HARTS ISLAND
Ben Lunato has a talent for making walking simulators with relatable narrative and intriguing visuals, I think he does it better than a lot of the $20 games in this genre, but the scale and technical limitations of those games are completely understandable. I played a couple of his indie games that generally work as short aesthetic experiences, and even though they may lack in content, they always have an emotional impact on me. I will say that I didn’t enjoy this game as much, mainly because I found the environment a little hard on the eyes, often causing me to walk in circles and backtrack to previous locations, unsure where the next event was - not to mention getting stuck on invisible artefacts. If this was like a $10 game I would say it’s probably not worth it, but luckily Ben prices his games dirt cheap, so I would recommend this strange journey if you enjoy a psychological experience.
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dark Comedy Exploration Games.
Imagine if J.K. Simmons' character from Whiplash was given free reign to narrate a game about… traumatic experiences and a mental breakdown? I don’t know what HARTS ISLAND is about exactly but the voice actor is the best thing about it. I just feel bad for anyone playing this called Jake, Gretchen, or Morty. Walk around the island off the coast of New York City and get teleported around into more bizarre, avant-garde experiences. Don’t go looking for an explanation but there is a story, you just need to pay attention to piece it somewhat together. More swearing than a Scorsese film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFKjLwd6dzU
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game
Death Game+
Death Game+ has a simplistic artstyle that’s incredibly easy to pickup and play around in.
However, the game provides very little challenge, dying is incredibly easy and the campaign is relatively short and beat very quickly. The character acceleration is also insane and makes yourself hard to control so exploring a level is actually more difficult than dying in one.
if you’ve got money to burn and want do play something silly this is definetly the game for you.
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dark Comedy Arcade Games.
Really bad
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Hiking Simulator 2017
If you played this game and liked it and there are hidden paths and you can actually DO something, let me know so I can go back and then rewrite the review. Otherwise…
Graphics are not quite as good as Turok from 1997 which I played recently and it runs worse than Turok on my machine which makes no sense as there are no animations other than a few animals (mostly stuck in walls) and no ambient sounds. The gray rocky walls in the first area reminded me of the graphics in the original Doom.
Hilly Landscape map was kind of a non-event. Then Mountain Top and I look at the mountains in the distance and think “Now that’s what I’m talking about!”. Oh, wait… All you can do is LOOK at the mountain tops and the actual map is about as interesting as Hilly Landscape. The pine grove could have been nice except for the impenetrable branches and I wound up coming out pretty much where I started. And in one spot I rotated 360 and saw 3 of one and 2 of another identical boulders so not much variety in the landscape.
– Real player with 14.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dark Comedy Casual Games.
Honestly it isn’t as bad as some reviews made me think. In some ways it’s worse, in some ways better. This game is a strange mix of making skies and the glass in the open farm shed super pretty, then stretching the landscapes. Keep in mind I bought it on sale for 49 cents USD and it’s honestly worth about that from the stupid ways to die factor.
If you could put a boat out on the lake or, I dunno, approach the animals without them running, it would be worth more. What saves it is the music. What dooms is is that it looked way prettier on the lowest graphic setting and the music volume bar is useless.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Sinfeld Remastered: Deceased and Assist Playtest
Tranquility Now!
Sinfeld Remastered is a single player action-horror-comedy-parody featuring various gameplay styles inspired by Resident Evil, Silent Hills and PT. Donathan makes his way through the maze of strangely familiar locations. You will solve puzzles, riddles, and dodge the crazies in this new nightmare of what we think New York looks like. This is an early prototype as we continue to build the main story missions.
Key Features:
A Personal Story: You play as Donathan, the oldest orphan in the city on the night he’s finally adopted. Things aren’t what they seem though, and you are thrust into the worst night of his life. Survive the streets and uncover the mysteries behind his past, and maybe you’ll live to see another dawn.
A Familiar Place?: For a limited time only experience a special demo inspired by the original “Sinfeld Chronicles” (2020)
THE CORRIDOR
Incredibly simple concept for a game that manages to not only create different puzzles to solve but also leading you on a fun and quirky adventure to push every last button out of spite for the narrator. If you’ve ever played The Stanley Parable, this is a game that’ll bring back fond memories and create new ones that you’ll love to go back to! From going rogue and disobeying the narrator, to meeting a cardboard man with a cardboard plan, there’s bound to be something that brings a smile to your face and gets you laughing and having a good time! Highly recommended, honestly one of the funnest games I’ve played in awhile and it really deserves a chance!
– Real player with 2.3 hrs in game
The Stanley Parable
Beginner’s Guide
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
If you liked this game, you should also play the ones i mentioned above. It’s a great game, finished it twice for the achievements.
