Lazarus Trials: Trial 101
Narrative
You wake up and immediately feel something is wrong. You don’t know where you are or how you got here. The more you try to piece things together, the more you can’t remember. You can’t seem to move your head, but you glance down and see a body that isn’t your own. Suddenly a voice begins to speak. It has run countless experiments, and its latest subject is you. You don’t remember signing up for anything like this! But before you say a word, you realize, maybe the voice has answers to the millions of questions running through your mind. So you decide to play along, but will you survive the ordeal that lies ahead?
Motivation
Compared to books, many modern games are like War and Peace or Finnegans wake; incredibly rich masterpieces but hardly the best starting place for someone learning to read. “Lazarus Trials” is a series of games designed to teach game literacy, the art/skill of being able to consume the media form of video games. It’s the perfect starting point for someone looking to get into gaming as a hobby, but has been incredibly overwhelmed by everything out on the market.
Gameplay
Trial 101 aims to teach:
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Navigation through a 3D space using mouse/keyboard or gamepad controller.
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Coordination between moving and looking around.
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Advanced movement (i.e jumping) by requiring more than one key/button press at a time.
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The basics of puzzle solving in games
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Identifying the target/objective of the puzzle
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Distinguish between game objects and environment. What can be interacted with and what can’t?
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Game logic and “out of the box thinking”
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Testing limits of controls
- Using the basic controls/mechanics explained to experiment and find different movement capabilities.
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Comprehension of narrative and instruction through dialog
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Understanding game hints and instructions through dialog
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Understanding underlying narrative through dialog
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Will you be able to survive the Lazarus Trials?
Really?
Prove it.
TIPS
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Use the settings menu to customize aspects of the game itself, use the detect optimal settings button to quickly get a configuration that would work for you. You will need to manually adjust the resolution to your screen size. 1920 x 1080 at fullscreen typically works for most people.
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Practice, Practice, Practice. Just like with reading the more you do of it the better you get at it. Perseverance is key!
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Always try new things! Never be afraid to try something out to see if it works. You may discover some interesting abilities/quirks.
Read More: Best Casual First-Person Games.
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale
Ultimately, I recommend this game, but with some caveats.
I learned about this game in the desperados III discord, but gameplay-wise, those two don’t have much in common. Somewhat easy stealth game (took me about 6 hours to clear it while inspiring all the children) with a handful more difficult spots. You’ll rarely have to worry about finding a spot to hide or wondering how to get through a corridor that has 5 patrolling bandits with intersecting routes. All levels are about getting to the end of the level, and although you may sometimes wonder WHERE the end of the level it, you’re usually steered in the correct direction, and there are usually multiple paths you can take to get there. The game’s cute, the art style is agreeable, the music has a nice heavy Morricone vibe.
– Real player with 58.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Casual Exploration Games.
I liked this game very much.
It looked beautiful and had a simple and fun story.
You are playing a little boy in the wild west who is trying to reach his mother who went to fight off bandits. The whole game is sneaking around with a different twist and a little bit of thinking.
Like shooting a stone with your slingshot in one direction to make the guard look around in a different direction, blowing of the lamp lights to make it movable in the dark and unseen, hanging underneath a moving Bison’s belly. Or moving behind a moving rail cart.
– Real player with 24.9 hrs in game
Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset
Each chapter in this Artifex Mundi series features a different protagonist. The unifying theme is (tragic and at times disturbing) family secrets and a mystery to unravel. FM3: Criminal Mindset is one of the better new AM games, although it is still light on challenge. The plot is bizarre and a little spooky, and includes biomedical psychology (of the scifi-light horror genre) and conspiracies within conspiracies. That said, if you suspend your disbelief, there are some interesting HO scenes, better than (recent) average puzzles, and the protagonist is intelligent and very likeable.
– Real player with 15.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Casual Point & Click Games.
A little light on hidden object scenes, although there are plenty of mini-game puzzles. Hidden object scenes and mini-game puzzles are not randomised, the solutions are the same for each playthrough.
There are a couple of tricky puzzles, what makes the game overly difficult however is the “Unmistakable” achievement which is supposed to pop after completing a hidden object scene without any mistakes. Sadly however it is bugged and actually pops when you complete a scene in less than 60 seconds without any mistakes, and due to morphing objects and items hidden behind or within other items, it makes for a very difficult achievement to earn as a result.
– Real player with 8.1 hrs in game
Viking Heroes 2
Ez to play and easily achieved 3 stars ranking too
– Real player with 23.3 hrs in game
It’s a good time management game.
– Real player with 21.3 hrs in game
Adventures of Bruce
This is a fantasy-themed match 3 / jigsaw puzzle mashup.
Players that like match 3 blast games, may appreciate a different take on match 3. You are not merely collecting, but also attempting to solve for a pretty pattern.
It has input accessibility and difficulty settings which can make the experience not only accessible, but therapeutic (the easiest setting). This game can be played with keyboard only, or game-pad only (2 button mode supported), or of course with touch or mouse.
Double Pug Switch
Double Pug Switch is a simple side scrolling precision platformer and is a frustratingly addictive indie game developed by The Polygon Loft. In order to reverse the consequences from a catastrophic laboratory accident, Otis the Pug must jump through different dimensions to stop the evil cat, Sker. Otis has to switch between dimensions and avoid countless spikes and pitfalls to get to Sker and turn him back into the good cat, Whiskers.
