Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura… oh, this game…
In spite of my low ownership, I am more than familiar with this bizarre, wonderful masterpiece, a game I sometimes thought was a complete fever dream from the depths of my imagination, among a strange number of other games including an action game involving Skittles and a dark knight. I’m still not sure that one still exists, though.
Arcanum is NOT a fever dream, however, and does in fact exist and is a masterpiece of a forgotten era where computers had the ability to deal with the unique and antiquated graphical features on their own. Because Microsoft doesn’t know how to keep good features from previous operating systems, it is imperative that you look up a tutorial on how to play this game, and while on your way, pick up an unofficial patch and maybe a few mods; one of which being Virgil’s Debug Menu. You won’t regret it.
– Real player with 684.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Story Rich Atmospheric Games.
In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a Steam review for every game in my library (#450 out of 612)… it’s time for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magicka Obscura.
Arcanum is one of the finest CRPGs ever made, and arguably the most impressive product legendary (if somewhat infamous) developer Troika Games ever built. It’s a massive,, brilliantly open game in the vein of Fallout that offers players an unprecedented degree of freeom with regard to how they build their characters, how they play the game, and how they progress through the world. It’s difficult to overstate just how deeply engaging Arcanum can be—this one is a classic roleplaying game for very good reason.
– Real player with 124.4 hrs in game
Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition
Sunless Skies
**I seduced a woman who’s head was a jeweled skull while there was a spider nestled inside my eyeball. It was
! great fun, but sadly it took
! way too fuckin long to get there.**
Who is this game for?
If you like Britishness, the possibility of a decent story, nice environments or you like mildly spooky games AND you’re either willing to cheat or your time isn’t valuable.
Gameplay
Looking for diamonds in the rough.
– Real player with 249.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Story Rich Lovecraftian Games.
My feelings towards this game are many and complicated. For background, Sunless Sea is one of my favourite games ever…and I can also totally understand why some people might absolutely hate it. Sunless Skies is in many ways an improvement over Sea, and yet, for me at least, it hasn’t quite recaptured the magic of Sea, and I’m not entirely sure I can explain why.
For people who haven’t played Sea, both it and Skies are games about exploring a world that is sometimes bizarre, sometimes charming, and sometimes terrifying. Both games have some of the best writing that I’ve seen in video games, with excellent worldbuilding. And both games are very slow-paced. A lot of time in these games is spent travelling from point A to point B, with only the occasional combat or random event to break up the travel. Depending on the person, this can either be a chill and relaxing experience, or an incredibly tedious one.
– Real player with 118.8 hrs in game
BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite is a masterpiece. This game has one of the best storylines ever. The story was really interesting and I had so much fun playing through it. For a game made in 2013, I’ve gotta say, the graphics in this game are BEAUTIFUL. I loved the setting of this game and the atmosphere of this game is AMAZING. The gameplay in BioShock Infinite was really cool and the combat was unique. There is quite a lot of content in this game and some DLC’s to play after you have finished the main story. There were barely any bugs in this game and it is optimized well for whatever specs you have, the game will still run fine and still look really good. I have also played through the other 2 BioShock games and I really enjoyed those ones, but this one is by far the best of the series. This game is definitely worth the price and I also recommend buying the other BioShock games with this one too if you haven’t already played them. If you like story-rich FPS games I highly recommend BioShock Infinite. 11/10
– Real player with 50.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Story Rich Singleplayer Games.
Average Elizabeth fan:
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠛⠛⠛⠋⠉⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠛⠻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣤⣤⣤⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⢏⣴⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣟⣾⣿⡟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⢢⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⠀⡴⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿
⣿⣿⣿⠟⠻⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠶⢴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿
⣿⣁⡀⠀⠀⢰⢠⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠀⣴⣶⣿⡄⣿
⣿⡋⠀⠀⠀⠎⢸⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠗⢘⣿⣟⠛⠿⣼
⣿⣿⠋⢀⡌⢰⣿⡿⢿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⢸⣿⣿⣧⢀⣼
⣿⣿⣷⢻⠄⠘⠛⠋⠛⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣧⠈⠉⠙⠛⠋⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣧⠀⠈⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠟⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢃⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⠀⠴⢗⣠⣤⣴⡶⠶⠖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡸⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡀⢠⣾⣿⠏⠀⠠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠉⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣧⠈⢹⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠈⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣴⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
– Real player with 34.0 hrs in game
EMPYRE: Lords of the Sea Gates
I played a lot with this game because the victorian style steam punk world created in this game is very interesting. The quality of the graphics is not on the same level as the top games but it is well made with a good atmosphere.
