This is a surprisingly flexible game! You can play in almost any style and approach situations as you see fit ranging from massacreing all raiders (and going on raids yourself), or treating prisoners with respect and giving them good food and medicine (you can set polities!) and converting them to your faction. The DLCs are great additions and expand the flexibility even more, but aren't necessary to enjoy the base game. It can be challenging, but the storyteller AI can provide you with a sweet spot of events and raids to keep it interesting, depending on how you configure them. Good game, definitely buy.
Let me start off by saying I ENJOYED this game. For the most part. The puzzles were incredibly creative and the recursion mechanics were very appropriately mind bending and rewarding to solve. That said, the story felt like it was a bit out of place or even superfluous. I would recommend a 'psychological horror' tag, or at least mentions of the portrayal of drug use and more. Coming from an abusive household myself, the story got a little too close to home and I doubt I'm going to want to replay this game again, despite the clever puzzles. Something I'd like to tell the developer is that stories about abuse and similiar psychological horror are only fun and entertaining to people who didn't have to go through remotely simliar trauma themselves. I did, so those story elements made me distinctively stressed and uncomfortable. Maybe some people find that fun (As many people who go to an amusement park to experience distressingly high speeds and gravityu forces do, for the novelty) but I struggled with enjoying that part of the game. However, the story was still integrated fairly decently, I just thought the content of the story was a bit much. drug use is mentioned, and child abuse as well. I'd say that should warrant some kind of warning label for thoose who are more sensitive. Regardless, I'm still giving this 4 out of 5 stars because the rest of the game was excellently done with impressive visuals and mechanics. The story may be a hit or miss based on the individual playing it and I'm sure many people will still find it quite interesting and entertaining, so I'm not considering that too heavily in my rating. This is a good game, just be wary of the story content and how it might make you feel.
I didn't try *every* single game in this pack, but the games I did try were clearly asset flipped and low quality, made with minimal effort. The UI was reused between all of them, with a dash of recoloring, requiring you to select your language each launch (why doesn't it remember this?) and they all had the feel of a 12 year old with a devkit slapping stuff together so it looked cool and trying to pass it off as a 'game' without thinking of balance, gameplay, or immersion. I was sorely disappointed by this game pack, and this developer. I'm sorry to say I won't be buying any future titles developed by this game dev, I'm requesting a refund within 30 minutes of purchase, and urging everyone to avoid this pack and developer.
The premise is very unique. I haven't played a game focusing on figuring out alien artifacts in this manner. The Museum premise was pretty interesting, and fun! I would have liked to have seen the artifacts end up on display over time as I progressed. This game is good! The puzzles weren't very difficult for me (Finished in about 3 hours so I guess I'm average) but the designs and puzzles were very interesting and I got a few of those good goosebumps moments when something activated or otherwise worked and surprised me with the results. There's a bit of a story as well, but I will let you discover that on your own! I did like the ending, and it left things open nicely for what seems to be an upcoming sequel, which I admit I'm actually excited to try! While the game is short, the price isn't too high, so I wouldn't worry too much about it being a waste of money, and the promise of a sequel (and I saw people who worked on DLC in the credits) has me quite interested in seeing what else they come up with. In conclusion, I found this game refreshing, and I was definitely entertained! I am an old Myst puzzle gamer, so I didnt' find it super difficult, although I did take a break at one point because I was being obtuse and not noticing a detail I should have, but for the 3 hours I spent I was quite entertained and mystified, and really enjoyed seeing how things came together, and later they really start coming together in an interesting way. I have to give props to their team for the creativity involved here in makign the various alien artifacts and how things develop as you work on more of them. I was pretty hooked for the time it took me to play! Great game, no violence, (although a couple of hints of violence that happened but nothing awful), I'd let my kids play this if I had any.
I was looking for non-euclidian games, because I love the mindbending qualities they have. While this isn't really as non-euclidian as I thought it might be, it was still a very good experience. It's less about moving portals, or winding your way around infinite hallways (well that happens on a couple of occasions), this game focused on perspective and how looking at a problem from multiple/different angles can reveal a solution you might not have considered .I won't give you any spoilers but this was a very fun outing. The whole 'dream theme' of the game made it more fun, and even a bit concerning at a few points. But this game really does have a great message for people struggling with problems. It's a bit short, I beat it in one sitting. Normally I'd consider beating a puzzle game in one sitting as a sign of an inferior game but this game is so well crafted that I can honestly say it's definitely more about quality vs quantity. This game doesn't have to be long to be an enjoyable experience.
