That sounds pretty cool. May look into that!
That sounds pretty cool. May look into that!
Up next for your consideration I present... an INDIE PUZZLE PLATFORMER (who would have guessed?)
So yes, Braid. If there was a poster child for artsy indie games than this would be it. Most people who haven't played it have at least heard of it, for better or for worse.
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You know from the start that you're in for an art game. To the game's credit you can play right from the title screen - no waiting around for opening cutscenes or exposition.
Granted, that's because all the exposition begins on the next screen, and boy, is it wordy.
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Time and Forgiveness? What?
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Oh, okay. Each book is going into huge detail about... I don't know, author filibuster, I guess.
ANYWAYS, now that that's out of the way, we can continue on to the gameplay. The game's art direction and music is actually really relaxing, and all in all it's a standard Mario-style platformer that involves jumping on bad guys and collecting items.
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The primary gimmick of the game is the ability to reverse time. This means that if you die, instead of restarting the level, you can just back up a few seconds and try again. This is actually nice and keeps the game from being overly frustrating, a problem that I feel many other puzzle-platformers fall victim to.
As you continue along, the time control becomes less of a life-saving device and more of a part of the puzzle, because certain objects (denoted by sparkles) are immune to the effects of time. This makes manipulating time an integral part of the gameplay, in a way that's difficult to explain but really quite ingenious. It also keeps Braid from being Yet Another Indie Game With One Minor Gimmick, a la Fez, for example. Because the gimmick, in this case, is actually interesting.
It also does tie in to the story (or Author Filibuster) about the rhetorical question "What if we could redo our mistakes?" So that's pretty admirable.
Anyways, Mario references abound.
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I seem to recall a Donkey Kong reference from the last time I played, too.
Ultimately if this game falls victim to anything it's its own sense of self-importance. This is just me speaking, so others might have a different viewpoint, but when I play a puzzley-platformer I'm not looking for a grand, thoughtful essay about the meaning of life. I just want to play the damn game. Braid seems to want to stuff the aforementioned author filibusters in whenever possible, and although I'm sure some people really like this aspect of the game, I just find it to be superfluous.
TLDR: If you don't mind Braid's ego, and/or you can look past it, you really will find an interesting game here with some ingenious puzzles. Brace yourself for a couple of (fortunately largely skippable) philosophy dumps, though.
THE VERDICT:
- Kind of full of itself (to no one's surprise)
- But the gimmick is actually really interesting and well done
- Probably a bit of a polarizing game
- The art and music is really relaxing, though
- Worth a look if the concept of time manipulation intrigues you
Interesting. I vaguely recall hearing the game title, but it might just be my imagination. Other than that, I don't think I've actually seen this before. Looks neat, but probably not something I'd pay for.
I couldn't get into Braid at all!
I freaking loved Braid. It was like stumbling into anime for the first time. I thought mario had gotten stale. And playing a mario-like with a weird and intriguing story
It reminded me of watching Memento or Donnie Darko. Just trippy and I was always interested in what came next. And I adored the music and art style. To me it was an artsy fartsy story game with good gameplay. To everyone its its a platformer with good gameplay and a useless story. But if I just want gameplay, there's always things like Escape Goat (or whatever was available back then. N+ or 'Splosion Man or something)
So to me it filled the same void as Cave Story~ But I totally get why people hate it. It's definitely not just trying to be a game. It's attempting to be more. And for some people that's okay, for others its annoying
I'm pretty indifferent to Braid. I liked some of the puzzles, and didn't really like others, and the non-gameplay elements barely mattered at all. It's just a slightly-below-average indie puzzle game overall, I think.
Overall I do like Braid, I think the puzzles are pretty interesting. I just don't know if I can get into it enough to finish it.
Braid was alright, I guess? :3 I enjoyed it, but I definitely won't be going back to it again.
I think I beat Braid in like 3 hours. And that's probably mostly because puzzle platformers weren't really a thing to me at the time. Especially ones involving time manipulation. I think speed runs do it in like 20 minutes. So it can probably really be done in an hour or so. Its not a very long game. But don't force yourself or anything
Still better than Fez.
I have a lot to say about Fez (mainly about why I'm not a huge fan, and no, I'm not talking about the dev here), but I don't know if I'll get to it because I don't have it on Steam!
Sorry about falling behind on this. I got distracted with other games and then got my wisdom teeth pulled. Might update tomorrow if I'm feeling up to it. :shobon:
I hope you feel better soon, Pike!
Indeed. Life and health and stuff are way more important than a couple of random games. But just for the record, hugely appreciate what you've started here. Looking at a lot of games and giving perspective on things we probably wouldn't otherwise look at, or things we've been curious about but never bothered to take the plunge. So thank you :)
I hope you feel better soon, Pike! ;)
Wow I forgot about this. Got busy playing non-Steam games (I know, right??) I am indeed a failure :crying:
TRAITOR!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pike
Do you have a review for those non-Steam games you were playing?
aka X-Com: Less Brutal Edition, although let's face it, basically any turn-based tactical game that isn't X-Com or one of its spinoffs (like Xenonauts) is X-Com: Less Brutal Edition.
