Lamplight City
Steampunky Island
Systemising detective work in games is difficult to do well. That’s why my interest was naturally piqued when hearing of City’s absence of a failure state. I’ve enjoyed various other games experimenting with text entry and linking/contradicting evidence to allow the player to truly embody the role, so the ability to ‘fail’ was suggestive of a promising amount of player agency. Playing Lamplight City remains a joyous experience, but it isn’t so much in its systems that it entertains, but its presentation, stories and characters. As a modern take on the 90s point and click it truly thrives.
– Real player with 22.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Indie Games.
sniff sniff I smell a murder.
I could always go for a great mystery story. Whether it’s the core of the story or just one part of it, like trying to find out how one guy is cheating and in turn, how the main character will try to outsmart them. Then there’s a choice between how interactive the story is with you. Other than what kind of mystery you’ll be facing, there’s also different levels of interactivity. Some aims to let the audience tag along and give you a chance to try and solve it alongside the main character; while some actually keeps their audience in the dark till the end to focus on being fun (personally, I take a liking to both). With games, you can’t exactly be kept in the dark and you get the added bonus of being in the middle of it. In Lamplight City’s case, you take the role of a detective, ready to solve the various cases that is brought to your attention.
– Real player with 18.7 hrs in game
Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow
Just finished it today. Here are my thoughts:
Elements I adored:
The writing itself. Wow, William sure can turn a phrase! I really enjoyed how he described the action, the settings, etc. You can tell he’s put his work in strengthening his craft.
The richness of the world. Talk about a fully-developed universe! I can’t imagine how much mental energy William put into world-building for this game, like seriously I can’t imagine. I’d conservatively estimate that one could spin off an entirely new game from any of over 100 references he makes to different individuals, settings, ideas, phrases, etc. I kept thinking, “Oh that’s a cool premise!” “Oh that is a really neat idea!”
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
I highly recommend this adventure to anyone who enjoys getting into the heat of the situation and calling all the shots! Its an amazing tale that takes not only history as we know it, but legends and myths we have all heard about, and spins them into something at once recognizable and yet completely new.
You will constantly be making choices while confronted with situations that are utterly familiar, in settings that remain completely relatable, while obviously not being the from the world as you know it. Its a high adventure romp that none the less still has the Player making some tough moral choices. Best part imho being that even though the “story” is to be continued in another book, This story wraps its self up nicely. Every plot point gets resolved, in a way that is very satisfying.
– Real player with 4.4 hrs in game
Bohemian Killing
During my playthrough I think this game is quite promising and is unfair in dumbing the product down based on some rough edges. I reminisce on Depths of Fear :: Knossos and how a really good indie game got really, really harsh criticism just for trying to be different and proposing something new. The game had quite a few updates, but still needs polish IMHO.
This is just one of those games like Facade from 2005 or like The Path that proposes something very different and questions traditional approach to gameplay and mechanics. It offers a different theme to crime and detective stories inversing things making the trial at court the ultimate battle, not just a sidekick.
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Indie Games.
Brief
This game is amazing. I loved all of it. I would recommend this game at it’s price or on sale definitely as a must-get if you enjoy these styles of games. Even 100%ed the achievements so I could see every ending and know all the details. There are some issues with this game though that I have. Though the bugs I did run into were mostly minor even though they could easily be game breaking. I will keep information about very specific instances minimal due to spoilers.
Pros
– Real player with 9.2 hrs in game
Mask of the Rose
Welcome to Fallen London: a darkly hilarious gothic underworld where death is a temporary inconvenience, the rats talk, and Hell is only a stone’s throw away.
Thanks to an unknown bargain, London now resides in a vast cavern under the earth. Down here, the sun doesn’t shine, and Parliament has sunk into the Thames. Queen Victoria never emerges from her palace. Cats spy on their owners and whisper their secrets abroad. The fabric of strait-laced Victorian society has begun to fray.
New Masters are in charge. Why are they so… tall? And always cloaked? And why are they so interested in love stories?
