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Disclaimer: A review key was provided by the studio.
ESPRESSO REVIEW
Not a meditative, relaxing game as I assumed, but more a good reflex dodge em up with great rotational labyrinths to escape from. The remaining impression of rotating, expanding and collapsing levels will stick with you after you are done.
PROS
Intricate mazes to figure out
Monochromatic layout is a gorgeous modern art experience
Not as easy as you would expect
Music is a very nice low key electronic soundtrack that is well composed
– Real player with 11.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Minimalist Games.
Follow me, says the game with a chime.
A week ago, I received an email from Expand developer Chris Johnson inviting me to play the game ahead of release. Since it was a game I was already interested in, I jumped at the opportunity.
Chris describes the game as a “meditative exploration through shifting circular labyrinths”. It is a game that I find hard to frame my thoughts on - Chris' words are certainly accurate, but the game has another quality to it that’s a little more difficult to define.
– Real player with 9.3 hrs in game
qomp
A short, but great experience! Qomp is a platformer(…?) where you control a ball from Pong, and you’re able to change your y-axis by pressing space or clicking… and that’s it! There’s only button, making the whole game extremely easy to get into.
Don’t let the simplicity of the controls fool you, however - qomp is very innovative, brimming with cool level gimmicks. On one level, you’ll be quickly switching between sets of buttons to open previously-inaccessible paths, with this switch also triggering new traps on the way back. On another, you’ll bounce and stumble through a maze that constructs itself before your very eyes. Or maybe you’ll be under water, having normal jumping physics while dodging a giant fish ready to make you his lunch! For a 3-hour long game, there’s an insane amount of variety, with the perfect balance between exploring those setpieces without overusing them.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Puzzle Platformer Games.
Manages a surprising breadth and depth of mechanics despite having only one button. Boss fights feature extremely minimal opponents, but somehow still require a great deal of thought. One point which might put people off is the need to continually press the spacebar or mouse button. I found this to get uncomfortable at certain points, not necessarily due to a volume of clicks at any one point, but simply because a keyboard and mouse do not have motions condusive to spamming over a play session. Honestly, this feels like a game which would be perfect for mobile because of that, but I am very happy it is not a mobile game (at least not yet), since I would never have tried it with ads and whatnot.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
There Was A Caveman
There Was A Caveman is one of literally thousands of 2D retro pixel platformers infesting Steam. Control a caveman and jump around retro pixel platformer levels, avoiding prehistoric animals and making paleontologists shake their head with sorrow at the scientific inaccuracy.
The thing about retro pixel games is that they are meant to appear the same as games in the 1990’s, because this is simple to do and you don’t need to have any artistic talent and you don’t need to hire an artist or anyone competent at computer graphics. That’s why retro pixel games are so popular with indie developers, the developers who weren’t good enough to get hired by game development companies. Sometimes, an indie dev will be so bad at video game graphics that they can’t even get the pixel graphics right, so their game looks even worse than the pixel graphics from the 1990’s that they are ripping off. That is the story behind There Was A Caveman.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short First-Person Games.
Generally speaking this is a derivative platformer with excellent, detailed pixel art work. You have seen everything in it before, but that being said, it covers a wide base of platforming ideas and never overuses any of them.
+High quality pixel artwork with lots of care and work.
