Disclaimer: I am a little biased here because I backed this game and followed their kickstarter quite closely. I also attended a couple of their dev streams and the trio behind Stuck In Attic could not have been nicer. They cared about the backers as much as they did about their game. Right from the start you could feel this was a true passion project for them. And it makes me happy to see that all their dedication and hard work paid off. Considering it's their first proper game it's a really solid effort you'd normally expect from already established studios like Daedalic or KING Art. I am not a Lovecraft fan so there was always a bit of skepticism towards whether I would enjoy the game and I am glad to say that I did. The art style, the music, the wacky characters and the funny yet suspenseful story can easily match with the big dogs of the genre. They recorded several unique VO lines for basically every object you can interact with. Each screen you find yourself in shines with numerous little details and charming animations reminiscent of the 2nd Discworld game (but with much smoother animations). It's not a perfect game. Some situations and puzzle solutions did make me shake my head, the VO quality is a bit uneven and the jokes can come across a bit too forced. Also towards the end the story gets a little too weird and crazy for me. But despite those little gripes, it was a really enjoyable journey with nice little twists and turns. Normally I would give 5 stars but I have a feeling they can top this game with their next one, so I'm holding on to that 5th star for now.
Saint Kotar basically feels like a Black Mirror game just in a different setting. Unfortunately I could not make myself sympathize with the protagonists at all. Every time I would start to warm up to the main protagonist Benedek (you play mostly as him) his overall whiny nature would ruin it again sooner or later...and don't get me started on his insufferable counterpart Nikolay. However, the gloomy atmosphere is great and the story is suspenseful enough to make me ignore those gripes. Only in the last quarter of the game, the story gets a little too outlandish for me and ends in a really disappointing way. I am aware that their budget was limited but sadly that also impacted my overall experience with the game: (too) many cutscenes just result in the screen fading to black. Some animations feel a bit stiff and sometimes your characters literally just float over the ground and involuntary push each other across the screen. In bigger areas the slow pace of the characters often tested my patience because even making them run didn't really make them much faster. Here I would've preferred the option to just double-click my way into the next screen. You do get a map but sadly you can't interact/fast-travel with it, so it's honestly not much of use. What also annoyed me a little was that you can't visit some areas whenever you wanted. I don't mind having off-limits locations at the end of a game but the fact that you can't properly explore a town and its surroundings while you are basically searching for a missing person makes little sense to me. Which brings me to another point: You can actually miss a bunch of objects or locations due to the fact that some areas are only available to visit once, so saving often is advised. Still, the sound design is excellent and the locations are (mostly) hauntingly beautiful, especially the locations around town. All in all, it's a solid first game for the studio and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do next.
Nine Witches truly is an original game. I'm not a hardcore gamer but I honestly can't compare this game to any other I've played before. It's a horror comedy game mixing P&C-adventure-style gameplay with occasional action/combat parts. It's quite cool but the combat gets a bit frustrating in the 2nd half of the game if you keep the setting on "challenging". After suffering several deaths I gave in and set it to easy (which also adds a fun/silly little element to the combat). The pixel art is a little too "low-res" for me but charming nonetheless. I would've liked if they added some character portraits during dialogues but that's just me. Another thing I missed in the later part of the game was a sort of fast travel option as it can get pretty tedious to travel from one part of the map to another because you missed to pick up an item. As others already pointed out, the humor is definitely not for everyone. Some jokes just didn't make sense to me and at times they were a little too forced and immersion breaking. Anyway, I had a good time with the game and if you're looking for something out of the ordinary, it's definitely a breath of fresh air.
Memoria basically picks up where CoS left off and does everything better. Ok, maybe not everything... just like in its predecessor, the puzzles range from easy to challenging to straight up frustrating/annoying (those are rare though - and there is a help feature). However, all in all the game contains even more magic features, lets you control two different characters and this time actually manages to make you care about them. The voice-acting got a lot better (hint: the staff!). And once again, the 2D-art and soundtrack are absolutely gorgeous. Next to the audio-visual presentation, the story is what really shines here. It's pretty impressive how they went from a dark fairy tale in CoS to a full-blown fantasy epic with a really nice twist at the end. If you liked CoS, you will love Memoria.
