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 Nature Stylized 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
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 Nature Investigation Games.
A Fox and His Robot
Become a fox and escape the grip of powerful Artificial Intelligences in a 2D action-platformer. A young fox and his robot search for meaning in a beautiful yet dangerous world…
On planet Delta 7, Alpha, one of the last remaining foxes in the universe plans his escape from Bio-Prison-9. Unwittingly aided by an Artificial Intelligence, the duo breaches containment and searches to escape from the bio hazard planet. With every other Artificial Intelligence gunning for his existence, Alpha must use his wit to out-fox robots in an action adventure not too far in our future…
A Fox and His Robot is a 2D action-platformer taking place in a breathtaking world. Jump and dash past robot security and through unforgiving terrain in a masterclass of platforming prowess.
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Master the biomes as you utilize wind, portals, and more to traverse though the world.
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Utilize Alpha’s skills to find alternate roots for speed running over obstacles and dangers.
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Dive into the mystery of Artificial Intelligence as Alpha escapes from planet Delta 7
The creator of the ‘Fox Ridge’ and ‘A Transposition in Time’ franchises brings you a new completing story set in a new world. Joshua Janik is an author, software engineer, and game designer. Whether creating stories through words on a page or in digital worlds, Joshua believes in the power of storytelling to recapture the child like wonder of life, and to explore new fantastical frontiers.
Read More: Best Nature Sci-fi Games.
Cions of Vega
Another lovely walking simulator from Tonguc Bodur. In a departure from previous games, you have a companion on your journey to find your missing daughter. Your brother follows you, providing commentary (with a strong American accent that borders on a southern twang!) and a few inventory items. His dialog, coupled with notes found along the way, begin to alert you that all is not right in the world you are walking through.
The game is split into 7 sections, delimited by gates that each require a key. Keys are located by searching abandoned houses, a church, and some tunnels/caves for clues and solving some basic puzzles. There is one brief platforming sequence that is easy to navigate. Otherwise, you can run, walk, crouch and jump. For speedy gamers, there is a convenient ‘auto-run’ toggle.
– Real player with 3.9 hrs in game
Finished it, finally. I say finally because I am a novice gamer and what might seem old hat to most players will give me fits! The puzzles are basic–this game is mostly about the story and the journey. I love Unreal Engine 4 games because the scenery is so neat and this game doesn’t disappoint. The cons for me were inside the houses it is very dark and made it hard to see, and I thought the brother was SUPER creepy, following like red light/green light, but I understand he is a necessary part of the game. The best part was at the end when you earn the right to make a choice (of 3 choices). I’m not going to spoil it but I’ll just say the choice I made was VERY satisfying lol.
– Real player with 2.7 hrs in game
Letter Vetter
I’ve never played anything like this before! It has so many different parts to the puzzle and leaves you on your own more than I expected which I think is actually really satisfying and engaging to work through. Being both stimulating and calming I feel I can play it any time of the day and similarly it would appeal to all ages. It’s handmade artwork and graphics makes the fantasy land of Pipshire come alive. Finally, it has all the thrill and immersion of a whodunnit combined with the calm that life can lack - I would definitely recommend this game.
– Real player with 10.4 hrs in game
A really enjoyable game. Nice relaxing atmosphere. Can be played at your own pace, alone or with friends. Could easily be made into a tabletop/dinner party game. You can see my more in depth review here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uImL-d6eKH8
– Real player with 10.0 hrs in game
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.
Epitasis
At this point I cannot recommend this game.. It’s beautiful but very strangely organized. There are also a number of technical problems, which you might or might not encounter. They have brought me to a point where the game is essentially unplayable. Your experience might be different.
Totally mind boggling what many reviewers have said about playing the game in two to four or more hours. I have explored and struggled and experienced many, many unnecessary crashes at the middle stage of the game. Lately whenever I click on a glowing object, the cursor gets stuck. There seem to be two different pointers, one belonging to the mouse, one thrown out by the game. Often in trying to disengage from the stuck point, the game becomes unplayable. Swings from high to low screen resolution and often crashes (“minimizes”) down to the taskbar icon. Generally the position is “saved,” but what saved means is open to debate.
– Real player with 53.7 hrs in game
Summary: Loved the aesthetics, music, and gameplay, puzzles were trivially easy, don’t get it if you want any challenge.
This is Talos Principle for kiddos. It uses a similar world system as Talos, where you can explore a beautiful world and 2-3 puzzles are contained within each world. Sometimes the puzzles overlap which is cool. The way the game uses colors is really fascinating and advanced, so if you’re after effects and aesthetics, you’ll love the hell out of that aspect of this game. There’s also dynamic weather! This works for the beauty of the game but can make navigating a bit confusing because levels at certain times of day do not look anything like they do at other times of the day. Loved the color and the natural design, simplistic but pretty. The soundtrack is amazing as well, it really added to the whole experience and is one of the better ambient game soundtracks I’ve heard.
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
Free Spirit VR Meditation
Experienced on the Oculus Quest 2
You can view my review & gameplay here: https://youtu.be/H0tCFSIIXAo
This is an about 10 minute long, meditative experience through the Peruvian Andes Mountains. Where you basically teleport up a quick climb, see the scenic views, then sit at a campfire. There’s a narrator saying a prayer to the fire in English. You can also draw during this and then send your painting to the fire. That’s it basically.
Experience is running on the Unreal Engine. I was getting variable frame rates from 90 to frame rates in the 40s fps. The visuals were just okay and something that would be fine in a free to play experience. The ambient sounds were also just okay. While the narration was good and the musical score, that doesn’t exactly amount to a premium experience. There’s only teleport for the locomotion and the locomotion was not smooth (as it was difficult to turn in the direction you wanted).
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game
Empowering meditative experience, highly recommended! Either if you are a an experienced or beginner meditator.
This 10-15min experience delves you into the visually-stunning site of Machu Pichu, where you follow a trail alongside a beautiful voice that guides you. The sun sets alongside the walk, creating delightful light effects. This visually rich experience guides you to release your fears and envision the life that you want.
Although some people may consider the experience short, the power of this piece stands on the intention you put on it. It is not about quantity of scenarios, it is about your sincerity when setting your intentions in front of the fire, to release what you don´t need and bring about the life that you envision.
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game
Daffodil Yellow: A few poems from an insect collector
“Daffodil Yellow: a few poems from an insect collector” is a 3D game/interactive experience about the reconciliation between someone and a season.
The story takes place at the very beginning of summer. This season makes the collector see everything in black and white. One day, after taking a nap, he turns into a butterfly.
He will go through three memories that are dear to him, which took place during previous summers. Looking for a color in each of them, he will repaint his current summer.
Platonic
Exploration
Explore five interconnected worlds shaped after the five platonic solids, each with its own unique theme and gimmick. You will need to deeply understand how each part fits together in order to progress. Not just as a series of linear challenges, but ones you must actively seek out and discover.
Discovery
Gather clues along the way. There is no inventory; information is the only key you’ll need.
Puzzles
Solve challenging puzzles. Learn how each mechanism functions. Blindly guessing is not an option. No two puzzles are the same.
