F.E.A.R.
“Cruelty is the law pervading all nature and society; and we can’t get out of it if we would.” ― Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure
Wow, has it really been 15 years since this classic hit our gaming libraries? I must confess, some games do not age well, but F.E.A.R. is not one of them. After all this time, it still is one of the best horror fps titles around, by even establishing some ground rules for the genre and introducing the best A.I. ever in horror fps. Let’s take a close look at Monolith’s timeless masterpiece, then.
– Real player with 31.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Classic Shooter Games.
This game is a fu*king masterpiece! After so many years, the only thing that has aged badly is graphics. Compared to modern standards it is ugly…
but the game is so much fun that I dont mind it!
The physics is great fun, the AI is still very good, they flank you they hide and shoot from cover.
The guns are awesome and you can feel ‘the joy’ when you kill your enemies with them I personaly love dual pistols, shotgun and… NAIL RIFLE, a rifle that shoots big metal bolts, kind of like wooden stakes for vampires but a bit smaller and metal, and every enemy you kill with it is literaly… nailed to a wall or any other surface behind him and stays that way, which is great as the engine keeps the bodies on map for a very
– Real player with 31.3 hrs in game
Coffin of Ashes
I would highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys classic RPG horror games such as The Witch’s House, Mad Father, Misao, and Ib. The puzzles are solvable without the use of a guide while still requiring you to put some thought into them to find the solution. The save points are in good places so that you never have to redo very much if you die. The characters personalities are enjoyable and start to make more sense as you play through the game. The achievements in this game are not difficult to get, the names can sometimes give hints if you are unsure of what to do, though I would still recommend you use a guide for them just to be safe.
– Real player with 13.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Classic Anime Games.
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– Real player with 7.6 hrs in game
Dark Room
Not bad, in general, but it took me a long time to get past the red ball grid thing. It’s a test of manual dexterity, which I apparently lack, rather than a puzzle. Also, the translation could use some work. Some of the puzzles are extremely obscure, but I can get around that.
I don’t really care about story, but it seemed that the story was disjointed. Whatever. For me it’s about the puzzles.
– Real player with 56.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Classic Casual Games.
Good:
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Extremely good value
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Some puzzles are truly brain teasers, will require you to take a step back and open up your mind.
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Puzzles will vary depending on difficulty, although not as coherent as it could be as some actually get easier (not sure if it’s just randomness instead)
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Good use of fine art
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Each difficulty level needs to be earned/unlocked which suits the game well
Meh:
A few Puzzles that can’t be fully deduced in game (require knowledge of historical artists/composers).
Bad:
– Real player with 30.5 hrs in game
Sanitarium
This is a weird game. The premise is that you are a researcher who discovers a cure to some deadly disease, but you get in a car crash and your head injury causes you to go insane. You wake up in some twisted insane asylum run by a mad scientist. A lot of the time you are totally sane and know what’s going on. But every time something traumatic or stressful happens, your character has a dissociative episode, and you are teleported to an alternate dimension where you need to solve some problem.
– Real player with 28.4 hrs in game
A 1998 point and click adventure originally created by an American company known as DreamForge Intertainment which unfortunately no longer exists and later thanks to a French company known as Dot Emu ( http://www.dotemu.com/ ) was ported to Steam and other mediums with achievements added.
While the game is no doubt dated graphically, the game has stood the test of time thanks to its superlative and artistic use of storytelling. Unlike cheap jump scares used in many stories today, the main story here and many of its sub plots concentrate on having the gamer enthralled with concepts teetering in the morbid and with adult themes that constantly confounds you with the creepy and bizarre mysteries that make you want to push forward and learn more.
– Real player with 28.3 hrs in game
Return of the Phantom
A classic point and click adventure - You play as a detective who’s investigating a deadly accident which seems to be the work of a Phantom of the Opera copycat. Great atmosphere and beautiful visuals
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
I was reminiscing my childhood while i was playing this. It’s just a simple click-and-point game with retro BGM and graphic. It used to be so hard to beat it and pretty terrifying back then. But, it’s so easy and i enjoyed every part of it now..
– Real player with 7.3 hrs in game
Black Mirror I
After being away 12 years from the Black Mirror manor, Samuel Gordon returns to the castle to mourn the sudden and mysterious death of his grandfather, William Gordon. Samuel is not very much convinced that William’s death was an accident and stubbornly takes the matter on his hands to unveil the truth.
Soon enough he is behind a trail of clues that lead him to something sinister and menacing, a curse that may have affected his far ancestors and that is still threatening the Gordon lineage.
The Black Mirror I is a solid and intriguing point and click adventure. I have to admit that the first time I tried it I was not very convinced, mostly because of the outdated visuals, but after giving it a second shot, and after it started to build up, I was hooked for good. The game comes with its flaws, though…
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
The greatest adventure game I have played, in my opinion. Absolutely recommended.
I played the first 2 chapters some years ago, but couldn’t finish it and refused to use a spoiler. Recently I came back to it and tried again.
