There The Light
I can see this being one of those games that polarizes people - you’re either the type of person who likes this kind of game or you’re not. And if you’re not, you’re probably really going to dislike it.
Fortunately, I’m in the former category. I loved the “vibe” of this game. But more than that, I loved the feeling I experienced playing it. I come from the “walking simulator”/exploration game camp. I love games where I can explore, at my own pace, a place that has a lot to see and experience. I also like puzzles to an extent, and the puzzles in this were either simple (but somewhat meditative) or somewhat annoying (the circular ones). I didn’t struggle too long with any of them, but I enjoyed some more than others, even if they weren’t difficult. It felt like the point of the game wasn’t the puzzles but more the experience as a whole.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Investigation Games.
There The Light takes the player on a mystical journey through the abandoned ruins of a long lost civilization. The mystery of who these people were and what caused them to leave this world remains unsolved even after the end of the game, although there are hints indicating what actually happened. At the same time, the game leaves a lot of space for personal interpretation or various speculations, the story being conveyed solely through the numerous inscriptions and drawings that one can find on the walls of the surrounding temples. One thing is certain though: this advanced civilization left behind a series of puzzles and enigmatic mechanisms.
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
Where Stars Belong
A short narrative exploration game inside of someone’s mind
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join the NDA, the Neural Diver Association
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assist one of the world leading experts in Neural Diving
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explore the neural diver hub and gather information about your patient
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explore different layers of the patients mind and go very deep
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solve puzzles which are part of the narrative
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interact with various things in the patients mind like guards, thoughts and other neurological things which are visualized by a super AI called CEREB …
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and maybe you will encounter very special thoughts too
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playtime around an hour
“The mind is like a universe. Filled with light & surrounded by darkness” - Dr. William Lafleur
Read More: Best Short First-Person Games.
The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game
Words can’t describe how much of a masterpiece this “game” is, but I’ll give it shot.
I put game in quotes, because you can’t really call this a game, its more of a vivid memory of your distant self who is a frog detective. The instant I clicked on the “New Game” button I became Frog Detective.
Thanks to the innovative key bindings my keyboard and mouse could truly become an extension of my body, which only resulted in letting this experience become more real. Even though I only have 50 min in this “game” it felt like I went through an entire life of pure joy.
– Real player with 83.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Detective Games.
Short game and with childish art style but somehow unique and charming!
Developed by Grace Bruxner and Thomas Bowke, The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game is a short (~1h) by enjoyable adventure that puts you in the role of a lovely froggy detective, who is phoned by his supervisor to investigate a strange case. On an island ruled by Martin, a sloth who crowned himself king, unexplained noises can be heard from crevices. The sloth’s first reaction is to call in a group of ghost scientists, who spend the next two weeks trying to figure out what is going on. Trying, but certainly not succeeding. That is where the Frog Detective, come in.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
Play With Me: Escape room
Robert Hawk and his wife Sara are driving home from their celebration out on the town for his birthday when suddenly their car is thrown off the road crashing into an embankment. Robert wakes up handcuffed to a chair with a splitting headache in a dimly lit room, and Sara is nowhere to be seen. Surveying the area as best you can from your position, you will need to find a way to unlock the handcuffs by seeking out items that may be helpful or give you clues. Soon you will discover you are being held by a serial killer about whom you have been writing articles. Yours is not the only life in danger; logical thinking and the ability to think outside the box will be required if you are to save all the lives at stake.
– Real player with 11.3 hrs in game
Hey man, why don’t we just play some board games.
With a new Saw movie being released for the first time in seven years, you gotta get some life threatening puzzle solving somewhere. The official Saw games do not do it justice but what about Saw inspired games?
We come into the picture right as our protagonist, Robert Hawk, get kidnapped and put into a dark room. Still fresh from his car accident, or perhaps it was planned all along, this investigative journalist now has to go through puzzles made by the very man he was chasing, Illusion. Robert must be close to identifying Illusion if he was put in one of his puzzles to die, rather than a criminal that evaded being jailed. If Illusion made one mistake, it would be putting a journalist specifically trying to find out who they are, right in the same building.
– Real player with 10.0 hrs in game
Sliptime Sleuth
Super impressed with this game, from the art, puzzles, gameplay, music, and writing, playing Sliptime Sleuth was a blast. The time travel mechanic is a really cool idea, and I love how it plays into puzzles. You’re really forced to think logically and keep track of the various things civies will say, which imo was what kept me playing. The puzzles are designed in a way that make you feel like a detective, time traveler, and murderer all in one. Overall, super fun and challenging game, highly recommended!
