Atonal Dreams
Atonal Dreams is an RPG reminiscent of classic console JRPGs: you roam around a field and through dungeons looting treasure chests, talking to NPCs, and engaging in (non-random) turn-based battles that pit your team against hordes of monsters. Grow your characters by masterfully using skills to alter modifiers, build combos, and either destroy your foes or convert them to your side. The game is heavily story- and lore-rich, featuring an often-silly cast of characters who each have hidden depths that are gradually revealed.
-
In the world of Alora Fane, the omnipresent miasma causes thoughts and feelings to manifest as monsters. These can be destroyed with weapons, or tamed using magic. Tamed monsters can be controlled as allies for the duration of the battle.
-
Skills can level up by gaining XP equal to the damage inflicted with them. Stack up bonuses by manipulating a variety of psychological stats for efficient growth!
-
There’s a strong focus on story and characterisation. Dialogue scenes use full models with nuanced facial expression shifts that that add an additional layer of nonverbal storytelling.
-
A quirky blend of absurd British humour and deep layered meanings and metaphors about the nature of mind and reality and characters' hidden backstories and self beliefs.
-
No unnecessary padding or tedious grinding; the game aims to make a memorable mental mark without overstaying its welcome.
STORY
Alora Fane’s gods once walked among the people they dreamed into being, until they were slain - and the world itself wounded - by a defiant blasphemer known as Blight the Betrayer.
A faction of devout knights called the Seraphim emerged to maintain ordered civilisation in the gods' absence, while those who saw the gods' death as freedom from tyranny founded the Blight Wolves to live lives of defiant chaos in the wild.
Centuries after this cataclysm, Savitr - a legendary Seraph whose unusual purple skin and horns reflect the inner demons that haunt him - and his starstruck apprentice, Collie - a former Blight Wolf, eager to rise above her brutal past - set out on a quest to rescue Savitr’s scholar friend from an island of monks who gaze into the infinite sea of potential dreams beyond physical reality.
Savitr’s quest to bring light to the world to atone for his past sins will face challenges from the competing belief narrative of his fiery squire, and by facing their dreams incarnate, they will reveal the light of truth at their core.
Read More: Best Immersive Story Rich Games.
DARK SOULS™: Prepare To Die™ Edition
Short version :
One of the best RPG games EVER made, that’s coming from a gamer who’s played over a hundred RPG titles in his life.
Dark Souls - 9.5/10
_Long Version :
Darks Souls….. so much to say about this game.
The game throws the player in a very difficult world, not just by gameplay standards, but plotwise as well. The story / lore is depicted in such a way that it’s never speaking to the player directly, but rather to your character, it never breaks the 4th wall by directly telling the player what to do and how to do it, only the basic attack move buttons are given to you at the beginning, and from then on, you’re completely on your own for the rest of the 50+ hour journey. Unless you get a co-op partner that is._
– Real player with 254.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Immersive Action Games.
TLDR: Yes.
Dark Souls has issues.
While most entertainment experiences go out of their way to encourage your interest, it feigns indifference to your attention.
Introducing itself via bizarre and meaningless cut scenes you find your protagonist in a pretty dull dungeon. “Oh look, a man with a sword viewed from third person” you observe with a mounting sense of déjà vu. “No doubt I have a healing potion and a sense of manifest destiny somewhere in my bag too” and reach for the reset button/cyanide pill. But Dark Souls IS different - not that it is keen to show off. Like Usain Bolt winning the Dad’s race on sport day mumbling something about how he probably jumped the gun, Dark Souls’ initial coyness infuriates and astounds with equal measure.
– Real player with 242.8 hrs in game
Lux, City of Secrets
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it; it was well written and offers a plethora of choices which really tailor your experience but when I discovered it was ending I was super surprised because it felt like it was just ramping up… but it was over. I realise this is part 1 of 2, but this is still a standalone game. To me, it doesn’t really feel like it.
I don’t generally post reviews but I have to say that I was sadly disappointed with this release. I really liked Evertree and adored Sordwin even more, each book getting better and longer than the last, and when I heard that Sordwin’s sequel would be releasing I was super excited, expecting something even bigger and better than Sordwin. Lux, City of Secrets is, unfortunately, not better and certainly not bigger. In fact, I think it’s even smaller than Evertree Inn.
– Real player with 19.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Immersive Interactive Fiction Games.
Depending of what you choose it can vary because there is a lot of choices and things to be done in a short span of time i expected there to be more time to be done with the game in all honesty but for for five dollars it isnt worth it because it is meant for the player to explore all options as a mage, warrior and thief with exploring different aspects i just find this game poorly done with it meant to be a standalone long title. About around 440,000 words is a lot and i heavily expected the game to last longer in all honesty but its more of a disappointment because there is more work done for the jobs that you decide to do depeding on what you choose from a battle mage to a scholar it is done well but there should’ve been done more work on a story i would not recommended this game honestly much as it sucks to say.
