Borealis
TL;DR 4/10…This is a simple elegant game which should get a thumbs UP even though most people will get a quick zen moment for 10 or 20 minutes, then abandon. In theory, most any gamer could be happy to drop their 0.50-$1 for this on sale.
However, they took a simple one dimensional mechanic–and blew it.
There are only 13 modes. Meteors zip through the screen with various unique movements, but most of them are heat-seeking (to you), though with very wide turning radii. When encountering each other (or you), they explode. The 1st core rule is that you are not allowed to move your cursor (death-target) very fast. If you attempt to move fast, the game penalizes you by forcing you to move even slower than before. This is a fine rule in that it encourages deliberate, controlled movement, rather than quick, zippy motions.
– Real player with 11.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Crowdfunded Bullet Hell Games.
Certainly not a bad game as such, but the original idea has not been executed as it could have been. As a “dot in space” (or elsewhere), you have to dodge incoming lines. Seems familiar enough, but it comes with a twist: you can only move fairly slow, and when moving in a fluid motion, you can “direct” the incoming lines (I can’t help of thinking about them as missiles) to a certain degree so that they slap into each other. The slow pace and the rather peculiar, somehow relaxing music, contribute to the overall feeling of ease the game offers.
– Real player with 5.7 hrs in game
Epitasis
At this point I cannot recommend this game.. It’s beautiful but very strangely organized. There are also a number of technical problems, which you might or might not encounter. They have brought me to a point where the game is essentially unplayable. Your experience might be different.
Totally mind boggling what many reviewers have said about playing the game in two to four or more hours. I have explored and struggled and experienced many, many unnecessary crashes at the middle stage of the game. Lately whenever I click on a glowing object, the cursor gets stuck. There seem to be two different pointers, one belonging to the mouse, one thrown out by the game. Often in trying to disengage from the stuck point, the game becomes unplayable. Swings from high to low screen resolution and often crashes (“minimizes”) down to the taskbar icon. Generally the position is “saved,” but what saved means is open to debate.
– Real player with 53.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Crowdfunded Open World Games.
Summary: Loved the aesthetics, music, and gameplay, puzzles were trivially easy, don’t get it if you want any challenge.
This is Talos Principle for kiddos. It uses a similar world system as Talos, where you can explore a beautiful world and 2-3 puzzles are contained within each world. Sometimes the puzzles overlap which is cool. The way the game uses colors is really fascinating and advanced, so if you’re after effects and aesthetics, you’ll love the hell out of that aspect of this game. There’s also dynamic weather! This works for the beauty of the game but can make navigating a bit confusing because levels at certain times of day do not look anything like they do at other times of the day. Loved the color and the natural design, simplistic but pretty. The soundtrack is amazing as well, it really added to the whole experience and is one of the better ambient game soundtracks I’ve heard.
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game