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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
Color Soul: Memories
The game was actually pretty fun and in some case, emotinal. Despite being small, it does deserves respect
(i edited out the problem that this game had)
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Minigames Games.
A nice, fun little game! There are three areas (clans) and each of them have their own plot and style of gameplay to complete the tasks (fighting, puzzle solving, etc.). It’s a little short (around an hour-ish) but you’ll be invested pretty much the entire time in that hour and the game definitely has its charm.
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
A Painter’s Tale: Curon, 1950
Incredibly deep expression of a very sad event in the history of the world. Excellent game and time well spent!
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Short Voxel Games.
A gentle and relaxing game that allows the player to immerse themselves within history. I never thought I would feel such nostalgia from a quaint little town, or receive goosebumps upon my finishing of the game. Though the movement was a bit awkward at times, the shading and colours of Curon were stunning, and the soundtrack was beautiful. The story is novel-like, the visuals are picturesque, and you will walk out of this piece of art with a fleeting, but haunting experience of a tale from the past.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game
Radius Hex: Ink Shapes
Organize by rotating ink-filled stamps to form beautiful shapes,
When completing the puzzle the stamp is pressed on the paper, printing your watercolor painting!
Features:
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30 carefully designed levels;
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Original soundtrack composed especially to help you relax;
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Relaxing gameplay, perfect for those looking for casual puzzle;
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Beautiful hand-drawn watercolor art.
Fossil Echo
See written review below or watch it here: https://youtu.be/VB5QmKE2Dz8
TL;DR: SKIP TO CONCLUSION!
Fossil Echo is a challenging, story driven platformer that often requires quick reflexes, and good timing.
You play as a boy on a quest to climb a massive tower. The story is short, but I was immediately interested in finding out what happened right after the first cutscene. After reaching the end of the story though, I did wish there was more. While the ending makes sense, it felt like I didn’t quite get the full closure that I was hoping for.
– Real player with 4.9 hrs in game
So I’ve beaten fossil echo a few times now, and I have to say, this is a fantastic game! After playing the demo so much at MomoCon, I was very excited for this game’s release, but I also feared that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Yet, the full game blew me away. The art, music, and gameplay all gave a unique and powerful feeling that the game tried to portray through the short scenes in between each area: a lone boy off to find out about a mysterious clan of ninjas. The game wasn’t all super serious though, and at times offered comedic relief after difficult parts. The music in the scene where the boy climbs the ladder and sees all the phases of the moon as a glass mosaic on the wall brought chills to my spine, and the simplicity, yet detail of the artwork made the world feel alive. I’m a bit sad that the game is so short, but this allows for easy replayability, and a game you can play and finish if you don’t have much time on your hands. The challenge rooms that you had the option to complete were all fun, yet challenging, and escalated in difficulty as the game progressed, while also teaching intrinsic game mechanics that helped me later. I really, and I mean really, love playing this game. I would recommend it to anyone who likes platformers: no gimmicks, just pure platforming fun. It’s definitely worth the $15 cost, and honestly, it gives way more than I’d expect from a $15 game. There were some parts that I felt were things I couldn’t help though. After you jump, and if you are in the air too long, you are no longer able to grab onto walls, and so if you jump too early, you can just slide off the wall you are trying to jump onto. Also, if your entire body doesn’t make contact with a wally, you slide right off. Yet, those are just a few nitpicks I have, and overall, it is a great game. I give this game a solid 9/10.
– Real player with 4.1 hrs in game
Lectrovolt II
This a great little platform game that puts me in mind of the old 8 bit explorer games with huge maps such as Underwurlde, Nodes of Yesod, Starquake and the like. You have abilities that are unlocked as you progress and let you explore more of the map which is quite a task to progress through. The graphics are suitably retro and I found the music rather soothing. It’s not very long though although there are a few hidden rooms to discover. My only gripes are achievements not unlocking for me and the game had a habit of freezing for a few seconds but these aside, this is a solid platform game that’s worth a look.