The possibilities for personal connection in London are different now. Thrown together in crisis, you might befriend or romance many of the characters you meet, from Griz, your assertive housemate for whom the Fall was a chance to break free of Victorian societal norms, to the infernally well-dressed gentleman at the Brass Consulate with the amber eyes.
Even death itself has a twist here: the first murder victim since the Fall is feeling much better, and keen to see justice done. Unfortunately, as the doctor who treated him immediately before he expired, your housemate Archie is the prime suspect…
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(Re)invent yourself: who were you before the Fall? Who will you be now?
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Create outfits from a selection of clothing and unusual accessories to unlock different story options
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Fall in love with a cast of diverse Londoners, each with their own secrets
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Matchmake among your friends, or seek love for yourself (by any definition you like)
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Write love stories in a delightful minigame, and use them to impress the new Masters
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Pick up odd jobs to earn money and gather resources. How are you at rat catching?
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Solve the first murder since the Fall, with the assistance of the victim
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Discover cosy, mysterious and magnificent locations in a dark and delicious version of Victorian London
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Seek deeper and deeper secrets over multiple playthroughs
Will you be a brilliant matchmaker, connecting friends and rivals while remaining unattached? Or are you looking for lasting love? Perhaps you’re open to whatever comes your way? Every major storyline is accessible regardless of whether your approach to love is romantic or platonic.
Use an elaborate, dynamic story-crafting system to create love stories – and murder theories. Are the twists in the tale not to your taste? Then change the motive, the location, even the victim, and see how the stories adapt!
Your past will open different doors for you in London. What was your life on the Surface like? Were your family landed gentry? Or did they own a tailor’s shop, or dabble in the occult?
Your clothing will also make people think differently of you. Your outfits open new possibilities in conversation: be bolder, more commanding, more flirtatious. Ingratiate yourself with London’s inhabitants by changing your style of dress – they won’t be able to resist you in that hat!
You’ll also work odd jobs and collect resources which will open new avenues in social situations. Your housemate Griz has found you work as census-taker for those curious new Masters. Fill your census-taker’s notebook with intimate details about your fellow citizens and you’ll find you can pursue deeper relationships with them, romantic or otherwise.
Griz
For your fellow lodger Griz, the Fall of London has been a liberation – the chance to throw off her corsets, dump the dresses and be taken seriously in a position that would have been forbidden to her when she was ‘Miss Griselda’.
Archie
For your other housemate Archie, the change is terrifying. What is a medical student supposed to believe in when even the laws of death no longer apply?
Harjit
When the Fall struck, Harjit stepped up to help anyone who needed it. Now he’s settling into his role as a man in uniform, but the territory is unfamiliar – and, secretly, he has a missing person of his own to find.
Milton
Milton is the amber-eyed host of a literary parlour with a scalding handshake and a prior address in Hell. He’s an excellent listener, but does he only want you for your soul?
Rachel
Rachel was halfway through her serialised novel when London fell and everything she was writing about was turned upside-down. Her publisher grows impatient. Fortunately (?) meeting Milton has rekindled her passion – for more than just writing.
David
Rachel’s brother, and no fan of Milton, David is also destined to be Fallen London’s first murder victim. When he returns from the dead, you can ask him all about it.
Horatia
For a decade, Horatia has taken in lodgers and turned them into family. Since London fell, people need the security she offers more than ever. So when a man made entirely of clay knocks at the door, offering to pay handsomely for lodgings, she can hardly refuse.
Mr Pages
One of London’s new, mysterious “Masters”, Mr Pages has embarked on the titanic endeavour of conducting London’s first post-Fall census! But why are its questions so concerned with the love-lives of London’s citizens? How do people declare their affection, in this fair city? How lasting are their attachments? Might a Londoner take an interest in a very tall, broad-shouldered, cloaked personage that leans towards the chiropterous, hypothetically speaking?
Explore this unique city in glorious, richly rendered 2D. Experience London through three seasons: the season of Confessions, the season of Yule, and the season of Love. Help establish the first Feast of the Rose, a festival of romance that will be celebrated in London for decades to come!