The game throws you into everything right away, letting you pick a squad...
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and then customize different guys in your squad...
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until you have four different guys with job classes and names of your choosing. (I just went with the default names they gave me but there is the potential here for glorious X-Com-esque customization.)
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This is a turn-based tactical game similar to, well, X-Com as well as Frozen Synapse and other things in that genre. You have one turn to position your guys and then tell them what direction to face - you get a white cone indicating everything in their field of vision, so you can see exactly what they are able shoot at. Things like cover do matter, and your guys have a small handful of special skills depending on their class. However, the game automates shooting for you, unlike certain other squad-based tactical games.
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All of your guys move on the same turn, which really gives me Frozen Synapse vibes more than everything. Once your guys are in position you hit the "breach" button to execute the turn. This gives you the ability to plan their actions as a group rather than individually.
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After a successful mission you get experience based on how successful you were (I've yet to determine the variables for that - I think the time you take has to do with it?) and you can distribute skill points among your guys.
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And that's the game. It's easier to learn than it sounds (or looks), and as the missions are short and quick it will probably infect you with One-More-Mission Syndrome. At least, it did for me. :shobon:
It's certainly not the deepest thing in the world and you aren't going to find ~serious hardcore tactics~ here but if you want a grab and go squad based game that's based in the real world then it's worth a look. Save it for a sale, though - its full price is $14.99 and I wouldn't pay that much for it.
THE VERDICT:
- If you like turn-based tactics/squad-based tactics games then this is a decent enough entry
- It really doesn't do anything new but there's really nothing wrong with it, either
- Pretty easy to learn
- Good for picking up and playing for twenty minutes
- Probably worth picking up on sale if you like this kind of game
PIKE IS BACK! PIKE IS BACK!
http://i.imgur.com/a0wjPCp.jpg
Glad you're feeling better ;)
Looks like X-COM minus the awesome X-COM-ness but with some potential for a sort of quasi-RPG "training" system. I don't think X-COM let you pick out who got what bonuses to HP etc.
It also reminds me of 'Doorkickers,' although that is more of a puzzle game.
This is a game where you are a skeleton. In fact, the story is that basically everything is undead.
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It's old-school. It's really old-school. I mean, seriously, look at this picture:
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It also likes to make fun of itself, and games in general.
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Anyways, I clear out the quick initial cave and walk out into the bright sunlight of... oh my good lord what is this anyway? Dragon Quest? FF1?
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The town comes with everything you expect. An inn (which restores your mana - HP is automatically restored after a successful fight), an item store...
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...and, well, this guy:
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Pretty soon I run into this chick who is really overly excited about this adventuring thing.
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And she forcefully joins the party. No, really.
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I'm not sure what she is, exactly. Some kind of mermaid snake thing?
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TIME FOR THE OBLIGATORY SHOT OF OUR ADVENTURERS GAZING AT THE LANDSCAPE *cues up appropriate music*
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I get to dig my way through my first major cave, which is full of undead things (like the rest of the game). Our hero has some words of wisdom about, well, RPG heroes:
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BOSS FIGHT :ohdear:
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One interesting thing this game does is that after every turn, the enemy gets 10% stronger. So the longer the battle takes, the more horrifyingly intense it gets. Suffice to say the boss gets to something like 170% power and it was TERRIFYING but we managed to take him down. Whoo!
Sage words from Sara:
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And we reach the next town.
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...I get that reference. :shifty:
Overall this is shaping up to be a game with a lot of charm and some interesting mechanics that I haven't seen before. Don't go in expecting Straightforward Generic JRPG parody #384 because there are some neat things you can do. For example, after a character levels up, the game gives you two choices of new skills or perks that you can pick. This allows for considerable amounts of character customization after you're several levels in. Throw in an interesting combo mechanic as well as the "Enemies increase in power" thing I mentioned earlier and there's enough variety here to keep even the most seasoned veteran interested.
Also yeah, all those dumb video game references. I see what you did there, devs!
THE VERDICT:
- You should probably get it if you like old-school JRPGs from the 80s and early 90s
- I mean seriously, it's $2.99, you should probably get it anyway
- It's funny
- It has some interesting new mechanics I haven't seen before in this type of game
- The boss music is great. A+
I've only played like 90 minutes of Breath of Death but what I played I thoroughly enjoyed, it's just an old-fashioned NES-era JRPG.
At first I was kinda like "I dunno man, it might be too old-fashioned" but it grew on me really quickly. It's really easy to pick up and play. I think a lot of people on this forum would appreciate it, especially for the price.
