Rest House
A very peculiar obsession of Don Quixote paints this game’s cerebral narrative. The levels and artwork are muddled, jarring, and provide a fenestrated glimpse into the developer’s unusual psyche. A commitment worth its value if you’re into strange games.
Warning: The game offers links to external websites usually found at the end of each level to Youtube videos, Leaderboards, and other websites. Some of these links were blocked by my antivirus for malicious code. Some of those loaded in-game windows to these external websites that my antivirus blocked as well.
– Real player with 8.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dark Fantasy Puzzle Games.
Nothing makes sense in this game, it is literally 3D models just thrown all over the place. The author calls it an abstract adventure, but you can tell it was like the programmer just took a 3D model tool and w/e assets he could find and stick them in. That said the “game” itself is full of faults. You can get stuck while walking up a staircase, you can get stuck on an edge, you can get stuck inside a room you can’t reopen cause a ball rolled off the switch.
The puzzles are annoying, pushing a huge butterfly statue that flips around in all different directions is a tiring process. It gets stuck on everything. Pushing a rolling ball that seems to defy gravity and friction is a process much like listening to nails on a chalkboard.
– Real player with 3.9 hrs in game
The Fold: Ingression
Developed solely by one of the devs on Through the Woods - introducing a first person thriller adventure with worlds inspired by the Norse people, old Norwegian legends and horror elements from the Lovecraft universe. Follow the dark story of Amund Vreim as he explores worlds, old and new.
Norwegian Amund Vreim is a part time exterminator and has received his first assignment at Eikherad stave church in Telemark, Norway. Through curious exploration and mysterious obstacles he finds himself in increasingly strange situations and quickly learns that he’s not alone, nor is the job as relaxed as first expected. The massive structure dates back to the end of the viking age and both church and surrounding areas hold many secrets.
It’s a relatively linear game, following a main story, but with several outcomes and variations to the story and environments. The story is based on old Norwegian stories, Norse mythology and traditions with horror elements inspired by the Lovecraft universe. ‘Ingression’ is the first installment in the ‘The Fold’ universe and will take the player on an introduction to those they call ‘The Fold’ and their mysterious ancient worlds.
Read More: Best Dark Fantasy Mythology Games.
Finsterwald
**Wandering through the deep forest, the tired wayfarer decides to arrange a night camp in a small glade hidden among the tall pines. After cutting young fragrant pine branches and resting for a while near the lightning fire, he suddenly feels a vague anxiety caused by the weirdness of the surrounding forest - not a single sound, not a single gust of wind…
The deeper the advancing darkness becomes, the deeper and more inevitable is the feeling of the growing danger of blurry forest shadows and glittering red eyes, flashing among the trees.
Only the bright campfire stands between the wayfarer and the strange outlines of the forthcoming tall figure…**
“Finsterwald” is a survival horror with elements of adventure VR game (and EVENTUALLY a 3D game - depending on Kickatarter campaign results), based on Dark Ages period German fabulas about Ancient Guardian of the Forests – Waldschrat. Vigilantly observing the behavior of all visitors, he watches over the peace and safety of trees, birds, animals and other fosterlings on the entrusted territory.
As today old narratives are almost forgotten, the careless wayfarers often do not possess the rules of behavior and don’t have knowledge about ways to tame the ancient power, still hidden in the heart of the forest…
State-of-the-art 3D immersive audio technology and modern visual design deliver the most immersive gaming experience ever. Dive into the thrilling atmosphere of old Germanic fabulas and try to cope, having only burning branches of the fire and a desperate desire to survive. Goodwilled Protector of Nature or an Evil Spirit? - It’s your turn to decide!
Read More: Best Dark Fantasy Horror Games.
Gruta: Prologue of the Gloomy Whispers
In this narrative-driven platformer game, you play as child that was living on the edge, trying to escape of her family. Running away, the kid wants to fight the monster she thought was causing trouble between her parents. What she found was not what she was expecting.
Using a sword and shield based combat, you have to fight different types of enemies and mechanics through the levels and reach your goal: Find and face the monster to save your family.
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Stylized pixel-art and original artstyle cutscenes;
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50 hand-crafted levels with increasing complexity;
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A action platformer game with a stunning and polished game feel;
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Tight controls - optmized controls for gamepads and keyboards;
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Original Soundtrack;
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
–-{ Graphics }—
☑ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
—{ Gameplay }—
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It’s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don’t
—{ Audio }—
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I’m now deaf
—{ Audience }—
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
—{ PC Requirements }—
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☑ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
—{ Difficulty }—
– Real player with 13.2 hrs in game
Rating: 9/10
Really interesting game with captivating story.
Even though combat is a little simple, fighting giant Vikings did not get old. Puzzles were decent.
Where the game really shines is the story and superb acting of the main character.
Even the sidelore spread out through the game was a joy listening to.
Game feels rather short (10-ish hours) but that’s just me wanting more.
Worth it, even at full price (20Eur). Now it is 75% off and that is a really good deal.
Hellblade 2 can’t come soon enough!
