You VS Drugs
YOU TAKE ON THE ROLE OF REAL-LIFE AGENTS WHO EXIST IN YOUR BRAIN, WHERE YOUR OWN WIT CAN RISE TO REVERT A WORLDWIDE DEVASTATION. THE ENEMY CAN ENSLAVE ANYONE, ANYWHERE. BY EMBARKING ON AN ADVENTURE THAT WILL DEFY YOUR IMAGINATION, YOU WILL DISCOVER HOW DRUG ADDICTION THREATENS HUMANITY. BY WATCHING REAL NEUROLOGICAL EVENTS, YOU WILL BE EMPOWERED TO BETTER PROTECT YOURSELF, AND THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE —IF YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!
Inspiration & theme: “In 1960, only 4 million Americans had ever tried drugs” (2.2% of people). “By creating the Bureau of Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs in 1968, the U.S. set the basis of an official national/international war on drugs” (Drug Enforcement Administration Museum).
50 years later, the National Survey on Drug Use & Health (2019) showed that 164.8 million Americans aged 12 or older (60.1% of people) were past month substance users. Even worse, “children are already abusing drugs at age 12 or 13 (…), including tobacco, alcohol, inhalants, marijuana, prescription drugs such as sleeping pills & anti-anxiety medicines” (National Institute on Drug Abuse -NIDA-, 2020). And now, the United Nations’ 2021 World Drug Report states that “pandemic effects ramp up drug risk, as youth underestimate cannabis dangers”. So, what now? NIDA (2020) states that “Increased understanding of the basics of addiction will empower people to make informed choices in their own lives”. But if science took +100 years to unravel how drugs change the brain and produce addiction, how can regular kids & adults learn such complex topics to foresee the hidden dangers of trying drugs?
‘You VS Drugs’ is the first brain-based video game saga in the world designed to prevent drug addiction by empowering people with real knowledge, so they can make better choices in their own lives!
Design & gameplay: It’s a chibi cartoon-style 3D graphic design of characters & settings which give players a sense of action and fun at first glance. Friends & foes, level challenges, sounds, structures & objects are designed for players —that can play alone/with a partner— to explore, have fun, get surprised, fight, and make decisions that test the knowledge players acquire while watching how their brain works, and how drugs mess up with people’s lives. All relevant situations are inspired in real events of the working brain.
Game mechanics (and link to the learning experience):
• Incorrect responses to Path questions lead to situations that diminish energy levels.
• Correct responses to Path questions earn players points. Enough points allow the discovery of a special feature in the camp’s hospital.
• Your choices sometimes affect other AI teammates’ energy levels.
• To complete the first half of a level you need to take care of your fellow(s).
• Once a level is completed, the subsequent level is unlocked.
• Before a new level starts, weapon improvements or new skills can be learned at the camp’s gym.
Read More: Best Stealth Conspiracy Games.
Arcanbreak
It is a point and click adventure the characters can be moved with ‘w-a-s-d’ and then there is mouse to point and click. The experience could have been better if there was an option to press a key when the character is near the object to know about the object.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Stealth Exploration Games.
It’s a strange feeling, being first to review a Steam title.
Arcanbreak is a fantastical thriller and adventure game about abuse of power. It’s a short adventure that’ll take about 1-2 hours of your time to fully complete.
PROS:
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The atmosphere is dreary. The dark lighting and ominous music provokes the sense that something dark is brewing in town, and that’s one motivator to keep on the case.
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The character designs are nice enough. There’s a Kingdom Hearts meets Bloodborne aesthetic here, which I’m all for.
! Comrade Alexandria is a hardened fighter. Little movements, like the way characters will bob their heads around every here and then as a lookout, are nice touches. The banter takes a dark, but quirky approach, and it’s nice to read. Arun and Quila make neat protagonists.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game
Kohate
Update to review:
Well well well, I reviewed at 3 hrs in originally, and estimated there’d be another ~3 or so hours of content and achievement hunting to go.
Now I’m 11 hrs in, thanks to further updates to the game play modes and multiple ways the game can be completed with different endings.
What a gem this turned out to be.
Original review:
Fun little game. Great for the value/cost.
It has quite a high level of polish for the price - various voice over actors, lots of sci-fi and semi-organic/cyber assets in play, many usual tropes like steam vents and so on. The game works and runs well. Enough tension to make you fumble and fall.
– Real player with 11.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Stealth Exploration Games.
