ZERO Sievert
ZERO Sievert is a post apocalyptic game setted In a fictitious part of Russia.
The bunker ZERO Sievert: here you can accept new quests, talk to NPC, trade with vendors, manage your equipment and improve your base.
Maps: Maps are procedurally generated to ensure good replayability. The main points of interest will then be in a different location each time, but there is loot in everywhere in the map so be prepared to explore!
Weapons modification: Weapons can be modified, it is up to the player to create a weapon he likes or to focus on statistics. There are a lot of different mods and an incredible amount of combinations
Read More: Best Atmospheric Exploration Games.
Knock-knock
Don’t look at the Metacritic reviews.
It’s hard to explain this minimalist game, but it definitely has something about it. A very special experience that completely justifies the whole mystery surrounding it. Don’t read anything about this game. Simply get it and play it if you’re into subtle creepy games, if you’re into urban legends, creepypasta - this is a lot like it, but on a superior level of quality and attention. This is my favorite type of horror. The entire game is like a weird lucid dream yet, not where you are in total control. There are visitors.
– Real player with 30.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Atmospheric Indie Games.
Knock Knock is Dark Souls meets The Stanley Parable which plays hide and seek with Amensia: The Dark Descent. According to the game one should play at night in the dark, alone (and most likely with headphones on).
The biggest Steam complaints I found in the reviews was this game was repetitive and frustrating. What RPG game, for example, Dark Souls, is not repetitive and frustrating, and just because Knock Knock has no blood splatter and gut spillage that does not mean one does not die, which happens more often then one is lead to believe. (When one dies, it is done without fanfare.) This of course leads to the entire campaign having to be redone from the beginning which is both frustrating and repetitive just like in Dark Souls (and screaming at the computer scene in utter frustration can occur). Another comparison to be noted between the two is where as the player collects souls in Dark Souls, in Knock Knock the player collects time. Each campaign though not timed until the much later levels is timed based. The player must collect time to reach the dawn of the day either by surviving the night hours by watching the slow moving clock or finding a “clock” which speeds up time (found only by turning on lights and remembering). Running into the monsterous “guests” (some of whom will hunt the player down), let into the house through breaches of the dimensional fabric (which need to be closed or can be walked through) will lose the player time or their life. This whole game is one way, no level can be repeated, only the entire game once an ending is reached.
– Real player with 20.9 hrs in game
Elegy for a Dead World
Preface: This is a very SHORT “game”. It honestly feels like a preview rather than the whole product. It’s also certainly not for everyone. It’s geared more towards the type of person who writes long headcanons for their villagers in Banished or create elaborate backstories for their Bioware characters. For people who have used programs like Zen Writer, this gets you into the same kind of simplified mindset– there’s nothing but you, the art, the sound, and the words. You won’t get the editing and organizational capabilities of programs like Scrivener, but it’s extremely useful for allowing you to write without the distraction of fiddly program features. That said, there’s a lot to recommend it to gamers and writers alike.
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Atmospheric Indie Games.
I sat down and played through Byron’s World once last night. I ended up writing a pretty neat story that I was happy with, but I felt pretty worn out afterwards and wasn’t sure if I would come back. However I got home today and felt like pulling it up again… and I played through Byron’s World again with different writing prompts, and wrote something just utterly different and also awesome. I feel like this game is something I’m going to keep coming back to over time… I haven’t even started on the other two worlds yet, and I could definitely spend more time on the first.
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game
apartment: a separated place
There are a lot of ‘break up’ games and this is by far one of the best I’ve ever played. There’s a sophistication and maturity to the storytelling that’s hard to find. Relationships are never simple and each of the vignettes explore the complexities of relationships that fall apart, never come together, or eventually find a way to work. The design of each vignette combined with the story it’s telling is one of the best aspects of this game.
There’s a meditative quality when playing–where I found myself reflecting on my own relationships as I played. May and Rose’s stories were probably the most moving and interesting–with truly unique interactions exploring losing or finding the person for you.
– Real player with 4.2 hrs in game
While not perfect, this game still has a story to tell. I found the progression within the main story satisfying, with little touches which enhance the world around you. For me, some of the vignettes are stronger than others but overall they were a pleasing break from the main arc while remaining familiar enough.
