Dab on Darkness!
Having now topped in playtime over the previous title, Sakuya Izayoi Gives You Advice and Dabs, one may question how could the developer possibly improve upon their work which could already be considered humanity’s magnum opus. I wondered that myself prior to partaking, and so I had to begin my journey of a thousand hours. And truly, with this title we have added depth of plot, auditory masterpiece, and achievements for a sense of reward even beyond the already vast landscape that is Dab on Darkness. At every step we are offered more than anything before and honestly even though I expected perfection, what was accomplished here goes even further beyond. Perhaps one needed at least this amount of time to truly experience their previous work, but even now with this amount of playtime for this, what could be classified as beyond even a divine testament, is quite possibly not enough to explore the complex myriad of concepts and ideas being put forth here. This can’t be considered a work of mere humanity. It goes beyond our realm of existence entirely, dwarfing even whatever gods may exist. A gift to us mortals to be sure, however I fear that even expressing my utmost appreciation of this enigma would be a fundamentally egregious act of complete and utter disrespect as using humanity’s slipshod excuse of a form of communication could never hope to express even an infinitesimally small fraction of this glory. I am humbled to think what awaits us in the future from this developer.
– Real player with 1305.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Choices Matter Games.
First of all I would like to say that this review is entirely genuine, and isn’t one of those dumb “ironic” reviews that you see on games like this.
Okay, now that that’s out of the way…
This Visual Novel is great, and the people who made this are really good at this.
I don’t review very many things, so I don’t have the same way with words that some people have, but I just knew I had to review this.
Thank you guys for making this game.
I will be purchasing all games made by this developer as soon as they are released from here on out.
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Summoner’s Mess
Worth every cent (and much more) of its price, it’s very entertaining to discover the map and each unsuccessful run makes you go for another one to see how far can you go this time.
It has a really nice art direction, and the sound ambiance goes perfectly with the game. Just buy it, with that price it’s like a gift.
– Real player with 3.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Inventory Management Games.
This is a very nice and interesting game, the graphics, the music, the mood… everything fits perfectly.
I really enjoyed playing it and doing all the possible endings. It is cool to be able to easily remember the rooms and little by little knowing all the place like it was my own house.
If you enjoy games where the progression is based on your own knowledge instead of unlockable skills, then give it a try!
The game gives you a proper amount of hours of game time given the fact that is super cheap!
– Real player with 3.5 hrs in game
Home
Home was one of the first (previously) PC exclusive horror games that I ever bought. Although I have been a fan of everything horror all of my life, this little hidden indie gem really kickstarted everything that I do today. I even reviewed it once upon a time ago, and it was one of the first game reviews that I ever wrote. However, as my writing style has progressed and grown through the years, and the fact that I recently replayed this subtle masterpiece on console, I’ve felt compelled to rewrite my original review. Back to the game that started it all, back to Home.
– Real player with 6.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Horror Games.
It’s a bit hard for me to form a certain opinion on Home, while certainly being a very interesting adventure, there’s flaws that I can’t seem to ignore.
You wake up in someplace, and all you find is a flashlight. From here it’s up to you to find out what happened. This is the first problem, I surely like games that based themselves in mystery and even those that leave some of the story open to interpretation, but Home relies HEAVILY on that certain aspect. While some people may like that, it sort of irritates me that I cannot find the true explanation of this game. There’s 2 ways the story can go, it all depends on what you decide in the basement part of the game, but you have the same 3 endings if you choose one or another because in the end, they’re both tragic as hell.
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game
Silent Earth
The situation, characters and call for action are all set up well for the beginning of a great story. There are lots of nice themes being built that could take this game in so many different directions. An ambitious adventure for the characters and ambitious plot for the writers. Although, I only came to one of the endings. I hope they all sound as interesting as the one I ended with.
I hope the developers aren’t finished yet. This free game doesn’t feel like a full game but rather a test or set-up for a future, more detailed game. I think the plot and characters are interesting enough to go all the way. Please continue the story! A Mass Effect-like world would be fun if you have the budget! :D A point n click would work too. And, again, if it remains text-based (cuz text-based is cool, too), need to bring the readers further into the world and make the user experience nicer. The black screen does have a feeling of reading in a void. And I turned off the music half way through. I thought that the progression of the game, as it is, already does the same things as a point n click game such as being able to hover over words/objects to get more detail. Just needs more development and encouragement to keep going.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
Silent Earth is a delightful and short text-based trip. The setting and overall tone felt novel to me, even in the generally overcrowded sci-fi space genre. The narrative is well-written in conveying each character’s motivations and connections with little reading necessary, while still allowing the characters to feel compelling in each interaction. In my first run, going at a slow pace to explore everywhere I could, it took me about 45 minutes to reach its conclusion. This game successfully left me thinking about it well after I had beaten it. Highly recommend.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Midsummer Night
Adventure through a strange dream-like world was trees have eyes and are watching… as you search for your missing sister Alionushka – but spooky things get in your way to give you goosebumps OH-NO
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
A nice and atmospheric game. The graphics and sounds are well done and really help you to immerse yourself into the games world. While the game is short, it does have a branching storyline, where different decisions take you down different paths, giving it replayability.
