Fey: Distant Daydream
“Please, come and tell me it’s good enough!"
These are the words written in the peculiar letter calling you, a solitary appraiser, to an abandoned estate far outside the nearest town.
When you make your way there, you suddenly awaken within the mansion, locked in a dusty bedroom. In some ways the place seems ordinary and yet you sense a distinct fragrance of something magical all around you.
Exploring the house, reading its books and appraising knickknacks will let you grow closer with the characters you will meet or hear of. Then, as you take a trip down memory lane and unbox stowed-away memories, you’ll slowly encroach on the answer to the original question.
Just what are you really supposed to be appraising here?
Fey: Distant Daydream is a mystery game centred around exploring a hand-crafted retro 3D environment. Solve puzzles through careful observation and use of objects in the environment as well as Effects, magical items that you carry throughout the game with a plethora of different effects.
Some puzzles will require you to combine information from the environment in escape-room inspired sequences. Others will have you read cookbooks to bring back a taste only faintly remembered, some will have you search through books for clues and yet others will require you to carefully consider the objects at your disposal.
Progress through the mansion and find out the truth of why you were asked to come to this place. Find and use unique effects such as a pocket watch that will let you glimpse into the past of a location. If you want to take it slowly, feel free to read one of the books or snap a photo with your eternal companion - an old camera.
Will you find what was lost within the depths of time and recover it? Or will you perhaps find true meaning in what is here?
Features
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3-5 hours of gameplay made with pure love
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Hand-crafted late 90s style retro 3D graphics
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A slowly unfolding tale of the past and a world wherein memories can be more than mere remembrances
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Around 10 different Effects to use across the game
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Elaborate puzzles to solve over the course of the game, all unique from another
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A sense of humor
Read More: Best Investigation Supernatural Games.
Lilith Was Dead
First off. I would like to share my experiences with prior visual novels. Such as Doki-Doki Literature club, Hoonie Pop, and the fate series which while I have not played, I am a huge fan of the story line and overall game play format. Regardless, you do not need experience with visual novels to enjoy this game. Very quick and enjoyable game and the music fits extremely well with the overall atmosphere increasing the impact of moments in the story. The story itself has a very…exciting twist and for the first project Heat Waves Games has developed I am excited to see what the next and the route they take and hopefully add some black people in their next game. I really enjoyed the voice acting as well and cant wait for what comes next.
– Real player with 9.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Investigation Visual Novel Games.
A short about one hourish visual novel murder mystery. It was simple but I liked it. It entertained me while I played.
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
Strange Horticulture
Find and identify new plants, pet your cat, speak to a coven, or join a cult. Use your growing collection to influence the story and unravel Undermere’s dark mysteries.
Welcome to Undermere, a quaint town surrounded by hag-infested forests and rugged mountains. You are the Horticulturist, owner of local plant store Strange Horticulture. As a cast of colorful customers come by your shop, you are quickly thrust into an occult mystery stretching back hundreds of years.
Explore the lands beyond your store to find new plants, but be careful! The dark woods and lakes are not always friendly to a simple herbalist. You might discover powers beyond your wildest dreams - or lose your mind completely. Use context clues to determine which places to visit, and which to avoid!
Using your trusty encyclopedia and clues found on your explorations, you learn more about the strange plants you come across. By identifying each plant, you will be able to use their effects to influence the story – from hypnotic hallucinogens to powerful poisons.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1574580/Strange_Horticulture
Read More: Best Investigation Choices Matter Games.
Marcella Moon: Saboteurs on the River
Really enjoyed it. Fun story line. Engaging characters. Brightly colored. Lots of improvement from the first game which was also fun. Keep up the good work. Followed the clues, talked to people, and had places to go.
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
Loved it!
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
Nowhere New
TLDR: If you like indies, play this game. Its story and atmosphere are well worth a few hours of your time.
This is not a full size game. It was created by a small group of students on no budget, and it shows. However, for that size and scope, it is impressively complete. I greatly enjoyed the couple hours I spent playing.
Narrative:
The writing is very strong. The mystery is intriguing, the characters are likable and complex, and the story is well constructed. There are several emotionally impactful story beats; at various points I felt shock, anger, suspense, horror, compassion, etc. I enjoyed the prevailing theme of identity, trust, and how our experiences shape who we are. Also, LGBT rep is a plus!
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game
Even though the game has unappealing visuals, I thought that the writing was very strong and I liked most of the characters. However, I ultimately was disappointed with the experience because the ending felt very anticlimactic, a big exposition dump to what otherwise was a mysterious story that could have gone in many ways. We play as a character that crashlands on a mysterious world where inhabitants lose their memories as they share them with other people. The game presents memory share as a mechanic but it’s somewhat cosmetic, for the most part, the story is pretty linear and you can only trade a few memories for a couple of hints, although I cannot confirm that as I decided to keep them. I wouldn’t say that it has any puzzles, you just have to talk to the characters in the right order, it’s not too convoluted. If anyone cares you can complete the game in about 90 minutes.