Having waited some years for this game I do feel like I wanted more “meat on the bones” with Nick and Madison’s story. The ending did feel a bit sudden and I was left wanting more. For some people this will be perfect and they’ll appreciate the short, sad and sweet nature.
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
Neverending Nightmares
The greatest and most effective aspect of horror is the tension and the atmosphere, the feeling of creeping unknown terror that lurks around each corner ahead, the mysterious buzzing sounds of some vile machine sprinkled with the curious moanings of what one could only guess are tortured souls.
When it comes to horror, it’s hardly ever the execution of cheap scares or the appearance of the actual monster that are scary or make the experience, but the thick and heavy atmosphere and the suspense that it builds in you throughout the journey and this is exactly where Neverending Nightmares excels above and beyond everything I have come to expect from the horror genre.
– Real player with 19.0 hrs in game
Disclaimer: I took part in the Kickstarter campaign in order to get this game funded. As a result I’ve been playing the game for a good number of months in its Alpha/Beta stages, giving feedback and talking with the developers about the game.
-TL;DR version-
The game is a wonderfully crafted psychological horror game that builds its horror around crafting a dark and foreboding atmosphere. It also does a great job at emphasising a slower, more disturbing tone than a traditional startling tone. The game being inspired by the visions and thoughts of someone with mental illness give a very genuine and unnerving feel to everything, which as a result makes for one of the best horror games that I’ve played in recent times. Definitely worth your time if you’re a horror fan and want something that’ll truly get under your skin.
– Real player with 13.7 hrs in game
Dreamfall Chapters
The thing about stories and settings, in modern-day fiction, is that there’s very little room for innovation or unique ideas to craft worlds without feeling like it’s something we’ve seen before but executed differently.
I’m the kinda of person who loves stories that are self-contained without being treated as a brand that inevitably needs to be pumped for money, or more sequels, faster than an OD’ing alcoholic solely for the sake of the former, and not so much for doing something new with the subject matter.
– Real player with 79.8 hrs in game
You know that totally dreamy guy who you really want to get together with, but when you do; it turns out that he just doesn’t meet your expectations of him, and no matter how much you want to love him, he just doesn’t let you? Well, I know his name. He’s called ‘Dreamfall Chapters’.
Overview
Chapters concludes the story which began with the wonderful The Longest Journey, and resolves the cliffhanger left at the end of Dreamfall. We pick up where we left off, taking the part of Zoe Castillo, still in a coma; and will switch control during the game between her, Kian Alvane the “reformed” Apostle, and “Saga” - the girl who walks between worlds and appears to be disconnected from the main story until apparently completely unrelated threads finally intertwine as we approach the climax.
– Real player with 57.2 hrs in game
Jenny LeClue - Detectivu
Note: When I wrote this review, Jenny LeClue had no voice acting, which is why the review doesn’t mention it. The game recently updated with the voice acting. It is extremely good, and on this replay, I can’t imagine going back to no voices. It turned a great game into an exceptional one.
Jenny LeClue is positively adorable. The eponymous hero, yes- exceedingly so- but also the game itself is just overall incredibly charming.
As far as gameplay goes, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. There’s a lot of conversations between Jenny and the various residents of Arthurton, as she walks about a 2d world, flicking switches and pushing boxes. There’s some neat investigation sections that will feel very familiar to fans of Danganronpa or Phoenix Wright.
– Real player with 22.5 hrs in game
I first learned about Jenny LeClue a few years ago through Adventuregamers, after it had already been funded on Kickstarter. I followed the progression of the game through the developer’s page and eagerly awaited the arrival of this beautifully animated detective game, led by a young girl no less!
I regret to say that even though the developers obviously put a lot of effort in this game, it’s poorly constructed in terms of gameplay, plot and pace. After spending 21 hours of my life on it, which I’m never getting back, I feel a bit outraged – so forgive my long review and negative rant. I really regret being a completionist since I otherwise would have deserted the game maybe an hour after trying it.
