The Solitaire Conspiracy
Bithell? More like Bit heaven! Mike Bithell and his team have a genius where they can take something familiar and well worn (platformer, text adventure, stealth, er… John Wick?) and infuse it with so much character, intelligence, story and warmth that it’s the kind of art that changes you when you experience it.
Their treatment of solitaire may not kick you squarely in the feels like Thomas was Alone or the Circular games BUT it is a great game and has a great twist where the picture cards are characters with powers that alter the game. The short story is great and keeps you hooked until the end (I’ll say no more to keep this spoiler free) and then there are the modes you unlock play playing the campaign - this is what you’ll be playing tomorrow and after that. Countdown is a cool endless mode with a global leaderboard which is both exciting and addictive with that “just one more turn” quality to it. Skirmish mode lets you experiment with the different spy teams - analogous to the suits (clubs, hearts etc) except there are much more than four to choose from, each with their own unique abilities!
– Real player with 28.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best FMV Card Game Games.
I’ve played a bunch of solitaire games on Steam, and while I can’t say The Solitaire Conspiracy is the most anything - not the most challenging, not the most creative, not the most innovative - it’s so well put-together as a package that I absolutely have to recommend it, and with a roadmap for even more content coming, it’s going to keep getting better.
The core of the game is simple; four suits scattered across a board. Move cards on the top of any given pile onto another one of higher value to reach what you need, try to build the suits in the centre from ace to king. You can see every card’s location from the very start, and consequently you won’t ever have to actually bank on RNG to save you. Every face card (jack, queen, king) has a special single-use ability determined by its suit, which you can use to get yourself out of a sticky situation. That’s it, that’s the game. From the first level to the last, regardless of difficulty, the basic rules of playing TSC will stay the same.
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
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 FMV Experimental 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
UNITED COMMAND ®
Nice game with command and conquer vibes. Surely needs some polishing but already in early access I had some fun with the coop-campaign. The assets for the troops and the buildings look very good,the maps should be a little more detailed. Also it would be great to be able to sell units - especially when the raffinery is destroyed and you need money to buy another one.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best FMV Early Access Games.
It has a similar feeling to c&c
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Internet Court
I have to admit I found Internet Court really funny. It does have a lot of silly moments that make you go what but I loved it from beginning to end. You can beat this within 2 hours but it is really fun to get through. I love the acting being silly but worth it to make a good comedy. The Judge always makes me laugh at every turn. I love the silly ending that connects all 4 cases and my favourite case was the first one. I may not be a fan of the music in the game but love the credits song at the end.
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
Great writing, including fun dialogue when you make bad decisions (intentionally or otherwise). Clear video and audio with acting by Gamecola staff emeritus.
The judge once said, “I’m going to let you try again, but first I’m going to give you a strike!” giving me my third strike and ejecting me from the courtroom. I might have gotten carried away exploring dialogue options.
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
RUNOUT
RunOut is a dynamic runner-platformer with logical riddles in the setting of the future. Midcore-Hardcore.
As a result of a hacker attack on the servers of the corporation ‘MFS’, which produces exoskeletons, most of the carriers of exoskeletons were killed. In addition to crashing, some exoskeletons have certain options: shooting, time freeze and acceleration … All this makes us a valuable target not only for policemen, but also for criminals.
The player always runs, when he collides with any obstacle, he turns in the opposite direction. He has to jump, shoot, speed up, slow down time and solve logic riddles that will allow him to pass the level. Find the culprit of all this chaos and save the world.
Star Trek™: Starfleet Academy
This was the first PC game I ever owned and - wow! - does it take me back! I understand why many gamers don’t feel that this game matches up to Starfleet Command or Klingon Academy but I was one of the few that thought this was an AMAZING game. Sure, it’s dogfighting with Trek ships, but who cares?!
As a professional composer, I have to make mention this upfront: the soundtrack by Star Trek TNG Allum Ron Jones is exquisite and about as Star Trek as it gets! A huge thumbs up for the sound design too!
– Real player with 34.7 hrs in game
In the 90s, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was heavily anticipated and it was supposed to be best Star Trek game ever. Certainly, it ended being a great game but did not end up meeting the hype and high expectations. Years ago, I bought the physical copy of Starfleet Academy but didn’t realize that a working joystick was essential and all the controls you had to memorize was overwhelming at the time so I gave up on the first mission.
Imagine my excitement when I picked it up on sale recently and now I finally get to give it a second chance. As a big Trek fan, I really enjoyed it. The basic story is you play as cadet on the command track who is working his way through Starfleet Academy by completing a bunch of simulations and at the same time, you must manage all the different personalities of your crew. The game does a good job with its FMV (full motion video) cutscenes which were common in so many 90s games though some of the acting needs improvement. Periodically during these cutscenes, you will have to make several choices which will change the direction of the story and affect your crew’s performance. William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Koenig do a fantastic job reprising their old roles from TOS.
