DEKONSTRUKT

DEKONSTRUKT

DEKONSTRUKT is an interactive movie, with elements of first-person gameplay. You will be immersed in the inglorious story of a game developer with plenty of destructive black humor. The game responds to never-before-seen creative challenges. Help the protagonist deal with his inner demons. Or not really.

As you can see, the game tries with all its might to seem like it’s not just another triviality. In other words, my mother grew a vegetable, even though she is not a gardener.

✔ A story that will stay in your memory for a long time.


Read More: Best Cinematic Choices Matter Games.


DEKONSTRUKT on Steam

TARAKAN - Mystery Point & Click Adventure

TARAKAN - Mystery Point & Click Adventure

Sorry to say I was disappointed with this game.

If you’re seriously into math you may love it.

I prefer the type of escape room where you find clues and solve problems.

This game turned into all numbers with no clues at all.

You either know the math required or, like me, you’re out.

Real player with 8.8 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cinematic Logic Games.


This is a very short puzzle game, I took 4 hours but a chunk of that was me leaving the game running whilst I went off for a coffee or some other task. The graphics are basic 2D, the navigation point and click and the game is simplicity itself, find something that needs unlocking and then find a key or code. The puzzles vary from solutions staring you in the face to having to get a pen and paper out and do some calculations. It isn’t very strenuous but does provide for a diverting few hours. Is it worth the price? Just about. I suspect this style of game works better on the Android platform.

Real player with 4.3 hrs in game

TARAKAN - Mystery Point & Click Adventure on Steam

How does it work!?

How does it work!?

Though it may be inspired by “The Incredible Machine,” this physics-based puzzler is nothing but incredibly lazy. Besides unpredictable behavior, inability to move placed parts, and the lack of any sort of written explanations, the developer clearly didn’t even bother to test his own game: Stages 15 & 17 have offscreen areas that are mandatory for completion, yet there’s no way to reach them. The game cannot be completed in its current state.

From the beginning, you have access to all of the game’s twenty-something stages, each with a certain task to perform. It might be getting a ball to a checkered zone, popping a balloon, or breaking a box. The tools you’re given have a significant variety, like planks, fans, batteries, power strips, motors, and spinners. It’s all pretty simple, and even without explanation it’s possible to work out what needs to be done.

Real player with 2.1 hrs in game


Read More: Best Cinematic Family Friendly Games.


This is one of those games where the title is entirely appropriate-just not in the way the developers intended. You will find yourself yelling at the screen, “OKAY! HOW THE F__K DOES IT WORK???” Not because the puzzle is hard per se, but because there is ZERO explanation of how the various components work, leaving you to figure that out through trial and error. Here’s a hint: holding down the ‘ctrl’ key is usually what you’re looking for. The next HUGELY ANNOYING feature is that once a component is placed IT IS FORBIDDEN TO MOVE IT! Violators will be shipped off to a Gulag in Siberia where they are unaware that the USSR no longer exists. I’m kidding (I hope). It isn’t forbidden, it’s just impossible. Which means that, having spent ten minutes setting up an elaborate device and placing all the components you place the very last of 37 different parts-and discover it’s just a bit shy of where it needs to be. Which means that, since it can’t be moved, you have to START ALL THE F__K OVER AGAIN! AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, ad infinitum.

Real player with 0.9 hrs in game

How does it work!? on Steam

Bonfire Peaks

Bonfire Peaks

Received the key from Corey Martin, full disclosure, much obliged.

Bonfire Peaks is a great puzzle game in almost every aspect. There are over 200 puzzles in the game and you can tackle them in any order, so if you want, you can reach the end by solving only the puzzles that will give you enough boxes to reach the end. I finished all the levels and I can say that it is amazing that 85 % of puzzles didn’t feel like I was doing the same thing over and over, most of the puzzles have their own unique solution and the way you get to the solution so most of them feel unique in a way. I like how the overworld is structured, you have the main path with more or less easier puzzles but the real challenge for the puzzle veterans would be the optional levels that are off the beaten path. This is not an easy game and 4 or 5 times I was stuck on a puzzle for many hrs, now look I don’t give up on a puzzle easily but some of them are really hard.

Real player with 98.6 hrs in game

Fabulous, hard, 3D and fair - Smullyan-like masterpiece


When asked why he doesn’t believe in astrology, the logician Raymond Smullyan responds that he’s a Gemini and Geminis never believe in astrology


This is the kind of mental conundrum that Corey Martin (Pipe-Push Paradise) , aided and abetted by Alan Hazelden (A Monster’s Expedition) will lead you down.

