The Lost Legends of Redwall™: The Scout Act 2
I will admit, after playing Act 1 on release, I was very doubtful that Soma could continue their franchise. The gameplay was very buggy, as expected from a new developer, and it got so frustrating that I couldn’t stand to play the game anymore.
Fast forward a couple years, and to my pleasant surprise, Soma used their lessons learned from Act 1, and it shows here in Act 2 (They even vastly improved the gameplay through patches in Act 1!). Though there are some glaring bugs in the gameplay and level design, they’re much less plentiful than Act 1 was upon release. Most notable were the lack of collision object which would allow you to fall through the world. In general, Soma are really applying themselves in making a great game with a great story for any Redwall reader.
– Real player with 31.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Story Rich Puzzle Games.
If you liked Act I, chances are you’ll enjoy this one too. The gameplay is essentially the same and, even if it isn’t groundbreaking, it has the same charm and character as the first instalment. There are new characters with plenty of personality, including one based on an actual character from the Redwall book. The artworks are lovely as before and the soundtrack is great.
Also I’d like to give the devs, Soma Games, some extra praise: though these Redwall games are sometimes a little buggy, Soma really make the effort to correct as many glitches as they can. They actively facilitate player feedback with a bug reporting option on the menu, and week by week they’ve been steadily patching as many issues as they can. A committed developer is one worth supporting!
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game
The Wild at Heart
The Wild at Heart
A fun and addictive puzzle game with a lot of charming characters and a whimsical atmosphere.
Whilst playing with your friend in the woods, you get separated and find yourself in a magical kingdom. You encounter Grey Coat who tells you about the order of the Green Shields. They are a group of dedicated warriors responsible for protecting the land from a force called The Never.
– Real player with 33.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Story Rich Puzzle Games.
Very few games do I reminisce about once our story has ended, but this game is one that I keep thinking “man, maybe I should replay/start a new file/100% The Wild At Heart.”
The art style is an absolute delight to take in. It’s like you’re playing in a watercolour children’s book, and it really does help to immerse you in the fantasy of the world. The character designs are charming, and I still laugh remembering that there’s a character called “Litterbox” who uh… apparently smells /really/ bad.
– Real player with 23.1 hrs in game
Aery - Sky Castle
An excellent indie game with decent graphics at the level of serious projects, I really liked the views that you can see, especially if you look closely. I want to note the good control, but unfortunately it is only on the keyboard, and not on the mouse as in other parts. If you’ve played other series in this game, you’ll need to get used to the new mechanics. This game is very good at responding to the outside world and is very relaxing. I also want to note how well the colors are chosen, especially considering that this game is very abstract. The eyes do not get tired even after a long game, and all this is due to the soft colors. Before you start playing, I highly recommend brewing some tea and grabbing some biscuits to get a feel for the atmosphere that has been very well portrayed here. Strongly recommend to purchase.
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Story Rich Simulation Games.
Before us is a rather unusual game. I was looking for a game where you can relax and forget about all the problems, and so I came across it. After playing it, I was hooked, and I could not tear myself away. Let’s move on to the components of the game:
- Gameplay. In the game we have to play as a bird, fly across large maps and collect feathers. In the process, we will be told a story, but more on that later. The gameplay itself is pretty simple, and mastering the controls doesn’t take long. Thanks to this, the game allows us to really relax. There are no complaints about the gameplay.
– Real player with 12.7 hrs in game
Four Rendezvous
Correct Visual Novel. A good work with the Russian dubbing voices. A bit short though.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
The Cherry Orchard
A beautiful, uniquely styled 3D kinetic novel, imbued with love and respect for Chekhov’s original material. The script adaptation is superb, the voice acting is top notch, and the attention to details, such as facial and hand expressions, graphical effects, and accessibility features, are a masterclass in literary/dramatic game design. I’ve played it through many times in testing, a couple more times since release and, while the game is linear, I’ll be coming back to it many more times to attempt to fully absorb the depth of detail and meaning. Theatre students take note, this could be a valuable study resource.