– Real player with 13.0 hrs in game
Lucid Dream Adventure
Lucid Dream is easy to recommend for anyone that likes a point&click adventure with creative puzzles and psychological narrative. The developers have been very active during this Early Access, constantly updating the UI and changing the logic behind the puzzles – making this experience more intuitive. It takes about 6-8 hours to beat, it really depends on which difficulty you start and how often you will rely on optional hints. The best part of Lucid Dream is a compelling story that has a very immersive narrative, music and visuals. You play as Lucy, a disabled girl that travels into her dreams in order to find a way to save her mother. Overall this has been one of the best Early Access titles that I have been a part of. Its awesome developers have absorbed all of the criticism and improved the game as much as they could; they even reworked the soundtrack several times just because a few individuals complained about it (mostly me).
– Real player with 21.3 hrs in game
So, this game is an absolute bug-fest. It seems right up my ally in terms of atmospheric design, puzzles, etc., but I was unable to get any enjoyment out of it due to the frustratingly game-breaking bugs. In short - it’s a point-and-click puzzle which has a tendency to make your items (yes the ones you need to progress and solve puzzles) disappear. On top of that the select level function is broken - at the moment of writing this review I am half way through the game (on my third restart noless) and only the first chapter is unlocked from the chapter select menu. There is no “restart” or “retry” level option, which means that if you happen to have an item randomly deleted and the game decided to autosave then you have to start a new game all over.
– Real player with 10.6 hrs in game
Pale Cachexia
Beautiful Sadness
Lonely. This is the first word that greets you when you start Pale Cachexia. Alone in the dark wood. The contrast between forest’s spring awakening and “ghostly gloom” of the night, with “rustling sounds of crickets”, nocturnal creatures and “ominous howls”, the feeling that someone is breathing right behind you while you venture among the endless unmoving trees - all set the mood of the VN right from the start and mark it as decidedly Gothic and Romanticist. With a sense of crippling loneliness and smallness the main character Esther stumbles through this vast, misty forest in search of a cure for her terminal illness, and finds herself in a gloomy Gothic manor, almost like she just stepped into a dream.
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
Short Review:
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Kinetic visual novel (no choices)
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Complexity in story and characters
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Heavy topics of death, illness, grief, guilt, and loneliness
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Somewhat open ending
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Nice art, including unlockables
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Soundtrack that perfectly enhances mood
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Overall an atmospheric, emotional story I enjoyed!
Full Review:
What an atmospheric, emotionally complex story. This kinetic novel (visual novel without any choices) has elements of horror and fantasy, and there are some creepy parts, but it’s mostly mysterious and melancholic, dealing with the heavy topics of death/dying, illness, grief, guilt, and loneliness.
– Real player with 8.7 hrs in game
Memories of Fireflies
The game is genuinely creepy. It features a good balance between the run and hide, leaving you on your toes, not knowing what to expect next. The visuals are very pretty and the story interesting!
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Indie stealth puzzle platformer + atmospheric + interesting mechanics = Hide, crawl, run, light up as you delve through the mysterious world and evade creatures of all sorts. Controller recommended. Released previously as Fireflies.
Follow our curator for similar games
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35180752-3-point-play/
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
The Guilt and the Shadow
So, this is yet another gloomy indie game about psychological disorders.
There’s little to say about this one. In its own genre it’s probably OK. The visuals are stylish and the sound design is quite awesome.
But the story doesn’t really catch your attention. The monologues and occasional dialogues are quite unnatural. And the gameplay part just plainly sucks. You walk slowly, you need to backtrack the levels all the time, it’s surprisingly hard to find a proper spot to start climbing a ladder. So, all in all, as a game this thing kind of fails.
– Real player with 8.5 hrs in game
An emotional experience about the torments of a man plagued by the “guilt” of his mother’s suicide (“shadow”).
Set in a black and white pencil drawn world, the player guides the mentally ill protagonist through a succession of dreams/nightmares.
To advance in the game, we have to solve simple puzzles to unblock passageways or unlock memories.
The pace is slow, giving the time to the player to immerse itself in the dark atmosphere of the game. And the game can be finished in one setting, which I would recommend in order to not lose the connection to the story.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
MONARK
Descent into Madness: Jump between exploring the Mist of the real world and fighting within the enigmatic Otherworld. Call upon allies, fight enemies, and unravel the mysteries surrounding your academy. Will you save the world or go mad and destroy yourself?
Into The Mist and Beyond: Dive into a dark realm where reality and the self collide. The mysterious worlds you’ll explore are brought to life in a surreal, dark neo-fantasy style, with intricate character designs and evocative settings.
Power of the Ego: Strengthen your Ego and customize the appearance and abilities of your Fiends. Unlock different Fiends to command in battle, and use the freeform tactical system to position your units and unleash destruction upon your enemies.
Story
How far will you go to save the ones you love? Could you face the threats that surround you? Could you face yourself?
Your world is plunged into madness when the mysterious and deadly Mist surrounds Shin Mikado Academy. In order to save your friends, you enter the Otherworld, a Daemon-filled dimension beyond the real world. Within this enigmatic realm, you must learn to harness your Authority of Vanity and conjure a battalion of Fiends, whose power comes from the Ego of their master.
Develop your Ego through various psychological tests to enhance the power of your Fiends, and lead your forces into battle to fight with and against the seven “Pactbearers” that are corrupting the academy. Embrace the power of your madness to gain strength, but take care not to delve too far, lest you risk losing yourself. Fellow students and instructors will lend you their aid in your quest to resolve the anomalies throughout the campus.