– Real player with 32.9 hrs in game
Cyberia
A great classic which aged terribly.
This Cyberpunk themed Action/Adventure augments rail shooter action scenes with adventure exploration and puzzle elements for an enjoyable, albeit all too brief experience. An odd feature is the game having 2 difficulty settings, one for “Arcade” and the other for “Puzzle”, both scaling from 1-3. One can not set both difficulties to “1” as the game informs you would be “too easy”.
Highs:
A cheap classic.
A fine historical blast from the past.
Fun rail shooter bits.
– Real player with 6.0 hrs in game
It’s EXACTLY as I remember, not better or worse – I suppose it deserves to be called a graphic adventure game with action scenes. The voice acting is cheesy, the 1990s CGI looks hideous and plastic, you probably die a lot and…
There’s this element of masochism involved in playing Cyberia – take one late puzzle disguised as an action sequence, for instance, where you have to pick the right doors and eliminate enemies in the rooms so you can proceed. Pick a wrong door and you get a video clip of you getting shot in the back. Repeat a couple of times. For some reason, you don’t get a save point nearer to it, so you have to rinse and repeat through a different puzzle as well.
– Real player with 6.0 hrs in game
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
With 200+ hours on this account for this game; I’ll make it quicker than I want it to be and I’ll be providing a TL;DR at the bottom.
This game is beautiful. No, not just because of the graphics since that does not make a game great. I’ll admit that being made in 2007: the graphics do hold very well to this very day. I’m talking about how the game feels to play, how much lore that you can unfold in this game and a very important point I will bring up later on.
The game itself is very easy to pick up and learn the basics such as what units do what, what your base does and many other things. As you progress through the story; you’ll meet bonus objectives that you can complete for a different medal at the end (great for you completionists). The campaigns can have some very challenging moments for newer players but it will make you do what you’re supposed to do: Come up with a strategy to win.
– Real player with 1133.0 hrs in game
1995… A game named Command and Conquer appeared… and paved the way for an entire genre. It’s a name that many RTS veterans should be familiar with. The franchise had its ups and downs throughout the years. 2007, the long awaited sequel of Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun appears. Has it passed the test? Let’s see…
Visually, the game is downright gorgeous, even for today’s standards. You can tell at first glance, whether the map is situated in a still pristine Blue zone, a conflict-torn Yellow zone or in an almost unearthly Red zone. The units are also well designed and their appearance alone tells something about the respective faction. Topped off with non-excessive and neat special effects, the visuals give a good impression.
– Real player with 381.6 hrs in game
Playing God
Didnt work htc vr vive. Waited a long time to see if it would launch over 10 minutes nothing ever happened. I restarted it waited 5 minutes a few times and gave up assumed it didn’t work on first release day.
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS:
1. The start up screen is on PC ONLY NOT THE HTC VIVE so can’t see it at all looks broke to HTC VIVE user like myself – WE DON"T HAVE PC SCREEN every game I launched it FROM INSIDE VR so I had been claiming the GAME was broken for first REVIEW since I waiting for a screen in VR that never would come because you have a PC DISPLAY only question to start in VR… This made me pissed off more than anything with game.
– Real player with 0.7 hrs in game
Playing God is a free VR experience, It worked on my HTC Vive system, looked ok, sounded ok, played ok, was understandable. Tried two runs with different decisions, and saw some different endings. One of those No Win Scenario tests. At the end, it gives you a breakdown of your decisions and the percentage of people choosing them.
Try this, if you like thoughtful experiences.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Starship Commander: Arcade
I can’t recommend this to anyone other than those that want to support VR development.
Sorry, but I was thoroughly unimpressed with every single aspect of this project. I’m not sure I would have even been impressed 3 years ago. It’s just not a good game. Period. The graphics are uninspired. In a world with Alexa and Siri, the voice recognition and responses are pathetically limited. In a world with Half Life: Alyx, this hardly even qualifies as a VR tech demo… even for a mobile VR platform, let alone the Vive Index I played on.
– Real player with 20.5 hrs in game
Experienced on the Oculus Rift
You can view my (edited) gameplay here: https://youtu.be/FoH5CmxQVvo
This is an approximately 13 minute cinematic experience, which has varying scenes depending on your voiced answers. This is like a 360 stereoscopic video, choose your own adventure type experience, which is like the stuff on Amaze VR. You don’t use motion controllers at all. It can be fun to try to find new scenes based on your novel responses. Unfortunately, even though the reviewer VR Focus said the AI was good, the AI responses really aren’t good and have severe limitations … but they can be funny (I wouldn’t trust VR Focus who seems more concerned about clicks than accuracy in his reports).
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game