Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch. 5 Meakashi
Review originally posted here.
10/10
All of Higurashi is good, but Meakashi is when it gets really good.
The fifth arc of the eight-arc visual novel series marks the transition from the first half’s ‘question’ arcs to the second half’s ‘answer’ arcs. It starts off with a bang, placing the reader in Shion Sonozaki’s shoes rather than the previous protagonist, Keiichi Maebara. The game starts off a year before the first three arcs do, and then continues on to follow the plot of the second arc up until its conclusion, all from Shion’s perspective.
– Real player with 46.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Adventure Visual Novel Games.
Ch. 5 Meakashi definitely lives up to the quality of the first Higurashi chapter, Onikakushi– freaking finally– bringing the Higurashi series back into the interesting, mysterious, and suspenseful (near) perfection it so desperately needed to re-accomplish. I’ll be honest, I was really losing faith in this series, but Meakashi has restored (most) of my previous uncertainties and misgivings. I am now once again hopeful, crossing my fingers as we continue to get answers.
So here are all the GREAT things about Meakashi:
– Real player with 26.2 hrs in game
Little Nightmares II
A piece of art.
Great visuals, world-building and story-telling.
There’s this uneasy build up to something really horrible and the feeling is hard to shake off.
Nothing is explained in the game. There’s no exposition and your imagination will start filling in the gaps. You’ll start asking questions: why am I here? Why did that happen? What’s the story behind this place? what’s the story behind 6? It’s an awesome feeling when your brain asks questions when there aren’t necessarily any answers.
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Adventure Singleplayer Games.
Little Nightmares II is an incredibly well-designed horror platformer.
The gameplay is pure trial and error. You’re thrown into this unforgiving and creepy world. You experiment with stuff, interact with the world, and maybe even take some risks. And those approaches either work, or they don’t and you die horrifically. This makes perfect sense from a meta-narrative perspective: you essentially play as a character who wants to know how the game world works and how to escape it. There are enemies, living and non-living, and they all want to cause you misery. It’s up to you to escape that. Simple yet effective. It’s not all perfect though; there are moments where the game becomes punishingly hard which may feel bit unfair. Difficulty spikes aside, the game is generally quite easy as long as you keep in mind how the world works. There are plenty of checkpoints scattered throughout that even dying isn’t really that much of a setback. Alongside the usual collectibles, each level also introduces new gameplay mechanics, used rather effectively.
– Real player with 19.0 hrs in game
Evil God Korone
The Philosophical implications of this games detailed, and invigorating story writing will be felt for generations to come. I’ve spent over 300 hours contemplating the pure prose that has been inscribed on the title screen - “Offer Yubi” what does that really mean? I remain hopeful that my dedicated studies to this game and the message behind it will finally offer me one thing; an end to the voices. I hope that if I remain stalwart and studious in my journey to mental awakening I can finally crack the universal code, and realize my goals of having Korone clean my kitchen and make me a red velvet cake with extra cream cheese frosting right next to my wife Tsumugi Kotobuki.
– Real player with 562.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Adventure Dark Games.
Tsugunohi in general is very hard to recommend. They’re walking simulators involving small horror stories, with the theme being that each day gets weirder and creepier (And with more jumpscares). Korone’s story is no different even if sold separately.
However, this story mostly involves the inside jokes arround Korone and her streams on a spooky turn, so is further difficult to recommend to someone unfamiliar with either her or Vtubers in general (Granted, Tsugunohi has a Kizuna Ai story). As a big Korone fan like myself you’ll have a good experience during both runs (As the second time unlocks a new ending), but someone out of the rabbit hole will simply see a creepy cult story.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters
After the recent semi-disappointment of DreadOut 2, it’s nice to see a sequel to a horror game starring an Asian schoolboy or schoolgirl not only live up to the first game in the series, but arguably surpass it.
Sounds obscure, I know, but there’s a lot of horror games set in Asian high schools, and the first instalment of The Coma was easily among the best of these. The most unique thing about it was the side-scrolling 2D perspective, which the game utilised to surprisingly scary effect; while most horror games set in schools are in 3D, if not first-person. In fact, schools have become particularly done-to-death locations in horror games over the years, especially in the handful of years since the first Coma came out, so it’s with great relief that I announce that…
– Real player with 18.0 hrs in game
Got the game for the artstyle, kept playing.. for the artstyle too.
