Ouroboros
If you’re reading this review you’re probably trying to decide if this game is worth your time and money. My recommendation: absolutely buy this game. Ouroboros is a phenomenal, engaging experience worth every cent spent and every hour played.
Here’s why.
First, if you have played a free version of this game, know that this version has significantly more content. Probably around double what the free version has, with more scenes, areas, bosses, and a more complete world and story. It’s worth the purchase.
– Real player with 18.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Experimental Puzzle Games.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 10/10 (Time Paradox, Events Perturbation, Adult Contents)
This is the 2nd Steam RPGMaker game that I played by the same developer, Sierra Lee. The story and game mechanics of this game is really unique and FANTASTIC and elevates RPGMaker games to a whole new enjoyment level. Let me explain.
The storyline of this game involves the classical time paradox where the events keep looping back to a certain point in the time continuum. At that point, everything resets. So you keep playing this game where your main character keep going back to the event where all his attributes are reset to “1” and everything repeats itself.
– Real player with 17.3 hrs in game
A Forgetful Loop
Pros:
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Simple mechanics that form some surprisingly complex levels
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Writing is better than it has any right to be for a puzzle game
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Music is top notch and rather catchy
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Honestly peak gameflow
Cons:
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Lost track of time during play, which is ironic really
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Existential dread about the nature of quantum mechanics
Disclosure: Was a beta tester for this, but purchased my own copy on release
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Experimental Puzzle Games.
This is a great, fast-paced worker assignment puzzle. it’s a lot of fun! As someone who likes time management/cooking games where you have to frantically cook multiple meals at once, I took to A Forgetful Loop immediately. It has a few bugs, which can generally be solved by closing and reopening. The story sections (which are text only) are sad and stressful and sometimes kind of horrifying, but you can skip them if you want to. I reported a bug and the developers were very responsive and nice. I would definitely recommend this game if you like fast paced time-management worker assignment games.
– Real player with 10.3 hrs in game
Starstruck: Hands of Time
Play guitar in an interactive rock opera
Play guitar in musical story segments, with a catchy soundtrack featuring live instruments and singing by Elsie Lovelock (Hazbin Hotel). If you still have your Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar controller, dust it off, because this game supports it!
Destroy the world as a giant human hand
Demolish houses, solve puzzles, and open new paths for other characters as a giant hand. Unleash your destructive potential using hammers, screwdrivers, and more.
A strange game set in a miniature world
Save the future by exploring the strange diorama world of 20XX. Meet weirdly cute characters and unravel the mystery of how their little lives are connected to the end of mankind.
No rhythm? No problem
If you want to experience the music and story without the stresses of rhythm gameplay, you can enable “Autoplay” in the options menu. When Autoplay is enabled, the rhythm gameplay sections will play themselves.
Features
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Explore three intertwined adventures set in a charming diorama world, switching characters to solve puzzles and change the future.
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Play guitar and dodge attacks to an original soundtrack in catchy musical story segments.
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Destroy the world as a giant human hand in hectic action-puzzle gameplay. (By the way, you can also customize the hand’s size and skin color.)
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Extensive controller support allows you to play with your keyboard, Xbox controller, PS4 controller, Switch Pro Controller, or even guitar controller! You can also remap controls as you wish for the rhythm gameplay.
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Adjust the difficulty level between “Normal” and “Master” mode for the rhythm gameplay to suit your style, or just sit back and watch with “Autoplay” mode.
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Original soundtrack by acclaimed composer Andrew Allanson features live instruments and vocals spanning many genres.
Read More: Best Experimental Narrative Games.
2020: THE RIDE
I hated 2020, but this I loved. It’s beautiful in a surreal sort of way, though I feel bad saying that, given the grim subject matter. Still, it’s free, and I agree with the statement at the end. Nobody asked to get on the super fun ride 2020 was. But each of us gets to choose if we stay on.
Works fine on the Oculus Rift, I noticed tiny bits of lag, but I also hook my headset to a potato.
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game
This is an extremely boring game with bland visual effect, really suck.
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Manual achievement:
0/0
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Relic Guardians: Complete
[Pay$-to-Play] I’ve gotten this game while its on sale, and for the price, its definitely worth it!
This is a point & click game, where you use your mouse only to interact,
You get to choose to attack or defence or use your special (requires attacking 2 times successfully) per turn; as you play more, you will have a strategy on what to use
I like the pixel graphics & the story plot of saving earth from some cow grunts/commander :P
I’ve also like the sound effects, really sets the mood!
At the time of writing i’ve only played the story mode and have completed it, so I would say it takes 1.5 Hours to complete the story mode
– Real player with 5.6 hrs in game
Marginal act
So I’ve played this game for about 3 hours and I personally love it. It’s visually wonderful with the dadaism style of art and the funky use of perspective. The art really fits in with the idea of a slowly collapsing society. I spent a good 5 minutes just appreciating the map and all the detail put in. I loved the look of the NPCs and all the textures, too. The sound design gave off a nice creepy vibe and I loved the wide variety of sound effects. The controls felt good and I’m very appreciative of the use of colliders on the obstacles. I was worried that because of the perspective, I would be hit by enemies/obstacles even if I wasn’t really touching them but it was actually really easy and fun to maneuver through. The game is pretty solid when it comes to not having glitches/ places where you easily could get physically stuck which was nice.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
If you have to describe a game, and you cannot find terms or similarities to help you with, sometime can be a really positive thing. Because it means originality. So, in this moment I really find complicated to described Marginal Act, it is a game so hermetic, strange and peculiar that without playing it could be difficult to understand.
