One Spirit
One Spirit is a coming-of-age visual novel set in an alternate timeline where the Cold War drags on into the 21st century. Exploring various political, cultural and philosophical themes, the game presents an engaging, thought-provoking thriller through the eyes of a group of marginal teenagers, their doubts, struggles and hopes.
In 2003, the Iron Curtain stands tall. The superpowers of the new age wage a silent war through the means of information, economy, culture and proxy. As the Cold War slows to a crawl, the Sysican Republic, a pro-Western satellite state in Eastern Europe, finds itself on the verge of political death as radicalism, conspiracy and war loom overhead.
One Spirit follows Yuri Danilin, an 18-year-old young man disenchanted with life, as he returns to his modest hometown in Nevilyovsk, Eastern Sysica. Having failed in his studies at the capital, he reunites with his sister knowing their time apart has changed both permanently. When news of a known local activist disappearing spread through the town, Yuri soon finds himself at the center of a downward spiral of violence.
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Uncover a deep and engaging story, set in an original world where the Iron Curtain hasn’t fallen, inspired by real events and reflections on them: experience the bleak feel of a war too long fought.
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See the world through the eyes of an alienated youth — casual but complex personalities set in a path of self-discovery and self-affirmation in a world that has robbed them of a future.
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Delve into six different subplots branching from the main story.
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Every subplot has a unique dynamic you engage with by making choices, efforts and sacrifices. Subplots develop a wide variety of topics stemming from Yuri’s fatal years of 2003 and 2004, from the intimacies of friendship to the secrecies of Sysica’s ideological underground.
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Decide carefully how to spend your time in Nevilyovsk: days are a limited resource. Your priorities and preferences will increasingly mark your journey.
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Enjoy high choice responsiveness, as the game’s slightest details react to your smallest choices.
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Explore over 30 different environments to reveal new details, points of view and events.
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Take part in a philosophical journey about human history, society, struggle and life, with roots in contemporary critical theory, psychoanalysis and existentialism, among other similar and dissident traditions.
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Dive into this grey world through a high-quality art style that evokes the melancholic, nostalgic feel of post-socialist Sysica.
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Explore hours upon hours of worldbuilding detail: a unique Slavic theme, a constructed language, a simulated history and a culture imagined from the ground up.
Read More: Best Alternate History Anime Games.
Because We’re Here - Act I
War isn’t about middle grounds, and neither is Because We’re Here. It’s a game that may well prove to be polarizing (and I’m glad the dev took the risk). You could find this otome game a complete waste of time, or unusual but worthwhile. I’ll tell you why I’m in the latter camp as I go through different aspects of the game.
Older fans have probably played the demos (both super old and now defunct) that constitute what is now Act I, and might be wondering if it’s still worth it to buy this part of the game. Plot is the same but there’s been a pretty big glow up in other aspects. The biggest plus for me was how the other guys aside from August now feel much more fleshed out - nothing big, but little changes in the writing strengthen the characterization. There’s also longer ending scenes (with CG!) that make for better closure.
– Real player with 62.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Alternate History Otome Games.
I first encountered this visual novel a day before it was released, and immediately I was excited – I love historical settings, and WWI doesn’t get nearly enough media attention, and the characters looked very varied and setting-appropriate, so I had high hopes. Having played the first act now, I can say that the VN delivered everything I wanted and more.
Firstly, this is a very well-researched story. Everything from the details of the trenches to the many different wartime roles that were available to the different kinds of reactions people had to the war – and how they changed over time – are replicated here perfectly. But it doesn’t feel either overwhelming or confusing – apart from a brief explanation of the political history of the war early on, there’s no exposition, instead allowing the reader to familiarise themselves with the world by watching it unfold. It’s worth noting now that this story isn’t technically based on the real WWI – the countries and their geography are different, with some interesting results – but if you want something that captures the spirit of WWI in a very personal, in-the-trenches way, I can’t fault it.
– Real player with 48.1 hrs in game
Guardians of Infinity: To Save Kennedy
January 2087. Mankind has no time to lose. The time continuum is inexplicably unravelling by the hour, threatening to destroy the planet Earth.
Only one man can save time: temporal physicist Adam Cooper, inventor of a miraculous time travel machine - the Time Sphere. Cooper traces the cause of the time crisis to the events of November 22, 1963 and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a tragedy that should not have occurred in the normal course of history.
Determined to prevent President Kennedy’s death, Cooper assembles the Guardians of Infinity, a unique and diverse group of five individual agents who will journey back in time to November 15, 1963. You assume the identity of Adam Cooper. Your mission: to thwart the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and successfully return to the future with all of your agents.
You guide your agents and send them to critical cities such as Washington, D.C., Hyannis Port and Dallas where they must convince the President’s family, friends, and associates that his life is in jeopardy. Send your agents to see Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon Johnson, or confront assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. This sets the stage for your climactic face-to-face meeting with President Kennedy where you must convince him of the impending danger awaiting him.
Can you save President Kennedy? Can you successfully return to the future? Can you discover the identity of the evil mastermind behind the assassination and the plot to destroy time?
Paragon Software’s Guardians of Infinity: To Save Kennedy is a complex strategy text game challenging the imaginative mind. This revolutionary game features:
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Unique character interaction with sophisticated human communication and emotional response so life-like you will think you are carrying on an actual conversation with your agents.
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Over 125 historical figures from the Kennedy era to utilize in your plan to save the President.
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A background novel explaining the time crisis in detail and setting the stage for your historical mission.
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A highly classified picture disk containing top secret illustrations of the events leading to your mission.
