Vegas Tales

Vegas Tales

The owner of the fabulous Bellflower Casino Hotel in Las Vegas is terminally ill. Having devoted his life to running his hotel, he never made time for family or friends. With no obvious heir, he’s hired you to help him choose the right person to inherit the Bellflower. He narrowed his list of candidates down to a small group of people who have strong personal connections to the hotel, but whom he knows little else about. They’ve agreed to be interviewed by you under the pretense that you’re writing a book about the Bellflower Hotel. None of them know what’s truly at stake. It’s up to you to get to know these people and determine which of them is most worthy of inheriting the Bellflower. This will be no easy task, as the group contains some unique and memorable characters who will make your decision quite difficult. Be careful though, as there may be more to some than meets the eye.


Read More: Best FMV Conversation Games.


Vegas Tales on Steam

Howdy, Jacob!

Howdy, Jacob!

This was a visual trip, it’s kinda like Where’s Waldo but with psychedelics. It has a very interesting approach to storytelling which I like and the music is fun and upbeat. It gave me some nostalgic vibes. I was reminded of the video overlays in one of the Police Quest games for the storytelling and the levels have a sort of wondrous mystique to them that you don’t experience much in games these days. There’s a totally dark vibe to the story without being too scary.

If I had to list one criticism it would be that I struggled to find the exit button during a level, but it all worked out of course. Overall it was worth the $10 for sure.

Real player with 3.3 hrs in game


Read More: Best FMV Hidden Object Games.


Disclosure: I was on the video capture and performance team for the game, but did not have anything to do with gameplay, art, or design.

Howdy, Jacob! shines brightest in its rich world and great writing. The characters are interesting and diverse, and curious players are always rewarded with a little bit of content wherever they look. It is a world that feels much, much bigger than the game, and fascinating!

The other high point is the art! The images are very vivid and unique, and the style sticks with you!

Real player with 3.1 hrs in game

Howdy, Jacob! on Steam

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is a FMV comedy-thriller game, where the player intervene in radio hosts' adventures in six episode. The game is playing in the same universe like The Shapeshifting Detective from the same developer.

I bought the game at the first place, because I really liked The Shapeshifting Detective.

Sound and music is most likely the brightest part of the game. Especially the main menu theme, but all of the songs are really good. Other sound and voices are really good in the game, has good quality in my opinion. In the last episodes, one of the actress voice was low, but that’s all really.

Real player with 9.8 hrs in game


Read More: Best FMV Cinematic Games.


The Infectious, Shapeshifting Madness of D’Avekki Studios!

(The infectious madness I’m currently enduring is that of COVID symptomatology, so please forgive anything that doesn’t quite make sense!)

I think I love it.

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker had a huge impact on me. A fact poor D’Avekki Studios will have already been well exposed to if they caught any glimpse of my Shapeshifting Detective review. Where it really separated itself from all other FMV games then and since is that it was effectively one-on-one campfire storytelling. Patients were constricted to lounging on a central sofa as they beguiled you with outlandish stories against a superbly crafted atmosphere. Your imagination was put to work, but with the FMV visuals lending it all more credibility. Nothing else is quite like it and thus quite matches it (the closest perhaps being Her Story). I’ve been eargerly awaiting anything D’Avekki ever since.

Real player with 9.7 hrs in game

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro on Steam

Not For Broadcast: Prologue

Not For Broadcast: Prologue

Wow! This game has some of the best potential I’ve seen in a game for a while now. I think this is coming from a standpoint that I have experienced working a tri-caster in college, but so far, its a really great story.

I think one thing I would like to see is being able to sabotage the broadcast a bit more than just losing viewers. Like for example, I would like to see some sort of scandal be released the next day or mission because we the player decided to show off some of the colorful behavior the actor shows to the his staff and the TV studio staff. I would also find it funny that during the press conference, that when you go to camera 1 where the staff is gathered watching, it would be funny if there was some sort of reaction.

Real player with 1.2 hrs in game

“Papers Please 2 : Media Control”

seriously. similar premise. do “boring-workstuff” in an “oppressive” place. reminds me instantly of that. But the good news is, this game is feels pretty fresh. Mainly because of the animations and better pixels, in comparison to the game I mentioned.

ok so since this is just a demo, i guess it’s better to write a feedback than reviewing the good points. But i’ll do both anyways.

(+) First, the gameplay is actually pretty interesting (read=multitasking-challenge). There’s quite a few mechanics in here, and even though this is just the demo I really got the pressure I thought I would. It might even be slightly more pressure than I expected. Guess I’ll explain what you DO, at least, in the demo:

Real player with 1.0 hrs in game

Not For Broadcast: Prologue on Steam

Toonstruck

Toonstruck

“Тунстрак” - классический представитель почившего ныне жанра point&click, популярность которого пришлась на девяностые годы. От прочих представителей жанра данную игру отличает наличие оцифрованного актера, которым мы управляем и которому мы помогаем решать головоломки и продвигаться по сюжету. И актер не какой бы там, а сам Кристофер Ллойд, который подарил нам ярких и запоминающихся героев фантастических фильмов - судья Дум (“Кто подставил кролика Роджера”), Эмметт Браун (трилогия “Назад в будущее”), Фестер Аддамс (дилогия “Семейка Аддамс”). Ллойд играет художника-аниматора, который волею судьбы оказался в придуманном им мире, в окружении нарисованных им же персонажей. Над королевством Кьютопия нависла опасность в лице графа Нефариуса и местный король просит нас помочь в борьбе с негодяем, чем мы и будем заниматься на протяжении десятка часов. Игра очень простая и выполнена в рисованной 2D-стилистике, мы перемещаемся от одного экрана к другому, беседуем с персонажами, собираем хлам в инвентарь и ищем, куда это барахло применить, получаем новые вещи, попадаем в новые локации и т.д. Все это действо сопровождается отменным юмором, будто смотришь очередной мультфильм Луни Тьюнс. К сожалению, слабая рекламная компания и зарождающаяся в те времена мода на 3D, сыграли с игрой злую шутку, ее не спасло даже наличие на озвучке, помимо Ллойда, Дэна Кастелланеты и Тима Карри. Очень жаль, ведь в финале был жирнейший намек на продолжение.