The gameplay is the same old rpg feeling, with party, movement, action (fights and dialogs), collecting loot, get stronger. The story is interesting, the setting is exciting.
– Real player with 870.9 hrs in game
Borderline recommendation. The negative reviewers are not wrong - it is clunky and linear, the combat is unsatisfying, there is a lot hinted at but never realized. It’s not just poorly documented but a lot of the skills you’ll bother developing are never actually used. I suspect they planned a much bigger game and had to dramatically scale back. They aimed for Wasteland 2 and fell a bit short of Shadowrun.
Having said that I wasn’t actually bored and that’s my line for recommending. I finish all games in order to provide a fair and detailed review on my site and in this case I didn’t have to force myself. The story is cliche but well written and brisk, you get new guns and characters throughout and constantly change maps. The combat improves to passable and some of the missions are interesting. It did enough to engage me and with the lovely setting that gets a pass.
– Real player with 19.1 hrs in game
The Secret of Retropolis
Disclaimer: I was given a copy for free as I was involved in the beta testing for the Steam version.
The game was successfully enjoyed with an Oculus Quest 2 headset and Airlink.
The Secret of Retropolis is a classic point & click adventure game in VR that puts you in the pants of a robot detective that is hired by a famous movie star to retrieve a stolen necklace. The story will evolve in unpredicted ways in the classic style of a film noir.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room, it’s a short experience and it will not require more than 1h30 for a first playthrough.
– Real player with 4.1 hrs in game
Don’t call it outdated – it’s retro! Point and click adventures are back in the charming, tongue-in-cheek film noir “The Secret of Retropolis.”
The Good:
1. Art/Style – Put simply, Retropolis is a bundle of cel-shaded panache that feels like someone took all the best parts of the artistic styles of Metropolis, Futurama, and the classic LucasArts SCUMM engine point and clicks, brought to life in VR. The “film within a film” cutscenes are a particular standout in terms of presentation.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game
Forgotton Anne
| Byte sized review | Lost and found |
| Graphics | 3/5 - I am generally not a huge fan of anime, especially when it’s hypersexualized as most often than not seems to be the case to the uneducated (in the art form) like myself. As a kid growing up I always thought of it as too raw and too ugly for my tastes much preferring the style of western cartoons, but over the years I have gradually come to enjoy some of Studio Ghibli’s output (that is about as far as my anime adventurousness extends as I have never had any desire to seek out other studios output). Forgotton Anne visually reminds me of Studio Ghibli’s output and that is the highest praise I could possibly reap upon it. While I would have much preferred a more traditional western cartoon animation style, and that is just my personal taste, it works here and continues to help me broaden my horizons which is only a good thing. |
– Real player with 21.1 hrs in game
So that’s where my socks go. Well, I hope they had a nice life.
We all lost something. Whether it be that jacket that you forgot to take with you or an important paper that you misplaced. Or perhaps you forgot you had something as years pass. If you’re lucky, you would be able to find it again, if not, it’s a mystery where it ended up. However, what if a whole other universe houses these items and gives them life?
Anne lives in such a world, along with another human named Bonku. Anne is the Enforcer, which requires her to keep the order and make sure those not following the rules gets repercussions. But why should Forgotlings (lost and forgotten things) listen? Well, Anne and Bonku both wield the Arca which can give or take away Anima, their power source and their life energy. If a Forgotling’s Anima is taken, or distilled, they will just be a regular old item again. However, rebels have risen up despite the threat of being distilled and has threatened the near completion of the Ether Bridge as well as everyone to go back to their owner. Things have gotten too far out of hand, it’s time for the Enforcer to step in.
