Memoir En Code: Reissue
It’s tough.
It’s a narrative game with a lot to say, without saying anything in particular. Not brilliant, or even remarkable, but definitely creative and agrees with new videogame tendencies, as seen in games (or if you prefer, interactive animations) like Plug & Play, Pony Island (maybe Pony Island is stretching it) and in unorthodox game jams, that might be what you’re into.
It’s a really personal work but sometimes relatable.
Weird, but weird isn’t always good. It’s easy to call something good when we don’t understand it, but even when we don’t understand things we can be blown by them. When I finished Memoir En Code, I’ve just verbalized “Ok”, because is far more author purging than it is player focused.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
This is a game I keep referring to when talking about the potential of interactive media, and one that really made me say “This is the kind the direction I want to take when making games”.
I realised I never publicly left a review, after first playing this so many years ago.
Memoir En Code shows us how far can you go about storytelling in interactive media, cleverly making use of its game design in each track to let you experience the story, to help you understand how it was to be there in these slices of the author’s life.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
Pink Gum
Pink Gum is a very short journey through a life as told by chewing gum bubbles. I pondered how to sum this game up in a sentence, and I guess that’s the best I could do. Not great, really.
I think its one of those things that no matter what I might say, you could go, hmm, sounds interesting, but when you actually see it, it will make perfect sense. Which begs the question “Why am I even writing about it then?”
Because I think Pink Gum is well worth checking out. For the small amount of time and money you spend, you get a visually appealing, thought provoking experience. I’m also pretty sure that my opinion isn’t enough to persuade you, so here are some quotes about the game from famous people.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Experimental Hand-drawn Games.
Pink Gum is a short but powerful experience that tells us about birth, life and death from a unique point of view.
I really recommend this game to everyone.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Dinner Date
I’m 42 hours into this game. My date still hasn’t shown up yet. She’s probably still coming. Gonna wait a few more hours.
Updates:
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Nov. 28 2012 @ 4:09pm
60 hours in. Still no date. Maybe her car broke down and her phone isn’t working.
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Dec. 1 2012 @ 6:36pm
72 hours. Date still hasn’t shown up yet. Maybe she’s just really sick.
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Dec 4 2012 @ 2:23pm
127 hours played. Date hasn’t shown up. Food is cold and stale at this point.
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Dec 8 2012 @ 7:08am
147 hours now. No sign of date. Maybe she’s lost and can’t find my house.
– Real player with 335.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Experimental Casual Games.
I can’t remember when I got this game, but it was closer to when it came out than to now. Pretty sure it was around the time Heavy Rain came out and I didn’t have a PS3 and I thought “hey this is a novel experiment I should try this out.” It wasn’t really much back then and I don’t think it aged well at all. It’s absurdly short and I’ve heard people back then say $5 is a bit overpriced for a “demo” like this. Nowadays I don’t think people care that much about throwing $5 away to play shitty video games but fuck it.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
Thirty Flights of Loving
The Metascore for this game is very misleading. It isn’t even an appropriate score if you try to call this “game” artwork–it’s poorly made no matter how you look at it.
You can literally beat this in 20 minutes and there is no replayability. There are two “games” inside here, in reality both are more like mini-games. Gameplay is entirely linear, there are no secrets to find, no character development, plus unoriginal and boring gameplay elements. There is no redeeming factor to this game; it’s not even priced fairly.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
This is quite possibly the worst excuse for a game I have ever encountered. The game consists of about 10 different rooms, each taking about a minute to get through and suddenly out of nowhere you’re hit with a The End sign and a bunch of walkthrough credits with comments about the great decisions they made and how they decided on them. These great decisions are along the lines of weird random jump cuts that change the entire scenario for no reason. There’s also a room with displays of a bunch the game models and animated GIF video timelapses of screenshots of their creation. How impressive is that?
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
DIVINATION
This game disturbs me a little bit and I love it for that. I guess I should call it a visual novel because the only real thing you do is decide how to arrange the runes your patrons select, but even that little act can be a quite an experience depending on how into it you can get. What could this rune mean, what order do they actually go in, can I actually reverse the fortune by moving this one?
It’s very short (like 20 minutes tops) to go through a single time and the English text could use a bit touching up in a few spots, but for the cost of a soda or candy bar I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
This is a very short game with only 4 characters but each divination change the outcome whoch makes the story very interesting. After the first round, you can use the flowchart to pick the options you decide and see the result, I do encourage you to not necessarily focus on the 100% chaos but to try to see how each result has an impact with the ending.
