The game is surely well written. It accomplish its goal of creating a creepy atmosphere that makes the player uneasy at each step. The graphics are also well done and convey that sense of distress that the game aims for. I've found some puzzles quite hard to figure out, especially at the beginning. After some time, though, I've kind of understood the way of thinking of the game and things got a bit easier. On the negative side, at some point there is a scene where you're supposed to control a clown. That's it. You don't know why the clown is there, what's supposed to happen, nothing. You basically have to guess what the developers wanted you to do and click everywhere until you get it. Unfortunately, there is only one valid action at any given step, so the whole thing is just annoying, unrewarding and it feels like it lasts forever. Also, locations are not arranged in a "spatial" way, so I got lost many times while navigating through them. Apart from that, as stated at the beginning, the game is solid, enjoyable and well written.
The game plays more or less like the later episodes of The Blackwell Bundle (you may want to check out my review of that too) and you definitely should have finished the latter to fully appreciate the former. There is still a clue system where you can pick topics for conversations and you can seldom pair clues to elaborate on them. You also have a mobile that you can use to make calls, receive e-mails, look for info on internet etc. I've finished it in one go without any external help (I think that took me roughly 6 hours) so it's not much longer than the previous episodes. Moreover, although the game can't definitely be classified as hard, I won't say it's too easy either. The puzzles are fair (no moon logic involved) but not trivial. If you get stuck, you can chat with you partner to get some hint, but that again feels fair: it only gives you some direction without spoiling the whole thing. I'd say I went through it so fast rather because I got engaged by the story, which is really well written (like in the other games of the saga, by the way). It's somewhat similar to The Blackwell Deception but with many improvements. In fact, I've had already read a summary of the plot before purchasing it (I've kind of a weird relationship with spoilers...) and I though the ending was quite dull but then, when I actually got to play it, I liked it! In the end, I definitely recommend it.
A really cute game, although quite short. The puzzles aren't that clever and it's more of a trial error all the time. For its price (i.e. free), definitely a nice game.
Let's start with the pros: - The story is interesting and well written. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, where you're a special agent that has to solve several crimes while dealing with her own personal ghosts. - The dialogs are quite reach (of Wadjet Eye quality) and the system of having a notebook from where to pick topics during the interrogations works quite well. - The idea of having three paths to choose from is really cool. As a special agent, you have some special abilities and you can develop new ones, according to the path you're choosing, that will affect the course of the game. Now, time for the cons: - The pixelart, although of nice quality, looks uninspired. I mean, it's too good to remind the '90s, which kind of defeat the purpose of the pixelart itself. They could have just used modern graphics. - The gameplay is quite linear: you will face only a puzzle at a time. Your character will often refuse to visit a location or interact with some object until you until you performe a given action. One would think this would ease the difficulty, but in reality it makes the game even more frustrating. Each time you get stuck in a puzzle, there isn't much else you can do until you solve it, so you'll often find yourself tediously wandering around without a real purpose. - The idea of the special abilities, although cool, isn't as relevant as one would expect. It only changes the way you're supposed to solve some puzzle a couple of times, that's it. It doesn't really alter the course of the story in any way. - The game itself is quite short. I've finished it in a couple of days and I have to say I'm unimpressed by the overall experience. All considered, it's a decent game. Nonetheless, I wouldn't recommend it if you're not a fan of point-and-click adventures.
It's a nice game, that's it. The graphics are very good, although some animations while playing could be better. The story is good. It takes inspiration from the Call of Cthulhu, but then takes its own turn, which is a plus point for originality. The humour is nice, but nothing special. I've got the feeling I've been missing many of the references, but most of those I did get were mediocre. Overall, it snatched me a smile here and there, but nothing special. The negative point were the puzzles: too easy. I always knew what to do next, at no point I felt challenged. Some puzzles are just exhausting all the sentences of a conversation, then watch the following cutscene. It would be OK if the story was especially engaging etc. but, as I said, it's nothing special (although it's by no mean bad). Many times I just wanted to skip through. In the end, not a bad game but nothing special either.
I've played both games as a kid. They were quite enjoyable back then, but nowadays they're obsolete under almost any point of view. Gameplay switches from mashing buttons as fast as you can, to timely hit the correct one when required. That's it. It was fine back then, but games are evolved since then. Now it just feels silly. Same for graphics: they were OK back then, but now it's just fake 3D in low resolution. Animations are weird, physics are weird, everything looks weird by today's standard. You should definitely pass on these unless you're a nostalgic but, in that case, you should get them for free because that's their value today: zero.
It's simple, it's short, but sometimes it's just what you need when you have some spare moments and you don't wanna think about things. I mean, the game is fun, the graphics are really cute. It's probably not worth €10 but I took it on sale and I'm really please of it.
The story is intriguing although the characters aren't very relatable. I'm a software engineer and this is one of the few sci-fi stories that actually makes sense. There are a lot of references to real stuff (at some point they launch a missile that's called BEAST: they're launching a BEAST attack! :D). It's not just a guy going wild with his imagination without any base knowledge about technology whatsoever (looking at you, George Lucas :P) and I really appreciate it. The pixel art is spot on. Not necessarily the most gorgeous, but back in the '90s they weren't much better and I'd say it's done on purpose (plus point for truthfulness). The colors, by the way, are amazing and really contribute to the setting. The interface is a bit clunky, but again it could be seen as a conscious choice on the retro verve. The puzzles are quite challenging, with many red herrings and intermissions that prevents you from brute-force them. Overall they're well designed, although sometimes you have to do things in a specific order or it won't work, leading you to think you're on the wrong path even if it's not the case. I didn't fell in love with it like I did for instance with Primordia, but I can't say it's a worse game either. It's a solid game, if you liked Beneath a Steel Sky and want more of it, this is definitely for you.
This game is a continuous joke about USA culture, politics etc. Impossible not to love it, for an anti-american like me. Impossible not to laugh to each new character unlock. Even the enemies are funny (wait for the cutscene about the terrorist's life). Moreover, the game plays great. You can break almost anything in the scenario and this (besides of being in line with the "over the top" mood) is actually challenging. You will often find yourself shifting from pure carnage to calmly planning wath to blow first in order to kill the most enemies at once. The cover missions are sometimes frustrating, but the game difficulty is overall accessible (I've just finished the game myself).
This game can be seen as a sequel to Cube Escape. The graphic style is the same, the gameplay is the same, the settings is the same, some characters are the same... The main difference is that Rusty Lake Hotel is a cohesive game, while Cube Escape was actually a collection of several mini-games. Apart from that, I can't see any improvement on its predecessor. In fact, I'd say Rusty Lake Hotel is worse. Part of the charm of Cube Escape was its creepy, disturbing atmosphere. Rusty Lake Hotel is just wierd. To get full achievements, you have to perform specific actions at specific moments. No clue about what's you're supposed to do. If you miss the chance, there is no turning back. You have to restart the game from the beginning. This is especially annoying, since the game has otherwise zero re-playability and having to go through the same puzzles again is just boring. Moreover, you can have Cube Escape for free on your mobile, while Rusty Lake Hotel costs you money. I mean, choice's yours...
