Observer: System Redux
Observer Systemn Redux (2020) is a refurbished version of Observer (2017) both developed by a polish development company named Bloober https://www.blooberteam.com/about-us . This walking horror simulator is based during a cyberpunk era, 2084, when a deadly disease known as ‘Nanophage’ has already become rampant in the past and manifested itself among the slum C district of Krakow Poland. Due to a nuclear holocaust from both east and west, a mega corporation known as Chiron was able to usurp control by segregating the nation from the rest of the world (the great wall) and forming the 5th Polish Republic, further divided into three classes. A-district upper class, B-District working class and C District – slums.
– Real player with 29.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Investigation Stealth Games.
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Anyone that has been into gaming for the past few years clearly knows Observer. As a fantastic dystopian thrilling adventure, the game left us all impressed by its story and aesthetics. There was however, a lot which was left behind, and in that regard Observer: System Redux fulfills every aspect, including in the technical department.
But let’s not get ourselves in the optimization just yet, because first I want to assure everyone that no story-related detail was altered or manipulated. System Redux remasters what was already present. This is obviously good, as the story itself was already top-tier, revealing a world where augmented electronics embed in the human body created an easier but also tougher verdict for citizens.
– Real player with 23.9 hrs in game
Silver Creek Falls: Chapter 1
Interesting game, but the dialog is rough, and a bit immature for the characters involved. Who says ‘Cool!’ when asked to investigate a crime scene?
The voice acted bit was…Hm. Well, the accent was far too ‘Southern Belle’ when it should have been more ‘Decorated Lawman’. I was honestly reminded of Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of Clay Shaw in 1991’s JFK. While Jones' performance was stellar…the accent does NOT fit this kind of character. Also, I find if difficult to believe that the Sheriff would leave a cryptic sounding note for HIMSELF. If it were re-worded to be intentionally listened to by a third party from the beginning instead of at the tail end it would have been easier to suspend disbelief.
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Investigation Story Rich Games.
TL;DR: The first chapter of an investigation and mystery game saga promises an intriguing story line but lacks in its potentially coolest features.
RPGMaker game that is not an RPG, Silver Creek Falls puts you in the shoes of two police detectives who are presented with a case of ominous disappearances at the small town of Silver Creek Falls. I will try to keep this spoiler-free for the important bits, because the story is so short for the time being. Note that only chapters 1 and 2 are out. The third and last one will come in 2016.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Desolate Roads
I really wish Steam had a mixed button for reviews. This game has a really nice environment (although specific locations are really poorly done…) The monster mechanic is alright. Scares and story are really bad though. Puzzles are also quite lackluster.
Overall I can’t really recommend this one unless it goes free to play someday. Sorry Dev.
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Investigation Survival Horror Games.
Very neat small experience in the same vein of other short horror games like Paratopic, Anatomy or Marginalia.
What makes Desolate Roads interesting and sets it apart from those titles is that it is less a walking simulator and more a super condensed version of a traditional survival horror game. You have a space to explore with different locations, light backtracking, inventory management, puzzles and also a persistent enemy force that you have to deal with.
It is a very short and focused experience but very effective and a worthy entry to that category of cool short horror games.
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game
Hunt: The Unknown Quarry
I’m thoroughly enjoying this game. It’s a great alternative to Cluedo, but slightly more challenging and in-depth, in my opinion. It may take a few games to get to grips with the mechanics, cards and options available, but it won’t be long before you find yourself either being targeted/preyed upon or interrogating/attacking other players. It’s a dog-eat-dog type of survival game, where everyone’s out for themselves including the monster. The theme and daunting background music enhance the game, making you feel slightly uneasy (like prey), not knowing for sure who, what or where the monster is, unless they reveal themselves. Also, playing as the monster is an additional challenge, which requires an alternative strategic approach. You’ll soon find you can’t just go around munching on fellow opponents in broad daylight, but have to maintain a far more stealthy disposition. I felt the game was fairly balanced well, particularly if playing the monster against AI opponents (for mediocre players). However, I haven’t had the chance to properly play any friends online yet, so can’t say if this will be the case against live players, who I think will be a little more savvy. In any case, I believe this could only enhance the game further, making self-preservation more challenging. I’ve seen other comments related to lack of online activity (no one to play with) and about playing for free. For me personally, it’s no big deal, never felt the real need to be able to play strangers online. I took a gamble, bought the game and tested inviting a friend to play (for free), which worked fine, no issues. I was sceptical at first after reading some comments, but am extremely pleased to say how glad I am that I made this purchase. I can’t recommend ‘Hunt…’ highly enough, for those who love Cluedo, Mystery of the Abbey (tabletop games), but then maybe I’m just extremely optimistic and easily pleased.
– Real player with 30.6 hrs in game
Okay I love this game. Like a lot it mixes a lot of elements I like. It has a huge learning curve as many said which I think could be cut down like if you had a sheet or a tab to check what monsters did what that would be cool. Other than that the people complaining about assholes in chats and that didn’t group play I bet, its would be much easier playing with just friends than random people
Over all I don’t make a lot of reviews but i love this game so fucking much I’m leaving a review.
– Real player with 20.1 hrs in game
Ms.Director
Ms. Director is a game I can’t give justice to in just words. Either by my terrible writing skills or by repeating what others have said. Yet I can say that Ms. Director is one of the best RPGmaker-style games I have played in a very long time. It succeeds with the good ol’ cliche 2D horror game formula, but feels like a refreshing new experience in the RPGmaker-style genre. Either by well-written characters, fantastic links to LGBTQ+ Hollywood history, or fantastic music.