The 100% Chaos ending is really interesting, it reminded me a LOT of Chobits (not the animated version) as the plots turns a lot around the fact the robots don’t have the choice to live or to die.
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
kamer
This game isn’t terrible for what it is. It’s just not worth $3. It took me 8 minutes to complete while also messing around a little.
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Fine, I guess?
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Port of Call
Port of Call is a very short free-to-play adventure game spanning only about half an hour for a single playthrough. The controls are very simplistic and standard for a first-person game so it is very simple to jump into the game without having to learn an obscure interface or control scheme. Despite its short length, the game comes with some replayablility with two possible endings as well as seven Steam Achievements to collect. However, these achievements can be obtained in no more than two playthroughs creating little incentive to play the game again after getting all the achievements and both endings. I still do, however, highly recommend the game as due to the short nature of a playthrough it is an excellent game to show a friend.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
Port of Call’s central conceit is simple to figure out whether or not you’ve ever read Greek mythology. In fact, the trailer essentially spoils the first “mystery” - i.e., what is the boat and why has it lured you in. The second but central question is answered by piecing together a narrative based on conversations with other passengers.
You begin on a small port surrounded by ocean with a lighthouse barely visible in the distance. You encounter a transient woman followed by a ferryman who hires you for an unexplained job. The ferryman himself is lithe, jovial, and snarky all at once. His simple instructions are to retrieve a passenger’s ticket. His simple job has the effect of granting some order to the chaos of the opening scene. It’s a wonderful trick, as it provides guidance and normalcy at a junction in the game where the player doesn’t know anything. The captain’s presence is avuncular and almost calming.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Saving Simon
Awesome
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
**İki boyutlu indie bir yapım olan Saving Simon, türk yapımcıların elinden çıkan son derece güzel bir yapım. Grafiksel olarak göze hoş gelen bir temaya sahip olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Genel açıdan senaryoya değinmem gerekirse, Simon adındaki depresyondaki bir insanı kurtarmaya çalışıyoruz. Kontroller oldukça rahat ve kolayca alışılabilir düzeyde. Eğer farklı deneyimler arayan bir indie oyunseverseniz, denemenizi kesinlikle tavsiye ederim.
Daha fazla inceleme için;
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/28040015 **
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Alt-Frequencies
I’d give it 10 of 10 - but it deals with some difficult topics, people disappear, are shot without any remorse by police - pretty tough on the youngest generation of players. Excellent spelling and voice quality.
Your’re forced to think. The conspiracy theories by goverment officials denying everything? Young adults can understand the game with some adult guidance.
The game is like an audiobook; with 6 chapters. It’s made in a similar way to visual novels; permitting one of two paths, with pretty good voice actors and music. The achievements 23 vary in difficulty, and yes, can be pretty frustrating at times, simply because you’re forced to actually think a little.
– Real player with 7.0 hrs in game
2021 Update: I just wanted to say that after gaining a job in retail and being forced to listen to a radio I think about this game almost every day, which is no small feat for a tiny french indie game. I didn’t understand not only how realistic this game is, but just how bone chilling listening to the radio can be in the world of today. The VA do a brilliant job at capturing the voices on every station. If you’re a nightshift worker or someone who has to listen to the radio a lot. Give this game a shot. It’s got fantasy elements and it’s made me more introspective about my own time spent listening to the radio at work.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Kristallijn
I’m not entirely sure what I played. At first, it seemed as if I was playing a walking sim through a pretentious abstract dancing exhibit at some cliche abandoned building. There almost seemed to be some kind of suspense through out the game, as if you’re just constantly waiting for something to happen. The game itself is actually better than a lot of the lower grade games I’ve played. The strobe effects were a bit much in some spots (a unique kind of thing to have be the bulk sensory in a game, but it does mean that a certain percentage of gamers can’t play this game). My biggest issue was the story. I could definitely feel the game was trying to go for something but it kinda just fell flat. Even for an abstract game, I had to really think about what the ending could mean and I’m still lost and confused. Call me uncultured, but it was a bit too vague for my taste.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Honestly, a shocker from start to finish. The way this game manipulates lights and short looped movements is incredible. I adore the simplicity and how anxiety inducing this game gets, but the ending…hits too close to home. You get in such a loop of pausing and waiting for things to move and see where you need to go, then the ending breaks you out of that cycle and its just. 100/10. Cmon, you have 3 dollars to spare, just play it and experience the wonderful work that is kristallijn :)
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game