– Real player with 16.6 hrs in game
HORROR TALES: The Wine
⚖️ Grade = B. Worth a buy, if you enjoy path unlocking adventure. However, if you’re looking for exciting scenario, it doesn’t have
EXPECTATION CHECKLIST:
✔️ Proceed without any guide or map
✔️ Run away from Hostile
✔️ Simple horror (no head man)
✔️ Physic Puzzle
✔️ Short reading
❌ Stay alive with limited equipment
❌ New pickups location for replay value
❌ Horror art & creepy music
❌ Horror death
❌ Cinematic Cutscene
❌ Sneak Pass Enemies
| GRADE |
– Real player with 7.6 hrs in game
Visually stunning! I wasn’t expecting many spooks from this and was honestly low-key hoping for more of a walking simulator experience where you get to peacefully walk around an abandoned plague-ridden ghost town and admire the sights and scenery without having to worry about spooks, unexpected chase sequences, or regular threats to my life, but The Wine did a good job of delivering a healthy mixture of both! I’m especially thankful for the addition of what I affectionately call “baby mode” which will automatically vanish homicidal maniacs after a solid minute of running around so that you can solve your puzzles in peace. I kept baby mode on for the whole game but only noticed it twice on particularly awkward puzzles, and it definitely didn’t diminish the experience of the game or make it any less scary!
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Cogmind
Cogmind is a roguelike game, where you constantly build and rebuild your character. Your capabilities are defined by the items you acquire. There is no experience (no grinding!), you gain ‘levels’ by climbing to the next floor. This system makes various builds equally viable: combat, speed, stealth, all sorts of hybrids and so on.
Items are not just stats +X. You will balance energy output, heat generation and support with your combat capabilities, speed and information gathering capabilities. There are over a thousand different items: weapons, power sources, cooling, propulsion, sensors, armors, shields, hackware, build and repair utilities and many, many more. Each item has a cost to use it, with more powerful items typically having bigger costs. There are various synergies and you can get some sick combos! But don’t get too attached to the components you currently own, because sooner or later they WILL get destroyed. That’s why you constantly need to acquire new parts (they are everywhere!) to rebuild yourself, sometimes completely respecializing to a different build type (You were a heavy tank, machine of destruction, but after a particularly tough fight not much is left of you? Time to become an ultra light jet that zips past enemies before they get a chance to act!).
– Real player with 1628.0 hrs in game
This game is good. Really good.
I’ve put 200+ hours into it, and I still want to play more.
In depth reasons below, but a quick tl;dr:
This game solves a lot of problems that I’ve found with the entire roguelike genre, in major ways. Even without looking at roguelikes at all, this is a very good game in it’s own right, and once you learn all the systems in play (which the game helps you learn, instead of having to look in an out of game wiki for arcane details) it’s a joy to play. It’s also fun to discover these things out as you go, and I really liked the magical feeling upon finding new areas off the beaten path. Running into Z(partially redacted) was a really cool moment in my first few hours of play, and those are scattered throughout the game. In addition, the early game is a lot better then other games of this type, instead of being a slog.
– Real player with 532.5 hrs in game
Where Birds Go to Sleep
Where Birds Go to Sleep is a narrative adventure game set in a fictional Near East-inspired land, brought to life in a painterly artstyle, with voice-acted dialogue and original score.
Slip into the subconscious of Cormo, a churlish smuggler-turned-explorer, only ever influencing his actions, never directly assuming control. You will mould him through every sentence you put in his mind… but you might not like what he becomes.
Confront him about controversial topics like sexuality, prejudice and morality, and change his mind… or have him change yours.
There is no “Mission Failed”; saying “No” opens new avenues. There is no golden path.
Lie to others, and you’ll be more likely to hide the truth from yourself. Fail to justify your actions and you might find your character not heeding your commands.
Every single small choice you make builds up, and shifts the direction of the story. While there are crucial moments and big decisions to be made, it is the small things that – true to life – ultimately decide who we are.
Reflect on your actions along with the protagonist; exchange your thoughts on what happened; regret or rejoice, grieve or laugh together… or independently of each other.
The difference between saying “you tried your best” and “you’re horrible” is empathy.
The smallest of your choices are remembered by the experimental Insight System, which analyses your character and offers you personalised, interesting viewpoints and alternative outlooks on the things you’ve said and done, recontextualizing your experience both in and out of the game.
An island has appeared in the distant sea…
Sneak your way into a dangerous expedition to explore that island, reserved only for the worst prisoners. Get to know a handful of very special, deeply developed and fully realised characters. Become their friend, get to know their secrets, manipulate or abuse them to your, or Cormo’s will.
One of the first characters you will meet is Dunlin – a noble-born, young man who is steadfast in his moral and religious principles. But what must a purebred like him be guilty of to end up here with you?
Sprawling, naturally flowing dialogue: react in intense back-and-forth conversations. Every dialogue is ready for the choices you make, and can potentially branch off into a completely different conversation with game-changing significance.
Explore the mysterious island, unravel its secrets and lies. Shrouded in noxious, mind-altering mist, you must prepare for every journey inland, anticipating the challenges ahead. The provisions are scarce… but the others need them less than you.
Is Where Birds Go to Sleep a text adventure?
Where Birds Go to Sleep is not a text adventure. It is an adventure game featuring graphics akin to those seen in the trailer with fully voice acted dialogue, sound effects, ambience and music.
Will there be localisation to [language]?
Where Birds Go to Sleep is likely to release with only English, but we are keeping an eye on wishlists and interest from different regions, and will strive to localise the game accordingly post-release.
Will there be Linux support?
Unless we run into major platform-specific issues, we would like to release a Linux version in parallel to the Windows version on Steam.