Epic Tavern
Epic Tavern is a fun and interesting combination of management sim and tabletop RPG. After the tutorial, you start each day off at your tavern. You talk to your customers who usually have pretty interesting story lines, learn of new quests, serve them food and drinks that they may or may not like, get them super drunk, and build your relationships so that you may hire them to do your bidding. At the end of the day, you equip your heroes and send them out into the world on adventures that may only take the day, or it may take several. The success of these missions (and the events on the way) is based on the skills of the heroes and a few rolls of the dice. Many adventures have multiple approaches available to choose from to best fit the skills of your heroes, which means there’s a pretty good reason to play it a few times. After all your teams of heroes have finished up, they go back to the tavern for more alcohol abuse. Wash, rinse, repeat.
– Real player with 372.4 hrs in game
At the heart of EPIC TAVERN is a lack of focus on what is trying to be and executing both game subsystems. On one hand it is a tavern simulator with resource constraints. On the other it is a random event generator in guise with “sometimes” good story elements. You as the bar-keep are tasked with navigating both of these systems. Each subsystem has a wonderful loading screen that is viewed over and over as the game loop progresses.
You can recruit and level up your stock of adventurers in tavern play and then take them out on the road rolling dice. During dice rolls there is the “safe bet” and the “risky” chance to choose from. Even though there are about 5 “actions” to choose from it only boils down to two real choices in its current implementation.
– Real player with 202.0 hrs in game
Guilt Free
this is a very tedious game.
i’m not quite sure if it was done intentionally, but i think that was rather well-executed. the creators did not bother with putting fillers in an attempt to lift the mood, but instead dove right in and sustained the immersive experience of dealing with someone who has bulimia.
the choices presented for your character’s response and alice’s responses to them can be extremely aggravating, frustrating, and tiring to listen to. their thoughts and feelings were never sugarcoated– and credits for the game for giving the character a diverse set of options rather than being just supportive or unsupportive. they can be supportive and effective. supportive but ineffective. in that regard, i consider the game well-thought out and realistic in the way we, as people, may consider the same responses to actual people like alice, and have an equally diverse range of reactions towards discovering alice’s woes.
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game
This short and highly replayable game depicts bulimic and anorexic symptoms accurately, and does well to convey the experience of slowly uncovering and helping someone through an eating disorder and body dysmorphia.
The art is competent and quite stylish, fitting the mood of the narrative. A few details are odd and hint at the game’s indie origins, but overall everything is consistent and charming in appearance.
Much of the dialogue deals with bulimic symptoms in real-world detail, which was completely accurate to my own experiences, and may trigger players who recognize these symptoms. Paranoia and gaslighting are also depicted on the part of the narrator with the same narrative realism. The game has a “trigger warning,” and given its content and audience, this is warranted.
– Real player with 3.9 hrs in game
Heavy Rain
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐚𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐆𝐨 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐧?
I can’t believe it’s been almost 11 years since this game’s been released. I love this game from the bottom of my heart. I always had interest in story driven games, the moment I saw this game’s trailer I knew it was meant for me. It’s one of those games that defined my personality through my teenage years. How can you not love a game like this. It’s the game that took motion capture to the next level back in those days. Tragic drama thriller movie like game where your choices do actually MATTER. Main characters can die or get injured during their encounters. Every choice you make feels like it will have an impact on your experience. It offers a lot of content and replayability. The action scenes are very intense and gets you locked onto the screen. You can listen to your character’s thoughts that gives you more insight and adds depth about the situation the person’s going through. Which I have missed a lot of them when I was playing 10 years ago even though I’ve played this game more than like 500 hours now I’m discovering new things. To me, Quantic Dream games are really good in terms of creating and establishing scenes as well as writing story with characters and multiple different possibilities. And not to mention the unforgettable magnificent score. It sends shivers down my spine when I hear that Ethan Mars' Theme. Lastly, I believe Quantic Dream company really cares about the content that they’re making at least as I’ve seen from the behind the scenes and artworks.