My final words about this game being a wonderful and beautiful small indie game that has been clearly made with passion and creativity. True love, research and time went into making this and it shines with it. It’s got the typical growing pains and teething problems of being a first major RPGmaker project, but those will eventually go away when the developer learns more and grows from mistakes. Ms. Director is a game I can’t recommend enough. Just writing this review isn’t even doing it justice.
– Real player with 11.8 hrs in game
I found this game through a friend on twitter, and saw that it was an indie horror title. I went and played it, not knowing what to expect, and fell in love with the characters, art style, puns, and presentation. It’s a really solid title, with a lot of thought put into it. It is a bit short, and there are a few text errors, but it’s pretty easy to miss when you are focused on all the weird stuff happening in the mansion. I’m looking forward to seeing what sketchy nonsense puts out next.
– Real player with 8.3 hrs in game
P.I.D.
Completely without memories, you wake up in a mansion. Your objective is to discover everything that happened, and the meaning of the various clues that you will find along the way. Connect the dots, and fulfill the objectives before time runs out. Use your mind as if your life depends on it, because it does.
P.I.D. is a game with a theme focused on suspense and puzzles, in which there will be 5 days of gameplay.
Items
You will need to find several of the items scattered around the house in order to continue your exploration, and connect the dots to understand what happened to you.
Puzzles
Some of the items are protected by puzzles, solve them to be able to advance the story.
Goals
Meet all daily goals to be able to sleep and move on to the next day.
Time
The day will start with a maximum playing time. Complete all puzzles and objectives before time runs out, and if you can’t, it will come.
S.I.N. Unit: Ghost Investigation & Removal
The developer has worked fast into fixing the bugs I’ve reported. It is a great game with a lot of potential.
– Real player with 72.3 hrs in game
Super scary :S
It’s definitely better played with friends. I like it because it’s faster than other ghost hunting games (phasmo, etc). The ghost moves rooms very often but its not hard to find again. There are many unique features that makes it shine by itself.
8/10 Recommended.
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
The Alien Cube
SUPERB horror game by solo developer. This has to be the best looking game, with the most effort applied, that I’ve seen in a solo dev game. The game itself is interesting, taking you on a long, twisting journey that’s engaging the whole way through. There’s also secrets to find(always great to see). Of course, one guy can’t be great at everything; with that said, the game lacks in NPC interactivity, and the NPC animations could be more professional/realistic. I also experienced a crash every time I closed the game, on Windows 7, so there is certainly some polishing that could be done. The game also completely lacks keybind customization(same for “The Land of Pain”), which is one of the 10 Deadly Sins of Game Design. Otherwise, this was an amazing game to play, and I hope we see more content/titles from this guy in the future! Not as good or scary as titles like Penumbra, SOMA, or Lost In Vivo, but very close..!
– Real player with 7.4 hrs in game
H.P. Lovecraft inspired “Walking Simulator”. There’s not much else to do than walk around, take in the sights (and madness) and solve some minor puzzles by finding items and using them in the right place.
That being said, it’s one of the good ones. The graphics look pretty, story is interesting, horror atmosphere done really well, not too many jump scares, and I’ve definitely enjoyed my time playing through this.
! I’m not a big fan of the ending. It’s not bad by any means, its just a little bit cliffhangerish, leaving many things unexplained. A sequel would be in order.
– Real player with 5.8 hrs in game
The Corridor: On Behalf Of The Dead
I truly enjoyed playing this game. The atmosphere was what kept me going to explore and discover more of what was going on here. If you liked playing Observer and Soma this game is right along those lines but with it’s own twist. It’s got a nice flavor of creepiness without resorting to jump scares to make you feel uneasy. . The ending is with a ‘to be continued’ tag and I do hope that there will be more game play to follow. Achievements are available which if you try to complete them will aid you in solving more of the mystery.
– Real player with 61.0 hrs in game
The Corridor: On Behalf Of The Dead is a story based Sci-Fi / Horror game that focuses mostly on setting a strong unsettling atmosphere while adding sci-fi elements around it.
You spend most of the game walking around exploring memories and piecing together the story. The cohesion system really works well and adds a nice survival mechanic.
Audio is relay nice too and adds a disturbing layer to the experience.
8/10
– Real player with 47.4 hrs in game
The Ghosts of Hackney Mills
It’s a very short horror mystery game that seems to be the first part of a serie. There’s nothing dangerous or deadly happening to the player’s character (an electrician?) but the place is spooky. You need to explore a ghost town to find three generators and then a way out. During the exploration you can experience the recent past by finding various notes and letters left behind and by listening to conversations through crystals (turn off the BGM before activating a crystal so you can hear them and then turn it back on again to get the spooky vibes). Examining items like furnitures, doors and random objects (including holes in the road) gets you some comments from the character that adds to the story.
– Real player with 5.8 hrs in game
What should I start with? I am still grieving as the ending credits are rolling. The music accompanying it makes my grief even more punctuated. I’ve learned that the decisions we don’t care much about do affect the lives of other people.
Todd Collins is your character. You have to inspect the electrical power of an university you have checked in the past. The university is abandoned and, of course, you didn’t seem to care at first of its past secrets. Until one time when you think you see a deer and swerve your car in a tree. You’re fine, but the car isn’t. You call your boss on your radio and you both decide that you should inspect the transformer power-plants and meet with your boss in the northern part of the campus.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game