The Last Survey
Warmly recommended to whoever enjoys novels.
Warning, game offers close to zero interaction / agency, if a game must have these for you to enjoy it, walk away.
But if you can enjoy this, take it like a “novel++”. The story is intelligent, the writing is evocative yet concise, and art/audio fit perfectly, strengthening immersion into the story.
Hope the author(s) make more games 3.
EDIT oh, seeing my posted review, one last thing to temper expectations: it’s short. Appears as 3+ hours because I had the game paused while running for an errand, but it’s shorter.
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Abstract Simulation Games.
This is a short and no-frills visual novel designed for a single playthrough, drawing attention to a serious and important topic, and it’s pretty good at what it does.
It makes no attempt at being “a real game”. Your options are limited to reading the protagonist’s well-formulated observations, memories, and considerations; watching the mesmerising ways in which the illustrations morph into each other to support the narrative; clicking to continue, and sometimes choosing one out of two lines that impact the outcome.
– Real player with 2.3 hrs in game
Ticket
Don’t let the initial presentation fool you - this is an incredibly creative 2D platformer with unique visuals and an outstanding soundtrack. My first playthrough, I constantly found myself saying “the next level couldn’t get any weirder than this” only for the game to do just that.
The only caveat is that some levels are a bit obtuse and frustrating to figure out without a guide - but that’s something you can find easily enough.
– Real player with 30.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Abstract Emotional Games.
Ticket is the product that challenges your preconceived notions of what games are about. It is certain that the so-called seriously taken game reviewers would not be able to give acclaim to this game, as it does not follow the conventional rules of high quality game design. This tells about the sad state of gaming industry rather than about Ticket though. If you are the person who thinks that good games follow strict rulesets of certain design-economic and mathematically measured criteria and are usually some sports titles followed by a running year number or the latest installment of a well-established series, then Ticket might not be for you.
– Real player with 9.3 hrs in game
Neon Cyborg Cat Club
I leave it on all the time for the music and because it adds some nice ambience to my room.
– Real player with 66.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Abstract Experimental Games.
This is great to have one a second monitor with headphones on while working on something.
It’s even got it’s own dystopian plot to go along with it.
Brilliant.
– Real player with 6.9 hrs in game
Fumiko!
As far as platfromers go this one is quite unique and extraordinary. First off its 3D, usually we have 2D pixel platformers, but with Fumiko we have a beautiful but abstract environment.
The game looks and feels great, it handles pretty well and every minute spent ingame is a joyous one, this game really is a unique platformer well worthy of it’s price tag.
The backstory or actual story of the game is rather complex and as you play it it starts to make sense to you, first off you play as a Female A.I who doesn’t know who she is where she is or what her purpose is, and that is where a fun feature comes in, something not always present with platformer, exploration; To put it simple it’s pure fun and entertaining. our region is some form of virtual security network mainframe that we get to explore, a lot of detail and creativity went into creating the perfect atmosphere really going the extra mile to present us with a form of authentic of what it would be like to explore a system in such a sense. The music really adds to every function of the game, enhancing it and setting a tone that really just soothes you into the game.
– Real player with 41.0 hrs in game
Where to start? The art. The aesthetic. Fumiko! is at once a simplicity and a pleasure to behold. Its low-poly style conveys exactly as much as it needs to, and its vibrant colors illuminate the world in a beautiful and satisfying way.
Meanwhile, the music is always on point to convey a great sense of atmosphere. Are things chill? Got it. Panicked? Also got it. Focused? Warm? Somber? Check, check, check.
The story is revealed in bits and pieces, sometimes through collectibles called memory fragments, other times through dialogue, sometimes simply through the aesthetic of each world. It is chilling, disturbing, familiar. It conveys grand and simple ideas in their turn. It asks the hard questions. It presses us about identity, artificiality, alienation, will, and many others.
– Real player with 15.0 hrs in game
Distant Dials
Distant Dials is a science-fiction MUSH (multi-user shared hallucination). It’s a multiplayer game requiring the player to create parts of the experience with others.
Distant Dials is a game relying on dialogues taking place in 2875. The player is a human who shall through discussions with others or with an IA, understand his current state and the state of mankind in this era. He will maybe reach another level of understanding allowing dialogues with 9 other players on issues of the past leading to where humanity is right now.
Invertigo
INVERTIGO is a first-person sci-fi puzzle-platformer where the player has to manipulate gravity and forces in order to solve puzzles. The player does this by ensuring that all energy platforms have an energy cube on top of them, which will open an airlock leading them to the next section.
