UnearthU
A strange experience, if you’re interested at all I’d recommend not reading much more about this
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Experimental Capitalism Games.
This is a “game” much in the same way a walking simulator or a VN is, so just fair warning.
I am currently on Day 4 and will update again when I get to Day 7.
I will not spoil specifics.
The “game” is best experienced as intended: do each day without changing clocks or anything. Do Day 1, and then do Day 2 the following day when it unlocks. Complete all exercises with honest intent, to include the writing prompts and meditation exercises.
There is a narrative and character and background amidst what feels like real mindfulness concepts. The blend between the real and fictional is intriguing and keeps me coming back each day. The layout of the exercises feels intended, with the motivational video leading into the discussions/lectures by KARE, then a meditation/breathing exercises that inevitably lead you to ruminating about what KARE just talked about, a writing prompt that sometimes gives you pause about wanting to be completely truthful, and a final checklist of items that you’re more than likely just going to click through without actually implementing.
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
XTHRUST
An excellent example of “easy to learn, difficult to master” gameplay.
You pilot a rocket-powered drone using only two buttons - one for each engine. The challenge comes from alternating, combining and timing the use of these engines to skilfully navigate through the various single player and multiplayer tracks competing for the best time.
The current amount of single player content isn’t spectacular, with only 4 tutorial levels and 6 other levels. However each level offers a bonus objective that can be challenging and adds to replayability.
– Real player with 10.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Experimental 3D Games.
TL; DR: A game with easy to learn but very difficult to master controls is bogged down with a dead multiplayer, a grindy XP and coin collecting system, and a very minimal amount of effort in singleplayer content (a grand total of 15 levels you will get nowhere near the top time on, some you won’t even be able to complete the extra “achievement challenge”, because they, too require a ton of grinding). There’s also microtransactions for coins but with a dead multiplayer I don’t really see the point of purchasing them.
– Real player with 8.8 hrs in game
Lighthouse Keeper
This is not a game but rather a narrated story from the life of a lonely lighthouse keeper. You get to follow his actions, thoughts and obsessions. The narrator’s voice expresses how it feels to be stuck in constant solitude quite well. You can also feel the nervous tension and a slight bit of insanity caused by the endless loop of mundane tasks. The music and the sounds complete the unsettling atmosphere, the writing is good, and the visuals are unique. It’s short, takes about 10 minutes to finish, but still offers an interesting experience. I really like it. :)
– Real player with 0.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Experimental Horror Games.
A short, narrative-driven title with a pretty cool art style.
This is more of a visual novel than a game, as there are only two simple interactive moments mixed in with the narration. What you do or don’t do in those moments is what lands you one of two different endings.
The voice acting is really good, in my opinion. The actor successfully conveys a feeling of obsession, mental exhaustion, and a touch of madness. Music and sound effects are also good, and add to the bleak, lonely atmosphere.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Eye of the Beholder
My Experience
The game got off to a semi-interesting start, and I became invested in the story pretty quickly. It’s always a little odd playing a game that was designed for VR without a headset, as the sensation of being on rails and being teleported forwards is more prominent.
The game fell apart a for me during the scene that takes place after the radio repair. The character that had been helping me said to an enemy combatant, “There is no place for your kind anymore […] You Sokranian scum get what you deserve […] You don’t belong in our country.” Immediately, I lost sympathy for this character and his “side” in the conflict. As an American, I just can’t get behind this sentiment. These statements hit too close to home with respect to the way that some intolerant people see those south of our borders. Of course, on the other hand, we have a faction that is acquiring and planning chemical weapon attacks that run afoul of international humanitarian law. So no sympathy here either.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Experienced on the Oculus Quest 2
This is a mostly narrative-driven, cinematic experience with some basic interactions. You’re basically in a war-torn situation in the Middle East involving the possible use of chemical weapons. You basically have to decide which side you’ll be helping early on and then live with the possible consequences. Whole thing took me 16 minutes.
