic mood. It's almost a crime that it isn't among bonuses :). Narrative between chapters was strong thanks to an interesting use of camera, music, and the detective's commentary. Dialogues are also nicely done although it moves a little too quickly. The murder/accident happens recently and residents still react little too cool. On the other hand, I think that creators were aware of insanity of such scenario and thus they planted an inside joke here and there; the detective's name or chores come to mind. Fans of classic adventures will probably dislike action sequences and a lack of choices. The game allows you to do some things in different order but you spend a majority of time running around and clicking on things. You play as a silent person, so don't expect a dialogue menu. It's still an adventure which means "assassinations" are scripted. There are some flaws. One is related to control music. It seems that no matter what you volume chose, a background track keeps playing loudly which can interfere with speaking and makes it harder to understand. Game play lasts 5 or 6 hours which I consider short. Summary: It's not second The Longest Journey but it's fine adventure. I enjoyed it and I look forward to see another game from this studio. Hopefully, this time with something less graphically morbid :). And, Lucius is hella little creeper.
