Recommended – Page 12

Happy about: Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion: HD Renovation

09/09/2020 09/09/2020

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.

Happy about: Journey

31/08/2020 31/08/2020

I remember how stunned everyone was by thatgamecompany’s Journey back in 2012, when the game was released as a PS3 exclusive. I didn’t have that console and missed it entirely, but knowing Flower and flOw, I planned to definitely play the game some day. Well, now that the game is on PC that day has come. Except, it’s 8 years later. Does it matter?

Happy about: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

21/08/2020 21/08/2020

Despite hearing a lot about the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series for years, and frankly how couldn’t you hear about it with how popular it has become, I’ve not played a single entry up until this point. Most of the world has met Phoenix in a localized version back in 2005-2006 when the original GBA title was ported to Nintendo DS and released worldwide. This original trilogy of games was already out in Japan, having been released in 2001, 2002 and 2004 on GBA, but it was at this point that the famous “Objection!” really took off elsewhere. And after years of popularity, different related media, sequels, crossover games and many direct and indirect imitators the original trilogy has finally landed on PC, worldwide (there were Japan-only PC ports of several previous titles) in its newest updated iteration. I was very excited to finally check it out.

Revisiting Dead Space 2

14/08/2020 14/08/2020

If Dead Space is a game that I get to love and respect more with each replay, its sequel seems to be the opposite. When I first played it, I liked it a lot. Yet, with each next replay, while my respect for it remains, I find more and more reasons to dislike it. Thankfully, they tend to be minor and most of them lie in the exact same problems that I’ve had with the game during my very first playthrough. More than anything, it’s the understanding that those exist as huge blemishes upon the game that make them more frustrating to re-experience each time.

But let’s get one thing out of the way first – I liked revisiting Dead Space 2 a lot and it’s still a good game worth revisiting. And all of the things it does are still incredibly smart and amazing. I just get wowed by them far less by now.

Revisiting Dead Space: Extraction

12/08/2020 12/08/2020

Dead Space was a well deserved success and remains one of the most amazing titles in videogame history. But it was an EA game and horror themed or not, niche however it might be, they were going to make a gigantic expensive franchise out of it. At the time of the Dead Space’s original release – “Dead Space”, the prequel comic book series in 6 issues and Dead Space: Downfall, the animated prequel movie were out as well. And Dead Space: Extraction, the prequel on-rails shooter for Wii, was already about a year in development. Oh, EA…

Yet, perhaps due to the passion behind the franchise and competent writing teams, this didn’t lead to some terrible disgusting shovelware. Dead Space: Extraction, which sadly remains exclusive to Wii and PS3 with Move controls, turned out to be a really fun on-rails shooter. Perhaps the only one of the kind that I’ve experienced that has a proper serious story and good storytelling.

Happy about: CARRION

01/08/2020 01/08/2020

CARRION made a lot of noise with its gameplay reveal. A “reverse horror-themed game” where you play as a monster sounded novel. Except for that Paradise Lost: First Contact game that has been Kickstarted years ago and hasn’t come out yet which had a very similar look and premise, if not the exact same gameplay. Either way, it looked curious, but not that exciting to me so I was planning to wait for the other people’s reactions before deciding on if I want to try it out myself. Now that it has come out and had lots of positive reviews, I decided to take the plunge. And yeah, my assumptions were spot on. It’s curious and fun, but not that exciting.

In love with: SteamWorld Dig 1 and 2

08/07/2020 23/08/2024

As a huge fan of “metroidvania” games when I first heard of SteamWorld Dig many years ago, I got curious. But then I saw that it focused on mining and my interest instantly evaporated. And even when SteamWorld Dig 2 got released several years later to extremely positive reviews, I continued ignoring the series. It wasn’t until very recently when I accidentally stumbled upon a playthrough of the game that I realized my initial thoughts about the gameplay were wrong and that I might enjoy the games. I love when lucky accidents happen.

Happy about: Lamplight City

04/07/2020 04/07/2020

To say that I was wary with Lamplight City is an understatement. While I did enjoy Shardlight to a degree, it had too many faults. And lots of those faults were also found in greater amounts in the prior game by Grundislav Games – A Golden Wake. But, after some time I’ve decided to give it a chance. And I’m very glad that I have done that as it turned out to be a really pleasant surprise.

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Happy about: Whispers of a Machine

01/07/2020 01/07/2020

Despite seeing a lot of talk about Whispers of a Machine for a while, I wasn’t planning on playing it myself. You see, the game was developed by two development teams, one of whom previously made Kathy Rain and the others The Samaritan Paradox and I’ve dropped both of those games after a few hours of playing. They just weren’t all that good, despite both having cool ideas of their own. Then, as it occasionally happens, this game landed in my library due to a game bundle so I’ve decided to give it a go. I’m glad that I have.

Happy about: Heaven Dust

22/06/2020 22/06/2020

Usually when you think of knock-off games you think about something low quality, not particularly good and full of shameless ripping from source material. Well, at least that’s what I think of. And Heaven Dust is an unapologetic knock-off of Resident Evil games. Yet, it’s surprisingly well made, despite being cheap and is actually really good. It does rip stuff directly from its inspirations, though. To the “I’m not sure this is legal to do” degree.