The game is running on the Unity Engine. On my RTX 3080, I was getting a steady 90 fps. There is no locomotion, instead you are automatically teleported from one scene to the next. You use a flashlight to highlight objects to either make a decision on how to act or clear an objective.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Ricerca VR
This is one of those ones where you just lie down and watch in the middle of your play place. It does go on a bit long though, but if you’re looking for a evocative, subtle, meditative experience (and you really do want to kill 15 minutes) you will enjoy this. I don’t think it features any advanced positional audio technologies, but it nice to have the sound come at you from varying angles.
! Incidentally, I need to purchase a bean-bag chair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a651Dd_mP04
– Real player with 14.3 hrs in game
It is a genuine looped art demonstration that fits perfectly into a VR space (with added binaural audio).
The screens use heavily compressed video, though, and it shows in the darker scenes and the ones with lots of slower movement.
When I purchased it, it was $0.99 which I feel is perectly priced for what it is. This is a good demonstration of what VR can do outside of games.
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game
Sunlight
Awful. A collection of random voices muttering gibberish in splat water color forest, and your arms are missing. You can’t understand what they are saying, so just tune them out. There is nothing to interact with, just painted trees and land, and sky. It takes a full minute to boot into it, and likewise to get out of it… Maybe if you waste 20 minutes into it, you can find some angle in the ‘forest’ to take a few nice screenshots and use them as desktop wall paper. But not much else in this, some additional random moaning choir music, pleasant but formless and meaningless. Pity, it seemed like it would have potential if they cleaned up the broken audio noise, reverb overload and overlapping garbled voices. In SETTINGS - You can turn down the voices, the Music, and or turn down the nature sounds to Silent. Try just Nature, no voices, no music. Then, you’ll enjoy a quiet walk in the woods. It does have an ending once you pick a handful of flowers. You can post your thoughts at the ending to share them with others. You could also just put on the music and silence the rest, enjoy the music playing in the background while you work. But the voices - ugh - babbling gibberish. Graphics 7/10 - watercolor trees.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
Sunlight
Sunlight is a thirty-minute walk through a beautiful forest enhanced by a wonderful Tchaikovsky arrangement. It’s a decent entry in the walking sim genre.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
The Ghost
A simple visual novel consisting of only music, photos and text.
It’s a game like a play.
All photos were taken here in Aomori, a provincial city in Japan.
Press a button to move through the text and background.
You can select Japanese or English from the menu at the bottom.
About ghosts that cause everyday mishaps.
Why do you see ghosts?
Seemingly unrelated things are connected.
All things are connected by underground stems.
Nightmare Puppeteer
If you haven’t forgot what art, creativity and more importantly having an imagination meant when you were a child then you’ll understand the value and importance of Nightmare Puppeteer. It’s the genius brainchild of the genius M dot Strange, an artist well ahead of his time that hasn’t forgot what it truly means to be an artist.
– Real player with 1520.0 hrs in game
…Honestly I just am an entitled fucker who got a free key XD, but either way, I would recommend this if you wanna make some weird stuff on the fly, it’s very good for that, and Imagination Rabbit is an odd but good dude…whoever they are o.o.
– Real player with 35.7 hrs in game
Queerskins: a love story
This left a bad taste in my mouth.
There just wasn’t enough time for reflection or enough moments to challenge the perspective that is being driven into us (that being Gay is wrong because it is against God). I suspect (hope) the intention was to prompt reflection and thought, but in a 15 minute 360 video, there is no opportunity for this, and the developers don’t fuel it at all.
The result, whether intentional or not, is a mess of bigotry and “cruel and irreligious piety.” I hate this. It should be withdrawn until it can be amended so that it isn’t provoking hate. I have reported it.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
game bad and about hating gays
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
10mg: SNAAAK
It’s a solid game on it’s own right, but gets a lot more meat around it’s bones through the achievements.
– Real player with 7.6 hrs in game
An interesting combo of snake game and metroidvania, with a desolate, Jumper Redux-esque atmosphere.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game