This game is a bit less of a 'game' and more like an interactive novel with jumpscares. The graphics are excellent, the atmosphere is pretty notable, but I was not terribly impacted in the end. I Can safely say that this particular game was worth at least one play through, but didn't end up being very memorable or one of those nostalgic titles that you remember fondly years later. The story is pretty interesting, and the side stories help to flesh out the world and struggles of people living in it, while exploration can be rewarded with interesting sights or experiences, but in the end it made me say "Well, that was pretty good but I'm going to make room on my SSD now." I honestly wouldn't say that this game is worth the $30 price tag, and I'd get it on sale if possible. Otherwise, it was a fun time sink, and I don't regret playing it, as the experience of the game is decently constructed, but it gets repetitive, and once you start questioning reality and what's a genuine threat or not it loses a lot of it's luster and intensity. Not really great replay value, but I did enjoy it. I just don't think I'll find myself enjoying it again, and again. All that said, it does have a few interesting segments, and the ending wasn't at all what I expected to be, so that was a pleasant surprise and did pick it up a little. I would have rated the game less if it turned out to be a boring formulaic story that's been repeated many times before. (That said, some of the elements are a bit formulaic, but they managed to tie it into an interesting ending.) Should you buy it? I'd wait for a sale. And this was a lot more like a complex walking simulator then much else. There's no 'battles' or 'fights' other then navigating your way through each memory sequence, so don't expect a huge challenge. Even the puzzles were super simple and didn't really impact my gameplay much. If you want intensive gameplay or a challenge, I wouldn't purchase this.
This review is being made under 'in development' status so does not reflect the final state of the game. Having played for roughly 20 hours, I believe I can say that this game has clear potential. Despite still being under development and suffering from a variety of bugs, polish issues, and crashes, I enjoyed the time I spent in the game, and found the humor to be amusing and refreshing. This game clearly reflects the god-like genre that was lost to the ages many years ago, and brings back nostalgic notes of games like Black and White. While this game has no creatures for you to train and nuture, There are still heavy notes of your inability to directly control the Nuggets (simulated people) and your need to influence them through a small selection of creator powers which allow you to heal, create rain, lighten moods, and various other activities that allow you to help your people along. At this time, however, the creator abilities feel rather limited and you are required to get get nuggets to believe in you through exercising those limited powers. This is one of the larger problems that I struggle with when playing the game, having a population of over 100 nuggets and only 10 believe in you, which heavily limits the amount of creator points you can generate to really do much of anything to help your people or gain more believers. Hopefully this will be solved cleanly with further polish and balancing. While most of the gaming is 'hands off' with the people, you are still tasked with guiding their evolution and future. This is done via placing buildings like eateries, wells, and such for them to construct, and making decisions in the research tree. Some decisions are singular choices of which direction to take your people. For example, you can choose ONE of three different energy source types to develop. Combustion, wind, or kinetic (nugget/people) power, and you are locked into that choice once it's finished researching. A good game, with good potential.
When you begin, you find yourself in a crampled little booth with a tiny little shelf for a 'desk;. Upon you are thrust a myriad of responsibilities to manage the passing of outsiders into your glorious country, and a host of rules, regulations, and details to juggle and check as efficiently as you can. You must work quickly as you are paid for each person you successfully (and correctly) allow and deny into your country within the time limit alloted for each day. Quick and efficient work rewards you with more money for you to support your family, and other benefits. On the surface this game seems to be purely about stamping visas and shuffling rules, which does sound rather boring and tedious. However, this game is so much much more then simply a visa stamper. I will avoid spoilers as best I can but I must say that the amount of power you have with your two little stamps becomes quickly tangible a couple of days in, and you can really start feeling the pressure of your decisions as you encounter the various people trying to get into your glorious country and their life stories. These various stories, combined with the multiple branching decisions, allows the game to have a good deal of replayability and provides a stark commentary on the job you're playing at doing and how it compares to real people that sit in real booths and stamp real visas, every day, all day. It's really quite visceral. What starts out as a fairly uneventful paper stamper turns quickly into a world full of intruige and social commentary all centered around your two little stamps and your otherwise dreary day-to-day job and routine. If you want something different, somethign that tells a unique story, something that takes a completely new style of gameplay, or if you just want to pretend to be that jerk at the airport that won't let people through because of a typo, this really is a fantastic game, and a fantastic experience. If you read this far, shame on you! HURRY UP AND BUY IT NAO!
