La Mora - A Journey in Time

La Mora - A Journey in Time

Time is Broken. This should be the Golden age of Mankind. Someone, something, has changed our history, and left us picking up the pieces. You are part of a group tasked with repairing the damage. However, something went wrong. You can’t remember your mission and the machine that brought you here is broken. Your only clues are vague memories, along with a name; La Mora. You have to piece together your mission, your memory, and your wits, before time as we know it, is gone for good!

La Mora is a story driven adventure puzzle RPG.


Read More: Best Sci-fi Action RPG Games.


La Mora - A Journey in Time on Steam

Cloudbuilt

Cloudbuilt

This game is absolutely stellar. I doubt I will play anything better this year, or perhaps even in years to come.

First and foremost, this game grants the player absolute control over the character. The movement is fast and responsive, and the more you learn about the game, the better you can maneuver, to the point where you can do things you never would have thought possible at first. This sense of control is absolutely wonderful because I can apply both my reflexes and timing as well as my puzzle-solving skills to the level in front of me. The level design features branching paths that allow you to tackle the level many different ways, and give the player a sense of exploration. Will you go the easier and slower path, take more difficult shortcut, or will you look for the perfect jump to create your OWN shortcut? The game also allows you to place your own checkpoints, and unlike They Bleed Pixels, they actually mean it, meaning that you get to tackle the level before you on your own terms without compromising the difficulty.

Real player with 120.5 hrs in game


Read More: Best Sci-fi Difficult Games.


So close…so very very close. This would have been a GOTY contender for me but it slips and wobbles

hard

I’ll start with the good: Cloudbuilt is basically Sonic Generations. Remember boosting to beat your time and precision, quick twitch platforming within a level that has multiple pathways? It’s here. Maybe the budget isn’t, but the excitement and speed definitely is. As is the creativity, only difference here is levels have more vertical movement and therefore aren’t as fast, but the idea is the same.

Real player with 18.2 hrs in game

Cloudbuilt on Steam

Experimental

Experimental

About:

  • Experimental is an old-school 3D platformer where you have to complete levels in order to unlock new levels. Some levels have different unlock requirements like time, score collected or attempts needed. If you fail to unlock a level you can always try again, but you cannot save the game inside a level. Your best attempts are saved so you can always try to improve your results.

  • Use various items scattered throughout the levels. Keys are needed to unlock some doors. Score items are sometimes required to unlock new levels. Weapons are sometimes necessary to survive the onslaught of enemies some of which can respawn just like you. Armor can give you an advantage by making you take less damage or sometimes even nullifying the damage done by weak enemies. Explosives can be used to take quick care of large amount of enemies, but be careful as explosions affect everything around. Some objects can be moved or destroyed when they block your path forward. However, be careful when moving heavy objects as they may end up on top of you.

  • Not all robots you encounter are enemies. Some robots can help you by throwing items to you that you wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. You may even try to give these robots some spare weapons and armor and see what happens.

About workshop:

  • If you know how to use Blender, 3ds Max or some other 3d modeling software, you can try to make your own custom levels and if you want to, you can share them with other players through workshop. Custom folder contains 2 example levels made in Blender and 3ds Max that show, how levels for Experimental are made.

Read More: Best Sci-fi Robots Games.


Experimental on Steam

Newtonian Inversion

Newtonian Inversion

You have become trapped in space amongst the remnants of a disintegrated starship and must navigate your way to safety.

In this game there are platforms which all have their own gravity. Blue platforms have gravity pulling towards them and red platforms have anti gravity which pushes the player character and some physics objects away from them. The game is played from a 3d third person perspective. The goal is to navigate to the exit teleporter by solving the puzzles involving changing the direction of gravity using switches and a gun which will reverse the direction of gravity when fired at the platform.

  • [*change the position of the platforms to effectively clear the levels]
Newtonian Inversion on Steam

Claire de Lune

Claire de Lune

To preface I did get this game for free. But I wont let that effect my review. Claire De Lune is a pretty hard game. The puzzles sometimes felt like an IQ test I wasnt ready for. And the story is sort of time sensitive so it felt at odds. I was meant to be in a hurry but was stopped often to solve puzzles which took me a while. With that said, I absolutely enjoyed the game the whole way through. The gameplay is interesting and held my attention. I was interested to figure out the mystery in the game and resolve the plot. The story and dialogue along the way was interesting. I did especially enjoy Arturo, the ships Ai. They were funny, quirky, and witty which led to some laughs. The protagonist John and Arturo seem to have a complicated relationship which I found interesting to dissect. And Johns backstory was also intriguing to me. But what I appreciate the most is how the developers have seemed to construct a universe that is fleshed out and cohesive. All in all I enjoyed the game and hope for more from the franchise.

Real player with 36.8 hrs in game

On one hand the game could be compared to “portal”, but on the other hand it has its very own, specific mechanics and its own, well done storytelling.

I really liked the storytelling and the regular conversations with the AI “Arturo” which is very sarcastic but still funny (I do not like funny).

With such feedback the player gets entertained and is also able to go through a linear appearing level design without the need of extra tutorials.

