Half-Life: A Place in the West
There’s a logic in Hollywood that video games can make good movies, despite the fact that few if any films actually bear this notion out (and believe me, I’m being kind by saying “few”). Similarly, it’s questionable to what degree a video game is liable to translate into the medium of comics.
Theoretically, probably a little BETTER than movies…but I’m still not quite convinced. A good “story” in a video game is a completely different thing to a good story in either film or literature, and a video game’s notion of “character” is more often than not a good-looking and functional avatar designed to move the “plot” forward, and give the player an adequate excuse to kill things or solve puzzles. I’m sorry, but Leon from the Resident Evil franchise ISN’T a “character”, boys and girls. He’s a floppy fringe with a gun, and a libido sufficient to make him willing to rescue cute young girls on the back of his speeding jet-ski. You want character, try Taxi Driver (it’s an “old” movie from the 70s, look it up).
– Real player with 6.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Comic Book Indie Games.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 11 seconds
Half-Life: A Place in the West teases the Half-Life fans by delivering a very compelling story based on the Half-Life universe, presented as a fan-made digital comic featuring a total of 13 chapters which are planned to be released over several years. By the time of writing this review, 5 of them are available on the Steam store (the first one being free).
Even if the comic uses the Half-Life setting, its story follows a completely new path, unrelated to the characters featured in the series so that it’s not centered on Gordon Freeman’s adventures. I haven’t played any of the Half-Life titles, yet I greatly enjoyed reading the comic which didn’t require any prior knowledge about the franchise. The few intro pages describe this setting very well and the info provided is enough to get you started: at Black Mesa Research Facility, scientists discover a new alien life form and while attempting to analyze it, they accidentally cause a dimensional rift to open; as a consequence, Earth becomes exposed to an alien invasion. Seven hours later, the extra-terrestrial race known as the “Combine” conquers the planet entirely and kills most of humanity. Gigantic towers, called “Citadels” are sent out by the Combine to the major cities of the Earth, in order to enforce their will on the remaining living people.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals
A decent game for fans of the Enki Bilal’s Nikopol trilogy, and his works in general. But ONLY for the fans or people at least knowing either the graphic novels or eventually the film “Immortel (ad vitam)” (the best - both; the movie is/or was free to watch on YT). I think that only then the player can appreciate the content by entering this dark future sci-fi, enjoying original designs and nice pieces of Bilal’s characteristic graphics from the trilogy.
People not knowing what the Nikopol trilogy is about - should be very careful about the title. I suppose those are majority of the negative reviews here. You will just not get the point here - like it or not, but this particular game can be only treated as an extension to those other works. There are many unexplained references to those, so you would probably miss half of joy.
– Real player with 8.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Comic Book 3D Games.
It’s unclear whether something important is either lost in translation, or just expected to be found in sources outside of the content of the game, but either way, the events in Nikopol feel like a drug trip; nothing that happens ever seems to make much sense, and everybody who inhabits its world operates on some inscrutible, Lynchian-esque, fever-dream logic that never reveals itself to the player over the course of the game.
To further complicate things, the game’s frequently frustrating and obtuse puzzles are presented—visually and mechanically—in a manner that would have seemed quaint in a game 10 years its senior; as difficult as it may be to tell at face value, Nikopol was released contemporaneously with titles like Dead Space, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and Mirror’s Edge, just to name a few.
– Real player with 7.7 hrs in game
The Evolving World: Catalyst Wake
Only 3000 humans remain after three apocalyptic events, referred to as the “Catalysts”, severely decreased the population. Catalyst One resulted in the air being toxic to breathe, so everyone wears masks. After the collapse of the government, various organizations have formed, and fight each other for territory and resources.
Oliver Naut is a scrappy kid who has grown up alone in the Deadzones — the most toxic areas on the planet — with nothing but the robotic swords in his arms for protection. But now he’s teamed up with Namo, a skilled ex-assassin, to prevent an army of robotic soldiers from falling into the hands of the organizations, who will only use them for more violence and death. Will Oliver be able to bring humanity together to fight for peace instead?
Catalyst Wake is a linear visual novel. Instead of the typical “sprites against backgrounds” format, the dialogue is accompanied by illustrations, which gives it a cinematic quality. It’s much like a motion comic.
It’s a continuation of a series of animations and comics that were released between 2011 and 2016 that will finally conclude the story.
