Hylics
Fans of Lisa and Undertale, rejoice. Hylics is one of the most greatest JRPG influenced games ever created. A masterpiece that will be talked about for generations to come
Rarely and every couple of years, in the indie gaming scene tends to appears a new creator whose name is destined to be inmortal and referenced in future articles for decades to come. A creator that based in the originality and unbelievable degree of talent showed in his first major commercial attempt, will be cited by future designers, writers and artists as a major influence.
– Real player with 8.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Abstract Surreal Games.
Hylics is an awesome, super cheap, underrated light RPG. It’s short but not too short, oozing with style, and actually has some very deep and intriguing gameplay mechanics in-lieu of not having an experience point/leveling system. Not needing to get into battles for levels doesn’t mean this game is easy, as there are some very tricky encounters, it just means you have to think and be pretty strategic depending on how dirty the enemy likes to fight.
As for the story, there intentionally isn’t much of one since it’s very abstract, clearly. From what I can tell, you play as a bored farmer who rolls into town, meets up with an archaeologist in search of paper cups, and you set forth to journey finding more paper cups,
! running into a bug shaman who wants to murder livestock and a retired knight who travels with you to kill things. A corrupt and paranoid king assumes you’re journeying to kill him, which is pretty self-fulfilling since he’s antagonistic towards you. Pretty great, honestly.
– Real player with 6.0 hrs in game
ikenie
Ikenie is frustrating, like I hope you have keyboard insurance kind of frustrating. However, it is also fun… really fun. Though you receive little information on what is going on, or what you are meant to be doing, as a bullet-hell rpg player, this game drew me in with its (usually) fair yet challenging fights alongside fun puzzles to break up the action. Though its not long (my first play took about 2 hours), Ikenie makes up for this by providing multiple endings depending on play, and on top of this, it was originally created (amazingly) in under a month! Alongside its well fitting and well made music by Chris Porter, Ikenie is a crazy good value for only 5 bucks, and I challenge you all to go for that illusive 0 death run!
– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Abstract Fantasy Games.
Boring puzzles and enviroments, cheap bosses where you seem to fight the controls more than the boss, and one point where you have to wander around a desert full of red herrings for an hour.
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
Shadow of the Black Dragon
I like the idea in which I can choose the class and type of magic. Except for this idea the rest of the game feels generic.
The selection of items and equipment is poor. Exploration is not rewarded with either standard items or good equipment. There is one or the other chest to find, that’s it.
The restricted world does not invite to explore. So far, every place was tied to the story. For me it makes this game boring.
Finally, it remains to say that there are far too few skills to learn. Although there are items that teach skills, I think a mage should know more than 3 spells.
– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Abstract Action RPG Games.
its pretty good for a rpg.
– Real player with 4.6 hrs in game
The Endless Empty
TL;DR: This game is excellent. Please please give it a shot. It really clicked with me. Content Warning for the game for
! violence, sort of gore/unsettling imagery, eyes, teeth, arachnids, death
I think this is one of the most important games I played to me. The surreal and uncanny to slightly disturbing imagery here is perfect at communicating the themes of the unknown, of dying and not having a clue what will happen. I get really existential at times and I worry about death and non-existence a lot. I think this game’s given me the closure to what I’ve felt in the past by validating it by putting it into words. Well, picture form mostly, the abstract nature of what this game tackles is only something that can be materialised in images.
– Real player with 24.4 hrs in game
I deliberated a lot about how to write a review for this game that wouldn’t be inadvertently telling others how to experience it, but what I’m able to share at that point becomes very limited, so I will just reflect on what I took away from it and leave the rest up to the prospective player to discover for themselves.