I did not like the parts where the player had to interact fast with different objects to overcome obstacles (but others may like it).

Real player with 24.1 hrs in game

Claire de Lune on Steam

Hexahedron

Hexahedron

A puzzle platformer where you play as an AI being tested to determine your intelligence in puzzle solving.

How to Play?

Push cubes, press buttons and switch levels to go through each levels.

Choice Matters

Every choices you made will be recorded and saved in the database. Make the wrong choice and the system will determine you as a faulty A.I and dispose of you.

Meet A.I Friends

You will meet different A.Is along your journey which requires your help. Choose to help or ignore them.

Uncover Secrets

You will encounter many mysteries along the way. It is up to you to uncover them and unfold the true secret of the system.

Hexahedron on Steam

Impulsion

Impulsion

Impulsion is an odd game, that occupies quite the peculiar niche in terms of gaming.

The first thing that is important to note before considering picking up Impulsion is that the game is NOT a puzzle game, despite it’s aesthetic and game mechanics relating very similar to those of Portal and Antichamber, Impulsion functions more as a challenging first person shooter experience, in no way does this game involve solving puzzles.

The second thing, Impulsion is crafted by hand, inside out, to be speedran. Currently, the game suffers from a lack of content (only 25 levels and an extremely brief, confusing, story). Realistically, the only replay value in the game comes with speedrunning. Personally, as a veteran first person shooter speedrunner, I was able to complete the game in one and a half hours, from startup to “the end” screen. A player as skilled as me could completly refund the game, having experienced the full game, because there are no secrets or collectables of any sort. Because of this, I would only currently recommend this game as a speedrunning game.

Real player with 46.9 hrs in game

I already reviewed the game but I figured I redo it.

Should you get this game? Yes. Is it fun? Yes. Does it have flaws? Yes.

What works:

  • Combining fast-paced platforming with fast-paced aiming was brilliant. The best parts of my two favorite genres.

  • The forcefield gun is really innovative and fresh, like portal, it’s one of those mechanics where, when you play the game, you wonder why nobody had ever thought of it until now

  • You control the pacing, if you want to rush in, die, and rush in again, you can. If you want to take it slow and try to complete it more methodically, you can.

Real player with 15.4 hrs in game

Impulsion on Steam

KINESIS

KINESIS

I absolutly recommend this game. Not only is it a lot of fun to play but it also has replay value, providing a lot of different challenges no matter if you are a speedrunner or are just looking for an enjoyable and challenging 3D plattformer.

Kinesis has some amazing visuals to offer. All of the assets and the environment look stunning so big props to the game artists!

The puzzles start really simple for you to learn the mechanics and get harder with every level. There are also new mechanics and new types of levels interduced in the course of the game. This really keeps you interested since the game is constantly being developed further and new levels get released regularly.

Real player with 10.3 hrs in game

Game concept is great -

POSITIVES:

Level Design

Mechanic Functionality

Art

NEGATIVES:

Some mechanics seem to be used just for the sake of it being used.

Mechanics, whilst cool, feel unpolished.

Level transitions

Comments:

Props to the level designer, mechanics were utilised in an interesting way - although I found that the ball-on-button mechanic seemed to be used frequently just for the sake of it - what is the point of the ball spawning right next to the button at the end of some of the stages? It just seems like an unnecessary step to opening the portal to the next level.

Real player with 4.3 hrs in game

KINESIS on Steam

Project Hive

Project Hive

The idea is very interesting. During my gameplay however it felt very glitchy and touchy with the controls. I had a very hard time keeping my character running. It definitely has some bugs in it but i feel once it is cleared up it could be fun.

Real player with 3.2 hrs in game

Really fun game, but have some bugs that become game breaking in late game. I really enjoyed it, but am struggling to even beat it due to the character being thrown around, platforming being difficult, and the inability to pickup extra lives. Definitely recommend you play it, but it does have some issues.

Real player with 3.0 hrs in game

Project Hive on Steam

Sky Beneath

Sky Beneath

In Sky Beneath, you assume the role of Cassie, an intrepid scavenger seeking salvage in abandoned mining facilities. Aided by your inventor friend Annie and the use of advanced alien technology, you take control of the gravity to walk on walls and ceilings and change the gravity direction of objects around you. You decide what’s up and down in this mind-bending sci-fi adventure!

KEY FEATURES

  • Take control of the gravity: master it to move intuitively around the environment and manipulate objects around you

  • Overcome challenging puzzles and dangerous obstacles: progress through increasingly complex scenarios to find your way out of a broken planet

  • Embark on a sci-fi adventure: traverse mysterious environments, encounter alien flora and fauna, and experience the story of two friends on the run

  • Become a scavenger: explore abandoned locations, collect advanced alien technology, and utilize it to become more powerful

Set on a planet in dissonance where cooperation between humans and an alien mining company has gone terribly wrong, Cassie and Annie must find a way to leave the ravaged planet for good. As you solve increasingly complex puzzles, you’ll traverse high tech research labs, opulent floating cities, and alien citadels. You’ll also encounter alien flora and fauna and learn more about the mysterious past of the scavengers’ former gang.

Sky Beneath on Steam