+Above average movement options - combining the dash and double-jump means the game can through some interesting platforming at you
+Good variety in enemies and bosses - derivative, but there’s new stuff in nearly every section
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
Simple Review Portion:
===[ ❤ Audience: ]===
☐ Kids
☑ Everyone
☐ Casual players
☐ Pro players
===[ ☼ Graphics: ]===
☐ Potato
☐ Really bad
☐ Bad
☐ OK
☐ Good
☑ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece
===[ $ Price/quality: ]===
☐ It’s free
☑ Full price
☐ Wait for sale
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can
☐ Don’t do it
===[ ☣ Requirments: ]===
☐ 90' PC
☐ Minimum
☑ Medium
☐ Fast
☐ High end
☐ NASA computer
===[ ☼ Difficulty: ]===
☐ You just need 2 arms
☑ Ez
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard (first few hours)
– Real player with 562.6 hrs in game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOCOkvdY1ws&feature=youtu.be
While Starbreeze has enjoyed acclaim from it’s previous releases, the studio hasn’t exactly built it’s reputation on creating whimsical worlds with moving narratives. Both Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness gave their players dark and gritty worlds to explore and some unique gameplay twists to hook players. With such a pedigree Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons stands out as being wholly against type. It’s the video game equivalent of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, stepping away from subject matter reserved for mature audiences to deliver a memorable experience that can be enjoyed by audiences both young and old. While seemingly stepping out of the comfort zone established by their track record, Brothers stands out as one of 2013’s best, and most surprising, releases.
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
ARIDA 2: Rise of the Brave
Overcome the challenges of the drought to survive this nineteenth-century Brazilian backlands walking trip.
Cícera continues her journey in this single-player that combines elements of survival and adventure. Gather resources, build utensils, learn tools, and interact with other backlands travelers. Be strong. Have faith and wisdom to explore the aridest regions and discover clues that point the way to a very special settlement.
FEATURES
Ready for the night
The day and night cycle adds greater provisioning needs. When the sunlight is gone, new threats will emerge. And new guides too!
Accompanied on the journey
A lonely trip in the backlands can be very dangerous. Stay tuned for the challenges you meet, maybe you can find someone (or something) who will serve as a companion.
Equipped for adventure
The challenges of the backlands require equipment. Use the machete and hoe for vital actions such as getting water, cutting paths or cutting a cornstalk. But don’t forget to have a handful of stones as blind equipment is of no use!
Recipes to practice
Living in the backlands requires a science of its own. The fauna and flora are unique, so try to learn the recipes available for crafting with the typical items of the region.
Interact to survive
Hunger and thirst can be quite cruel in the backlands in times of drought. Interact with the other characters you met to solve quests and learn new strategies for getting water and food.
Explore to know
Explore the arid regions to learn more about the backlands and find the resources you need to stay upright. A full inventory is always a good thing!
Stories to learn
The backlands is a special place, with unique stories that would only happen there. Venture to find the lost objects and find out more about the backlands legends.
Marble Trap
Marble trap is fine, it plays fine, it looks fine, and the music is fine. The game is short and can be beaten in more or less an hour. The game does include steam achievements but they are all for beating a level, and by the end you will have all of the achievements unlocked. It would have been nice to have some more achievements based on for example how fast you beat a level, or how little you die in the later levels, etc. Marble Trap does However has a leaderboard so if you are into that stuff, this game might just be for you.
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game
Wow. I’m actually impressed with this game. You only use the arrow keys to play, but it doesn’t detract from how involved you feel while playing. I especially loved how very user friendly the controls were - very precise and on the money when it comes to where you want the ball to go. It’s also pretty fun to be careening around corners and speeding past obstacles at just the right time, slowing down only when strategically needed.
My only nitpick is the level-select menu, which was needlessly complicated by the poor placing of the ‘next page’ button - resulting at times in my selecting everything except for the ‘next page’ button. However, I liked the game despite this flaw. Largely, a very lively and well-made game. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I even bought a second copy for a friend! :D
– Real player with 2.3 hrs in game
Ambidangerous
This is definitely one of the most unique games I’ve played. The learning curve it pretty steep initially but not overly difficult. You control two separate characters in a top-down shooter with a single controller. Your left hand controls one character and your right hand controls the other. Think of it as if rubbing your belly and patting your head got converted to a video game. I reccomend either putting both characters together initially so your movements are identical or just shoving one guy in a corner where he is safe.
– Real player with 103.1 hrs in game
Awesome mechanics and weapons!