Some of the harder puzzles have the flavor of a pure logic riddle: what must be true for me to be able to place the box in this place? Well, if all other options are exhausted, that means I have to drop this box into the water. Really? throw away my precious boxes?

Real player with 84.3 hrs in game

Bonfire Peaks on Steam

Lighthouse Keeper

Lighthouse Keeper

This is not a game but rather a narrated story from the life of a lonely lighthouse keeper. You get to follow his actions, thoughts and obsessions. The narrator’s voice expresses how it feels to be stuck in constant solitude quite well. You can also feel the nervous tension and a slight bit of insanity caused by the endless loop of mundane tasks. The music and the sounds complete the unsettling atmosphere, the writing is good, and the visuals are unique. It’s short, takes about 10 minutes to finish, but still offers an interesting experience. I really like it. :)

Real player with 0.8 hrs in game

A short, narrative-driven title with a pretty cool art style.

This is more of a visual novel than a game, as there are only two simple interactive moments mixed in with the narration. What you do or don’t do in those moments is what lands you one of two different endings.

The voice acting is really good, in my opinion. The actor successfully conveys a feeling of obsession, mental exhaustion, and a touch of madness. Music and sound effects are also good, and add to the bleak, lonely atmosphere.

Real player with 0.5 hrs in game

Lighthouse Keeper on Steam

Castle Rock Beach, West Australia

Castle Rock Beach, West Australia

Beautiful, Teleporting is very broken as you fall through the map a lot and the items seem to have a lower resolution as soon as you teleport to the place. On the other hand, walking regularly in game is soothing, beautiful, the movement is realistic and you can hear your footsteps on different surfaces, it also never falls through the surface and every item has time to render in so it’s resolution is much better. The only downside to walking is it makes a high percentage of people who play VR motion sick. Teleporting doesn’t make you as sick, but again, it is broken. I luckily don’t get motion sickness from VR at all, so I can write a great review for this outstanding game.

Real player with 2.8 hrs in game

Matt Newell is a young talented 3D artist who deserves more fame. In April 2020 I experienced for the first time his interactive fully explorable virtualscapes on Steam. I started with the exploration of Myrdalssandur, an outwash plain in the south of Iceland. Then I experienced all of his works on Steam: Fushimi Inari, Wakamarina Valley and Castle Rock Beach.

Photorealism is not enough to describe the experiences. Matt brings out the best from Unreal Engine 4; assets, textures, rendering of light and shaders are at the state of the art. Oh yes, rendition of light is superb! He succeeds to create a virtual Nature that is more beautiful than real Nature! It’s not properly Nature, it’s an idealization of Nature! It’s a Nature without perils, without insects, without dangerous animals, without smells, where you don’t risk getting dirty with mud, you don’t get wet even if it rains. It’s a Nature expressing just an outstanding aesthetic beauty able to enjoy your eyes and lull your soul. Walking in such virtual world at sunset or at sunrise or when raining, it is satisfactory, relaxing, charming. There are just you and Nature, accompanied by an ethereal soundtrack and environmental sounds! You just take a stroll, discover interesting places, take a few photos, enjoy beautiful seascapes and landscapes with different lighting and weather conditions. Today, contemplating wild and unpopulated landscapes or seascapes is impossible, tourists are everywhere and everytime; and it’s not rare to find trash even in the more remote lands, reminding you how many two-legged pigs are in the world! Plus, you have to organize and afford long and stressful travels! On the contrary, thanks to Matt’s artworks you need just to turn on your PC and sit on your sofa for enjoying elegiac and spiritual experiences; they are well suited for people searching for a break from the everyday stress in our crowded society, especially during pandemic emergency! “Walden: A Game” (USC Game Innovation Las, 2017) gives you similar feelings.

Real player with 2.3 hrs in game

Castle Rock Beach, West Australia on Steam

Maskmaker

Maskmaker

After thinking on it for a few weeks, I’m going to say Maskmaker is not really a succesful game, and a big step down after A Fisherman’s Tale.

Essentially two games in one, Maskmaker divides your time between brief bouts of mask creation in a renaissance-like workshop, and then exploration of a series of empty puzzle landscapes in the tradition of games like Myst. It’s all very colourful, and you are accompanied by a ceaselessly chatty narrator.

The workshop segments are really good. Not exactly difficult, but the game throws in lots of tactile experiences that really make you feel like a craftsman. Chipping away a block of wood and then applying paint to it is extremely satisfying, and I only wish that these sections were longer, or required more thought than just following a plain diagram.

