Ever since the release of Her Story there’s been a lot of releases which approach the investigation adventuring in a different way, essentially simulating the work of looking through archives. While there were earlier examples of that that worked more like ARGs, like In Memoriam, and other titles that experimented with alternative ways of how a mystery can be solved in an adventure game and what mechanics can it use for doing so, I feel that Her Story was an exact point where people became more open to the idea and started experimenting with it more often. Hypnospace Outlaw in particular is simulating the experience of working as a moderator (Enforcer) inside an Internet-like network called Hypnospace. And it’s more curious than actually fun.
Tag: game review
Happy about: Halo 3: ODST (MCC)
Of all the Halo titles, the one that always got me most curious was Halo 3: ODST. A very different approach to story and tone, the more open world like game design and even the uneven fan reception were things that got me interested and now that I’ve finally played it in the Master Chief Collection, I have to say that it was right for me to be intrigued. Maybe this will turn out to be not the best campaign in Halo games, but I’m sure it will remain one of the most unique ones.
Thoughts on: Mask of Mists
There’s something adorable about a simple action adventure title. Go into a new world, explore, find treasures, solve puzzles, kick butt, save the world. All in a matter of a couple of hours. Mask of Mists is charming in its simple almost primitive pleasures. And on one hand it makes you wish for more, but on the other satisfies a very simple need for fun.
Happy about: Vaporum: Lockdown
Almost exactly 3 years ago a Slovakian indie dev studio Fatbot Games, s. r. o. released a grid-based dungeon crawler RPG Vaporum, which managed to exceed all of my expectations. Despite being openly influenced by the genre revival done by Almost Human with Legend of Grimrock titles and unapologetically “borrowing” the style and themes from Bioshock games, it had a voice of its own and played really well. Which is exactly why I bought Vaporum: Lockdown, a prequel originally announced last year, the day it launched. And while it’s not without faults, the game managed to exceed my expectations yet again.
Happy about: Terminator: Resistance
For the past 10 years or so the mid-budget game development has been considered, for all intents and purposes, dead. It used to be that magic range of titles that had a lot of the ambitions of the AAA titles, but on a much lower budget, yet also had a lot of that inventiveness and honesty that’s usually expected from small budget titles. And it could often do things that the indie scene often couldn’t – like working with a movie license. Licensed games, especially those tied to a movie release, also were due for a new “this is actually really great” release, if not on the Chronicles of Riddick: EFBB level, at least something like X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Well, now we have it. Say hello to Terminator: Resistance.
Thoughts on: Halo 3 (MCC)
Unlike the first two Halo titles, I’ve never played Halo 3 before now. And I’ve had high hopes. The series seem to be so beloved for the game universe and the characters, and Halo 2 did build up a truly engaging story that seemingly could only get more exciting. But it seems that something changed between Halo 2 and 3 and this game turned out to be just fine.
Thoughts on: Borderlands 3 (with DLCs)
I’m still not quite sure why is that I’m attracted to the Borderlands series. I’m not a fan of loot focused action RPGs, I don’t often play coop or multiplayer and every single main game in the series has been at best “kinda nice”. Yet here I am, playing Borderlands 3 (and 4 big DLCs for it) without even expecting to like it much.
Thoughts on: Lost in Vivo
When I originally stumbled upon Lost in Vivo a few years ago, I dismissed it immediately as a “yet another first person horror themed indie title”. It did seem to borrow more from the classic survival horror instead of being a more pure adventure or purely linear horror roller coaster, but I’ve seen plenty of those go bad as well. The somehow popular Cry of Fear is something that I actively dislike to this day for how much it loved to rely on its extra edgy script, its obnoxious jump scares, its really poorly thought out enemies and level design… Yet, when I’ve seen the game pop up here and there, there seemed to be more to it. It seemed more clever than the majority of titles like this one. So I decided to give it a go whenever I’m in the mood. Well, I was in the mood. And it wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be.
Happy about: Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion: HD Renovation
Horror themed titles have truly exploded in the past 10 years. Lots of cheap or free indie titles appeared after 2012 with all of the Slenderman and SCP – Containment Breach clones and the original release of Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion came at the tail end of that period. But what made it different back then, and still keeps it somewhat unique today, wasn’t even the random generation aspect of it. I’d say, that it was the mix of not taking itself seriously, while being a genuinely solid game and the fact that it’s an extremely simple game that is very easy to pick up and play. And even in its HD Renovation form, as a paid title, it keeps being simple, yet shockingly engaging.
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Quick thoughts on: She Sees Red
With the recent resurgence of “interactive movies” and FMV adventures, and increased ease of producing them at an adequate quality, it’s getting harder to identify from the start what could and what couldn’t be interesting. She Sees Red, for example, looked very promising. An interactive thriller from a Russian (I think?) studio with good actors and high quality production. In reality, though? Not very good.