First, this is a very very long game. It is one of the longest adventure games produced.
The game exudes massive amounts of Gothic atmosphere. It is like a Poe work in style and substance (the House of Usher comes to mind). The graphics are excellent, even though they are from a long time ago. They really work well. The music is a huge contributor and some of it will be spinning around in your head for days.
– Real player with 22.7 hrs in game
Notch - The Innocent LunA: Eclipsed SinnerS
Notch - The Innocent LunA: Eclipsed SinnerS is the first Angels Blue novel published on Steam, and a fairly solid entry at that. Despite being clearly inspired by Higurashi When They Cry, the intriguing story, imaginative ideas and gorgeous artwork make up for a somewhat shaky translation.
The story opens with Yuhito Asakawa trapped in a dream-like world filled with death and horror. He discovers his childhood sweetheart amidst the mayhem and attempts to escape together, only to end up lost and alone before he awakens from what was only a nightmare. He soon realizes that the nightmare may not have ended as young, mutilated girls begin appearing throughout town. Determined to catch the murderer, his pursuit will lead him on a nightmarish journey that will change his understanding of the peaceful world he’s always known.
– Real player with 31.2 hrs in game
Memories are so vulnerable in the face of cruel reality. What is goodness? What is evil? What is love? What is hatred? Your world has become an inverted image in my dream…
Notch - The Innocent LunA: Eclipsed SinnerS is a Chinese Visual Novel that tells the tales of broken forms, iron wills and unbearable truths. Through my many experiences with either emotional, philosophical or psychological narrations in visual novels, I’ve rarely felt thoroughly shaken until this one little tale of loss and misunderstanding…
– Real player with 30.7 hrs in game
Still Life
I played this game a few years ago and enjoyed it well enough. I like mysteries and puzzles and while it had its flaws it was entertaining for the most part but on replaying it I don’t think it’s all that good. The story just doesn’t interest me.
There’s a lot of bad character writing. I don’t really like either protagonist but if I had to choose I’d rather play as Victoria. I don’t like her that much but she’s not Gus. She’s the same protagonist I’ve seen in twenty police procedurals. She’s not horrible but she doesn’t have much individuality.
– Real player with 23.9 hrs in game
Wow. I had a blast playing through Still Life. After just finishing Post Mortem I was glad to see it really was a prequel to this game. Though I had alot of issues with Post Mortem I am super glad I played it now. They link the two stories really well. I’ve become quite invested in this series and characters now and it hurts to read that Still Life 2 missed the mark apparently.
PROS
- First of all, damn son them pre-rendered environments are sexy! Almost on par with Resident Evil remakes. I am so gutted this art style has been lost to time. The fixed angles are placed just right and there are some truly artsy and cinematic shots used.
– Real player with 22.0 hrs in game
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi
I adore “Legend of Hand”, and so I dove in to Sumatra: Fate of Yandi. Its a quiet, contemplative type of adventure game with some messages here and there, and I overall I very much enjoyed my time. I’ve been around in Indonesia, the cities in Java mainly and not the jungle, but there is enough in common in terms of people in culture that felt right to me. Its also a unique setting, as I’ve not run across another adventure game set in a SE Asia island. By the way, Borneo would be an awesome spot for a game…Its got rainforest, beaches, a huge mountain, all kinds of cool animals, and 3 different countries own various parts of it.
– Real player with 12.4 hrs in game
Initial playthrough: 4 hours
Pros
- Learn real things about survival, nature, and human culture in rural Indonesia. I got a strong sense Cloak and Dagger did their research.* There’s a satisfying sense of progression, as the game contains very little backtracking.* Cloak and Dagger instill a mild off-beat quirkiness in their games, which makes them feel fresh.
Neutral
- Some will find it too linear, but I personally enjoy the sense of focus and progression this creates.
– Real player with 8.9 hrs in game
Return to Shironagasu Island
I have very mixed feelings about this mystery visual novel. On the one hand, the main adventure was intriguing. The game captured my attention, and I started out wanting to solve the various mysteries presented.
On the other hand, eventually the game goes from being an interesting VN with some disturbing plot points to a gruesome VN with bizarre plot points. I didn’t enjoy either the transition or the final chapters. I’m not a horror fan, so part of my reaction is a matter of personal preference, but at the same time, some of the nightmare-inducing stuff seemed unnecessary. I’m glad there is a good ending that resolves most of the mysteries; it improved my opinion of the story.
– Real player with 18.8 hrs in game
Full review (including score): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsaU0MYww-g
Summarized review below!
The rundown:
Pros:
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Engaging mystery storytelling
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Great use of atmosphere
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Nice localization
Cons:
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Last third of the story
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Annoying detective sequences
This game has been on my radar for quite some time after I saw it compared to Higurashi and Umineko. I mean, those are two of the most beloved visual novels ever made and, although I haven’t played Umineko, I am a huge fan of Higurashi. I’ve been burning through a bunch of visual novels lately, so I figured it was about time to check this one out.
– Real player with 13.7 hrs in game