The plot is also obscure and surreal, intriguing but difficult to figure it out. Also, a superficial english translation will not help to understand it. But this will not affect the progress or the enjoyment of the game. There are also multiple endings.
– Real player with 3.3 hrs in game
Psychocat: The Door
Yes. The best. Thumbs up
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
A real good follow up to the answer. It adds more complex layers of the button swapping which keep the gameplay fresh and interesting. The soundtrack is a fitting choice again and this time the game is split into many smaller levels instead of one long run which does make for a little bit more manageable obstacle training and also keeps the early stages from becoming boring as you master the easier difficulties. With a bit of insanity and a nice little catch at the end an overall well rounded sequel.
– Real player with 14.9 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
Starstruck: Prologue
Starstruck is an unconventional rhythm adventure game that harkens back to the glory days of quirky Japanese passion projects from the early PS2 era. Not to say that the game relies on nostalgia, but it has that same intangible charm you can find in games like Gitaroo Man, Stretch Panic and Chulip.
Although cast in the same mold, Starstruck very much has its own identity. The game goes for a miniature aesthetic and it’s used to great effect. The lighting is gorgeous and you can often spot deliberate imperfections like fingerprints in the 3D models that really sell the hand-crafted look. This paired with the sublime composition and sound design— heavily featuring LIVE instruments— culminate into creating an alluring, dreamlike atmosphere that’s simply a joy to take in.
– Real player with 20.2 hrs in game
Words cannot describe the sheer delight I had playing this game. It’s really something special.
A friend of mine described it as “A playable rock opera straight off the Dreamcast/PS2” and I couldn’t agree more with that statement.
To me, the world and characters of Starstruck have that kind of magic that, like, a 1970s or 80s children show has. There’s a unique kind of nostalgia that I get from playing this game; it really takes me back to my youth, playing with my Thomas the Tank Engine table set and knocking down the little cutout trees, buildings, and people with my hands.
– Real player with 19.1 hrs in game
Queerskins: ark
NOTE:
Unfortunately, Steamworks has decided to inexplicably censor this 6DoF interactive VR. If you want to support queer content and voices, please let Steam know of your displeasure. And, head to Viveport to download this woman produced and directed interactive experience, part of a Peabody award winning series! https://www.viveport.com/bcbd1d54-ac06-4b2e-a393-3851e6173440
Queerskins: ARK is a 6DoF interactive virtual reality experience. Reading a diary left by the estranged son, a Catholic mother (Hadley Boyd) finds a way to transcend herself and her grief by imagining him alive and in love. With heart-wrenching performances by Michael DeBartolo and Christopher Vo in volumetric video and the storytelling potential of spatial sound, Ark allows you to enter her imagination and co-create the lovers’ intimate dance through your body position and movements. An Intel Studios Original co-produced with Cloudred.
The Attic
The viewer finds herself in a dimly lit attic bedroom, a place that seems to be stuck in time, heavy with memory. Here, you assume the passive role of an observer in a 360˚ environment. Unable to move, you can examine the memorabilia-laden surroundings and begin to get an idea of time, place and what the story might be about. Mary-Helen begins reading her son’s diary.
El Matador
As Mary-Helen begins to imagine her son’s world, you are transported to a beautiful beach at dawn. Sebastian and his lover Alex appear, like a daydream nearby in the landscape. We allow Sebastian to break the 4th wall and directly implicate you in the scene. We position you quite close to the two men, just outside their personal space as you listen to their conversation. As Mary-Helen finds freedom in her imagination, you too now have the freedom to move around the beach as the experience transforms into 6DoF.
The Memory
The scene crossfades to an abstraction of the beach. Sebastian and Alex begin an intimate dance. Depending on how you move in the space, the dancers appear to respond to your presence. The performance has been choreographed as a series of segments, each visitor sees only 5 out of possible 24 combinations within each play session. Replay it to see other potential variations, follow the blue glowing lights to hear Mary-Helen reading Sebastian’s diary entries. Raise both arms to gain a new perspective, point your arms forward to fly!
Back in the Attic
As the lovers fade away, you are now back in the attic. It is the magic hour. The room is lit with a flat, golden light, reminiscent of the light on the beach. With a return of detail and color, it feels like the room has come back to life. Mary-Helen contemplates her new found sense of self.
Note
Queerskins: ARK is a room scale experience. It can be adjusted for available space:
— Small (10’x10’ / 3x3 m)
— Medium (20’x20’ / 6x6 m) — Default
— Large (30’x30’ / 9x9 m)
Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, Italian and Polish. Subtitles can only be set at the beginning of the experience by using your controller or by pressing corresponding keys on your keyboard. Please see the experience splash screen for details.