In short, the game is Good yet Clunky, in full, read further.
(spoilerfree)
So, what’s good?
-
The visuals are really nice, even when you catch some twitchy animations, you can see why they are twitchy and they only add to the horror experience. Great character designs, too!
-
The atmosphere is thick and heavy, just what you want to see in that type of game. Reminded me of a weird mixture of Detention and Darkest Dungeon.
– Real player with 17.4 hrs in game
DARQ: Complete Edition
🚀 Overview
| 👍 Merits | 👎 Flaws |
|
✔️ Cerebral puzzles
✔️ Pioneering gameplay mechanics
✔️ Idiosyncratic art style
✔️ Immersive soundscape
✔️ 2 DLCs for free
|
❌ Could’ve used a captivating story
❌ Irksome stealth sections
❌ No autosave
|
🚪 Introduction
Keeping his word, Wlad Marhulets—CEO and founder of Unfold Games—refused a lucrative Epic games exclusivity offer, respecting the gamers who already added the game on their Steam wishlist. After knowing this, I promptly wishlisted DARQ without hesitation nor knowing more about its content. Establishing trust between the company and customers is the first step in making a product successful. Nowadays, the prevalence of mindless cash-grabbing strategy followed by various developers makes it unwonted to come across those who are willing to turn down a remunerative deal in favor of keeping their promise.
– Real player with 12.3 hrs in game
Curator page here-- [url] DaRevieweD #31[/url] -- [i]New review every Sunday[/i]
DARQ is the debut love child of horror and creativity by Unfold Games, better known as Wlad Marhulets. He’s a critically acclaimed composer for films who has now taken to creating video games. I’d have gone through life not playing this had it not been for one fateful day- an account called Unfold Games just followed me on Twitter. Since then progress of its development popped up on my feed and ever fascinated, I monitored closely from behind the scenes. With the final product out for almost a year- I see that still not many have played it. So is this game worth losing sleep over?
– Real player with 10.7 hrs in game
Granny 3
Another solid port of DVloper’s mobile titles. This game really is a step up compared to the other two in the series, and definitely one worth experiencing if you are a fan of the originals. Do note that it is also significantly harder than the previous entries, however, so it might not be the best choice to start with this one if you are a new face to the franchise.
Compared to the earlier games, as well as their mobile versions, the graphics in this one are absolutely gorgeous. As somewhat of a “return to form”, this game brings back the spookier atmosphere and tension of Granny, which I feel was missing a bit in Granny: Chapter Two. Compared against all of the others in the series, this game easily feels like it has the most believable setting, and the gameplay innovations keep the game feeling challenging and intense for even dedicated, skilled players.
– Real player with 49.6 hrs in game
I’m enjoying this game a lot, loved all of the Granny games. My issue with this one, however, is there is seemingly less content (items, ways to escape) than the other 2. Perhaps more will be added in the future, but for now it has much less “replayability” than Granny 1 or 2, so I find myself playing those ones more despite the newest one being out now.
What Granny 3 has going right now is fantastic. The environment is great, along with the addition of Slendrina and her being more involved in the game and the puzzles, the game has come a long way in terms of visuals and audio as well. Overall, a great addition to the “Granny Series”. I just hope for the longevity of this game, it gets more forms of escaping and such
– Real player with 39.6 hrs in game
Yomawari: Midnight Shadows
Gameplay:
▢ free mobile game
▢ not very good but good enough
▢ so-so
▢ pretty good
☒ AMAZING
Graphics:
☒ I can play it on a freaking 15 year old laptop
▢ I can play it on a laptop I got four months ago
▢ I can play it on a normal computer
▢ I can play it on a normal computer, but I can hear the computer’s fan.
▢ waste all your money on the best gaming computer
Story:
▢ …“lore”? what’s that?
▢ …aRGH. sO mANy plOt hOles
▢ It’s average
▢ Pretty good story ngl
☒ So much lore, so little time
Replayability:
– Real player with 82.9 hrs in game
As a fan of the first game as well as the horror genre as a whole, I feel like if you enjoy horror games that are heavily influenced by sound design, hand drawn backgrounds and characters, forign culture, tension and compelling settings scenarios and characters, I cannot reccomend this game enough, even at its current 30 dollar price point.