Curator page here-- [url] DaRevieweD #49 [/url] -- [i]New review every Sunday[/i]
That son-of-a-gun DSD’s gone and done it again! He took my smeared brain matter from my playthroughs and obsession, mind you- most notably of Our Secret Below (OSB), INNER and he reconstructed them using some advanced tech! Being a patron of his work, seeing his tireless efforts in creating meaningful yet underrated haunting experiences has been inspiring!
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game
Midwintar
Midwintär catches you at Khazar’s Pass.
You shelter in a cave as the days and nights grow long and cold,
as the snow seals you in and as the world darkens.
Midwintär is a narrative-driven stealth action game inspired by medieval horror folklore that combines careful tactical planning with fast-paced arcade execution and innovative gossip mechanics. Play and switch between three protagonists - a werewolf, a vampire, and a moon witch - to exact your revenge on a vicious religious cult.
Off-Kilter Sunny Horror On the outside, Midwintär takes place among sunny, medieval villages populated by friendly, hard-working, and devoted inhabitants. Stay overnight, though, and you might be horrified to reveal the true nature of their sacred rituals. The world of Midwintär is gruesome and dark but also funny.
Sun / Moon Gameplay Cycle Midwintär features a 3-minute day-night cycle that changes your abilities. You must use your daytime skills such as lock-picking or spreading rumours among villagers to best prepare the terrain for the night-time havoc when you transform into a bloodthirsty, overpowered monster.
Gossip Mechanics Each villager in Midwintär has their own suspicion-meter you can influence by gossiping and spreading rumors about other villagers, and there is also a panic-meter that changes the AI behaviour of all villagers on the map. You can use this against villagers - hide the firewood to lure the lumberjack into the night, kill him near the chapel to incriminate the priest, and later spread rumours on seeing him covered in blood. He’ll be hanged in no time!
Three Playable Characters You will be able to choose, play and switch between three playable characters - a werewolf, a vampire, and a moon witch - each of whom possesses a distinctive skillset and boasts a different playstyle.
Non-linear Skilltree You will be able to customize the skillset and playstyle of each character by opting to complete alternate missions in levels, which will reward you with a special bonus skill of your choice. Will your werewolf hone his terrifying howl, or will he become one with the wolf-packs of the forest?
Co-Op Multiplayer Midwintär will feature a split-screen and a local multiplayer for up to three players, enabling all three characters to fight together.
The corrupt and self-righteous religious institution Oblique Order is attempting to destroy the peaceful cohabitation of people and magical creatures in the pagan world of Midwintär, and enforce their order by uniting people against the powers of the wild. You must stop them before they exterminate your kind…
Midwintär starts off as a revenge story that slowly shifts into an exploration about our relationship to the unknown, and about the limits of what we can hope to control or understand.
WEREWOLF
The main protagonist is the werewolf, a former disciple of the Oblique Order, disillusioned and out for vengeance. During the game, he is guided by the voice of Midwintär, an ancient force of nature. His skills revolve around spreading panic and using brute force.
VAMPIRE
The vampire, once a powerful force of the night, his might now reduced by the spells of men. He cannot cross running water nor enter houses uninvited, but his power is in his allure - he can enthrall people to do his bidding, or forge blood links to ensure undying loyalty.
MOON WITCH
Then, there is the moon witch. Saved just before she was burned at the stake, she had felt on her skin the terror of order, and wishes to rid the world of their influence. Her skills revolve around misdirecting suspicion at others and using concoctions to alter their behaviour.
“Attending the Masked Meeting, you overhear their plans - they have already set all things in motion.”
Creepy Tale 2
Creepy Tale 2
Heavily inspired by European folklore and Grimm's Fairy Tales Book by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Creepy Tale 2 is bringing back the creepy universe from its predecessor.
Plot: Following the same footsteps, Creepy Tale 2 explores the tragic story of our young braveheart, Lars, and his family. After a peaceful day's work, Lars finds himself tired and decides to hit bed early, only to be woken up by loud noises coming from downstairs.
*– [Real player with 13.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198329404521)*
The first half of the game was excellent, especially the witch's house, I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life, but the puzzles got progressively worse toward the end due to 'trial and error' and exposition dump. You can finish the story in about 3 to 5 hours, there are 2 endings and several optional achievements. Overall, I still think it's an improvement from the first game, they dropped the whole platforming gimmick in favor of a more traditional 'adventure' gameplay. Now they didn't implement the mouse interface to complement the new format, but the way you interact with some of the death-traps favors the keyboard/controller movement - so I can understand why they went into that direction. I still feel like the game had a lot of moon logic, not as bad as the first game, but there were more than a few convoluted solutions. To give the game a little credit, even though there were many good and bad puzzles, those that were good were extremely creative, with just the right amount of challenge. My main problem with puzzles is that toward the second half the levels felt very short, and it's almost like they were making content with no direction.
