NUTS
Nuts is a fantastic little game with fantastic art and sound design. I played the demo when it was released and immediately fell in love with the look and feel of the game. The best way I can think to explain the extreme appeal of this game to ME is that it feels like you are occupying a liminal space. Like you are on the threshold of two planes of existence. From the desolate bus stop that you initially arrive at to the wide empty forests with these strange little squirrels being the only living things besides yourself… it’s strange, perhaps even a bit eerie in later chapters, but overall peaceful.
– Real player with 4.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Thriller Games.
I feel like I am the perfect audience for this game—I love Firewatch, Gone Home and almost all first-person adventures / walking simulators. Recently I’ve enjoyed Call of the Sea and Old Gods Rising, despite their flaws. But Nuts left me very unsatisfied.
The success of a game like this rests on three things: The game world, the puzzle mechanic, and the story. Ideally, all three would be great, but usually one of them is weaker. So, Firewatch has an incredible game world and characters, but weak puzzles. The Witness has an incredible game world and puzzles, but no real story. Sadly, Nuts has an incredible game world, but the puzzle mechanic and plot just did not work for me.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
There The Light
I can see this being one of those games that polarizes people - you’re either the type of person who likes this kind of game or you’re not. And if you’re not, you’re probably really going to dislike it.
Fortunately, I’m in the former category. I loved the “vibe” of this game. But more than that, I loved the feeling I experienced playing it. I come from the “walking simulator”/exploration game camp. I love games where I can explore, at my own pace, a place that has a lot to see and experience. I also like puzzles to an extent, and the puzzles in this were either simple (but somewhat meditative) or somewhat annoying (the circular ones). I didn’t struggle too long with any of them, but I enjoyed some more than others, even if they weren’t difficult. It felt like the point of the game wasn’t the puzzles but more the experience as a whole.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Immersive Games.
There The Light takes the player on a mystical journey through the abandoned ruins of a long lost civilization. The mystery of who these people were and what caused them to leave this world remains unsolved even after the end of the game, although there are hints indicating what actually happened. At the same time, the game leaves a lot of space for personal interpretation or various speculations, the story being conveyed solely through the numerous inscriptions and drawings that one can find on the walls of the surrounding temples. One thing is certain though: this advanced civilization left behind a series of puzzles and enigmatic mechanisms.
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
Crowalt: Traces of the Lost Colony - Prologue
Beautiful, creative game. I had fun playing, I’ve been following the team for a while, I’m sure the game will improve.
Sounds are really professional, I would even buy some of them to listen all day long.
In my hands our main character would definitely get pneumonia.
Also we won’t get along with the eagle in the main menu of the game, when I try to pet his head, he is turning his head :( … maybe he is trying to tell me something… maybe we will see that in the next episode… I’m very excited.
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Singleplayer Games.
Interesting enough, it has the potential to be a solid point-and-click adventure game if the story’s done proper. There are a few issues though, mainly the grammar. There are a good number of grammatical errors. Misspellings, (not mentioning the pirates), odd spacing between letters, even a line of dialogue where an S is on the wrong word where it was meant to be at the end of the previous word.
I’m not trying to sound like a grammar freak, it’s just since text is the main way the game communicates with the player, it’s gotta be solid for it to stick. It honestly feels like they ran the text through Google Translate, or maybe a less experienced translator working on the English text?
– Real player with 1.1 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.
Methods: The Detective Competition
This game is so charming and wonderful, it’s quickly become one of my favourite games ever! If you like mystery stories and fun characters, I highly recommend you pick it up. And if anything seems interesting, don’t be afraid to try out the demo!
On to the (spoiler free) review! (I’ve never written a review before, so apologies if it reads oddly at all.)
The gist of the story is that, 100 of America’s greatest detectives and 100 of its worst criminals are pit in a battle royale against each other to win a million dollars. (And parole, if they’re a criminal.) You play through the stories of several participants as they advance through the competition, meeting new faces at every turn. The game is split into 100 chapters, and it took me personally about 7.5 hours to play through them all on my first playthrough.