– Real player with 2.3 hrs in game
The Painscreek Killings
Summary
Fantastic adventure game with only minor flaws. Play time for me was around 15 hours or so plus another couple of hours for finding the last few items that I had missed originally.
You are playing a journalist who investigates a series of murders that happened a few years back and were never solved. The majority of the game consists of searching through various locations for letters, notes and other clues that allow you to piece together the events that led to the murders and identify the killer. The game is fairly non-linear, most locations are available right from the start although there are quite a few rooms and a handful of areas that you first have to unlock (literally, i.e. you need to find a key/code).
– Real player with 17.7 hrs in game
Walking simulator that quickly evolves from liesurely exploration of an abandoned gated community into a full-blown murder mystery adventure game.
Every place has its secrets. Every suspect is hiding something. Look through drawers, cupboards, the homes and belongings of the persons you are investigating to lead you closer to truth.
You play as an investigative reporter with one simple objective: Solve a cold case file by determining who killed wealthy socialite philanthropist Vivian Roberts and provide a front page photo. Can you find the murder weapon? Can you learn the whole truth about what happened in the now vacant Painscreek?
– Real player with 15.9 hrs in game
Who is the Liar?
I loved the art direction chosen for this game. It combines pieces that look like they came out of the board game Clue with beautiful, more realistic 3D scenarios and comics iconographies. The game also has an engaging story and charming characters.
With all of these elements at the developer’s disposal, the game practically begs for more content. Since it is still in early access, it is sure to develop into a great game.
Very promising!
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
A fun game, very well produced. The visuals are incredible, combining cartoon 2D and stunning 3D. A humorous narrative, it reminds me of the movie Knives Out with its crazy eccentric family. Looking forward to play the next stories in the final version.
– Real player with 8.3 hrs in game
GRUNND
GRUNND is a 100% handcrafted, fully voiced adventure game about travelling to a seemingly ordinary place right next to you that slowly introduces itself as surreal and twisted world and has it’s own invisible gods, agendas, and order. You - tired after a dull day at your 9to5 job - fall asleep at the train on the way home. Next thing you do is jump out of that train into unknown station, and now need to plan your way back home. Surely enough, it’s not so easy?
People you meet are slightly weird, and in the air there’s an ethereal, omnipotent power floating just beyond your senses…
A bit of a different take on the point-and-click genre, with platformer-style built locations, fast travel, and multiple choice events introduced early on. This is not a puzzle heavy adventure and all puzzles are made without any nonsense or moon-logic. There is a rich story background for you to unravel; that is not only about you and the world - the people around you have their own thing and they are not here to help you.
The world is inspired by the works of Franz Kafka and David Lynch, and the setting has those taste droplets of Southern Gothic. This is not only the Protagonist’s journey - it’s yours as well.
Please enjoy the Demo, and let us know about your experience!
KILLING A SUPERSTAR
I highly recommend this product - but I need to first and foremost clarify that it is a experience and not much of a “game”. That isn’t a bad thing, you just need to know that going in.
I won’t retread the stuff that everyone else said - about the 5 viewpoints, 15 minutes long, etc., etc. - what I want to call out is the acting and execution of the story. You could hurry through the game and skim all the scenes to get the information you need in order to answer the 3 questions and “finish” the game, but that’s not really the best way to experience the content. I think the three questions are mainly there to give you a starting point for your investigation.
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
Like-able.
I love the presentation and I want to see more of this. There were parts of the story that didn’t gel for me.
Too short for the price (at under 60 minutes).
Nevertheless, recommended. Just get it on sale.
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
Crowalt: Traces of the Lost Colony
Crowalt: Traces of the Lost Colony is an adventure game that is merging the traditional storytelling with modern-day pixel art graphics.
CHASING A MYSTERY THAT IS UNEXPLAINED FOR 150 YEARS
A group of people who set out to establish the first settled colony in America in 1587, mysteriously disappears a short time after arriving. They leave only an island name carved on a tree: “Crowalt”.
Now, the year is 1737.
A young and ambitious adventurer Hugh Radcliff pursues the Lost Colony to make his first great discovery. Now, different people live in Crowalt, where he came to solve this mystery. He will hover around the island and definitely will get in a series of troubles to find what happened to the Lost Colony.
CLASSIC POINT AND CLICK MECHANICS
Collect, combine, and use items to solve puzzles.
PIRATES ARE HERE TOO!
Try to deal with routine pirate visitors of Crowalt and of course, enjoy funny dialogues.
FOLLOW YOUR JOURNAL
Hugh draws important things and takes notes regarding them in his journal. It will be updated after important events and findings during the game.
MAKE CHOICES
Lie or speak only the truth.
COLLECT ARTIFACTS
There are lots of historical items around the island, collecting them will take you to another level of… achievements!
EARN THE TRUST OF NATIVES
Natives are discreet residents of the island. Taking information from them will require earning their trust.