– Real player with 21.7 hrs in game
Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project
TL;DR: narcissu’s a compilation of a few tearjerking stories grounded/based in reality, in a minimalistic visual novel style, of people awaiting their death. There’s a free version for the first 2 games. 1st game’s story happens after 2nd, but they can be played in any order. 2nd is better, tho. This anthology (paid) version contains the first 2 games plus the epilogue and a short story (1980). The anthology dlcs has 3 other stories. Of them, Zero is the better one, as it’s related to the first 2 games. The last two stories, not so much. Little Iris is skippable… BUT it contains the followup to the previous short story (1993), which is amazing. Sumire is not as bad as Little Iris… but has fantasy elements, which it’s bad for the series.
– Real player with 231.4 hrs in game
That took quite long to read all of the Narcissu anniversary novels. :D
So Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project contains 5 visual novels (each novel is like DLC, not too pricy).
These are very sad stories about hospital patients who are waiting for their death. Novels show what are their thoughts, their wishes and so on. Except “Little Iris” That’s an entirely different story, and honestly, I enjoyed it the most.
About story lane.
Each novel has One story about One person. It started with Himeko story about the Hospital’s 7th floor how she met a mysterious girl Setsumi. In the next novel, the story explains who is Setsumi and how she gets to the 7th floor. It’s like story steps back every time showing how these characters are connected. (Except for Little Iris which is an entirely different story.) Sumire story started weird, like fantasy type of novel. But then it connected pretty well with other Narcissu novels. (TBH I didn’t understand what happened with Sumire at the end. Did she cleared all of her’s debts and chosed “world of closed” eyes?)
– Real player with 47.0 hrs in game
Perception
Cassie Thorton is a blind girl who has been raised in an institution, now she has dreams about a house on echo bluff. She can’t resist and hops on public transport to investigate it for herself! This is where the adventure begins!
Perception is a horror experience game ala Outlast (but a bit less intense. That doesn’t mean there’s no scares and intense moments. They just are presented in a more abstract way. Which makes for an unique experience on its own.
Perception gives a good impression of how a blind/visually impaired person has to puzzle bits and pieces together to make up the environment they arein, done purely on tactile and auditory “inputs”. The wind outside is made visible for the player, otherwise you might not really preceive to be outside yourself. This is mostlly how it is for blind people as well. Blind people pay attention to reverb, wind and obstacles to determine their environment. Suddenly you arrive in a place that seemingly looks like a garage and voila, there’s a car. Because you only really see ahead of you when you interact, or tap your cane and walk forward,, it gives the player a motivation to use these “senses” constantly to assess their position and to re orient. As a visually impaired person myself, I find this very well done. The irony is that true blind people will ofcourse not be able to play this game, as the game world is a nonphysical environment and the only thing that makes it physical is it’s VISUAL representation.
– Real player with 18.3 hrs in game
There are lots of reasons I recommend this game: interesting premise, moments of incredible immersion, outstanding sound, great voice acting, an atmosphere and vibe that is successfuly creepy (at least for a short while). Those strengths never quite come together to make a cohesive whole, however. Gameplay, while simple, also has a few issues. So it’s frustrating that the reasons I should be recommending it (because it has a great story or consistently awesome gameplay, neither of which are quite true) are not why I could conditionally support it. Ultimately, “Perception” is just one more example of a terrific idea with poor execution.
– Real player with 14.3 hrs in game
Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today
I really enjoyed playing this game. Definately recommended.
Pros:
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No bugs/glitches encountered
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Intuitive, easy yet functional game mechanics
- Very special story: interesting characters, good narrative (!)
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Nice visuals / graphic design
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Decent voice acting*
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Getting stuck (not knowing what to do) is very rare
*I just read a thread in the forums about the “terrible” voice acting of this game. I can definately not confirm that. Its maybe not the very best or special but absoluteley ok (both, the german and also the english voice acting, I played both).
– Real player with 20.9 hrs in game
ESPRESSO SHOT REVIEW
While Dead Synchroncity is not a bad game, it’s just not as intriguing as I was expecting. There is nothing to pull you into the game. While not incredibly difficult, and fairly well done, the game lacks a deep story or inventive puzzles. Score: 4.5/10.
PROS
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hitting the spacebar prevents pixel hunting
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nice art style
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main character is a good voice actor
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some nice soliloquies
CONS
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not an engaging story
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puzzles are weak
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annoying flashbacks
– Real player with 13.8 hrs in game