Double Pug Switch is not a game for the easily frustrated or people with slower reaction times. This is a game that will require your total attention and focus at all times. You have to survive by narrowly dodging spikes, avoiding fast approaching pitfalls, and collecting power-ups to inch your way to the next checkpoint, all while higher skilled players try to collect gold and purple coins to buy neat cosmetic hats and masks for Otis to collect in the game’s hat shop. The player will infinitely keep repeating from the last checkpoint they reached, until they reach the next checkpoint or the end of the level.
– Real player with 8.3 hrs in game
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Review by Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam.
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Is this game a masterpiece? No, not quite. It is a difficult old-school arcade game. An evil cat has spilled some flasks in the laboratory, and the Professor and his pug Otis have been sucked into alternate dimensions. They can only return if Otis, controlled by the player, manages to catch the cat. To do so you have to reach the level exit. Survive 34 auto-scrolling levels, jumping over spikes, and dashing while avoiding to hit solid walls. You can switch between two dimensions, and the levels consist of parts from those two dimensions. Switch between those dimensions with the press of a button and make sure you are always in the right dimension - if there is a ground, stay in this dimension, if there is a wall blocking your way, switch to the other dimension. This switching has to be done while jumping (the longer you press the button the higher you jump) over deadly obstacles and gaps in the floor. Quite challenging. To calm down you can unlock hats for Otis between the levels.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
Good puzzle: Music
Good game, simple puzzles, cool soundtrack.
– Real player with 3.3 hrs in game
The music is nice, albeit a little repetitive. The game itself is fast to complete. Would only recommend if you get it on sale and want to waste a small amount of time. It’s an easy 12 achievements (1 for each level) and that’s about it.
– Real player with 0.7 hrs in game
Hazmat Hijinks: Total Meltdown
I can’t recommend this game enough, it’s amazing! The dev managed to combine the feelings of both Super Mario World and Old School Puzzle Games (such as Chip’s Challenge and Sokoban) into one amazing package, at this price its a steal and you’d be insane not to grab it. The main levels are fun as all hell and then the secrets, the secrets, this game is just jam packed with them, if you like a good puzzle with lots more to find under the surface, Hazmat Hijinks is your game.
– Real player with 25.0 hrs in game
I was looking for a mac-friendly Chip’s Challenge alternative, and this game definitely delivered. I’m about 10 hours in and I think the puzzles, graphics, story, and sound are all great. My only criticism is that some of the “tricks” feel impossible to figure out on your own… I have relied a lot on the let’s play that’s linked from the game’s website. I wish I could have figured out some of these puzzles on my own but would try a level a dozen or more times and never be able to figure the answer out because it’s a brand new function within the game. With that said, the let’s play is interesting to watch to get some additional background information from the creator, and there’s a really cute PDF manual you can download too. Overall, I do think it’s great, and very much worth the price.
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
Inertia
I’m enjoying this game! Like some other reviewers, I found the controls slightly off at first, but then I figured out what I was doing wrong. Accordingly, I want to offer a few simple tips that should be helpful for new and inexperienced players:
-Sprinting vs walking: In the Options menu, under “Input,” make sure “Use sprint input” is checked. This gives you much more control over your momentum, as you can either walk or hold SHIFT to sprint. If that option is not checked, I think you are always sprinting. SHIFT/sprint also affects your ability to make movement corrections while in the air.
– Real player with 8.8 hrs in game
The best I can say about this game is that it is fine. The movement feels slow and clumsy but honestly not all that bad. The mechanics range from very cool (the black-orange platforms that break) to alright (the wall running, feels cool but VERY glitchy) to just unneeded (zipwires, just unnecessary, taking control away from the player for 5-10 seconds.)
The double jump is weird, where the higher your initial upwards momentum is when using the jump, the higher the DJ will go. Eg double tapping space will send you flying but trying to DJ after running off a ledge will make you go nowhere. Some of the platforms that move up and down have weird physics too, but it makes somewhat more sense there.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
Learn Programming: Python
Exercises can not be skipped. Answers are also not provided to someone at the end of their rope. To someone new to Python they will go through the exercises and eventually reach one they can not answer. Not answering the question will not allow them to move on.
A solution should be something like question is asked and if the student gets it wrong 5 times in a row. The answer should be provided.
Why? Because if you are a total noob which I assume this game was made for “This game assumes absolutely zero prerequisite background.,” you will eventually get stuck no matter how much you paid attention to the lessons.
– Real player with 68.5 hrs in game
I am not necessarily a beginner to programming but this is a decent educational “game”. Its more of a interactive textbook but I found it useful. I am trying to get a job as a programmer so I am exploring many different resources. This one definitely makes you think and that is a good thing. I feel there is room for improvement and I would love to see more of these types of “games”. I see a lot of potential in this and I feel it could be expanded much further. One thing people need to understand is that is only a resource for learning Python. When you finish it you will most likely still not really know what you are doing but it will edge you in the right direction and allow you to piece things together easier. Once finished you will most likely be able to design a very simple program but to get to a actual payable level you are going to need more then just this and a ton of practice. I do recommend this for beginner programmers and or anyone who has not tried Python before. I have taken classes in other languages and worked with them for a few years but had never worked with Python so I found it interesting. Overall I think its worth the money. Investing in yourself is never a bad idea especially for this price.
– Real player with 29.9 hrs in game