AntVentor
Short version: 71%
AntVentor is a short, cute, and nice-looking adventure, following the Anamita school of wordless storytelling and handcrafted abstract visuals, with an enthusiastic team behind it.
Long version:
AntVentor cannot deny that it took a massive dose of inspiration from Anamita’s Botanicula, down to the same theme of following the life of a very humanlike bug (an ant, in this case), who tries to escape his role in society to follow his dreams. Similarly, it relies entirely on visual storytelling, even including the hint system.
– Real player with 5.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Atmospheric Colorful Games.
I want to like this point-and-click adventure/puzzle game, but it sure makes it hard. First, the positives: It looks great, with crisp and detailed imagery, and cute ant characters. It reminds me of the excellent style achieved for the game Samorost 3.
Here’s what I DON’T like:
(1) The point-and-click mechanics are clunky. The pointer hand changes when you can do certain things, but often the hand only changes if you’re on the exact spot where you can do something. It leads you to miss puzzle solutions even when you’re on the right track and trying to click the thing that would give you the solution. It also shows you a “walking” hand (fingers moving) for areas where you can’t actually walk.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
NeJ
Welcome to the poetic universe of NeJ. A snowy forest that speaks of friendship, music, silence and mystery.
In this adventure you will meet a young puppy with whom you will live an incredible story, which begins in the ordinary to open on the fantastic.
It’s an evocative experience without any text, brought to life through the symbiosis of expressive hand-drawn graphics and a poignant original soundtrack.
Infiltration sequences, small puzzles, combat and mini-games punctuate this emotional journey.
Read More: Best Atmospheric Puzzle Games.
ODDADA
ODDADA is currently in developement. We are still adding and changing lots of stuff!
Sandbox
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Put together your own musical construction kit from modules, little houses and unique sound colors
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Create your own musical landscape while building up the village
Story Mode
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Get to know the odd and magical world of ODDADA
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Solve puzzles and experiment in little musical mini games
Read More: Best Atmospheric Music Games.
Bubbaruka!
I want to stress first that I am one of the beta testers for this game. I did get it for free and I’ve been following the game in it’s development for a while now. Do with that information what you will. Having said that, there are a tremendous amount of positives here and a couple negative as well and I’d like to start with those to get them out of the way.
Cons: This game is not overly difficult, but the difficulty level is not horizontal. In fact, it’s more like a wave. There are some parts that seem gift-wrapped for you and others that make it seem like you’re on Santa’s naughty list. I would have preferred a more evenly distributed challenge. Also, make sure you’re attention to detail is on point or else you’ll be backtracking a lot. Prepare for that.
– Real player with 26.4 hrs in game
Amazing work from the developer and I highly recommend this game to anyone looking to for a good indie horror. If you are lost in the game then they do have a walkthrough and Discord so I also recommend joining! There’s not much more I can say about this game other than I felt compelled to continue playing, it had me on edge most of the time and constantly second guessing my actions and a wave of accomplishment when I won. The characters look simplistic but have an old-school charm that is reminiscent to Tamagatchi and the atmosphere pulls you in with it’s ambiance and sound.
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
ParticuLights
Everything I expected, and I expected to like it!
Game themed ambiance while I work! I think this is one step closer to making real life as video-game-esque as possible, so I fully support this effort.
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game
Ruff Night At The Gallery
Do you like dogs?
Do you like being spooped?
Do you like being licked and spooked at the same time?
THEN THIS GAME IS FOR YOU!
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The atmosphere is amazing, the dogs are amazing. It’s so amazing I made a video about it filled with dog puns (check it out: https://youtu.be/_DyTvYA3wbI )
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It’s so amazing I could write something completely out of scamalot by James Veitch “I love the way it started”.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Loved it! I actually recorded myself playing on the day of release, but of course the footage bugged out because I was using experimental features. It was such a short yet entertaining experience. No bugs, crashes, or lag spikes either, and on day 1, that’s pretty impressive (especially since I was recording). I think I’m more impressed with how creative the New Game + is. Won’t spoil for anyone reading, but it isn’t what you’re expecting. It was so hectic too, like, I had to actually catch my breath between segments. Good job guys!