– Real player with 2.9 hrs in game
Very cute puzzle game! Although it’s short, the puzzles are challenging and make you think. Certainly a fresh take with the time travel mechanic. The music is also fantastic!
– Real player with 2.3 hrs in game
Typical Cliche
Overall: Despite being a ‘Typical Cliche.’ I actually really liked this game. The translation was a bit off, however I spent way too long on this game and found a few glitches to make some parts of it easier. It’s free, so why not?
Recommended for RPG maker fans, and anyone who’s bored and wants something interesting to play.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
if you want to endure pain
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
Heartbeat: Regret
I would not recommend this game as a horror game. I feel like it has a lot of potential as a horror game but due to the frustration of movement. The game losses any sort of suspense and is replaced by frustration. Some people have mentioned that the lack of a tutorial was an added challenge; I didn’t find this to be true for myself. However I did find a lot of difficultly reading the text. As well as finding the tempo for the movement difficult especially at slower tempos.
The text being hard to read is not a huge problem as the text is read out loud and I got used to it over time. Though for people that are better at spelling than me I’m sure this is even less of an issue if it is an issue at all. Though for the issue of movement the tempo is very hard to find. I died severely times just trying to move around the areas and spent a bunch of time sitting in one spot just waiting for the heartbeat to go down. This made it very frustrating when most of my time is either spent sitting around waiting to be able to move without dying or trying to get back to a point that was right before I got killed just to march into death again. For as long as it takes to move around the areas you just lose anything that makes it scary. Honestly the most scary thing about it was how I was about to pick up my keyboard and chuck it across the room in frustration.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
An extremely unique idea! Never thought I would have typing horror and rythm in the same game! I love it! A little bit of trouble with instructions and knowing what to a couple times, but the incredible sound design makes up for it. I’ll be playing this for a while I can already tell
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Plague Doctor: Contagion 430 BCE–2020 AD
Plague Doctor Contagion, was a short and sweet retelling of different pandemics through time. I greatly enjoyed the music in the game, the graphics are nothing special but still stylized in a unique way I wont forget soon, and the game play could do with more interactivity (examples could be, puzzles, finding objects to help people, or having your decisions affect your outcomes in a more prominent sense.).
For $3 this game is not bad, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the descriptions of the diseases and what they were doing to people, and I liked seeing history played out in front of me like they did.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
You can pet the dog
10/10 Game Of The Year
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
The Wolf’s Den
The voice acting is a little rough in places, but overall it’s a fun way to eat up a few hours of your time. The Unity engine is reminiscent of a lot of mobile horror games I used to play 5 or 6 years ago, and that was pretty nostalgic for me. Either way, it seems like the dev is relatively new to game development and if that’s the case they’ve got a great start.
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
I really loved finding the cute octopus at the end. It’s so charming cute!!!!! 3 And the notes in every stage were very well written, I almost felt like I was reading a novel. The werewolf was indeed too spooky… (be careful for your heart attack lol). I was surprised how long the tunnel is!
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
6 PEOPLE
It’s like a mini short ghost story, which the ending of it is surprising/makes the player think what actually happened to those passengers.
There are no voice actors but the sound effects are good enough to simulate a train environment. The contents in the conversations and actions in the mini novel are not redundant/extra, everything in it are straight to the point and gives each character their characteristic.
I look forward to your new product in the future. ^_^ I would like to see more of the old man appearing in future stories as a wiseman.
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
Un-engaging, Uninspired, Uninteresting.
Flick through the screenshots and you will have seen half the game. No, seriously. This is a “blink and you’ll miss it” experience if ever there was one. That isn’t the central issue though - I’ve no problem with short and snappy little horror games if they have a point to them, and if they can engage you despite the brisk playtime. The issue is that 6 PEOPLE does neither. After I finished the experience and the
! menu changed with the addition of the phone I thought maybe this was one of those games that would change after you restarted it - I went through and wasted another five to ten minutes of my life only to experience the exact same thing. I’m not even entirely sure what the plot was supposed to mean. There are no choices and not even the illusion of choices, the only response you make is ‘…….’. The only positives I could extract were that it was a free experience… and that it thankfully only wasted a few minutes of my time. A distinct lack of any form of substance or player involvement makes my recommendation for 6 PEOPLE a strong and emphatic AVOID.
– Real player with 0.7 hrs in game