– Real player with 51.6 hrs in game
This is probably one of my top ten games I have ever played, in part because I love solving locked room mysteries so much. I do realize it will not be everyone’s cup of tea, however. Here are (in my opinion) the main downsides of this game: 1. character art is a little lackluster, but you can see that for yourself on the steam page. You do get used to it though, and the character designs do have a lot of personality. 2. The pacing is a little weird. Sometimes you will go through long-ish periods of cutscenes back to back or mysteries back to back. 3. Finally, the ending does leave some loose ends, which could maybe have been intended to pave the way for a sequel (or maybe the game designers just couldn’t decide how to wrap them up, I don’t know). With those downsides out of the way, here are the things I love: 1. mysteries upon mysteries upon mysteries. Both little murder scenes you have to solve and some big over-arching mysteries within the game. 2. The characters are really fun. Both detectives and criminals all have a special method they use to do what they do, and it is very fun to see all of the varieties of detectives and murderers they came up with. You also get to play as different detectives and use their methods of solving mysteries, which is cool. You also get to briefly step into playing as a criminal as well. Again, I’ve never met a game with so many mysteries to solve, so this game was lots of fun for me. To me this game is very worth the $20 it normally costs (so I’d say to definitely get it if it sounds interesting, especially if it goes on sale).
– Real player with 13.0 hrs in game
Sarawak
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- The Introduction - - -
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Dou you like a good Book?
A Book, where you can dive into an exciting World and Story?
A good Book where YOU can influence by your answering in Dialogs?
A good Book with some interesting Puzzles to solve?
So welcome to SARAWAK.
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- The Story so far - - -
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A university Professor was found dead in Front of your Hotel.
The Police already arrested someone in Suspicion tob e the Murder, but you can feel there is more then it seems at first Look. So you begin your Investigations to find the truth, only to find out you stumble into something bigger then a murder Case that goes from England to Borneo.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Murder Mystery
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The visual novel genre falls into some sort of limbo between a video game and a book. Many visual novels borrow interactivity from games that using the term “play” is a must for them, while some are heavily text-based to be regarded as books. Sarawak aligns more closely with books as it is self-described as interactive fiction. A narrative adventure made by a husband-wife duo team that tells the interesting journey of a young woman named Mia Green.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
The Abnormal Place
Abigail has awoken in a strange world, and otherworldly resort and hotel that’s made for monsters, and she’s also lost her voice?! That’s a lot for a young woman with no special abilities.
The Abnormal Place is a spooky 3D platformer with a deadly environment, light puzzles, collectibles and an interconnecting world which has weird irritable looking monsters that will send you on ridiculous quests.
In The Abnormal Place you’ll have to find your way through an environment that is purposely designed to be lethal.
RUSA Odyssey
RUSA Odyssey is a third-person exploration game set in the post-apocalypse world. Play as a lone deer and travel to the unknown world. Discover the story and mystery that lies along the way.
Note: “Rusa” means deer in Malay/Indonesian.
The Secret of Retropolis
Disclaimer: I was given a copy for free as I was involved in the beta testing for the Steam version.
The game was successfully enjoyed with an Oculus Quest 2 headset and Airlink.
The Secret of Retropolis is a classic point & click adventure game in VR that puts you in the pants of a robot detective that is hired by a famous movie star to retrieve a stolen necklace. The story will evolve in unpredicted ways in the classic style of a film noir.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room, it’s a short experience and it will not require more than 1h30 for a first playthrough.
– Real player with 4.1 hrs in game
Don’t call it outdated – it’s retro! Point and click adventures are back in the charming, tongue-in-cheek film noir “The Secret of Retropolis.”
The Good:
1. Art/Style – Put simply, Retropolis is a bundle of cel-shaded panache that feels like someone took all the best parts of the artistic styles of Metropolis, Futurama, and the classic LucasArts SCUMM engine point and clicks, brought to life in VR. The “film within a film” cutscenes are a particular standout in terms of presentation.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game
A Murmur in the Trees
Good little indie game. I hope there will be more to explore in future.
There are things you could easily miss, if you don’t pay attention, can you find all secrets? :)
I was 1 of many testers, so that is reason why I got it free.
– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game
A short and sweet story, only takes about an hour to get through. If you like walking simulators you should check it out.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game