*– [Real player with 8.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197995669628)*
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## Cruelty Squad
Cruelty Squad is a game that assaults all of your senses until you gain the skill and knowledge needed to assault the game back. Once you have ground the game into the dirt for what it did to you and there is nothing left to accomplish, it asks you if you are proud of yourself. The words make you feel like you winced, but outwardly you have shown no reaction. You continue to punish the game. You just keep playing. You have enough money but you keep harvesting organs. You have beaten every level over and over again but you keep replaying them. You've gotten S ranks in each level but you just keep going for shorter times.
*– [Real player with 114.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197979904227)*
The art style is like being born again. Merely the appearance of everything is so unfamiliar, yet the form has a purpose. What is at first is an assault on the senses becomes this journey to have a precision beyond that of machine, to retire at 30, to be a home owner. But now that you've reached your destination, there's a distinct emptiness. What more is there left to do? You're a high net worth individual now, and you can't truly take that journey for the first time again. If you throw away everything, you'll just navigate effortlessly back to where you were. Simply put, there's no more destination to venture to, there's no journey to be had, you're at the end of what this planet has to offer and what a society of miserable chunks of meat has to offer. What do you do at the end? Desperately try to relive any past experiences, no matter how boring they've become? Or maybe keep doing the same routine every day in hopes that something new will cross your path? What purpose does man serve when they've done everything?
*– [Real player with 41.1 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198091151925)*
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## Lockes The Thief
Engage on a brand new adventure! Easy and fun gameplay for all ages! Fight and sneak past villians and beat them to the treasure!
On a mysterious land known as The Slab Land, The Soldiers, The Sneaks and The Sages have co-exsisted. But when The Sages were rewarded a Magickal gemstone called The unRealistic, trouble began to brew. A few jealous Sneaks and Soldiers have banded together to make a tribe called The Sludge and they plan to steal the unRealistic so they can receive unlimited power! But one Sneak is not loyal to this plot.
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## The Trud
What the heck is a Trud? Some sort of baddie I imagine. The cutscenes are in the realm of so-bad-it's-good, But the game that follows is a good enough spooky puzzle and slow walking simulator.
https://youtu.be/KkOwf57IlL8
*– [Real player with 7.9 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198121398682)*
Update: the dev has updated the game since my previous review and it's much better. Now the movement is smoother and faster and the game flows better. I enjoyed my second playthrough. Below is my old review from long ago.
Cons:
- It is absurdly overpriced.
- 99.9% of the things you do in the game are walking. And the walking is buggy as hell. They might fix it later, but at release it's pretty bad. If you turn while walking it feels like you bump into invisible walls all the time or maybe the character is tripping over her own feet because the game stops you from moving forward for about 0.1sec. Feels very wonky and at some point teaches you to never look around and just look forward to avoid the glitchy walking.
*– [Real player with 3.5 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197992628078)*
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## Fleshport
Absolutely amazing game! I loved every second of it. The game play is smooth and fun, and the characters as well as the story are very beautifully written. I highly recommend giving this game a try!
*– [Real player with 19.7 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198869580854)*
Finishing Fleshport took me about 9 hours, but I'm very slow and check every detail twice. This game had me hooked from beginning to end. Even with the small RPG Maker window size, I had the feeling that I was traversing through some supernatural landscape with its own people and customs. The characters are both unsettling and charming.
The design in some parts of the game are confusing, with doors that are hard to notice and details that are easy to miss. There was one puzzle in particular I could only figure out after interacting with every object and smooshing my face against every wall. There are also some bugs, especially with the chase mechanics, but nothing game-breaking. I fully recommend this weird, weird game.
*– [Real player with 13.9 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198166800744)*
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## Descent of Man
I can't tell if this game is being updated anymore but, if it is completed and some things are changed, I think this will be a great playthrough.
https://youtu.be/9srLw1vr16Y
The good:
- Challenging stealth
- Good graphics
- Good 3D models
- A dystopian story that I like a lot right from the start
- I can't quite tell if I like that the player's character emits light of his own
- Surprisingly few glitches/bugs for an early access title
There are some things that I think need to be worked on:
- Basic customization settings need to be added (sensitivity, better brightness option, etc.)
*– [Real player with 2.0 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197995261878)*
I mean, it's free.
*– [Real player with 1.1 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198151418291)*
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