I'm not a big fan of adventure games. Mostly due to a fact that I'm not very good at them. But this one captured my attention. It has interesting retro art style, likable main character and great atmosphere. It follows a story of Kathy Rain, a student of journalism, who after some event comes back to her hometown and tries to unravel its mysteries. The game is quite beginner friendly, I would say. You can't get stuck (meaning: you can't get into a situation, when you mess something up and you have to load earlier save file or restart game) or die. And if you don't know what to do, game will give you some hint. I'm a beginner at adventure games myself and I didn't have a problem progressing. Maybe once, but only because of my stupidity, not difficulty of the game :) So, if you're looking for a bigger challenge and harder puzzles, maybe you should take one star from my rating. Next, there is the length of the game. It's not very long but that's no problem for me. I didn't feel like the plot was dragging or that developers put some annoying minigames or sidequests just to increase gameplay. However, some people may find it too short. Voice acting is very good and I really liked it. I would highlight voice acting of Kathy and her friend Eileen. Overall, this is a good game. However, it may be more suited for casual players. And althoug the game is rather short, the time is well spent.
Very interesting concept. This demo contains first chapter of the game which is basically text horror adventure game. At first I thought it isn't my cup of tea. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I must say it is done very well. If you're not entirely sure about the full game, try this demo. It is worth your time.
I discovered this game by sheer chance and I'm glad I did. Although it's not the best game I played, it was an enjoyable experience with interesting features. Some were implemented better, some worse. First, I have to give developers credit for witty writing. It was the thing I enjoyed the most. The part on the island where you recruit staff for your tower is still among my favourite bits of the game. The skill tree leaves you a lot of freedom to create the character you want. You can choose from variety of warrior, ranger and magic abilities without restriction. However, this means the system doesn't hold your hand and you need to be more careful with distributing points. On the other hand, I didn't like platforming in this game. I think it's very interesting feature, but the controls felt a little clumsy for that kind of stuff. Fortunately, there is no fall damage. Playing as a dragon showed promise at first, but was very limited and didn't bring much to the game in my opinion. I also encountered few bugs, like insta kill by one of the enemies. Despite few problems I had with this game, it was still an enjoyable experience for me. I got it really cheap on the sale and I was surprised I didn't hear about it before.
The game reminded me of Life is Strange and Stranger Things. You have a story with teenagers who cross paths with something supernatural. If you enjoy stories like that, you will enjoy this game as well. You have choices to make and in the end you will see how many people made the same choice (or a different one). You have a teenage drama tangled with heavier themes. My main issues with the game is that the characters talk a lot. Sometimes they won't shut up. And then there are choices. When you are presented with options to respond, you don't have much time to properly read the dialogue, yet alone to consider your answer. Then you end up being silent or picking whatever you manage to click first. But overall, it's an enjoyble experience with interesting game mechanic. And after finishing it the first time you want to start a New Game+.
This is one of those special games I like coming back to on regular basis. Not because it's perfect. It has its flawes. But because it has more good things than those bad. Like the great atmosphere, the perfect soundtrack or NPCs and creatures that react to what's going on around them. You draw your weapon around NPCs in a town, they tell to put it away or you will face the consequences. You walk into a house, the owner runs inside and tells you to get away (I can't recall many RPGs where you're not allowed to walk into a house and and take everything without any protest). You are attacked by a wild beast, nearby villagers will come to your aid. You can see wolves hunting other animals. Those are details that help you immerse yourself into this hostile world. The world isn't huge, but large enough to keep you busy and fun to explore. With addition of Jharkendar it's three times bigger than the world in the first game. Also it has less clunky controls and no ladders :) Overall, it's an improvement over the first game (but I still like that one too). Don't get me wrong, Gothic 2 isn't perfect, it has its problems. But for me personally it has enough good things to be worth coming back to.
There are many things said about this game. I have nothing more to add, I can only repeat - Stardew Valley is a great relaxing game, the pixelated graphics are beautiful, the sense of progress is very satisfying, this game is addictive, the developer is great and keeps adding new updates for free. The game starts with your grandpa, who on his dying bed leaves you a mysterious envelope. You are not permitted to open it till your midlife crisis. When the day comes, you find out you inherited a farm in a charming Stardew Valley. Your grandpa didn't say "I love you" or "I'm proud of you" or "Go and find what you would like to do with your life". He said "Here's a farm which I'm gonna leave in disrepair when I die. Good luck". Thanks, grandpa.