PROS:
- Extremely strong sound design; perhaps one of the most well done use of sound effects, silence and background noise. The sound design works so well within the games system, as well as adding to the enviornment, it’s nothing short of exemplary.
– Real player with 19.3 hrs in game
Ginkgo
Alright, so I’ve played this game a fair bit, especially since I’ve found out that you could speedrun it (personal best is 3:12, but record is 3:08, held by my friend).
Summary: For a demo, it’s really solid. If you play the game properly, it should work as intended and you’ll have a smooth gameplay experience. There’s some bugs here and there that would cause your game to crash, but it’s few and far between.
Story: 8/10
The premise is really interesting. In my playthrough, I located all secret rooms and read all the dialogue possible for the full experience. The only reason it isn’t any higher was I definitely wished there was more, but it is just a demo.
– Real player with 3.3 hrs in game
Curator page here-- [url] DaRevieweD #36[/url] -- [i]New review every Sunday[/i]
Ginkgo is a game made by a group of talented students under the University of Southern California (USC) Games Program! Now I’ve yet to review anything made by anyone still in school before- I guess technically everyone was a student at some point in their lives. Anyways, it’s just such a weird feeling for me, but good! Though it’s labelled an early access title, I’d say it’s more accurate to be termed as a demo! I really hope this project does come to fruition~ However, for now how does this game do!? Oh the SHEAR anticipation! XD
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
The Cat Lady
What a masterpiece of a game. Wow.
Art, original music, and writing are all superb. Graphics could have been more detailed, but the art style makes the graphical detail (resolution) not as important, and even more fitting in a way for the darker and grainier feel to the game. Voice acting is some of the best I’ve heard in a game making all the characters believable and worthy of your investment in them. Especially the main female protagonist, who is very unique for the gaming world and isn’t constrained by the typical gaming tropes.
– Real player with 40.9 hrs in game
The Cat Lady… Perhaps a boring game for many, but when you get into it, and you really understand the story, believe me, you can’t stop playing it, and it intrigues you to know what fate and death have saved for Susan Ashworth, a solitary and depressive woman, whose only company in life are the cats, whom she calls while playing the piano to see them and feed them; the only beings in the world who seem to understand her and diminish her grief, even knowing that they don’t speak, and they’ll never answer her, at least, not in words. Susan is fully convinced that life doesn’t make enough sense to her; is convinced that no one needs her, and no one will miss her the day she ceases to exist. After her suicide attempt, she has a new opportunity to live (..to live..), and she has an opportunity to do the right thing and eliminate people who, according to the old woman named “The Queen of Maggots”, are Parasites, the scum itself, and that they have no right to continue living, ‘cause of the damage and pain they cause in other people. Susan cannot refuse, and for this, she has been granted a gift, coveted and desired by many, too much for others, and utterly disastrous and meaningless for Susan: Immortality.
– Real player with 37.2 hrs in game
Mists of Aiden
A small horror gem
Mists of Aiden (formerly House On The Hill) is a true indie gem with a handful of good scares. I’m not fond of long-enough-for-a-cup-of-coffee-type of horror games because their fear factor is often reliant on cheap boogeyman tactics. I bought this one on Halloween sale since I wanted to have a snack before moving onto bigger meals that are more to my taste. I didn’t expect much from Mists of Aiden but I was positively surprised.
It manages to tap into every aspect needed to make a decent horror title from its great monster and level design to the impeccable execution. However, the description of the game is misleading as it’s quite linear and has little to no room for free exploration. With a rather weak ending, I’d say the story isn’t the forte here but the game is otherwise very enjoyable. More often than not, I felt anxious about the unnerving atmosphere and the monsters.
– Real player with 3.9 hrs in game
Curator page here-- [url] DaRevieweD #115 [/url] -- [i]New review every Weekend[/i]
“…written. All. Over!”
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2563237398
Here’s The Thing:
You portray “The Thief” in cahoots with an over-the-earpiece accomplice, Franklin, in what seems to be your last of many robberies all for keeping your household afloat! The mark this time is a house whose owner has gone away and so is totally fair game. That is, it would have been had your partner scouted the place properly… Twists and turns are in store for you; guaranteeing that whatever trinket you do leave with will haunt you and that maybe life is the most priceless~
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game