The Endless Empty is a short game, but it is beautiful in its own discordant way. It has a story to tell and it will tell it on its own time. Exactly what that story is can change slightly depending on the choices made by the player, and so it’s able to contextualize itself slightly through said player’s expectations. Even being about the death of a character with a defined history, it strives to connect the player to the questions being posed on a personal level, and it definitely succeeded in doing so for me. The levels and the characters that represent the frames of mind being traveled through express many observations about the world the body has had to live within, and many of these observations may be readily recognizable as the sort most if not everyone has wondered about at some time in their own lives. If nothing else, the way the game manages to put on full-display those perceptions that often come with a sense of isolation and self-uniqueness also serves to highlight just how companionable the struggle being discussed really is, and there’s a special kind of heartbreak that comes along with this realization the closer the player gets to the end.
– Real player with 11.2 hrs in game
Diaper Quest 2055
Came for the silly name, stayed for the surprisingly fun boss battles. Nothing brilliant here but I had a good time going through this short little game. The boss battles actually take some strategy and can be pretty tough.
– Real player with 2.4 hrs in game
This is a game that has 0 surprises and is very honest about itself. 99 cent story, 99 cent gameplay, 99 cent ending.Two hours of my time was put into it and I was entertained for those two hours. Decent game mechanics, one decent puzzle, and bosses that take either a good amount of time to beat or one to three tries. If you are looking for an RPG to just play so you can say you played it, get this one, beat it, then never play it again.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
My Hole is a Mouth of Dirt
‘We lose ourselves in the things we love. We find ourselves there too.’ - Kirstin Martz
In this surreal psychological horror made in RPGmaker MV, Mole enters a tunnel complex under the premise he is being guided by God to complete a purpose during the ‘Endtimes’. Throughout Mole’s time spent down there we see him seeking out the Voice to direct him and, it is here, we see the mental journey being taken until Mole is finally ‘told’ what he must do by the Voice which is to bring a baby to Him. It is this task that enables Mole to confront struggles & overcome challenges in order to complete this Purpose.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
I feel physically sick after playing this because of how involved I got and how badly the jumpscares got me, and I think this is worth a shot, however I do have some notes:
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The speed: I get giving a run option would mean rethinking a lot of the chase parts, but it was kind of frustrating in some points.
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The music: I’d never recommend lyrics AND writing you have to read and understand (it’s not accessible for many people), and some of the music felt particularly out of place - in particular, the jukebox was playing something too cheery. It was not bad, just weird.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
REALITY
VERY funny game!! Love playing it, love the jokes and the tragic/funny backstories you get to know of new AND old characters! Definitely funnier than I L L U S I O N imo. worth buying and playing thru!
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
- crazy characters with an equally crazy story
-Corona can be shot with a gun
-an fabulous cockroach
What more do you want?
– Real player with 4.9 hrs in game
A Circle Among Squares
You’re a circle. You’re the good guy. But you’re surrounded by squares. Some are irrelevant. Others are useful and/or annoying. Then there are the black squares. They want to kill you. They are the bad guys. Be a good guy and pulverize those baddies, will you?
Survive and shoot all enemies in 200 levels (or make them shoot themselves). Each level cleared opens the next one permanently (autosave). Enemies come in a variety of types, speeds and action patterns, while other squares do a multitude of things, ranging from reflecting bullets to teleporting you. Enemies are killed with a single hit, and so do you. Failing a level has no consequences. While the first levels are easy and often, very quick, difficulty increases greatly in later levels.
Game Elements
This is you. You shoot in the same direction the arrow is facing.
This is the floor. Anyone can move freely above those squares.
This is the bullet you shoot.
This is an enemy. The rectangle indicates the direction it will shoot.
This is an enemy. It shoots in 4 directions simultaneously.
This is the bullet enemies shoot.
This is an enemy. Instead of shooting, it may kill you by touch.
This is a block. Nothing can pass or destroy it.
This a reflective block. Nothing can pass it and bullets are reflected.
This is a selective block. Only enemy bullets may pass it.
This is a selective block. Only bullets coming from the same direction the arrow is facing may pass it. Has 4 variations.
This is a reflective/deflective block. Depending on the direction of the bullet, it may turn 90º or be reflected. Has 4 variations.
This is a teleportation square. It always comes in a single pair and only you can step over it.
This is a hole. It blocks movement but not bullets.
