Gloom and Doom
Dude, this is so cutting!
I had so much fun playing this game. Well, that’s not quite a surprise to me, seeing as I was already predisposed to like it as soon as I read the description: “90s outcast movies” quirky, but oh so human, supernatural characters, “a dark coming-of-age story” against the backdrop of looming apocalypse, comicbook style visuals…But beyond that initial hook of 90s nostalgia, loads of pop culture references and familiar tropes I found much more - a careful look at depression, loneliness and alienation, being stuck in a loop with no exit, themes of free will vs destiny, choices and responsibility, and a central heartwarming relationship between two unlikely protagonists.
– Real player with 18.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choose Your Own Adventure Interactive Fiction Games.
I’m not really one for visual novels, but this game has really changed my mind. It was recommended by a friend, and found it amazing with the ton of pop culture references in the dialogue and backgrounds. Simply amazed that this was all done by one guy. It does have some deep themes, but is well paced with its sense of humour. Also loving the art style, its unique and refreshing from the typical anime style. The intro/tutorial has also got to be the most interesting/different (in a good way) that I’ve seen in a long time in any game.
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
Sword Daughter
I guess this is one where I wished steam had a number or star rating rather than a good/bad option. I bought it some time ago, didn’t particularly like it so put it down for a while and picked it up again recently but found more of the same. Overall I’m coming down on the negative side of neutral with regards to it being a game book written in the 80’s. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen but it has some significant problems with the story.
Firstly some of the graphics are nice. They’re in a consistant style that suits the game book. I didn’t find the music that intrusive (although I turned it right down after a while and it got repetative) and the sound effects are ok.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choose Your Own Adventure Multiple Endings Games.
The first line of this story really should have been: Once Upon a Time. Had it started this way I doubt there would have been so many comments/complaints about character development and short storylines. Truthfully what fairy tale really does have in-depth character development or that much of a plot?
Storyline: Tyrna, a young woman (a maiden) has been trained by her father all her life to be a warrior. On the way to the Warrior Games (a tournament to basically earn the right to be called a warrior) the caravan is attacked by orcs. She is knocked unconscious fighting orcs and because of this is the only remaining survivor of the massacre her father dies in. Gavin, a half-elf/half-human ranger (on patrol) comes upon the carnage and revives her before the orcs return or wild animals find her. Of course it is love at first sight, what fairy tale does not have love at first sight. The adventure and mild romance (mostly of the happily ever type) begins here.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
The Hayseed Knight
If there was a game that perfectly captured modern day degenerate humor it is this game. Our unfortunate hayseed knight is basically a walking talking cursed innuendo. This game actually almost feels like an anime in that way.
I really liked this game. I’m starting to grow an appreciation for the simple game design of line less painted backgrounds and simple line drawn ‘cut scenes.’ You can get a lot of good screenshots literally all over the place.
The music is great. I love situation specific music that knows how to change with whats happening. I could actually see myself buying the OSP if I could.
– Real player with 36.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choose Your Own Adventure Visual Novel Games.
The Hayseed Knight is a lovingly crafted Visual Novel which, while light on gameplay, features incredibly well-written dialogue and narration, memorable and sometimes surprisingly complex characters as well as art assets and voice acting rivalling even big-budget productions in terms of quality. But I know that story is what’s most important to the Visual Novel crowd, so let me tell you this: The Hayseed Knight made me laugh, it made me think, it made me feel butterflies in my stomach and in the end,
! it even broke my heart.
– Real player with 25.2 hrs in game
Barbarian
Barbarian is a low poly survival game, with a souls like combat system, where you can dodge, block, and parry attacks. This system is in place, to make combat more exciting and intense.
Parrying
In Barbarian, you’re able to gather materials, craft items, build homes, make farms, level your character up, have animal mounts, and explore the game in a free roam manner.
Barbarian will have 2 different game modes, normal, and hardcore. In both normal, and hardcore mode, your character progression will be saved. However, with hardcore, you will lose your character progression on death. This will be more for those hardcore gamers, who want to play a more difficult game.
Note
Barbarian is currently in it’s very early stages, screenshots shown are subject to be changed, and same with more information being added here in the future. For updates on the game, you can check out our YouTube channel for Dev logs.
Bard Harder!
We played this through on stream and had an excellent time - the first achievement was a struggle for us though since we won first time! :P
This game is absolutely wonderfully made and definitely deserves to cost more than it does. The art is beautiful, the music funky and the writing is great. Absolutely recommend for a couple of hours of fun!
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
pros:
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funny
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unexpected choices and lines sometimes
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cool characters (especially the villain which has a great background)
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easy to understand (I’m french and got everything)
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not expensive
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Queer vibes (ace, trans and bisexual representation, and for once people getting that ace =/= aro, that’s nice)
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Plain flirt, so it’s not oversexualizing, it’s more romantic than sexual really
cns:
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really short game
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not a lot of choices, like you really can’t do much
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if you wanna win, you basically just have to read all the villain’s story and have a good memory
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
Realm of Night: The Forbidden Knowledge
Yeah no, this is a interesting game sure but i keep getting the bad ending on the train, i really hate games that is this strict on choices that you have to get a perfect score to get a good ending. I hope some ones does a guide at some point but until then i cant recommend this.