For players of Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies, Mask of the Rose offers a chance to immerse yourselves in the city that founded this deep, dark, and marvellous universe. And for veteran players of the Fallen London browser game, it marks your first opportunity to visit the city just after it fell. But fear not: Mask of the Rose is an excellent introduction to the universe we’ve been building for more than a decade, and you don’t need to have played our other games first. Come on in. Most things won’t bite, unless you want them to.
Explore the locales, lives, and loves of an impossible city. Exchange bon-mots with devils. Investigate the first murder where the victim can testify at the murderer’s trial. Dive into the sunken ruins of poor drowned Parliament. And if you’re truly reckless, fall in love.
Small Town Robot
fun little game. It was a joy to see I picked the correct person lol. Can’t wait to see more:)
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
Fun short game. The dialog is funny and adds to the feel of the game. You can easily spend a few hours in this game and enjoy some relaxed game play.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
The Silent Age
“The Silent Age” is a simple point & click adventure game. You are Joseph (called “Joe”), a janitor in a big research company. You will get to see more and more strange traces of yet unknown events in your everyday job until you meet the mortally wounded inventor of a - time machine! As the last and only trustful person ending up in his life you are given the task to prevent a catastrophy - and travel back and forth in time.
Yeah, sounds a bit like “Day of the Tentacle”, doesn’t it? But thankfully it doesn’t feel like a pure clone of this adventure classic.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
There are theories that suggest that time travel is indeed possible. They are only theories and there are still many open questions regarding what exactly would happen if certain time travel scenarios were realized such as the grandfather paradox. It is precisely those mysteries and unknowns that make time travel so fascinating. It’s great to know the answers, but it also makes things less exciting. That’s just human nature. And that’s why the premise of The Silent Age is so interesting, especially since it explores time travel both in its narrative and gameplay.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
Hypnospace Outlaw
In writing this review and reading it back, I find myself struggling to write about it enough to get across my sheer admiration without spoiling the whole thing to prospective customers. I apologise in advance. Suffice it to be known that I recommend Hypnospace Outlaw in the fullest extent my enthusiasm can avail. At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, it is perhaps one of the greatest pieces of fiction I’ve ever consumed. I hope to explain why.
Whenever I think about this game and the experiences it gave me, there’s a dull aching sensation in my chest. I experienced something truly wonderful and moving. I was immersed completely and, ironic considering the active hours of Sleeptime Computing, often burned my candle far too low, ravenously trying to see what else the game had for me.
– Real player with 34.2 hrs in game
A satirical homage to 90s internet on the surface, but so much more underneath that.
Hypnospace Outlaw is a game that connected with me on a deeper level than I ever would have anticipated. While it may seem like a fairly lighthearted comedy at first (and it IS a comedy; there are several moments where I laughed out loud at the absurdity), it is so much deeper than that. Where Hypnospace Outlaw excels, in my opinion, is the world that it creates while you explore the depths of this alternate-reality version of the web.
– Real player with 27.8 hrs in game
RE:Solver
Step into the role as an investigator under the RE:Solver Agency, a new investigation unit designed to take a fresh look at complicated cases. With your skills and newly granted overreaching privileges, you can access numerous confidential records on essentially anyone. Browse medical records, phone logs, browser histories, and social media to learn everything there is to learn about your suspects.
Background
The game takes place within a fictitious world, quite similar to ours, but with a few key differences. As crime rates are on the rise, a private agency called RE:Solver has sprung up, giving new power in the field of digital forensics. They aid law enforcement around the world by diving in and dissecting the case inch by inch, bringing a fresh set of eyes and vital information to the people in the field.
Nothing will stop a member of RE:Solver to get to the truth. Not rules, not privacy concerns, not ethics.
Gameplay
Use the tools given and dig into every corner of the lives of the suspect. Collect phone records, credit card transcripts, daily habits, and more through the Emerald Network. Browse the game-internal internet for missing people, public records, social media, and more.