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Full English voice acting
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Over a thousand illustrations
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Original soundtrack
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Bios
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Behind-the-scenes
Read More: Best Comic Book Visual Novel Games.
Bionic Battle Mutants
Warning: Based on single player content only.
Game runs fine under Windows 10, not a single bug apart from texture layer issue on one level (very minor thing).
Enjoyed the campaign (around 12 to 17 hours), the few problems inherent to isometric view and line of sight/visibility in this type of games are pretty well delt with here:
Wall transparency/visible line of sight/visible covers are all one icon away during battles.
The AP system, a few attack options and consumables are what you get to work with, clear and enough options for a few different layouts.
– Real player with 19.9 hrs in game
BBM is an interesting take on turn-based combat with a small squad of warriors. I like the graphics style and the customization options. The game is not too deep or complicated, and is good fom some relaxed tactics for a couple of hours.
You team members can die in a fight, and reviving costs quite some resources, so it pays off to play carefully and avoid getting hit or charged, since most enemies are tough melee fighters
Good thing is you can replay missions to collect some more loot for the next upgrade.
– Real player with 16.6 hrs in game
LIBERATED
This review contains major spoilers. Be warned and proceed at your discretion.
LIBERATED is one of the games that you’re not meant to have fun with. It tells a dark story about dystopian future, where the government controls every aspect of human lives. Don’t purchase or gain enough via wire? Don’t post enough photos on social media? You’re under suspicion. Maybe you post an online comment doubting the current government? You’re asking to be arrested, discredited, pretty much erased.
There’s a group of people in that world. They call themselves The Liberated. Throughout the game they hunt for the proof that the government is corrupt, and ultimately, that it was behind the big terrorist attack on the school, which they needed to justify building this strict regime, where privacy is a crime.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
A digital interactive comic book set in a noir cyberpunk world of complete government control, eerily reminiscent and very close to the course our own blue ball of yarn is spinning into at the moment.
What excites about Liberated is the way it’s presented. Through a slick, black and white comic book, complete with textured panels, sounds of flipped pages and reflections. You even have the ability to tilt the view around the panels a bit. It’s a complete experience of reading a comic book. I can almost smell the paper. The art is wonderful (brings to mind Frank Miller’s Sin City, even a hint of Torpedo and some other noir comics) and the way the panels are framed really glues your eyes to a single panel, letting you linger on it as long as you want.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Slumhack
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This page is currently under construction…
WISHLIST TO SUPPORT THE WORKERS
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An Action-Based Puzzle Adventure Touched with Post-Pandemic Sentiment
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100 hand-crafted Puzzles to Hack Through
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6 Target Locations with Different Rulesets to Master
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Life Simulation in A Modern Slum Being Stucked Indoors
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A Post-Pandemic Tale about Neriko Told by Stylized Manga
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Unlock Speedrunner Mode and Compete with Other Hackers in New Game+
System Under Surveillance
PLEASE NOTE: the game is still in development.
System Under Surveillance (SUS) is an upcoming indie stealth game with adventure and puzzle elements, reminiscent of some of the classics of the 80s and 90s. The graphic style is retro with a modern twist, with gameplay taking place in an old-school isometric world, while the story unfolds as an interactive comic book with all illustrations hand-drawn in pixel art!
THE STORY SO FAR:
His only memory is being in a car chase involving his mother, after which, Adam finds himself alone in the middle of a dystopian city, not knowing how he got there. He soon discovers that a mysterious governmental organization is after him, but he has no idea why.
During his struggle to evade the murky forces hunting him down, Adam meets an eccentric cleaning robot. Despite being called TURBO, Adam’s new robot friend is clumsy and slow, albeit with a big (digital) heart. TURBO teams up with Adam in his mission to stay alive and uncover the dark truth surrounding the accident.
IT’S A COMIC BOOK, TOO!:
Get drawn into the game through its carefully illustrated pixel-art comic book. Your progress helps tell the story. Recover the missing pages to piece together the unsettling truth behind the accident and why you’re being followed wherever you go by deadly robots. And the story has only just begun.
STEALTH OR DIE:
In the world of SUS, you have no power over your enemies. You’re completely vulnerable! Without any combat capability, your only chance of surviving is through stealth.
Scan your surroundings and work out how to use them to your advantage. Make the most of each character’s unique abilities to trick your enemies, sneak past them and stay undercover.
