AENTITY
This game was on my wishlist for a long time and I honestly hesitated to get it, because I knew it would probably be quite demanding. When I eventually got it, I still didn’t get started on it for almost a week. Once I did, though, I played it for seven hours straight and took over 200 screenshots during that time. It was just as demanding as I expected it to be, but also quite rewarding because of it, and, in the end, it was one of the most fascinating games I’ve played in a long while.
AENTITY is rewarding, daring, fascinating, even confusing at times, but most of all a creative outlet for those who decide to go all in. It’s a game with rules to learn and secrets to discover, but also a tool for the aspiring artist – or the artist in need of inspiration – as well as a piece of art to meditate over. As a tool it takes some practice to understand what it can do – and what you can do with it – so be prepared to take a lot of screenshots while you learn and then cut them down to a handsome few – or keep them all if that’s your thing. ;) I was really picky when I went through mine and kept only like 10%.
– Real player with 8.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Nonlinear Atmospheric Games.
I get abstraction….I get having no ambition or specific goal and just go with intuition in the invisible. I do get painting, arts, emptiness and minimalism… I am friend with every space called silence, void, nowhere and nothing.
But this…Hell no! I don’t know if people that do like this game are smoking weed and enjoy the psychedelic blurs of their screen!!? Maybe my pixel needs HD or a better Screen resolution?! I really don’t get it, didn’t enjoy it, getting to finish the game was a nightmare (getting all the achievements). I never want to play that game again ever. This is sad. So my only true opinion about this game is…Watch videos about a typical 15 minutes of game play and make a mind of your own about this because it is for sure a very peculiar game and maybe you will enjoy it, I didn’t. Bought the game 2 years ago for 4.48$. Can’t say I’m outraged. It’s ok even if I didn’t like the game it’s worth the try and it was intriguing enough but now I have enough… Uninstalling the game from my pc is a happy moment right now!
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
City of Edges
“You are special. You are unique. But what does it mean?"
City of Edges is a walking simulator that tells the story of a misfit: you, made of “roundness”, in a city full of sharp and broken edges. In this 30-60 minute game, you will wander across this unfriendly place in search of answers and, eventually, others that are also unique in their own way.
Take your time and explore this world. Live the metaphor, feel the sound, and be unique.
Read More: Best Nonlinear Great Soundtrack Games.
RŌA
I’m a huge fan of Aentity but so far I havn’t found the drive to “zen me” in RŌA. I think it’s my personal taste when it comes to the fact that this feels more “pixely” combined with the colour choises here wich just makes me feel ill.
However it’s still a low price game so the “risk” is worth it to see wether you like it more then I do. I still see the beauty behind this so it’s hard to put the dislike-stamp on i.
Maybe this was better off added to Aentity then a seperate buy (even with the option to recieve it for free in the bundle).
– Real player with 0.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Nonlinear Atmospheric Games.
Edit 6/21/2018: Sometimes when I write a review, the developer contacts me to request I play a bit more. Perhaps I missed something. I always try to honor this request because I certainly don’t want to write ignorant reviews (note that this does not include when more content is added during EA campaigns).
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The developer of ROA asked me to give it another shot. So I did. It only made my blood boil because while I found a few little things I hadn’t before - it was just more of the same. You guys know I’m a huge advocate for the whole Itch.io scene and experimental games. This title is fine in that regard, but I just don’t think it’s worth three bucks. What else do you want me to say?
– Real player with 0.7 hrs in game
soundStrider
You will want two things: your headphones, and to read the game’s manual before playing.
Even then, this isn’t for everyone. If it is for you, you’ll find a hypnotic soundscape worth exploring.
I would describe it as an audio-only walking simulator; there are minimal graphics (as you can see in the screenshots), but you can even turn them off completely and play only by sound. There are waypoints that you can hear, and you can walk from one to the next on a trance-like journey, finding strangely relaxing varied soundscapes. There aren’t many games like this; of those somewhat similar that I played, it reminded me most of Proteus – but the focus on audio is of course much higher here.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Errrrrm, okaym well the ‘game’ does what it says you walk around and noises occur. pressing buttons on the controller did stuff and if I;m honest I have no clue as to what I was doing.
One big thing missing currently for a game that the Visually Impaired can play is Text to Speech in the menus. I dug around with my maginfier in hand and found a list of random settings, but no real accessibility options page.
I got in game and walked around randomly heading towards some sounds. Arrived at a sound and nothing seemed to happen, is this sound a ‘breadcrumb’? it got louder and more annoying as I approached. Found a button on the controller that made a boing noise.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Temporality
A surprisingly affecting music video describing the memories of dying soldiers in the Great War. Though brief, perhaps a bit too repetitive, a few more scenes would have helped a great deal (you will see the same scenes several times, wait for the fade out and credits to reach the end). Interesting that the composer, Julie Buchanan also did the music for The Other Half. For more about the Great War, listen to Dan Carlin’s Blueprint for Armageddon.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
This is a heart wrenching game. Although simplistic in nature, it’s atmosphere really makes you feel for the soldiers and makes you want to rewind over and over in the hopes that the bullet just might miss them. There isn’t any dialogue or character names but you get a feeling that each and everyone of those soldiers has a story and a family that misses them. This reminds me so much of “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Great book and movie, you can get the movie on youtube for free) in which you have a group of friends join up and slowly die one by one. The cut scenes sort of build on the semi-story of your individual character and in a way make you connect with him. I had to rewind time and pause after the final bullet came, I sat there and contemplated what I’d just witnessed. I highly recommend this game.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Wanderlust: Transsiberian
Your journey across the vast lands of Russia begins in the Tverskoy District of Moscow. It’s a glorious Sunday morning on the 11th of September and you’re feeling energetic as your Trans-Siberian adventure is about to get underway. This is Henry’s story, who along with his brother-in-law Vernon will travel on the Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok.
– Real player with 4.1 hrs in game
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Review by Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam.
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With the borders closed due the current pandemic, you can at least travel in your mind while playing this game.
Take a trip with your brother-in-law onboard the Russian Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest railway line in the world. You are starting from Moskow and (maybe) reach Vladivostok a few days later. The game plays like a visual novel, with a map of Russia showing your progress and photographs illustrating the journey. Keep your stress level low and your fatigue under control while managing your travel budget. Meet people while travelling, and get along with your brother-in-law. There are many decisions to make, which can lead to quite different journeys by train (or other means).
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game