– Real player with 72.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choices Matter Multiple Endings Games.
-How many cliches do you want mr. Cage?
-Yes
I love narrative games so my opinion in this might be a little biased and I obviously recommend this game. It doesn’t come without flaws but we get so little of such games that i’m happy even if it’s not perfect.
Heavy Rain is an interactive-drama thriller. The Origami killer is kidnapping children and drowning them. One of the main character’s son disappears and father who’s name is Ethan gets a message from killer demanding him to take tasks in order to save his son. Killer is testing Ethan’s courage and Ethan must decide how far he will go in order to save his son.
– Real player with 30.2 hrs in game
The Away Team: Lost Exodus
Don’t be fooled by its simple, rétro appearance and pixel graphics: this is a real hidden gem, with very solid writing and an interesting plot that will keep you playing, solar system after solar system, gameplay minutes turning into hours, wondering what will happen next, both to you and to your crew members.
The game has a lot in common with choose-your-own-adventure gamebooks (when your humans explore planets, you’ll have to help them decide what they’ll do, pulling a lever, exploring a certain zone, being friendly or hostile, and different choices of course mean different consequences), but adds to it a simple but effective simulation part (you have to carefully manage your fuel and food reserves, and find more if you deplete one or the other) and a deeply interesting crew member personality system, which adds a ton of replayability: a strong farmer will act, speak and perform differently than a genial but disabled scientist.
– Real player with 40.9 hrs in game
The year is 2127. Earth has been destroyed, made uninhabitable by war, climate change and famine. You play as the AI on a ship containing the last known humans in the universe. Can you keep them alive as you search for a new home?
The Away Team is superbly written interactive fiction, a modern day ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ set in space. There are survival elements too, in that you have to scavenge planets for food fuel; otherwise you’ll end up starving, or stranded in space forever.
The graphics are basic, but for what’s essentially a sci-fi novel, they fit well enough. The music is atmospheric and calming, the sort of thing you can have a good afternoon nap to (I’m so rock and roll, I know).
– Real player with 13.5 hrs in game
Wanderlust: Transsiberian
Your journey across the vast lands of Russia begins in the Tverskoy District of Moscow. It’s a glorious Sunday morning on the 11th of September and you’re feeling energetic as your Trans-Siberian adventure is about to get underway. This is Henry’s story, who along with his brother-in-law Vernon will travel on the Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok.
– Real player with 4.1 hrs in game
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Review by Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam.
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With the borders closed due the current pandemic, you can at least travel in your mind while playing this game.
Take a trip with your brother-in-law onboard the Russian Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest railway line in the world. You are starting from Moskow and (maybe) reach Vladivostok a few days later. The game plays like a visual novel, with a map of Russia showing your progress and photographs illustrating the journey. Keep your stress level low and your fatigue under control while managing your travel budget. Meet people while travelling, and get along with your brother-in-law. There are many decisions to make, which can lead to quite different journeys by train (or other means).
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game
Afraid of the Night
Nothing… Soon
Best Day Ever
Bummer… I was so hyped about this game! Playing the Demo was great. However, the actual game failed to launch properly on my pc (Windows 10). After about 2 hours spent trying to find any working solution, I’ve just requested for a refund.
UPDATE: The team of developers reacted fast to my report and fixed the problem just within a couple of days, offering the code as their apology. WHAT A FANTASTIC WORK! Great story-lines and multiple-choice dialogues done nicely, everything seems well-thought-out and made with care. Mainly, I like the idea that all protagonists can intersect each other, and also a “chirp” panel with funny “chirps” aka “twitts highlighting the game’s milestones. Some rare non-translated parts from French do not bother me since I understand a little French, but it might be an issue for those who play the English version, though. Hope, the developers will fix this asap as well… In general, I totally recommend this game, especially to someone who likes decision-based stories framed into a social context. Well done!