– Real player with 16.7 hrs in game
Karaski: What Goes Up…
It’s October 1923, my name is Jan Kowalski and I am honored to be one of the first passengers onboard the airship A. A. Karaski. When I joined this miracle of technology, I was excited with curiosity, how it works and what I’ll experience during the flight. I actually thought that I would spend the entire journey in a bar on the upper deck sipping fancy whiskey with casual conversation. After boarding, I picked up a boarding pass, introduced myself to a guide of the airship and headed to my cabin. Well, was just going to, because just around the corner I somehow fainted and my plan was screwed a little. A lot.
– Real player with 21.6 hrs in game
Take to the skies in this whodunit mystery. You will take on the role of a passenger on this one of a kind airship, but something has gone wrong. The airship has been sabotage, but who has done it. Was it you? Will you be able to uncover who did it? Will you be caught snooping around and have everyone expect you of doing this heinous act?
In Karaski: What Goes Up… this is exactly what you’ll be doing. You will be playing through the game with your main mission being to get to the bottom of the mystery of the sabotage, but there are other quests that you can take on to perhaps pry information from other passengers. In this game you will have the chance to bribe guards to look the other way, entice passengers with the promise of alcohol, and of course gain tools that will allow you access to different areas of the ship.
– Real player with 8.6 hrs in game
BioShock™
As someone who doesn’t typically enjoy shooters, and someone who has no nostalgia for the title, I can safely say this game is legitimately worthy of it’s praise as a classic.
The Good:
- Beautiful environments and a wonderful overall aesthetic. The immersive undersea late 1950-60s city that you find yourself exploring is not only a very unique location for a game, but it’s also just masterfully crafted. They really blew me away with just how interesting they were able to make every area. It was the kind of location I seriously would love to see in real life, a sort of dream environment as it were.
– Real player with 67.7 hrs in game
Bioshock is one of the most expertly made games I have ever played. The game takes place in a ciy called Rapture, a city under the sea created by Andre Ryan to be a utopia, where people’s dreams would not be limited by things such as government or morality. You play as Jack, a man in a plane crash that landed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, who finds a Lighthouse that leads to Rapture, now ruined and destroyed due to a war created by Atlas, a man who leads a rebellion group against Andrew Ryan, and wants to help you survive as you fight Splicers (genetic mutants created by splicing up on something called ADAM; a substance found at the bottom of the ocean that can be used for a variety of purpose. Medical, entertainment, or even getting powers called Plasmids) and Big Daddies, protecters of the Little Sisters, who hold sea slugs in their stomachs that produce loads of ADAM.
– Real player with 62.9 hrs in game
Noir Punk
Full play through here if you get stuck or just want to see the game played:
Review:
Great game I love the noir genre so the aesthetic of this game is already a win for me it’s done pretty well and has some nice humor in it. My two main complaints is one I couldn’t find a way to make it full screen or any options for that matter and the sound puzzle this is a personal one for me because I HATE SOUND PUZZLES, unless they’re blatantly obvious I’m insanely garbage at them so full disclosure I had to cheat the one in this game which I show how to do in the video. Overall though this is a great free to play with a really nice story I loved the break in puzzles with the action scenes as well that was a super nice touch.
– Real player with 3.7 hrs in game
A fun half-an-hour experience
Loved the style and attention to details
Action sequences are a bit tough to control but there’s no tight platforming or heated situations to make it a problem
The programming is a bit rough but for a jam game it is a cool experience!
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Shattering Obsidian
By the end of my time with Shattering Obsidian, the main character, a native, conscientious healer-type, was becoming cynical and rather merciless due to the tragedy surrounding her, It didn’t have to be this way, it was because of my choices, which I hope are carried forward to the next chapter.
Really enjoyed this. Great story, leaving you wanting for more, in chapter 3!!
I highly recommend this game.
– Real player with 7.5 hrs in game
A brilliant adventure game- sort of a hybrid rpg and ‘point and click.’ I don’t want to spoil it, but you can’t help but be drawn in to the story. Chapter 1 is more fantasy focused, but heart-wrenching. Chapter 2 is where it gets very steampunky- where the need to know what happens next becomes tantalising!!!
I can’t wait for chapter 3!
– Real player with 2.3 hrs in game