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
Read More: Best Mystery Nonlinear Games.
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
Vessels
Wow. Was going through my steam discovery queue and saw this odd title that didn’t have a lot of players but had 100% positive reviews. I had to try it and boy oh boy I do not regret it. I couldn’t put it down until I did everything I could thing of to get a different ending. This game is so unique with the way you get to play as the antagonist while the antagonist itself is a separate being from you. This entity gifts you with abilities that I don’t want to spoil but I think I can say that you will be able to influence what people on the ship are thinking and talking about in a way that selfishly benefits you. It’s a bit of a puzzle that involves starting with no memory of your past and trying to piece together information in a way that allows you to at least convincingly pretend to be the crew member who everybody remembers/suspects. Otherwise, you’ll get ejected out of the airlock!
– Real player with 5.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Atmospheric Games.
Quick:
5/5. What an amazing game. Vessels is one of those games that comes along every now-and-then, and just knocks it out of the park. I played the game through from beginning to end in one run. Admittedly, it is a short game. You can complete a play-through of this in roughly three to four hours. I was completely engaged from beginning to end, and I would have stuck with it for another four hours. The choices in the game gave me the impression that there are different endings and scenarios to experience, but I do not know this for sure.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases
As a Poiort fan of nearly two decades I must say I’m extremely disappointed. If this is a game that has absolutely nothing to do with Poirot I would be fine with it; but since “Poirot” was what was advertised I must judge this game on that merit, and I must say it failed spectacularly.
First, the mystery itself was pretty bad; the blackmail plot was highly implausible and had set a certain admirable group back a thousand years (Why? What was the writer trying to accomplish?). The murder plot was…nothing at all like Christie’s, because it was not clever, or surprising, or even well-planned. Even a third-rate Golden Age writer would have been embarrassed to find their name attached to this drivel, let alone Christie’s.
– Real player with 36.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Narration Games.
I’ll cut to the chase - if you like either Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments or Blacksad, or both, then you will like this game too. If you are a fan of the Agatha Christie films that have been adapted for the big screen, such as Death on the Nile (the original one with Peter Ustinov of course), for example, or the TV series that starred David Suchet, you will love this game too.
The developers of the game have weaved a convoluted tale that is true to the spirit of the original Agatha Christie novels. It is so great that I am actually wondering if it is based on an unpublished work, or the idea for a novel that she never wrote.
– Real player with 14.7 hrs in game
Finders, Keepers
Finders, Keepers
A hike above ancient woodland on summer solstice; the longest day of the year. Two friends explore an enigmatic forest, talking of life and love. Mysterious landmarks dwell in the primal wood, echoes of beauty and pain that scar the land, and await those who seek the truth.
Finders, Keepers tells a tale through unconventional means; tips left by users of the fyndr/keepr dating app hint at a tragic tale, strange profiles lead to hidden clues, landmarks hold a mysterious history. A dreamlike atmosphere permeates through joyful interactions; blowing dandelions, skimming stones, rustling wind chimes, while the narrative evokes a range of emotions, from humorous dating profiles, to unsettling discoveries.
An Atmospheric Mystery
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A magical realist narrative told through unconventional means.
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Experimental gameplay using a dating app interface.
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Playful interactions use simple swiping mechanics in creative ways.
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Fluid, evolving musical score moves seamlessly with the story.
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Mouse and controller support with innovative thumb interface.
Arkhangel: The House of the Seven Stars
So far I have read the equivalent of a 300 page book and I’m only an hour in. I don’t mind that there aren’t any voice actors. What bothers me is that every place our hero goes, he “finds” a stack of books and instead of going about his business, decides to pick each one up and read from it. I understand there’s a theme to the books, but why would you kick off a game with this much reading? Our hero goes into the library where there are about 20 shelves filled with books. I’m not exaggerating when I say that he picks a book from each one of the shelves and reads about 3-5 paragraphs from each book. Then he goes around and reads books on stands too. I love to read but today I decided to play a game instead of reading a book. Unfortunately, the game disagreed with me and made me read a book anyway.
– Real player with 15.0 hrs in game
Arkhangel: The House of the Seven Stars is a beautifully great haunting Lovecraftian game; okay let’s talk about the story.
It’s a cold wintery day as Michael Kearney is on a train with his wife Lily and their daughter Gabrielle as they head to their new life in the little town of Haven, where they can put all their troubles behind them and start anew.
But Michael has been having strange dreams about dark waters and an unknown ancient evil resting beneath the cold waves, what could it mean? Is it just anxiety or is it something else. Whatever it is if Michael is not careful it could destroy his whole world.
