Frantic Freighter
Unique, simple, entertaining, and challenging, with good music–but somewhat unrefined–Frantic Freighter reminds me of FTL, and other games where you have to act quickly and manage your resources. Unlike FTL, you cannot pause FRFR–you simply have to be fast.
PLEASE NOTE: Some of these issues have been fixed in the most recent version of the game.
I’ve now won FRFR perhaps 20 or 30 times, on computer with WASD and mouse rather than VR. As I’ve played, I’ve found that much of the game works pretty well, but at the same time there are a number of glaring issues. And with a game this simple, with so few features, there’s really nowhere to hide: what would be a very minor quibble in a larger game becomes quite a mountain of annoyance in FRFR–particulary when it’s a result of artificial restraints imposed on the player by the developer, of which there are several.
– Real player with 16.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Real-Time Simulation Games.
I haven’t tested it on VR, but played it on a Mac. Was a very smooth experience since start, the controls are straight forward and so is what you have to do without tutorials or lots of graphical hints. The fact that your ship is always taking damage adds an extra need of strategic travelling through space, as you will encounter (lots) of hazards and some places to receive new pieces for your ship. Graphically it is interesting enough, and everything seemed to work fine (no visual glitches).
I think players that like space simulation and even rogue elements will surely have fun times with this one game. Also, it is somewhat fast paced. In short, Frantic Freighter is a cool and fun game that is well worth it’s price tag ;)
– Real player with 4.2 hrs in game
One Shell Straight to Hell
(Review was updated on Dec 2021) I’ve spent many hours alpha-testing this game and decided to buy it on release day. Here are my thoughts so far, a list of positive and negative elements:
The good stuff:
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Uniquely witty main character.
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Good variety of unlockable skills and lootable guns, be it primaries or secondaries.
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The setting: a terribly haunted mansion property set in the 1910’s - 1920’s.
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The Padre’s voice actor probably smoked 10 cigars and drank too much whiskey. Fantastic.
– Real player with 43.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Real-Time Twin Stick Shooter Games.
One Shell Straight to Hell
There’s a brand-new Roguelike indie title on the streets; One Shell Straight to Hell. One Shell Straight to Hell lets the player experience the best of two worlds with its well-put-together Roguelike dungeon-crawling gameplay with a touch of base defense elements mixed in.
At first glance, the game seems to be simple enough with its Procedural Generation World. But as you cross the first stage after finishing a base defense wave, the game becomes something much more.
*– [Real player with 8.5 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198329404521)*
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## A Healer Only Lives Twice
A short and neat game, for its price its doing alright I guess.
Don't be fooled by my playtime, I kept the game open to get the rest of the cards
In total I think I played this game for a good 5-6 hours to get all achievements.
To explain the mechanics of the game.
Each encounter has enemies sitting in rows, you choose which row to attack with the warrior and he'll attack in a turn-based matter, as in after all the monsters attacked.
But the main part of this game is the priest ..the healer which is you, you are not bound by turns you can act whenever you want to heal the knight's limbs, head , torso, hands, legs, if one of them reaches 0 hp they go critical and you lose damage or defense or other stuff, once they all reach 0 you lose the game so you gotta keep healing.
*– [Real player with 8.1 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198080435169)*
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Read More:
Best Real-Time Strategy Games.
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This is an interesting game. Certainly worth the price point.
You play as a healer, trying to keep a warrior alive so you can both get out of a dungeon, and so must fight waves of enemies to get to the end. The gameplay mainly consists of using the right ability in the right circumstance; should you put a wall up so a limb won't die from that next attack, or just heal? Should you bump up the damage of the warriors next attack? Do you have enough mana stored to use your increase exp ability, so you can level faster and get stronger abilities?
*– [Real player with 7.4 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198080789462)*
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## Polary
Buyer beware. This is barely worth calling a game. There are no levels, just clicking shapes to remove them as they spawn over time. If too many build up, you lose. There is no progression. The same few shapes spawn randomly until you get bored and quit/lose. The shapes consist of: A small sphere you can click any time. A box that gives -1 point when red, +1 point when orange, and cycles colors every few seconds. A cylinder that switches between grey (unclickable) and orange. A rectangle that starts with between 1 and 9 health randomly, that you must click down to zero to dismiss. These shapes spawn every second or two and bounce around the screen. You click them. That is it. That is the entire game.
*– [Real player with 6.4 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970530365)*
Perfect game to warm up my aim. My score was 463 after a couple of tries and it was a lot more challenging then i thought it was. Took a lot of focus and hardcore hand endurance, my right hand can't move and I typed this all with my left hand.8/10
*– [Real player with 2.5 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198085798279)*
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## Rary
### "Cherry-picking and other fruits"
Rary is a simple game like to run around as a bird and try to pick all the fallen fruits away before the middle counter goes up to 20\. Controls are quite clunky as you move with WASD but steer your bird with mouse movements. Each fruit can be picked only if it is in your viewfield, close enough and on the ground. That can be harsh if you are too close to 20 (game over) or fruit is blocking you on your way but you cannot pick it away immediately.