It's been a while since the last time I played a proper P&C game and this one has been on my pile of shame for way too long. Chains of Satinav has a pretty interesting atmosphere, starting off quite light-hearted but turns really grim and dark towards the end. While I liked most about the game - especially the art-style, the intriguing story and some fresh gameplay elements - I wasn't too keen on some puzzles, as they required some serious out of the box thinking (e.g. the fairy world). And since this was my first P&C game in years, I ran into quite a few frustrating dead ends. But that's just me. I'm sure other people love those puzzles. Another gripe I have concerns the main character. It feels like there is barely any character development and his whiny demeanor doesn't make it easy to root for him (Note: They voice-acting got a lot better in Memoria). Anyways, playing this made me rediscover my love for P&C games and that's definitely a good thing :)
I wanted to play a decent RPG similar to Dragon Age or The Witcher but without having to put 80+ hrs into it. So Greedfall seemed to be the right choice. And I did have quite a good time with it. But as mentioned already in several other reviews, the repetitive gameplay, clunky controls, lack of NPC/enemy variety and recycled environments do leave a somewhat bitter aftertaste. Still, the good outweighs the bad. The story is interesting and the main characters are convincing enough to make you feel for them. The weapon and amour variety is pretty good too (with plenty of details). I found myself spending quite some time with just changing/assigning outfits and crafting. I mean, protection is good but you also gotta look the part. The soundtrack is subtle and fitting. I often get annoyed by combat music which was not the case here, as it's never too obtrusive. Some quests dragged on for too long due to the sort of rinse and repeat vibe (and the aforementioned lack of variety). The story changes but the formula is often the same in the sense that you do a lot of running back and forth between 2-3 NPCs and that you usually visit the same places over and over again. Still, you need to give kudos to Spiders since they make up for most of the repetitive gameplay with good storytelling. The romance part is pretty nice too. However, seeing your protagonist fool around with their love interest in full amour was a bit ridiculous and spoiled the moment for me. The world is generally beautiful but a lot of it feels samey. The interiors of the buildings in the three major cities all look alike even though you're dealing with three different cultures (excluding the natives). Often NPCs just stand around and do absolutely nothing, which gives certain areas a rather lifeless and sometimes even creepy feel. All flaws aside, Greedfall is a solid game considering the budget and I'm curious to see what the studio does next. I'd even be up for a sequel.
I spent a little over 50 hrs on this game and certainly enjoyed it for the most part (I wanted to finish it after all). Story, atmosphere and music definitely deserve a thumbs up. You obviously feel the 10+ years of the game but that didn't really spoil the overall fun I had with it. However, what caused several frustrating moments was the combat, especially in winding, narrow locations such as the swamp maps. Drowners quickly became the most annoying creatures I've ever had to deal with in a game (Chap. 5 god damnit), not because they are tough to fight but because they made it a real chore to enter a cave because of them constantly spawning. Some character motivations and actions felt unreasonable and forced. And the limited number of character skins didn't make it easy to keep track of all the different people you meet throughout the game because of so many NPCs looking alike. Still, as much as I cursed the game for the clunky camera controls and occasionally frustrating combat, for making me run around the swamp, (pretty much identical) crypts and sewers like an errand boy, the game offers many rewarding moments and surprises, likable main characters, some beautiful scenery (despite its age) and an interesting skill tree. And again, the soundtrack is outstanding. All in all, I'm glad I finally gave it a shot but I'm not sure if I'll play it again anytime soon.
I've had the game in my library for ages before I finally gave it a shot. Better late than never I guess. I enjoyed my time in a Cyberpunk version of Seattle. Great atmosphere, gripping story, plenty of customization options and interesting and (for the most part) likable characters. There are only a few minor hiccups as to why I didn't give it five stars: the slight lack of variety in the soundtrack (especially the music during the combat can get annoying if you take your time), the Matrix bits were a little tedious and I do miss voice-over, at least for the major characters. Still, all in all, I had a memorable 20 hr journey through an immersive Sci-Fi/Noir story. Now on to Dragonfall and Hong Kong...