SWITCH BETWEEN TWO UNIQUE CHARACTERS, AT ANY TIME!:
TURBO,is a rickety old cleaning robot, but it has some very handy skills! It can:
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hover above holes to propel itself to new areas;
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transform into a metallic ball and roll up pipes and down narrow alleys;
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generate a powerful electric shock by spinning in place, temporarily disabling nearby electronics;
Adam, is a regular boy who is also uncommonly resourceful. He can:
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remotely take control of enemies, open doors and disable security systems;
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create diversions with everyday objects;
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make use of clever gadgets to solve the puzzles in minigames;
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and more…
NO ORDINARY HEALTH SYSTEM:
SUS replaces the old-school health bar with a threat level. It serves to immerse you even further into the story, bringing you closer to Adam, the ordinary boy whose life depends on outsmarting his enemies. Stay undetected to keep the threat level low, or get detected to make enemies follow you, only to trick them into letting you into restricted areas. The threat level goes back down when you hide. But you can’t stay hidden forever!
FORECLOSED
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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, certainly not. It is still an interesting cyberpunk adventure with some shooting, stealth and hacking.
In the near future, everyone wears an implant in the head, but your implant is different. It has been modified without your knowledge, and it seems that someone wants to kill you because of that. You have been working as an unimportant employee at Securtech, and you obviously got this experimental chip as a guinea pig. All your colleagues who also got the experimental implant have already been eliminated. What a nice coincidence that the person who designed the experimental chip, the busted CEO of Securtech, also has a little problem atm, and needs your help. Maybe you two can help each other?
– Real player with 11.4 hrs in game
Foreclosed
An atmospheric cyberpunk shooter with interesting comic book aesthetics and a pumping soundtrack. Gameplay feels a little repetitive but the story is short enough to keep your interest.
Foreclosed is a narrative driven cyberpunk shooter set in the style of a graphic novel.
Evan Kapnos awakes to the news that the company who owns his identity have gone bankrupt and his account has been foreclosed. He has lost his job, his implants and access to areas around the city.
– Real player with 7.5 hrs in game
Alum
** Το παιχνίδι ολοκληρώθηκε ** (For English scroll down)
Στα θετικά η φωνή του κύριου χαρακτήρα, είναι αρκετά συγκινητικό σε κάποια σημεία, πετυχημένο χιούμορ σε κάποιους διαλόγους.
Ετοιμαστείτε να πεθάνετε αρκετές φορές (σώζετε τακτικά).
Πλούσια φαντασία του σεναριογράφου αλλά δύσκολοι γρίφοι (ειδικά το κεφάλαιο 7 το «έβγαλα» όλο με οδηγό).
Δεν μου άρεσε που είχε κάποιες «επιτηδευμένες πινελιές δυσκολίας» τις οποίες δεν περιμένεις και αναρωτιέσαι τι πρέπει να κάνεις.
Νομίζω ότι πρώτη φορά σε adventure κολλάω τόσο πολύ στο να προχωρήσω (με αρνητικό τρόπο) όταν το παιχνίδι σου προσφέρει τόσα λίγα items.
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
Alum reminds me of my impressions of The Chronicles of Narnia. When a teenager, I was quite excited about the series until I read some critics. Then my reaction was like, “What?! This wonderful lion, Aslan, is no more than old boring Jesus? Oh no!” However, Alum’s creators aren’t as subtle as C. S. Lewis; their approach is more like that of Superbook.
You play as a member of religiously driven anarcho-primitivist gang of those who use terror as a way to convince people and would destroy the city’s central heating system just to make people “think out of a box” and “understand things wider” (?!). The Rogations (that’s their name, but it probably should be The Rogues) blame their contemporaries (modern people) that they live in industrialized society and can no longer be guided by “faith” as it were in the Middle Ages; if so, Middle Ages should be returned artificially. Does it remind you some, so to say, not very good people (from the real world)?!
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
CYBERUSH
I’m not quite sure what to say about ‘CYBERUSH’, it’s a manga style shooter that is very light on just about everything. You get to pick a choice of 3 weapons which are sword, gun and shotgun and you kill enemies with them then goto the lift up to the next level which seems to be a constant rotation of about 5 office style layouts. From its annoying music to the basic graphics this game is as low quality as they come, but the biggest issue is that it doesn’t really have playability to back it up. Even the money I collected in the game seemed to be for nothing. This is certainly not something I would recommend for £7.19, but if some issues get fixed it might be worth a quid or two. https://youtu.be/httvkuexin4
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game