Once you have a strong case, you may file them and hope you put the right person behind bars.
Production
This game is based on a series of investigation tabletop roleplaying one-shots written and conducted by Nils Munch during the Covid-19 lockdown. A great thank you to all the players and playtesters taking place in building and polishing up this game.
Creative liberty
While the world seems much like ours, all suspects and the criminal cases you are solving are a complete work of fiction, and any resemblance to any real individuals, living or dead, are purely coincidental. All characters portrayed are generated electronically, and no real people are displayed inside the game.
Darkarta: A Broken Heart’s Quest Collector’s Edition
This game is marketed as a “hidden object” “adventure” and a “point and click” game. I can honestly say that this is the first time I would consider that an okay mix. I generally do not view hidden object games as something that should be in the point and click adventure game category. To me a point and click adventure involves exploring an area, having an inventory (which you generally use to solve puzzles and sometimes have to interact with in your inventory), talking with NPCs, solving puzzles, and a strong storyline. Most Hidden Object games don’t really have an inventory don’t usually involve conversations with characters, usually have a sort of weak story, and usually only have minor mini-games if at all. That’s where this game seems to cross the lines a little. It has some very minor dialogue, let’s you wander through several areas where you need to collect things that you use to solve puzzles in other areas (sometimes you need to interact with them in your inventory), and for a hidden object game very few of the puzzles in the game are actually a hidden object puzzle. Even when you are presented with a hidden object puzzle it generally gives you an option to switch to a match 3 game instead. The story is actually very rich and you slowly discover it through various objects and cutscenes as you play through the game. The additional memory objects can add even more story element to the mother daughter relationship between the min character (Mary) and her daughter Sophia. I’m still not sure I’d call this a Point and Click Adventure but, it definitely comes close. It’s more than an interactive storybook and certainly a puzzle game that goes well beyond your normal hidden object game.
– Real player with 24.6 hrs in game
The key for this game was provided by the devs for reviewing. The review and opinions are my own and have been not been influence by this.
Darkarta: A Broken Heart’s Quest is a puzzle game from India which has the look and feel of a HOG, except with a variety of puzzles. I quite enjoyed the array of puzzles provided. While I can’t say I enjoyed each puzzle type individually, you would generally only be given a certain type of puzzle once, so enduring a disliked puzzle will usually be over quickly. The variety of puzzles to me also felt like a bit of a double-edged sword. While I appreciate the use of variety helps to remove the feeling of doing the same thing over, it also made it feel somewhat unfocused. So, was this a case of the game not being able to win? Liking the variety but criticising it for it? Not sure exactly why, but something just felt a little off with only doing puzzle types once. Usually in puzzle games, they introduce a puzzle concept to you and “train” you on it, ramping the difficulty as it went. Perhaps for me then, I would rather have had SOME variety in the puzzle type, but not so much that most types felt like a disposable one-use? YMMV of course.
– Real player with 11.6 hrs in game
Lord Winklebottom Investigates
Lord Winklebottom Investigates is a 1920s murder mystery, point and click adventure featuring a dashing giraffe detective coming to Steam this year!
Inspired by Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, the game is a classic British murder mystery!
It’s the 1920s and the world’s foremost detective is about to embark on his most challenging case yet. A mysterious invitation to an isolated island results in a grisly murder and a race against time to track down the killer. Thankfully, in this world that’s not quite like our own, there’s nobody better to crack the case than the great detective and gentleman giraffe, Lord Winklebottom.
Join Lord Winklebottom and his steadfast companion Dr Frumple as they investigate the murder of their old friend. Uncover clues, interview suspects and solve puzzles to crack the case, capture the killer and uncover the horrifying dark secret at the heart of the Isle of Barghest!
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Animals of all shapes and sizes!
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Unique 2D hand painted artwork.
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Streamlined point and click interface.
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Collection of bizarre characters to interrogate!
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Play as a gentleman giraffe!
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Dozens of puzzles to solve!