Real player with 16.1 hrs in game

This is a very good game (at 3.5 hours into it!). Of course, I will update my review if anything changes. I love that there is a substantial amount of gameplay. So many VR games are only an hour long. I’ve been very pleased to see this game has decent content and the puzzles are great! If you love exploring worlds and figuring out how to surpass obstacles, this could be your cup of tea! I did get to a point where I fell through the map in an out-of-the-way area. It’s a new game and these things can happen. But from what I understand, it’s an issue that will be patched, and the devs are offering a comparable savepoint so that those of us who it has affected can continue playing without having to start over (which I think is super awesome of them). I was able to get my savepoint and start playing again in less than 24 hours. Definitely recommend this game - but check the forum post about falling through the map and be aware of that location until it gets patched!

Real player with 11.4 hrs in game

Maskmaker on Steam

MegaRamp

MegaRamp

A nice puzzle game, that you probaly played on your childhood ! Now i can play with my kids to.

Real player with 2.7 hrs in game

I liked the idea of the game. Good game to distract and spend time. I look forward to future game updates. Congrats!

Real player with 2.7 hrs in game

MegaRamp on Steam

Phantom Hysteria

Phantom Hysteria

Phantom Hysteria is a 1-4 player, online co-op paranormal investigation and banishment game. Take on ghost-hunting contracts with your taped-together equipment as one of four playable P.I.N.E characters. Hone your skills for your designated class, utilize an array of equipment to decipher your clues, and use that to identify your contracted apparition.

Choosing from a variety of thrilling maps, you and your team will be required to do everything you can to document, and then eliminate the entity from this plane; if you manage to banish it, you’ll have a satisfied customer and a job well done. Afterward, it’s on to the next contract. But, if you are unsuccessful, something from beyond the mortal coil may be waiting to enter this world…

Phantom Hysteria’s Early Access will have four playable characters, four maps, and four entities available at launch.

“The Paranormal Investigation and Neutralization Experts guarantee results in no less than one night. With state-of-the-art equipment and field agents with expertise in lore, UrbanEx, technology, and show business, P.I.N.E will deliver a cohesive report on the ghost and its activities upon payment. All additional services will cost extra.”-CEO Michael Evans

It was supposed to be a simple job. Get in, get footage, get results. But the things we call paranormal, these ‘entities’, are lingering manifestations of fear, sorrow, and fury. The reason they linger is the same reason they are hard to exterminate. Whatever happens, be sure you keep the red light of your camera on. The camera should be live, even if you aren’t.

The entities in this game are influenced by the events of American history. The entities you hunt as P.I.N.E agents are connected to the fabric of who we are as a nation; it’s up to you to unbury the worst horrors of the American south, even if it means giving up your life in the process. From antebellum houses to abandoned sanatoriums, investigators are guaranteed a road trip of a lifetime.

Minds without bodies, feelings without souls. Entities linger on the edge of our reality, reaching over from the other side to manipulate the physical world in terrifying and lethal ways. To properly approach hunting these entities, certain clues will reveal how these entities manipulate the world; and you.

Phantom Hysteria’s missions put four P.I.N.E field agents into your control. Each agent has multiple customization options and dialogue that are unlocked through play. Agents of P.I.N.E have backgrounds and aspirations that fuel how they interact with every mission; but much like the ghosts, they have secrets that bleed into the world. Everyone is running from something.

P.I.N.E doesn’t mess around; but if they did, it would be within their southern United States headquarters. P.I.N.E’s warehouse is available for agents to access their accolades, outfits, and career information. Agents can pinpoint their next move, train using the warehouse’s Paranormal Investigation Training Center, and purchase their consumables.

“WARNING-REDACTED”

Regardless of who you choose to play as, agents of P.I.N.E will be offered a selection of careers to choose from at the start of the game. More missions lead to further experience in that career, but investigators are free to change careers between missions for any reason.

*** Engineer

  • Media Specialist

  • Communicator

  • Investigator

  • (Soloable) Jack of All Trades**

Careers will not only assist in your exploration of haunts but allow you to further capitalize on the entities you find lurking within.

When every crucial detail of the entity is recorded, the real mission begins. Consisting of multiple phases, haunts will task you with challenging objectives that bring out the survivalist of you and your team. These objectives will assist in your attempt to banish entities from this mortal plane; but missteps in doing so could risk releasing something more dangerous onto the world…

Phantom Hysteria on Steam

A Sad Journey

A Sad Journey

A Sad Journey is a beautiful third-person exploration game about a rabbit looking for his missing parents. As the rabbit finds paws to collect, his memories come back and he grows closer to finding the truth of what happened to his parents. Take control of this rabbit and play across various gorgeous levels full of obstacles, interesting memories, and breathtaking music.

Key Features:

  • For fans of experimental story-driven games.

  • A short game that lasts around an hour. (not final)

  • A personal, intimate story made by a solo developer.

A Sad Journey on Steam