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
I bought this game to give it an honest review because I was so upset by the first review. This is a fun casual game with some rich environments. The puzzles themselves are creative and stretch through multiple rooms, the interface is slick and easy to understand, exploration is rewarded, and upgrades are well utilized. The game has a nice built in perpetual save system complete with a “continue” option upon starting the game up again. I do think these environments and game-world would be benefit with the addition of some text-based-story, perhaps in the form of some data-pads or other optional-reading material hidden throughout the game. I can tell there is a lot to be said here, and I want to learn some lore! That said, the clever nature of the puzzles and drastic difference in the level ‘biomes’ were a pleasant surprise. I am sorry that this fun game by Harmonize Studios was subject to a troll on steam as its first review. People should try to remember there are real people behind these inde-games. Keep up the great work and please don’t listen to trolls.
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
The Gardens Between
Imagine playing with a very beautifully illustrated and intricate pop-up book. That is about as good a description I can give you for what The Gardens Between is. You can close and open the page to make things move backwards and forwards. But seeing as this is a digital pop-up book we can add some other mechanics too such as using lanterns to clear fog which would have otherwise been blocking your way. We can spin a dial to mess with the chronological order of other things independent of us….and just in general we can manipulate time to solve puzzles and uncover a fully relaxing and heartwarming story of two friends who love each other.
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
The first time I loaded The Gardens Between and saw the title screen, I knew I was in for something special. I was reminded immediately of the initial screen for “Braid” a game that I constantly referred back to for The Gardens Between. And like “Braid”, The Gardens Between is a beautiful puzzle game that often uses time as a mechanic and rewards patience, interest and pondering of the tales we tell ourselves of our rose-tinted youth.
The Gardens Between is a universal story then, all told without a script, dialogue or any written words whatsoever. As you journey with our young friends, Arina and Frendt, you get a sense of their personality and their enduring friendship and moments together, through objects that make up the levels and the snippets of moments they share when each is completed.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Hasfax
If YOU don’t get lost and find everything quickly get though it in an hour. I say for the price it is worth it. It is an interesting mystery that kept me playing just to figure out what the heck was going on in this creepy building .
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game
Review brought to you by:
TentacleBunny’s Cozy Cottage
Developed and published by HorseGames, Hasfax saw its way on Steam early this year. It managed to get some attention from horror fans, and so far maintains an overall Mixed score. I always have a hard time checking Indie Horror games, simply by the fact that many of them are generic and rushed.
Hasfax however, is neither. It’s not the latest sensation, of course, in fact, it’s quite far from it, but it’s interesting, well made, and not falling into mediocre concepts overly seen already. On the same level as its horror orientation, players are motivated to explore, always with a crippling fear behind the ear, and I really like that. Visuals and atmosphere combined to create a presence, one that haunts you.
– Real player with 2.9 hrs in game
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
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
Ceress and Orea
Short version:
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Great story
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LGBT positive
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Lovely visuals and designs
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Amazing Soundtrack
+/- Puzzles are (very) easy
- Short time with Orea
Recommended to story lovers, people who want to see LGBT-led games, people who enjoy short games.
Long(er) version:
Ceress and Orea has been on my radar since the developer first started her dev thread over at RMW. Reading and seeing the amount of progress she made over all those months, left me very excited for the final product and I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint.
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
I recently received this game for free as a curator connect offer for my group Visual novel, JRPG, Anime. This RPG Maker-based game by Plueschkatze features a female protagonist Ceress who was sentenced to death for falling in love with a noblewoman Orea as her personal bodyguard. Ceress was forced to jump down a high cliff with an offer of a full pardon if she were to survive such a fall.
Ceress would wake up inside a cave that happens to be the realm of an unnamed deity where if she is resourceful enough to reach the exit of the cave, she would be allowed to leave the place without losing her soul. As Ceress makes her way through the cave, she would recall fragments of her memories with Orea.
– Real player with 2.5 hrs in game