– Real player with 11.5 hrs in game
Heal Hitler
The game is interesting as far as the history aspect of it, however I feel it lacks any gameplay at all. It’s more like an interactive story. It says your decisions affect the end result, which can only go two directions, however I don’t feel like t he decisions change anything at all. The conversation stays the same bar in the first session where one particular question end sour. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter what option you choose, the Therapist character will ask the other questions anyway, so that leaves you feeling like there is not real point in you making a decision at all. The order doesn’t hold substance either as sometimes Hitler would respond that ‘i told you before’ when he in fact he had not, this would mean that I was supposed to ask something else beforehand.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
I went in thinking this was a shitpost but came out with valuable insight. Hitler is basically Shinji but more based (and I think he is in a perfect mental state for it). There is a lot of historical accuracy with details about Hitler’s life to methodologies and perspectives in the psychological field at the time (which was still fairly new in practice),
I do feel that the game is largely unfinished. It’s a short and fun playthrough (if you’re into the humor that brought you here or are actually interested in psychology stuff) but the dialogue options were few and held the same result in the conversation. There were also times when the therapist would bring up something and I wouldn’t know what he was talking about because I didn’t choose the option or maybe it was in a session that we didn’t get to see.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Liar Trick -Psychological Crime Mystery-
I have mixed feeling about the game, Its one of those game that I would group similar to Pheonix Wright, whether through its gameplay or perhaps thematically.
The game mainly concentrate on exposing lies in order to solve the case. There almost no investigative gameplay going on other than detecting facial feature or deduction on the whole narrative.
Though I applaud that the game wants to try something different, but different doesnt necessarily means fun.I do enjoy the characters and the story, but at the end it doesnt resolve all of the mysteries and sets up a sequel. If the sequel does come out one day, I hope the developer would find a way to implement better gameplay.
– Real player with 40.2 hrs in game
A wonderful experience, with a unique and interesting idea. [Joy: Truthful] (Eng and PT-BR review)
At first I found the game quite strange, then I started to understand what all the emotions shown on the mannequin were about and I knew I was facing a unique and brilliant idea for a game.
In short: due to an accident Patrick Truth lost the ability to express emotions but gained photographic memory, becoming a true human lie detector. With a strong desire to expose all people’s lies, Patrick becomes a police consultant, evaluating and resolving the most diverse cases based on interrogations of the suspects and those involved. During these interrogations, the player must observe people’s faces and correctly identify the emotions displayed and assess whether they are true or false and within the context of the testimonies to find out if they are lying. Associated with Patrick’s great reasoning ability and deductions, the player will solve several cases while knowing more about the characters in the game and discovering some surprises involving Patrick’s peculiar condition.
– Real player with 29.6 hrs in game
The Academy: The First Riddle
I really enjoyed this game! It has a great sense of place, the world is quite detailed and the different areas take a while to be revealed. It is set in a school with first year characters. There are heaps of puzzles but some of these are really obscure. Great that there are hints although some of these are no help. There is a cool facility to scribble on the puzzle pictures so that helps sometimes. There is a bit of a familiar feel due to the school environment and bits of magic. On the down side, the game often crashed on a puzzle timing out. I had to do as another player suggested and switch immersion on.
– Real player with 30.0 hrs in game
Why is this game so underrated? Why??
I played through the first chapter and have little to complain about so far.
- Some riddles are a little far-fetched or weird but this is also due to the translation which could have used some polishing. The characters you can interact with are limited which is a little sad but still fine.
- The story is good enough for a puzzle game, the characters are versatile and the school is fun to discover. Riddles are enjoyable and not too hard or too easy.
Overall: Can recommend. No idea why this did not get more attention on release.
– Real player with 24.5 hrs in game
Return of the Phantom
A classic point and click adventure - You play as a detective who’s investigating a deadly accident which seems to be the work of a Phantom of the Opera copycat. Great atmosphere and beautiful visuals
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
I was reminiscing my childhood while i was playing this. It’s just a simple click-and-point game with retro BGM and graphic. It used to be so hard to beat it and pretty terrifying back then. But, it’s so easy and i enjoyed every part of it now..
– Real player with 7.3 hrs in game
Through The Fragmentation
Short but sweet. Charming, but at the same time, low-key depressing. The setting, the themes, the visuals, and the music all come together very nicely. The multiple endings and achievements add replayability, and coming back for more was well worth it. There’s some pretty deep and metaphorical stuff going on, which might hit home for many of you, I found it really touching too. Had a very pleasant experience. I don’t think the charm of this game is going to wear off of me for a long time, very memorable stuff.
– Real player with 9.2 hrs in game
Defragging For More
I love it to pieces. Or should that be ‘I love it to fragments?'
If like me you’re a fan of Thirty Flights of Loving and Gravity Bones, you might be in the right place. One aspect I really loved about those was the light inventory management combined with something like a spy premise. There’s something so effective about an ‘augmented walking sim.’ Throw in as many varied and single-usage mechanics as you can and you birth something constantly engaging. Not the norm given how expensive a disposable approach to gameplay would make most games.
– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game