– Real player with 3.5 hrs in game
The Backrooms
At first I was like “This is it?”
But then I started clipping through stuff and falling into other stuff and I was like “okay, this is a neat experience.”
Last I was like “HOW MANY IMPS ARE THERE, WHERE ARE THEY?” Tell me! I need this achievement -_-
Also, the music will haunt your every waking moment if you play this for too long.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
Reading up on The Backrooms was amazing, the idea of The Backrooms has created a fanbase who constantly talk about the different levels you can visit and the creatures (both hostile and passive) you can find.
This game does not live up to any of that.
It’s a single, static level that is so poorly mashed together. Textures overlap everywhere, walls don’t line up to the floor, 2 seconds into the game you can look through a window and view the entire level.
It does not live up to the expectation of exploring The Backrooms, if you spent 2 minutes on the fan wiki you would see how little this compares to the fan cannon that has been made. While it would be unfair to judge the game for not following this, you named your game after a specific concept and don’t follow any of it.
– Real player with 0.8 hrs in game
The Game We All Have To Play
Written for 1561’s Thoughts - Honest reviews, for busy people.
The Game We All Have To Play is worth some time. The premise of the game revolves around rhyme. If you make it through once you can say you’ve won, but it’s up to you if you think you’re done. 6/10
https://onefivesixone.com/reviews/the-game-we-all-have-to-play-2020-review/
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game
BasketBelle
I really enjoyed BasketBelle. One word I would use to describe it is charming. It’s a short game, roughly 1 hour, give or take if you try for the final achievement, but it’s very well made. This review is a short overview - there’s not too much to cover given the game’s length, but the execution and charm more than make up for it. Definitely worth playing if you already own it, or if you get on sale - the full price would be fine for people that don’t mind game length so much.
The story follows a young lad trying to find/ rescue his sister after she is kidnapped. The story has lots of warm moments, and I was pleasantly surprised how in such a short span of time, such vivid feelings were conveyed. You’ll see what happens when you play the game, there’s not much to elaborate without giving away everything, but the story was sweet and warm.
– Real player with 4.7 hrs in game
BasketBelle is an experimental Basketball-platformer-puzzle arcade game.
While the game itself is very simple each section offers it’s own unique challenge and mechanics, wither it’s playing in a one-on-one basketball game with a person or monster, using your basketball to solve platforming puzzles or flying through the sky avoiding obstacles. Each section is short and sweet and could have been developed into their own much larger/longer games but here they last just long enough to give you a taste before the next course of this delightful meze.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
HEADLINER
Video Review:
Headliner caught my attention with a simple tagline “What if you control the national news?” Interesting premise and a question that made me wonder “What if I did control the national news?” Fact-based reporting? No slant? Spread the writings of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense… I could do so much. So what would Headliner allow me to do?
– Real player with 5.4 hrs in game
I recently got this game for free from a curator connect offer. This 2D simulation game with 2D side-scrolling adventure game elements by Unbound Creations features a custom male/female protagonist Dianne Kalushky who is married to a custom male/female spouse Andrew or Sasha and has a daughter Amber(names of any character can be changed). Dianne has just started work as a Headliner at a news broadcaster Galmedia in the fictitious nation of Galixia.
Amidst the backdrop of a deep polarised divide between the genetically modified population and the non-modified minority known as Purists and an ongoing war in the neighbouring nation of Lerisia with a subsequent influx of refugees to Galixia, Dianne must manage his/her company’s expectations as a corporate entity which needs to rely on broadcasting the type of news to attract interest and subscribers, the conflicting interests from the pro-modified and the Purists as well as on whether to allow or control the number of Lerisian refugees into Galixia, Andrew/Sasha’s declining health, job security and concerns over Amber’s idea on having fun at a festival in a week’s time as well as Amber’s plans to enrol at a secondary and study biology which is beyond the family’s finances.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
The Majesty of Colors Remastered
The Majesty of Colors was one of the first ‘art games’ I played; it was released in 2008 when pixel art flash games were having A Moment (Jason Rohrer’s Passage was late 2007; Daniel Benmergui’s I wish I were the Moon was mid 2008) and it was my favorite of the bunch; I even fit it into the independent study project on narrative in video games that served as the foundation for my book. It sees you play a long-slumbering undersea tentacled horror, who wakes to discover the wonders of the human world. You can make a series of choices about whether to help or hurt the humans as they swim, fish, and even try to evade sharks.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
In one word, (I Fell in Love With) The Majesty of Colors Remastered is “memorable”.
Foreword
The Majesty of Colors Remastered is a remake of the original 2008 game The Majesty of Colors. I recommend checking that out first as it is available for free on Kongregate and other websites. For the most part, my review serves for both.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game