Haven't finished the game yet, but based on what I've experienced with it so far I believe I can safely say that it is a great puzzle-platformer. I'm personally rather bored of the "retro-imitation" trend among indie platformers, but I've found that this games has a great deal of charm and character, while also being moderately challenging without overtaxing one's brain, and thus it is perfect for relaxing in the evening after a hard day's work for example. The art style and the music is great for the theme of the game, the visuals are really crisp, plus I like the "telly frame" effect, which adds to the 50's B-movie humor to the game. I'd say that the puzzle/platforming elements are quite standard, so if you've played some similar games you might find this one a bit boring, although the humorous presentation could make up for that. I'd recommend this for anyone, really, who doesn't mind a bit of silliness in their games.
Shelter is like an interactive piece of art, the aim of which is to make the player experience the essence of "motherly responsibilities" by giving him/her the control of a mother badger and the task to protect her cubs from natural hazards. I personally think it succeeds at getting it's message through, since if the player is capable of some degree of empathy, it is impossible not to develop a feeling of responsibility for the virtual cubs, and considering that the game is barely an hour long, I'd say that this is a very good achievement from the creators. Protecting the cubs is not that challenging, but as I've said Shelter is not about the gameplay or the challenge, but more about the atmosphere and about the feelings and thoughts it might evoke from the player, and as such it is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and there's nothing wrong with that. All in all I would rate the game 3.5, mostly because it's really short and as far as gameplay is concerned it doesn't have much to offer, but since GOG doesn't allow half stars I opted for 4 stars because I do think it deserves more than a mediocre rating. If you're interested in the game and want to support the devs purchase it at fully price, if you don't want to spend 9.99 for a game that is about an hour long wait for a discount, and if you don't like "artsy" indie games then I would advise against purchasing it.
Post Mortem is the first installment in the Still Life Trilogy, a story centered around the investigations carried out by two members of the McPershon family; namely Gustav and Victoria McPershon. The second part, Still Life, is a solid adventure game experience, however, this does not hold true for the current subject, Post Mortem. I think the main problem with the game is that it is heavily flawed in areas which are supposed to be the strongest points of an adventure game. The dialogues are badly written, - and unskippable! - the plot is just simply silly and while it does start out interesting it soon loses the initial tension and also it's grip on reality, boiling down to some very lowbrow occult nonsene. The branching dialogue system, which would have been a good idea had it been executed in a better manner, does a very good job at locking the player away from gathering valuable clues and information. I have to say that the puzzles are alright for the most part - I personally enjoyed the book cipher puzzle -, but some still involve pixel hunting. Still, they are far from enough to keep up the interest of the player. The only strong point is the mysterious, dark atmosphere, achieved by the nicely detailed backgrounds and fitting music - hence the 2 star rating - but that is hardly a reason to waste money and time on this game. Whether you're a fan of the adventure game genre or not, I'd recommend Still Life, but I'd advise against playing Post Mortem.