Features
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200 Levels
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3 Types of Enemies
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Enemies' speed and shooting rate may vary between slow and very quick
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Each type of enemy may be static, move in predetermined routes, follow or flee you or alternate movements
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Block, reflection, deflection and teleport elements
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Autosave
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Minimalist design
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Game Walkthrough inside game files - video
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100 Achievements
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Xbox Controller Support
Keyboard Controls
There’s no mouse input.
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Start/Confirm/Shoot: Space/Enter
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Move: Up/Left/Down/Right, W/A/S/D, Numpad 8/4/2/6
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Exit: Esc
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Raise sound volume: M
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Lower sound volume: L
Xbox Controller Controls
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Start/Confirm/Shoot: A
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Move: Arrow Buttons/Left Analog Stick
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Exit: Select
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Raise sound volume: RB
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Lower sound volume: LB
Please Love My Computer Game
Short version: if you enjoy really difficult riddles that forces your mind to work on different paces, this game is for you. Do you think you are good at solving riddles? This game will prove that you need more people to actually solve it. Extremely cryptic game with lots and lots things to solve.
Actual review:
I did play all games of Yai Gameworks, and this one cannot be compared with prequel to this game: Close me. On top of all, the game simply forces player to get more people to work on it, because each person sees things differently - and that’s the key. Could easily say, this game is one complicated ARG. Do you enjoy digging in games, thinking a lot, and creating tons of theories about solutions? If you do, you might really enjoy this game. But it also can be really frustrating. With having one line of text and nothing else, player won’t progress in any way till it gets solved. The riddles themselves are smart and unique, and what is important, they forces to make actual brainstorm with other people. This game is NOT made to play alone! This game will also make you stuck in many places till some riddles gets solved. Getting more people means getting more ways of looking at things, which might be it. But above everything: solving in group gives huge satisfaction when finding solution to each of the riddles!
– Real player with 57.1 hrs in game
Tltr: If you are an easter-egg hunter, or if you love discovering or digging in games, I HIGHLY reccomend this.
I have played it since beta-keys were available on other sites.
I will not talk much about the content itself. It will hurt your experience.
Only what I can say is this game is about de-cyphering and discovery.
First, watch the trailer. You’ll find some letters are written in awkward font.
If you can guess at this point like “Ah, this game is about finding letters of the font. After I collect 26 or 52 letters, it’s over”, then YOU WILL LOVE THIS DEFINETELY.
– Real player with 13.3 hrs in game
Dark and Bright
In Dark and Bright you play Gourchweasel and his friends and you help them to find out more about that weird world they’re travelling through. The game combines some RPG elements with arcade or puzzle elements, but all in all it is a story-driven game with a focus on what’s happening to the four friends in that abstract world.
And that’s what I like about the game the most - the story is good! Really. I enjoyed it a lot, also a lot more than in some other, bigger and well-known RPGs. The game does a great job in telling the player the right amount of information (or only vague hints in the beginning) so that I was always interested in how the story continues. It all starts with a mysterious cutscene about two unknown characters at a bonfire - then we’re following Grouchweasel on his journey. And that journey is weird, confusing, but interesting and also thrilling at the same time. There are many things that made me enjoy it so much - things happening again with small changes to the dialogues, the memories becoming more and more intense as you progress, mysterious characters who sometimes totally confuse you, the whole tone to everything with these simple but weird graphics which fit well to the overall atmosphere. I can’t write more about that without spoilers. Maybe this story will also make you think a little bit about your own life, which I find amazing. So, if you’re a fan of good stories in RPGs - this might be the right game for you!
– Real player with 12.7 hrs in game
This is a good game, I enjoy it very much! This game has just a tone to it that makes it feel intense in a way, like you’re playing something funny and weird in the beginning, but you’re well advised to prepare for something big to come. I was thrilled to experience there actually seems to be a deeper meaning behind many of the things that happen. So, after revealing the first memories in the game, I was totally into the story and I’m excited for the outcome of everything, and the fates of the lovely written characters. Totally recommend!
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game