I've had this game hyped to me for a weirdly long time, and was really anticipating playing it when it suddenly and unexpectedly was released here! Ugh. Someone else in these reviews called "Myst" a "nonsensical assembly of switches and buttons" (I don't know what they played, but it sure wasn't Myst) while heralding this a proper point-and-click game, but at LEAST Myst changed its cursor when you could interact with stuff. At LEAST Myst did not punish you for taking too long or have random events. At LEAST Myst was simple to navigate and didn't require pixel hunting to *turn left*. At LEAST Myst had easy-to-spot objects of importance. At LEAST Myst didn't have exceedingly irritating characters literally screwing your stuff up. No kidding. After I scared the bird-made-of-iron away, it came back and took a hammer to the object I was looking at. Apparently, this is a penalty for taking too long to lock the window. Well, exCUSE me for taking twenty whole seconds to look around the room after it left! Let's not even talk about how the game keeps interrupting you. I didn't even get into all the rooms of the lighthouse before the baby got kidnapped and I was thunked on the head and teleported elsewhere. This is just irritating, nothing more or less. The worst crime of all, though, is that I pretty quickly caved and looked up a walkthrough (which I rarely do, but it's impossible to progress on your own without clicking every pixel) and it was A. assuming I had done things before the interruption and B. telling me to open a drawer that objectively wasn't there. No kidding. The walkthrough was telling me to do things that couldn't be done. Ugh. I love adventure games, and I've never had one turn me off so hard and so quickly before. Sorry, nostalgic players, but the nice visuals and fun central idea and atmosphere don't even come close to overcoming the abysmal gameplay and abhorrent interface. If you don't already love this game, skip it.
Zachtronics is a company I really love, even though I've never finished any of their games until now. This game is best described as SpaceChem in hexagons and with a much larger playing field. It's also a lot prettier. Also, instead of chemical reactions based on the real periodic table, it's alchemy based on a set of four elements, six metals, salt and quicksilver. Rather than two (and exactly two) moving pieces working to complete a problem, as in SpaceChem, you're given as many pieces as you like (although fewer = a better score) that have less mobility and can be collided with. One touch that's really fun is that after you succeed, the game can record a gif of your solution - and the gif is seamless. You better believe I annoyed all my gaming friends with this feature. The gifs are pretty mesmerizing, especially if you manage to find efficient solutions with nonstop movement. There's no replay value given beyond your own OCD. Once you're done, you can put it down and be satisfied that it's completed - or you can start optimizing and see if you tie the world records. Every player's results are added to a global tally and displayed on each puzzle, and finding your way into that top percentile is really satisfying. The final effect is that Opus Magnum is a lot easier to dip your toes into than SpaceChem (even though it's arguably way more complex) and I managed to get to the end without getting overly frustrated (the reason I've never finished other Zachtronics games). The idea is really solid, and the story is pretty fun - it starts out with a deeply discontented overachiever disliking his new job as House Alchemist, but it takes a Game of Thrones tone very suddenly - and on the whole, if you like Zachtronics, this is their strongest offering yet. Word of advice: Try to master keyboard-and-clicking quickly. If you only click and drag, the final levels will be an absolute slog.
Looks like I have a new favorite for computer pinball. Honestly, this sucker would have been worth price of admission just for the Android and Crash 'n' Burn tables, but it's got so many more. The value is amazing for the whole set. It's an incredibly responsive game - apparently, the whole game was coded in assembly to achieve this - so there's no angry feeling that you totally timed that shot right only for the flipper to delay. The sheer range of tables is honestly my favorite part - there's goal-driven tables such as Android (resurrecting an android), reactive tables (Enigma keeps throwing little challenges at you), and pure point-gathering tables (Excalibur, Magic, others). Some tables aren't much fun, but they're outnumbered by really addictive tables. I adore Android, Crash 'n' Burn, Pot of Gold, and Deep Sea. I could live without Excalibur and Pangaea. Each table has different little challenges, too - the Toy Factory table, for instance, has so much gap between the flippers that it includes a bounce point between them - in comparison, Crash 'n' Burn will rarely let you lose the ball betwen the flippers, but it has brutal side rails off the board you need to avoid. Enigma gives you a huge playing field, but puts landmines in it. Deep Sea has a lot of timed objectives. Things like that. On the whole, this pinball pack is by far the best pinball pack I've ever played. If you like pinball, you need this. If you don't play computer pinball, this could be the one to get you doing it. It's a ton of fun, easily worth double the full price.
I'm not talking the common horror-gore type of gross, I'm talking the rancid, foul and sticky kind of gross that you find in public washrooms, except amplified. The game's atmosphere is incredibly effective, and while it's not really "scary", it is TRULY nauseating. The game has very few reservations in terms of what it's willing to hurl at the player as they wander the world's worst apartment, and it's fantastic. It's not much of an adventure game in the classic sense, with few puzzles and immense emphasis on navigation. However, the puzzles that are there are fun and seem reasonable for a sentient cockroach to do. The game loses a star because of a timed sequence (which admittedly isn't too bad) and a final "gate" puzzle that runs on total moon logic, but a mediocre endgame shouldn't dissuade you from trying this nauseating and brilliant little roach sim.