Real player with 10.0 hrs in game


This review is an excerpt. To view the full review, go [url]here on our website.[/url]

Visit our Steam curator page [url]here. [/url]

Toonstruck | Arcade Theory

Close your eyes and imagine a world where animated characters interact with live action individuals. If you’re thinking about the classic film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, you’re on the right track. Picture the movie’s antagonist, the sinister Judge Doom. Now imagine him surrounded by a bulldog that sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a robot that sounds like Christopher Walken, an effeminate scarecrow, and dominatrix cows. If you’re confused, don’t be. This is just a fraction of Virgin Entertainment’s point-and-click animated adventure known as Toonstruck. Released in 1996, this game combines live action characters in animated environments to create a unique experience that could be seen to some as visually overwhelming, but challenging and fun to play for everyone.

Real player with 7.5 hrs in game

Toonstruck on Steam

Not For Broadcast

Not For Broadcast

I never write reviews, however I had quite a few thoughts on this one. I hope the devs can read and maybe respond.

I really recommend this game, even if you don’t think you are interested in the genre. It’s just the right amount of challenge for me, the actors are personable, funny, and similar to real life, and there are many realistic features. I also like the fact that you can replay any past broadcast you’ve done as if you are a viewer, and it’s satisfying to pull off some great shots. I also like the political side of the game, and the amount little details are crazy (e.g. what people say off shot in the ‘rushes’, which are the four camera feeds you can choose from to broadcast)

Real player with 14.5 hrs in game

I really enjoy this game’s mechanics and pace. However there are some issues with the content that make playing it kind of a bummer.

The narrative’s reliance on hacky, sometimes offensive comedy tropes weakens what could be a really groundbreaking experience. I think these tropes also hinder the game’s message, so far as one can be discerned (as the game tends toward ridiculing whoever it can). In the first three game segments, we have:

1. A group of stereotypical theater kids. Included are a preening, flamboyant young man, a vapid, self-obsessed blonde, an over-eager social justice warrior type, and an intellectually disabled young man whose inability to navigate a sleeve is played for cheap laughs.

Real player with 12.8 hrs in game

Not For Broadcast on Steam

Bloodshore

Bloodshore

Just finished the first run, and got a well-deserved bromance ending. The production value of this FMV game is a lot higher than previous Wales Interactive games. We have certainly came a long way from their earlier works like Late Shift.

This game is exactly what I wanted from a battle royale movie - bloody, campy, morally grey characters, and full of plot twists. They must have a bigger budget this time because the camera work feel really professional, and the scenes are beautifully shot.

My first run took about 90 minutes to complete, and the final ending screen shows I saw about 60 scenes out of 250, so I am guessing there’s probably another two or three routes I can play through.

Real player with 12.8 hrs in game

More interesting reviews on Fenol Baron Approves Curator Page

The game of survival in some lost island-wooded area begins, and you are still its living protagonist. If we look for the closest comparisons, then not even the film “The Running Man” comes to mind, but the film “The Hunt” (2020), the mood of these two projects is quite similar. Although «Bloodshore» is less subtle in handling irony, preferring to use black humor in a more straightforward manner, overall it conveys very faithfully the analysis of social problems centered on a small piece of territory. FMV genre allows you to fully immerse the player in the atmosphere of survival, giving him the opportunity to fully choose his own path. And in terms of choosing a path, the game takes a big step forward compared to some of the latest projects of the publisher, here you actually feel the ramification of many plot routes, and the endings feel very different. Yes, it seemed to me that some of the script opportunities were not fully used (this concerns the breaking storylines of Otts and Gavin; the much larger use of a potential collision with “death row prisoners”; the greater influence of “cowardly” behavior on various events). The characters very vividly recreate the atmosphere of the B-movie, where deliberate grotesqueness is intertwined with swanky fun. The main character is generally very charming, playing for him is very exciting; the actor coped with his task cool. The plot twists are varied, several times I caught myself thinking that I am really surprised at some moments. As for the special effects and gunshots… Let’s just say, write off their nondescriptness to the fact that in this the game is trying to be similar to B-movies. I was glad that this time there is no need to wait for any patches to skip previously viewed scenes, the TAB key helps to significantly speed up replay.

Real player with 5.7 hrs in game

Bloodshore on Steam

Wrath Of The Violent Vicar - Interactive Film

Wrath Of The Violent Vicar - Interactive Film

A short interactive horror movie about religion - You are in charge of a murderous priest that kills people with his bible. Absolutely hilarious, and I loved the awesome soundtrack of this game.

https://youtu.be/-F6yqb0i6GQ

Real player with 8.0 hrs in game


Curator page here-- [url] DaRevieweD #65 [/url] -- [i]New review every Sunday[/i]

The theme of religion has been flagging up for me as of late and I sure hope it’s not a sign from above… The only other similarly themed horror game that I’ve reviewed was Lucius but that was about inflicting pain being inspired by the Omen films. It would be fine, had it not Intersect with another sub-genre I had NO prior experience at all (ZILCH)- FMV games! Hold for shock… I have come across many on Steam, but not once did I see the appeal behind them- if I wanted to watch something…you know where I’m going with this!?

Real player with 1.2 hrs in game

Wrath Of The Violent Vicar - Interactive Film on Steam