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A climactic meeting between you and President Kennedy.
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State of the art, highly advanced artificial intelligence techniques.
Read More: Best Alternate History Text-Based Games.
Legends of Pindorama
**Legends of Pindorama is a game of adventure and exploration, that go after awake the brazilian history at the 16th century, in a 2D Style. Enter new lands, conquer them to the Portuguese Empire or help the natives to protect their lands and legends, explore forests, discover mortal and inestimable creatures, search answers in the middle of an unknown territory, with its rich fable in bizarreness and frights
Features
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Customizable character: More than 20 sort of outfits
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Explore Brazil, with its forests and legends;
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Pick your side: Will you help the Portuguese Empire or the Natives?;
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Top-down perspective graphics;
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Day and night cycle, with enemies variation;
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More than 15 types of weapons;
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Craft your own equipments.**
41 Hours
Serious Sam… with a weird girl following you around
Pros: Good graphics
Gun modifications
Open World
The bullet-time is pretty dope
Some RPG elements
Cons: The RPG elements (skills, leveling, etc.) can be a lot better
Mindless waves of enemies spawning all around you
Needs more guns (like a sniper, shotgun, hand cannon, etc.)
Enemies have aim-bot like a mofo
The building mechanic needs work, as it’s unwieldy
Is it the best game ever? No… but is Serious Sam the best game ever? No, it’s not either. I’d really just compare this game to being a slightly worse Serious Sam… so for the price, it’s good if you’re looking for a game similar to Serious Sam.
– Real player with 155.1 hrs in game
41hrs Review
Its hard to give a review for this game as i did receive it for free via gift purchase from my brother and also this a game made by a small team and by what i can see and feel when playing the game they did not have a AAA budget.
So i finished the game on the pro skill level took me just over 7hrs to finish but keep in mind i have played tons of first person shooters and tend to finish games quite quick. I liked the game it has some frustrating moments which i will get too but overall its quite decent and for $20 bucks aussie dollars its not bad value.
– Real player with 7.4 hrs in game
Man of the World
It is possible to become a famous musician, take part in medieval battles, earn a fortune from trade, become a thief of women’s hearts or an avid duelist. The game allows you to do all this.
Nott Longa
Such a unique narrative game, the closest thing I can compare it is something like ‘Doll’ by Braisque, it has that gloomy theme to it with philosophical vibes and many strange characters, but with a pretty unique story, something about the game world being a purgatory, a metaphor for being stuck in a nostalgia perhaps, unless maybe I missed the point. Sadly there seem to be a few translation issues, some intentional, some probably not, it’s hard to say because the game uses glitchy dialogue for the immersion. I was about to write a very positive review for this game, but then it softlocked near the end, and being a narrative game that nobody plays, I can’t even look it up, not to mention it leaves me without an important part to reflect on this experience (I liked the story, I still want to see the #$#$ ending though). I guess I could replay it, it’s not very long once you know all the answers to the tricky puzzles, about 2 to 3 hours with no hints, not that any were available when I needed them, but some of the puzzles were pretty creative, like you might have to do things outside of the game, cough cough. It’s one of those ‘cerebral’ games if you know what I mean, weird narrative, strange world, very atmospheric, maybe even experimental to some extent, it has a certain level of escapism which I really enjoy.
– Real player with 4.7 hrs in game
Absolute solid game for the bit i’ve played so far.
I’m going to continue to play more of it and keep updated.
I love the atmosphere and just everything about it.
It’s very unsettling. You go around doing quests for the people for those who have been sucked into the video game, which now is forever their norm day by day home since they can no longer escape from it, and eventually then turn to ghosts.
I can’t stress enough how wonderful this game is.
It’s like nothing i’ve played before.
Psychedelic and philosophical.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
The Night Fisherman
I found The Night Fisherman a bit underwhelming on its own, but I liked it as a prologue to its follow-up, The Outcast Lovers. Given it’s so short and free, I’d be inclined to recommend it, except… If you read other negative reviews for The Night Fisherman, you’ll see a few accusations that the scene you play through is plagiarized from the opening of the movie Inglourious Basterds. The dev claims that it’s just an “homage.”
So, is it plagiarism or homage? Considering the art is extremely minimal and there is no game play outside of one decision at the end, the dialog that plays out in this scene is all The Night Fisherman really has going for it. I think that makes the question of whether that dialog is original work or not pretty important.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
The Sacrifices – Politically Charged Game Series
Amongst the alternate history of The Night Fisherman exists the English Protection Group, vigilantes who keep a watchful eye on the Smuggler’s Run, a renowned crossing for vessels bound from Calais containing illegal immigrants. The player takes on the role of the fisherman in the middle of the ocean, during an encounter with another boat and its shotgun-wielding passenger. The fisherman must direct the conversation and the camera angle in a bid to escape the situation safely.
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Choose for ME
Choose for ME belongs to the “Puzzle Drama” genre, in which the player will find himself at the center of an exciting story told as in a movie.
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Help Mads to shed light on his memory and reconstruct the moments that marked his life… and the development of his video game
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Live this emotional journey and discover the truth solving puzzles and riddles
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Get carried away by the psychological flow and explore Mads' mind
Chronicles of Sarval: Bridges of Koni
The game positively surprised me, the best aspects are:
GAMEPLAY: very simple and intuitive
CHALLENGE: innovative and different because combine the 2D arcade adventure with a simple puzzle.
SOUND: very well crafted and takes the player into a complete immersion
PLOT: complete, makes the player curious to reach the end of the game.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
Great game, it made me nostalgic with this game.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game