But the worst and even gamebreaking I find the unclear counting system. It always shows not the exact number of objects on the screen. Sometimes you wonder what you can pick up if score goes up, but nothing is left to pick. It seems also the minus score mushrooms also have to be picked up to reduce your score -1 and heat level at the same time.
*– [Real player with 1.1 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198035285721)*
yes :p
*– [Real player with 0.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198241612638)*
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## Cloud Chasers - Journey of Hope
**Cloud Chasers** is a text-based adventure that incorporates survival elements, map exploration, and a flying mini-game. I think the game is pretty decent when it comes to resource management and storytelling, although the controls for the glider are a bit wonky. The goal is to get across the desert which includes 5 separate levels with randomly generated events. If one of your characters dies, you start over. However, the game is not particularly hard as I was able to beat it on the second try (in less than 1 hour on normal). Since many of the achievements are attached to unique events, it does have some replay value because you can't get everything in one run.
*– [Real player with 3.9 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197995669628)*
At $4 this is a good game. Perma death rogue lite, FTL-lite, prequel to the excellent Airheart. However, it has very little action (passive glider flying avoiding bad buys and their bullets) to collect water aka cash.
I completed it in 4 hours and don't really feel compelled to play again soon. There are items that are worthless except for fufilling dialogue options. There are a few basic upgrades for your glider that make the water collection mini game much easier to almost trivial when the gilder is fully upgraded.
*– [Real player with 3.8 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197968547267)*
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## Seconds in Space
Use ships to attack and destroy enemy space stations in real time. Navigate through different randomly setup star maps to get to the exit and win. It's a 2D single player space game that's massively replayable. No matter how many times you play you'll always have fun and feel dumb for making simple mistakes. There's a wide range of difficulty levels so you can start simple then build your skill to experience the full depth of the game.
#### Destroy Enemy Space Stations
Command two groups of ships to attack and destroy enemy space stations. With a bit of practice you'll quickly learn where to place each ship, when to attack what turret and how to counter their abilities, the hard part is mastering it. Only the enemy turrets have abilities so you must be extra focused on using your units as a team and their positioning. Dodge projectiles the best you can and when you make a mistake move a ship to safety and another one in to take some hits.
#### Just Get to the Exit!
Navigate through different randomly setup star maps to get to the exit and win. They have fixed layouts but the rewards and exit point are in randomized locations. Some rewards will help you and some will harm you. The better you think, plan and understand what to do the more prepared you will be. Even a slight difference in the layout of the star map can greatly change how you play it. Don't worry though they are relatively easy to understand you just have to remember to take a moment to stop and think.
#### Try the Demo
Want to learn more? It's small (about 30 MB) and it'll download and open really fast.
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## Cepheus Protocol
an open world RTS game the description can be a little confusing to the ear as what makes an "open world rts" other than an RTS with a really big map?
it is in fact justified, in that the mechanics differ somewhat from your typical RTS game. specifically the ability to build almost anywhere and the unique emphasis on resource utilisation as opposed to procurement and steam rolling, rushing and turtling as you may in other titles. whilst these methods are indeed still viable it by no means guarantees success as sticking to any one template will often result in your defeat.
*– [Real player with 57.4 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198027734186)*
As someone who normally plays steam games and doesn't keep up-to-date with patch notes and news related information relayed by developers, Cepheus Protocol stands out as one of the first games where I genuinely take the time to read Dev letters and patch notes. Without considering the overall story, the visuals and gameplay of Cepheus Protocol are always engaging for me and the dynamic between the CERC and the infected really sets the tone for how the game plays out, as I often find myself underestimating the infected and their sheer numbers, paying for such mistakes dearly. It definitely puts me on the edge of my seat and contrary to other games, I find myself often taking the time to put the game in slow motion or pause to consider future actions instead of trying to speed the game up- a clear indicator to me that strategy cannot simply be waylaid by overwhelming firepower for early to mid game. Once you do acquire overwhelming firepower at the end game though, the game simply becomes more fun and casual as you can enjoy the visual and audio effects of clearing out hordes of infected with air support and your geared ground troops. I cannot wait to see what the developers of Cepheus Protocol have planned for the campaign with what I have experienced in their open world mode, and I look forward to seeing the release of what I hope to be an engaging story alongside the already great RTS element that has been introduced. TLDR pros and cons below:
*– [Real player with 31.9 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198192011805)*
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