Features
-
20 unique puzzles that increase in difficulty
The player is first introduced to the game’s story and mechanics. The tools the player can use will unfold one by one, after which the puzzles will increase in complexity. Nearly every puzzle has a unique twist to it that distinguishes it from the other puzzles the player has seen so far, so this will keep you thinking!
-
An intriguing mechanic to solve puzzles, by changing gravity
The player gets three tools to their disposal: a tool to change the gravity direction, a tool to grab objects, and a tool to link two objects together. The latter can only be used for one pair of objects, so often the player has to think about which pair to link at what time in order to change the gravity.
-
Snappy movement
The movement has air control and supports mantling any arbitrary platform. It also transitions smoothly with gravity changes, which can be used to slingshot onto platforms or into areas.
-
Online leaderboards: one for time, and one for moves used
The leaderboards will contains detailed information about the order of the moves and will also have a replay functionality that will show how the player and energy cubes moved around in the level during the run.
-
Engaging and fun story
The world in Invertigo has a backstory, and the player will be confronted with it as they continue their journey, learning about the world around them through the environment. Slowly the player will realize what they’re dealing with.. Or maybe not?
Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/Upqgb7MSAg
Path To Light
Path To Light - is a game that tells the story of a hero who has lost his light and who has to go through many trials to get it back.
The game has a special black and white hand-drawn visual style, which may well give a new sensation from the passing of the game.
Explore a huge world shrouded in secrets, fight the thieves of light, find sources of light.
New Ice York
This game is so much more than I expected it to be. At first, playing it- I was charmed by how weird it was but after playing through it, I found myself feeling connected to this universe and the characters within it. It’s intuitive- familiar, but totally different. Refreshingly fun, and an overall great release by magicdweedo, an artist I’ve really enjoyed since Mealmate™. Make sure to check out the soundtrack, too- it’s really catchy!
– Real player with 8.7 hrs in game
New Ice York has deceptively good writing. The first chapter is unfortunately slow, which is a bad problem for a game of this length to have, but that slowness does its job of lulling you into a familiarity with the characters that it uses as a platform to build off of. NIY unfurls in a way similar to Frog Fractions or magicdweedoo’s last major game, Ticket: breaking its own rules and shuffling weird mechanics around. Where the former games engage themselves in a game of zany one-upsmanship, though, New Ice York’s treatment of mechanics is much more narrative and constrained. Detective has an oblique resemblance to Deadly Premonition’s Francis York Morgan / Twin Peak’s Dale Cooper, and similar to those stories New Ice York’s descent into surrealism takes on a personal significance in the quest of the protagonist.
– Real player with 6.3 hrs in game
flaming/million
The game was very cool and taught me about whats going on in the world. The use of visual metaphor and game play to convey the idea of a world that is working against you is pretty cool. This may just be pondering in my part, but the female and male models stacked in top of each other to convey that you are in-between is pretty smart and it’s embarrassing to say that it took me awhile to get it.
Great game with great mechanical and visual story telling. Hope everyone stays safe and has a great pride.
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
The character walks around backwards is that on purpose like a homage to OoT speed run? (That would be cool but …) As for the story I could not figure it out so I stopped reading and explored. Interesting game but have no idea what’s going on. The secret room was cool tho.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
A Chamber of Stars
Each person has a universe inside of them.
A personal universe with characters influenced by the observable reality around them. Your friends, the fans, the local shop clerk, each person you pass without giving pause is another universe. You make up a story about them, they form a story about you. The universes expand.
I always wonder how similar our universes can be. You and I. Will I ever be able to pierce through and present myself, my real self, or will the information be lost in translation? The thing rattling around in our heads can’t be all that different. We both still get choked up over the same melodies, it’s only human to do so, right?
Maybe, if you would like it, I could play something for you. Lord knows your songs are still rattling around in my head.
The singularly named Starr, an enigmatic performer, guitarist and songwriter, has somehow survived the constant shifting tide of the musical landscape. Decade after decade, this artist has remained relevant in culture’s eye. After multiple personas, genre manipulations and controversies, the public is still buzzing. “What will Starr do next?” The rumors say their upcoming album will be the fated magnum opus…
A Chamber of Stars is the sequel to 2018’s The Endless Empty. Through six unique worlds the life of the rock n’ roll hero, Starr, will be pieced together. Exploration, choices and performances will change the course of a life and will alter the songs that are produced. A Chamber of Stars will feature a mix of classic adventure games, puzzle solving and unique rhythm game performances all within a fully realized surrealist universe.