The game is about 5 hours long. Also, she's a ghost =/
It's a good game but very limited in some ways, which makes sense for the first game ever from a 2-man dev team. I enjoyed it because I love Dragon Quest. Now is the time for my obligatory reference to the game they are currently making which was on display at E3, Cosmic Star Heroine. It's going to be so good.
This means you'll undoubtedly get to Cthulhu Saves The World later in your backlog. Actually not THAT much later, if you ever get done with B.
It sounds phantastic.
It looks exactly like my kinda game.
So I kind of got sidetracked with Diablo 3 and FFXIV WHOOPS
This is a game about building bridges. Straightforward, right?
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WRONG.
Oh so very wrong.
Actually this is a game about watching your bridges fail in grand, cinematic fashion.
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It's also about sending trains to their doom, if you're sadistic and like that kind of thing.
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("Bridge Failed". Really?)
Basically this is a physics game that assumes you already know how to build a bridge. There is no help. You're on your own. Oh and also you have limited funds and resources. Good luck.
THE VERDICT:
- ONLY GET IT IF YOU'RE REALLY GROGNARDY ABOUT CIVIL ENGINEERING AND/OR PHYSICS SIMS
- Seriously the rest of us will just be playing Collapsed Bridges: The Game
- Not the world's best UI
- Relaxing music though
Yeah not nearly as good as Gabe Newell Simulator will be.
I am weirdly curious about that game.
I really had no idea what I was getting into when I loaded this up, since I'd forgotten how I wound up with this game to begin with and I didn't know anything about it. What I got, however, was a beautiful little atmospheric puzzler that really feels like an interactive art piece more than anything - and not in the obnoxious "Braid" sort of way.
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This game is pretty and atmospheric; like a storybook come alive. And yes, there is a story. It's sparse and simplistic, but that's the point. One neat thing that this game did was make it so the characters speak a fictional language. And since there are no subtitles, the entire story is told through inflection and gestures. But it's really well done.
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On to gameplay: this is a game where a controller is very much recommended, and for good reason: the entire game depends on controlling two different characters simultaneously, and this is somewhat more intuitive with a controller. Most of the puzzles revolve around character co-operation or taking advantage of the (very few) differences between the two brothers. In this way, a lot of the puzzles feel fresh, such as this one where I had to dodge an angry dog by "ping-pong"ing his attention between the two characters.
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As you progress across the story, you come a cross a helpful giant troll or something, who proceeds to add some new puzzly mechanics to your gameplay while he's around.
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And then I wound up in some steampunk Dwemer ruins or something.
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Anyways overall I was happily surprised by this game; I've played so many indie puzzlers in this list so far that I was kind of hoping this wouldn't be Yet Another Indie Puzzler but this game pulls it off better than most of the others. The puzzles feel organic and intuitive, so instead of sitting around scratching your head forever you can work them out pretty quickly and then be on your way. And there are a lot of little touches and characterizations to the brothers that fit in with the story and give you a surprising amount of feels.
Also you can pet a cat:
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THE VERDICT:
- Gorgeous and relaxing to play
- The perfect game for if you want to lean back and chill with a controller
- Brilliant way to tell a story (IMO)
- Neato mechanics
- Short and sweet
- Well worth a play through
So it's basically Dark Souls?
Tell me more about this cat. Can I pet it multiple times or just the once?
Multiple times. :3:Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
It's American football.
But dice-based.
And with Warhammer.
Basically if you ever wanted to play a game of handegg with orcs, dwarves, and elves, you should probably get this game. And even if you thought you didn't, you should probably get this game anyway, because it is freaking addictive.
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Also, terrible humor throughout.
So this plays differently to more action-oriented sports games; it's turn-based and dice-based. You're gonna roll for pretty much everything you do. Kind of like D&D.
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It sounds obnoxious or complicated, but it's really not, and even though the tutorial makes it all sound kind of difficult it's actually very intuitive to play once you get into a real game. It's much like actual football, except that you can punch people and kill people. Because Warhammer. (You can try to rez them, but it doesn't always work.)
An immense variety of races are available, including lizardmen, vampires, skeletons, and eldritch horrors, so the game essentially gives "fantasy football" a whole new meaning.
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TLDR I was kind of assuming I was only gonna mess around with this for a half hour or something but instead I played it for two hours and I'd still be playing it right now but I have to do boring stuff like eat dinner. This is really fun and addictive. Seriously. I love it.
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And yes, I did skip backwards in the alphabetical list because I bought this recently and I figured, why not, let's cover it for completion's sake.
THE VERDICT:
- Great stuff for Warhammer, football, and/or tabletop fans
- Heck, it's great stuff even if you're not
- There's a lot of depth here (Campaign mode, story mode, etc.)
- Seriously you can be pretty much anything like you can have treants on your team
- Super addictive and fun, I'm not kidding
- If it looks even vaguely like something you'd like you should get it
I love Blood Bowl, although it has some serious issues once you actually get "good."
Football will never be the same again.
I've genuinely considered picking it up and this might be the final straw for ne.