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
ADventure Lib
Well, this was a silly game. It basically randomizes items and mixes them up, so instead of a knight, you might be a chicken or butter or what have you. Your spear might actually be other random items. The puzzles are as simple as they get and the whole game wont take but 10 minutes or so to finish for most people. You can play over and over if you like with randomized items, but other than that, there really isn’t a point to playing the game again. I think all told, I would probably give this one a 3 or 4 out of 10. Easy achievements if you care to get them all. I walked past an item that would have given me the two I am missing and I really cant be bothered to go back and grab them, lol. Meh.
– Real player with 7.7 hrs in game
ADventure Lib is a very entertaining, funny and short experience.
A Gameplay & Review video showcasing the features I’m about to talk about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqY4WZ_SvMk
When you start the game, all objects and characters in the world are shuffled with the game’s database of objects.
That means the character you play as could be a potato, and you’re trying to save toilet from a fire-breathing plunger.
The gameplay is incredibly simplistic. You have a “Look” action that gives you a hint what the object is meant to be used for. E.g “This rope is very sharp” so you know to use it as a sword. You also have your primary action which is to use or talk to objects/characters.
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game
Copperbell
Just a warning: this game is very short and you could probably beat it in less than 20-25 minutes: ONLY IF YOU RUSH.
[url] Check out my Steam Curator page, Ten's Indie Seeker![/url]
I spent a pretty good amount of time playing this adorable indie game. Yes, the game is short. Yes, it is not a super-challenging game.. but let me tell you, IT IS GOOD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWrkicEdBL0
Pros:
Wonderfully told fairy-tale/storybook tale
– Real player with 2.4 hrs in game
Bought this game a week ago and it has been super fun. The animation is quite unique and the style of the game overall. Definitly do reccomend it for a short fun jump and run.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
Tales of a Rabbit: The Story of Willie Hop
Pretty terrible game, as much as I hate to say it. The graphics are very simple which is totally fine and that’s not an issue at all. The biggest issue is the huge difficulty straight off the bat and the horrible, awful jumping momentum. Let me give some examples: When you jump while standing still and push a direction like forward, you have almost no momentum at all. This is a HUGE issue because if you want to jump over hazards like the spiked purple plants or whatever, you’re gonna land right on top of them if you don’t have enough momentum. However, if you have too much momentum, you’re just as much in trouble as with no momentum. This is because you have almost no control over your character in mid air. There’s also a big issue with getting flung around constantly if you don’t take your time. What I mean by this is that, for example, if you jump and accidentally bump your head against something like a roof of a house, you often get flung back and because of this, in my case, it pushed me RIGHT OFF THE STAGE multiple times. Keep in mind that I was not even pressing any directional buttons to move except for the jump key. The difficulty is absolutely insane. Now, I have nothing against challenging and difficult games but this game takes it WAY too far in my opinion. Like I said, you’re introduced to extreme difficulty right in the first stage. A great example is you have to travel across excruciatingly narrow platforms that are slimmer and smaller than a straw. On top of that, there are spiked plants EVERYWHERE on these narrow platforms. As for the really narrow platforms, I don’t know if this is a graphics issue on my end but I’m pretty sure it isn’t. I think it could be intentional but either way, the difficulty still stands, regardless of graphical issues or not. Another really bad thing is that if you get hit, you get chucked backwards or sideways, often making you fall to your death and losing a life, especially on those super narrow platforms. There’s also no breathing room/no few seconds of invincibility. Nope. If you get hit and get knocked back into another hazard, you take damage immediately. All this insane difficulty made me quit after really trying my best on the FIRST STAGE. I just kept dying and dying, over and over again. If you lose all your lives, you lose all your progress and you get warped back all the way to the beginning of the stage. At the time of writing this review, I didn’t get far at all. No matter how hard I tried. Like I said, I have nothing against difficult games. I like a good challenge but this game goes way over the top with its difficulty. I don’t recommend this game. It will definitely make you lose your sanity. It’s a big shame because I love 3D platformers where you collect a bunch of stuff like coins.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game