P.S (TOO IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO NOT HAVE REGRETS BUT CONTAINS A LITTLE SPOILER)
! DO NOT KILL THE GUY, HE IS SO NICE AND HE HAS A GREAT FAMILY :')
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game
Interactivity: The Interactive Experience
7/10
As the name makes it quite explicit, Interactivity is a game about interacting with things. The goal of the game is to reach The Button, with some puzzles to be solved along the way and things changing each time the game is replayed, as you walk through what seems to be a museum about interactivity, with a narrator that explains things to you along the way. Some Stanley Parable feelings are felt during the game, though not in the same way.
Even with the game changing each time it’s replayed, it’s still a very short game, but an interesting experience while it lasts.
– Real player with 3.5 hrs in game
A very dull and repetitive experience. It leads you along with a somewhat interesting beginning that tricks you into thinking there is something worth playing for, but just ends up making you feel like you’ve wasted your time. Each time you beat the game, it loops and alters some things but never adds much content, if any.
Without getting too into spoilers, there is a reveal at the end that further cheapens the experience by making the game completely and utterly pointless in retrospect. I think I would’ve actually kind of enjoyed this aspect if the game was free, or maybe even a dollar, but after spending 4 bucks on this, I just felt a bit cheated. This, as well as all artsy games, have a lot of subtext which I usually enjoy. I might’ve read into it wrong, however the feeling it left me with personally was very cynical and nihilistic, and not in a tongue-in-cheek way.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
Spoon Simulator 2020
Spoon Simulator 2020
Feel yourself a spoon. The first ever spoon simulator, an ability to feel yourself a beautiful top quality spoon.
Be a spoon. Become a spoon. Embrace the spoon.
Spoon for life. Spoon for president! Are you a spoon? No? Then buy this game to become one!
Features:
-First and third person view. See the world through eyes of a spoon
-AAA 3D graphics
-Unique idea & gameplay
-Feel yourself a spoon
Hello Puppets! VR
Experienced on the Oculus Quest 2. Spoiler-Free Review.
Please note: This does NOT work on WMR out of the box & editing controller bindings is more difficult than normal.
You can view my review & gameplay here: https://youtu.be/SwimWjEagnI
I would love to recommend this game. It’s a good mix of horror and comedy in a narrative-driven adventure. The story is good with strong dialogue. The ending is particularly emotional and impactful. You, suprisingly, develop a close bond with your puppet Scout by the end of this horrifying ordeal.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
I streamed this for an Extra Life stretch goal and was given a press code by tinyBuild.
While there were cool bits in this, I can’t recommend this game at $20. Here’s a breakdown:
Pros:
-Scout is an awesome character. Brilliantly acted, funny and well written.
-Concept is interesting.
-Story is actually fairly moving by the end.
Cons:
-Very short. 90 minutes to 2 hours at best.
-Buggy. Had to restart a checkpoint several times due to scripting errors.
-No proper Windows Mixed Reality support (unacceptable in 2020.) Had to create a custom control profile on my own.
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game
DVOREC
So you’ve read the description and now you’re down in the comments looking for answers. Check out my video on the game to see the gameplay and get a feel for if this game is for you.
Warning I played this game in English, playing the game in it’s original language (Russian) may yield a different opinion.
I am not sure what DVOREC means or stands for, but I can tell you what I got from it. Loading up the game to the title screen makes it look like some sort of Russian Soap opera, then the images change to police and swat teams arresting people and marching in the street. So there’s that, also the English localization of the game is really bad so you’ll have to read and reread sentences to understand what is trying to be conveyed. Plus there are plenty of words that didn’t get translated so I had no clue what’s being said or where I need to go. The game crashed on me several times, I was fortunate it only crashed once during the recording of my video. It’s a typical RPG game with random battle fights, narrative driven missions and tongue in cheek dialogue. If know Russian or really love Russian culture; then this is the game for you. At a price point of $1(US), you can try the game out for yourself but I cannot recommend it as there are better options for that money.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Amazing game
– Real player with 0.8 hrs in game
Re: Award
Basically there is only one objective in this game you must complete using the basic power provided. The hallway corridor is small and short so if you reach the end it just resets you back to the beginning. This is where you will realize that the power is required to progress. By right-clicking you activate her magic powers and the goal is to find all the missing furniture and making it spawn back in its original place. After you place all 23 pieces of furniture down you exit through the corridor and the game is complete. The achievement will be unlocked and that is the end of the game. Probably spent less than five minutes to finish the game. Overall rating 5/10 based on length and difficulty. Cannot complain since it is a free game.
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Third person F2P Corridor Walking Simulator.
A game of searching for objects using a special ability.
Story
Rin’s friend Scarlett came to Rin’s grandfather’s house in the country.
Rin’s grandfather died when she was young, and Rin wants to know what kind of person her grandfather was.
Scarlett’s special ability
Scarlett has a special ability to project what was there in the past.
She can project the old furnitures of Rin’s grandfather.
If you can project all the furniture, the game will be completed.
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game