Infinifactory is a top-notch puzzle game that satisfies my programming problem-solving itch. I don't often find myself motivated to optimize solutions to puzzles once I initially solve them, but Infinifactory compares the strength of your solution with other players, providing tangible gain for refining your puzzle solutions. After playing this game I find myself imagining the levels, thinking through ways to optimize and sketching different approaches. The greatest achievement of this game is its capacity for creativity--each level allows for tons of unique solutions that the player can solve organically. The challenge is tough, yet rewarding. None of the puzzles that I have played through feel artificially challenging or cheap, which I find is usually caused by limiting a player's ability with arbitrary constraints. Rather, Infiinifactory presents each puzzle simply and effectively, leaving the player with all of the tools, abilities, and requisite skill required to complete it. I did, however, run into a few frustrating bugs. On a few levels I repeatedly fell through floors and objects like they didn't exist, and sometimes my character got stuck in walls that required a restart to fix. These problems do detract from the experience and can kill the mellow atmosphere of the game. However, they occur rarely enough that they aren't a major issue (and may be an issue associated with Windows 10). Infinifactory is a fantastic puzzle game that rewards you for the time you spend to solve, optimize, and refactor its many levels.
Else Heart.Break() is a beautiful game, both aesthetically and mechanically, and is completely deserving of your time. Although a little slow to start, Else Heart.Break() picks up dramatically once the programming and code aspects are discovered. Upon acquiring a “modifier”, the player character can waltz around the small town of Dorisburg changing the functionality of various objects and interactions found within the world. From hacking coffee to top-secret computer mainframes, the game’s coding system provides an interesting means of progressing its story. This code system is so robust that it allows for multiple solutions to many of the plot points that you’ll run into, allowing you to stretch your creativity and solve challenges in a personalized manner. This hacking system lends itself well to the narrative of the game, as nearly every major plot point requires you to go out and find it yourself. You’ll often find yourself running around town talking to every NPC imaginable, attempting to find some hint or direction to advance the story. Although this can be frustrating at times, the majority of the time I found exploring Dorisburg and learning about its characters to be exciting and fun. This game rewards you for delving into its secrets by presenting you with humourous side-stories or new functions to augment your programs and hacking ability. It is extremely satisfying to work off of a small hint given to you by an NPC and hack your way to the next objective. That said, if you are looking at this game as a non-programmer, your experience with this game may be completely different than mine. Although this game does a good job of introducing you to the concepts needed to use its language (if you manage to find the floppy disks ridden about the world), it may be a bit overwhelming to wrap your head around. It doesn’t take much hacking to advance through the plot and beat the game, however, I think that a major part of the experience lies in exploring the hacking system and messing around in the digital playground that the game gives you. Additionally, the dialogue system that the game revolves around is extremely rudimentary. Although you are presented with many options to choose from when conversing with NPCs, I found that not many of my decisions actually mattered. The way that NPCs would interact with my character was hardly different based on the decision I made, aside from a few lines of dialogue. This definitely detracts from the overall experience of the game, as you’ll be encountering a heavy amount of dialogue. These gripes aside, I believe that Else Heart.Break() is a fantastic game that is worth every bit of time that you put into it. Dorisburg is a lovingly-crafted playground that begs to be explored.
This game is absolutely fantastic. Leaping across platforms and chasms, whipping away bats, snakes, and hawkmen, bombing through the floors of a jungle to escape awful tiki-traps never gets old in this game. Each level is randomly-generated, so you will be greeted with a fresh experience every time you replay a level. And believe me, you will replay the levels. Spelunky is as fun as it is brutal -- you will have to invest some serious effort to be able to finish the first few areas of this game, let alone beat the final boss. However, with this difficulty comes huge satisfaction; it is easy to see your improvement at the game as you learn the skills necessary to beat each area. If you are a fan of difficult games with lots of re-playability and some "roguelike" elements, Spelunky is for you. The controls are tight, the animations are satisfying, and the theme of the game is fantastic. However, if you are easily frustrated or prefer a game that flaunts an expansive storyline, you may wish to consider other options.