– Real player with 74.8 hrs in game
This game is very sweet and well written. I feel every character’s struggles are made to feel realistic and, sometimes, too real. The pacing is smooth, although it takes multiple replays to really learn the best steps to take. Sometimes it’s not very clear what you’re supposed to do in order to trigger the next event, which takes me to the biggest flaw this game has. It needs to be replayed, over and over again in order to have certain events from other characters to trigger something in the story you’re playing. I find that a tad boring and repetitive. I’ve also found a lot of moments when the dialog was suddenly in French. It’s not a big deal but it does break a bit of the immersion.
– Real player with 29.9 hrs in game
Rubicon : a conspiracy of silence
Rubicon: a conspiracy of silence, is a game inspired by whistleblowers. In this narrative game, you play as Paula Cole, a food safety officer for a multinational corporation, who gradually takes on the role of whistleblower. Depending on your choices, you will be confronted with different situations inspired by real facts, the whole scenario being based on a journalistic work, coordinated with the online newspaper Mediapart.
As a player, you’ll discuss with multiple protagonists to investigate and find out your truth. From the first discoveries to the revelations to the press, you will make choices that will have an impact on what happens next.
Tales of Herring Lake
Rise and shine, campers! It’s time to crack open a cold one, cast your hook, and wait for the fish to come! The lake may look sleepy on the surface, but trust us, you just need to peer into its murky waters. If you choose to.
Welcome to Tales of Herring Lake, where your favourite Sunday fishing show meets Alfred Hitchcock. So grab your fishing gear and start shaping your story.
Tales of Herring Lake is a narrative-driven mystery-slash-fishing game taking place in real time, where you decide how the story will unfold. Do you fancy yourself more of a detective or a fisherman? Do you wish to unravel the mystery of the strange object floating in the water, explore the noise coming from the nearby cave, or maybe mind your own business, enjoy the view and try to catch some big fish? Either way, remember that the world won’t wait for you, and not making a decision is also a decision.
Features:
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An immersive real-time system - decide what to focus on on a given day.
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Choose your playstyle, make choices and see how they shape the story and your surroundings.
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Immerse yourself in the mysteries of Lake Herring, or concentrate on the extensive fishing gameplay. Or try to do both.
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Discover surprising plot twists, additional secrets and numerous different endings.
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Drink beer. Catch fish. Start to question your reality. Or don’t.
Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder
A stone tower
You’re woken up with no memory of your past by an elegant, enigmatic stranger called Ilar who tells you that a door to the abyss has opened up and threatens to consume you, unless you do exactly as Ilar says.
A magickal mystery
You’re sucked into a vortex of forces beyond your reckoning - dark magick, bizarre artifacts, shadowy stalkers, and a past life you’ve shared with the stranger that they do everything to hide. Armed with the knowledge that you were a High Magus, and that a botched ritual of yours caused the disaster and your amnesia, you must summon your wits, courage, and force of will to rediscover the spell and undo your mistakes.
A treacherous path
Finding the tower’s secrets, however, will not be easy, for they’re locked tight within your research journal, written on scattered letters, and lying between the lines of Ilar’s words.
On top of that, danger waits around every corner - spells that warp your mind and body, sinister creatures who lurk in the dark recesses, and a relationship with Ilar that borders on explosive at times - everything seems to conspire against you.
But all is not lost, for there are fleeting moments of reprieve - an achingly comforting, recovered memory, an unexpected visit from a loyal companion, a touching moment of connection with Ilar - lifelines and breadcrumbs pulling you inexorably toward an unsettling conclusion.
Can you piece together the scattered puzzle of your life? Can you save yourself and Ilar? Can you keep your mind in one piece until the end?
Features
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A Visual Novel with almost 200k words that explores a world of ritual magick, pre-industrial technology, and a culture that marries ancient religions of the orient and occident.
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Be lured into an occult world by artwork made to resemble alchemical manuscripts - intricately hand-drawn with pen and ink, then edited and animated digitally to bring to life.
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Immerse yourself in the haunting soundtrack weaved from organic sounds, ceremonial instruments, ritual chanting, and glitch effects.
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Choose who becomes your friend, enemy, or romantic interest.
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Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder contains Act 1 to 3!