The worst thing about this game is the card system.
– Real player with 5.6 hrs in game
The Dreamwalkers
The Dreamwalkers is a 2D Visual Novel/Point-and-Click Adventure Game in which you can project yourself into the world of Dreams.
You play Morgan, a student in History of the Arts in Paris, who’s life is about to be turned upside down. Along his journey he will meet new friends, whose fate will be into your hands.
Features
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5 acts of an hour each. Perfect for lunch break diversions!
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Highly replayable: the story is divided into 3 mutually exclusive branches, each focused on the relationship between Morgan and one of the Dreamwalkers.
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Romance: will Morgan fall in love with this Dreamwalker or just be friend? Your decision!
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8 different endings depending on choices you’ll have to own up (and no Mass Effect-style: some endings will depend on choices made earlier in the game)
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Explore Dreams: scenes in the world of dreams can be explored in point & click phases to discover more about the universe.
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Original Universe: inspired by Neil Gaiman and Inception, we created a world where myths and reality intertwine.
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Backgrounds and characters drawn by talented artists.
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The original music is a symphony in 5 movements created by a composer and played by an orchestra!
Faerie’s Bargain: The Price of Business
Where to begin.
Ultimately, I wish I could give them a meh review, rather then a straight thumbs up or down. I really wanted to love and enjoy this title, being a fan of magic, folklore, fantasy, etc. But in the end, I’ve had more bad then good.
To begin with, the story at times is very dense with unfamiliar terms and strange convoluted choices. Halfway through the first chapter, it was so hard to really understand exactly what was going on and what my choice options would do that I resorted to reading the coding just to get a better idea. But even that became a convoluted mess, as the labeling for choice stats and their effects is so odd that even with the code guiding me, I never really knew what outcome I would get. A seemingly obvious devious decision (even using the term devious in its text) would fail despite my devious stat being higher then my forthright! And a choice you think would obviously boost a stat (like being compassionate), at times instead boosted ambition. Making it really hard to know what the heck result you could expect to get. Couple that with very convoluted writing at times, and by the end of the faerie merchant council, I was so tired of the story that I had to quit just to give my brain a break after realizing the story was STILL going.
– Real player with 13.0 hrs in game
Steam forces us to select a positive recommendation or a negative judgement : there is no option to be neutral, hesitant. Consequently, I do not wish to be a nuisance to a developer’s sales by selecting a thumb-down option. This game is an example of a product I am hesitant to recommend, but also, hesitant to reject. I may only give my very personal, subjective feedback – opinions not applicable to all types of players.
I am mostly an emotional role-player, so, to enjoy a game, I must feel immersed into my game persona – as soon as possible.
– Real player with 12.4 hrs in game
Cursed Lands
An outstanding VN-RPG-quest crossover
I was expecting another bland, unnecessarily dragged out visual novel with uninspired, repetitive missions, but I was taken for a real treat here—kept replaying with different initial conditions (race, job, supporting character branching choice) over and over, enjoying every single play.
Visual Novel (VN) perspective: Story branching is rich and, as general VN WinterWolves titles go, you have an almost immediate option to go back—typically less than half a minute in gameplay, couple minutes or hours in the game world—to the last choice and change it to study other outcomes. I like this unique branching feature—it is like a quick time machine, or a very smooth and synoptic reload action that permits me to change my choice without having to repeat a known portion of play and grind once again.
– Real player with 132.6 hrs in game
I bought this game on sale, and I’m glad I did, it wasn’t worth the full price. I bought it because it was created by the same team who did Loren Amazon Princess, a game I loved. It’s unfortunate then, that this game is average at best. There are a few problems I have with this game that I feel affected my enjoyment of the game:
1. Characters/Romance
This is the big one, so i’m putting it first. The characters all had great introductions, and are really interesting. Unfortunately, the game screws this up deeply as it progresses. You don’t get to chose when to talk to the characters, their icon’s pop up when the game decides it’s time for their event to start, so you never truly get to know these characters beyond their surface introduction. The game prides itself on giving you romance options, and even advertises that you can trigger more then one romance scene. It isn’t hard, it’s like the game WANTS you to be a serial skirt chaser, and even when you do trigger these scenes, there’s no build up. Characters will spontaneously confess their feeling for you, claiming they always felt something for you. Your character will reply in kind, but you know this is false. Your POV character never felt anything of the sort, their lying.
– Real player with 41.7 hrs in game
Dawnbreaker - Aeon’s Reach
I am in love with this game. There was sex, nudity and fun. I do admit that the ladies are cute and sexy, the creators tempt you with sexy outfits and promises of fun. Over all 5 out of 5 Stars, but you have to buy the the +18 patch. This game has so many possibilities. Lets see what happens next…
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
Solid Sci-Fi story with a nice Plot twist and sexy girls. :)
Played around 1,5-2 hours for the first ending of three.
– Real player with 5.9 hrs in game