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Ghost of a Tale
I can’t name a single other game that can match the unbelievable charm of Ghost of a Tale. The stunning art design and graphics, the adorable animations, the fantastic music, the masterful level design, the deep and engrossing lore and worldbuilding, and the unforgettable characters result in one of the most stunningly realized adventures I’ve had the pleasure to participate in.
This game is simply magical.
Whether you are a fan of the classic animal adventure stories like Redwall, Wind in the Willows, and Disney’s Robin Hood, want to spend some time exploring a beautiful seaside fortress, or just want to dress a mouse in adorable little costumes, this game is more than worth it.
– Real player with 66.4 hrs in game
What a mixed bag this game is.
On the positive side, the world itself is breathtaking, and surprisingly interconnected. I expected a more linear style of progression, where you move past Zones and NPCs once you’ve gotten what you need from them, but throughout the entire game you’re constantly cycling back to places you’ve been and people you’ve talked to. You end up finding all these secrety hidey-holes and passageways that connect all the far-reaching areas of the map in cool, quirky ways. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve absentmindedly been running through a tunnel and come to the end like, “Oh THIS is where I am!”. Perfect example of a smal world done right.
– Real player with 34.6 hrs in game
Happy Game
This games art style is awesome.
This is beautiful.
Thank you Amanita Design!!!
– Real player with 10.1 hrs in game
a little traumatizing for me and a lot traumatizing for small bald bastard
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
Kitten Adventures in City Park
This little hand-drawn game is so sweet and cute that I don’t have the right words to write about it!!
It’s very simple as a game; you control a cute kitten through the city and you’ve got to retrieve lost things from your mistress.
The atmosphere is super cute, and the voice acting to me is awesome.
Every ambientation is hand-drawn and there are no animations in game, just transitions from one place to the other one.
It’s not your classic point and click game, you don’t have to do particular things or combine items - you don’t even have an inventory. It’s more of a super cute hand-drawn adventure :)
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
注：英語レビュウはつまり、遊び事はかなり退屈そうでも、子供頃の空気が愛した。日本語化もあるよ！
I’ve seen enough games to be bored immediately by most of them, but if there’s one thing that’ll always catch my interest it’s the passion project. That passion has hooks, and those hooks are what makes Kitten Adventures so compelling. It’s the quintessential passion project, and that’s the lynchpin upon which the game―and your enjoyment―hinges.
I frontload the core of the review because I guarantee the one minute elevator pitch will turn most of you off: it’s a very simple, deliberately primitive childrens' game in renpy where you listen to a bunch of seven-year olds talk at you, then go click on a bunch of things so they can talk at you some more. A sort of babby’s first adventure game. Odds are unless you have strong opinions on the Pajama Sam or Putt-Putt series yours is turning against this game. Perfectly reasonable, but a terrible mistake.
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
Little Bug
I think it’s important that there’s some visible criticism of this game because it has some major flaws.
First let’s talk about my unabashed praise: The sound design and visual design are both very good - you’ll be able to gauge just from the store page if these will appeal to you. The controls are also incredibly tight and consequently controlling Nyah feels really good - there’s a level of mastery you can achieve which totally validates the design choices of the game.
Every other positive aspect of the game is modified by some quite glaring flaws.
– Real player with 9.9 hrs in game
This game.
I have had the pleasure of receiving this game as a review copy.
If you’re looking for a sweet/cute game, with amazing visuals (with meaning, if you dig deep into the story and you’ll see that everything here visually aids the overall arc!) and challenging puzzles all packaged up into a lovely platformer?
Do it. You won’t be disappointed. Take the time to go through the game and enjoy the music and try your best to explore rather than simply trying to blow through the game. Go for the hard-to-reach places and it will add another layer and dimension to the game to enjoy right then and later!
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game