– Real player with 16.5 hrs in game
The Cherry Orchard is the MOST visual novel, literally a CG adaptation of the Russian play of the same name. There’s a pseudo-cyberpunk element to it, however, with vaporwave and techno visual effects that accentuate some of the story’s subtext. It’s a little jarring how the lip synch doesn’t really match (but maybe that’s my slow computer not able to handle it), and there are a handful of small glitches that don’t affect the gameplay, like the hovertext in the settings sometimes flickers, but overall it’s interesting to watch.
– Real player with 7.0 hrs in game
Alexey’s Winter: Night adventure
I enjoyed playing this short point and click game. The hand drawn scenes have a great sense of place and the snow gives shivery cold feeling so I really felt sorry for the main character locked out of his apartment. The music was a good match for the game. The dialogue was very funny and endearing.
I had a small technical problem with my computer before I could play this game but the devs were really helpful and responsive so that the game works as it should now.
I hope the developers add some more episodes as I would definitely play them.
– Real player with 20.5 hrs in game
Alexey’s Winter: Night adventure is a very short point & click adventure set in the 1989’s USSR. The game was initially launched in 2017 on the mobile platform and gained positive feedback from the players. At a later date, it received a second episode (and as of Sep 26 2021 a third one) and underwent several design changes. This version was now ported to Steam as a paid item, while the mobile one remains free but was reverted back to one episode only.
The story follows Alexey’s troubles during one cold winter night, trying to get back his lost apartment keys. After a series of intricate puzzles he manages to regain access to his home, only to find out that in the meantime his TV was stolen. This sets the plot for the second and third episodes, which are slightly longer than the first one.
– Real player with 11.1 hrs in game
Blood Bond - Into the Shroud
I recorded a game play & review video of my experience. That will explain my displeasure with this title more than anything I could type here. Buyer beware!
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
I played the game today again. I can see the fantastic progress. Despite all the bugs I enjoyed the game. But still I woudn’t buy this game for full price. The game isnt ready even for free demo yet.
+//: The story, fast set a new player into the story, little quests
+//: Model of main character, animations
+//: Nature, sky with birds, wood with deer, I believe to will add more locations and creatures and herbals.
+//: Graphics and post-processing, original comics-like style
+//: Voices, sounds, music
– Real player with 1.7 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
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
Kronostasis
Overview
Kronostasis is a first-person shooter game with a lot of focus on its unique story. The levels offer a series of different challenges designed to encourage players to think outside of the box. Gameplay mechanics are also designed around this concept. Kronostasis also tries to focus more on fast-paced gameplay. Auxiliary capacitors for instance are power-up type boosts that can be collected while playing. These capacitors may then be discharged to provide additional movement speed or to blast away enemies whilst damaging them and providing additional shield energy.
There is a set of enemies that are commonly encountered on all levels, each level however features one or more unique bosses. Kronostasis’s story is inspired by Greek mythology but set in a futuristic timeline. The enemies you fight are inspired by mythical creatures and all zodiacs are represented by the bosses you encounter.
Story
In ancient times the guild of wizards existed, they studied the arcane of magic through astronomy, astrology and alchemy. Only through decades of training could certain gifted individuals master these skills and become wizards.
Wizards could cast powerful magic to aid ancient civilizations, they could also unleash massive destructive powers on the battlefields during war. Wielding such power however came at a great cost, casting magic would reduce the user’s life force causing advanced ageing.
Frustrated by his own fading live force a powerful wizard known as Kronos used forbidden techniques to conjure a spell that would grant him eternal life. Succeeding in his quest Kronos gained immortality. Freed from the bonds of time he could conjure spells that would decimate mortal mages, he was however driven mad by this power.
For centuries Kronos plagued the ancient word, turning all manner of creatures into monstrous beings. Unable to find a way to destroy Kronos, the guild of wizards, through a combined effort, finally managed to trap him in a time-sphere and banish him into time and space.
Fearing that history would inevitably repeat itself the wizard’s guild was disbanded and all their knowledge was sealed away. Now the only remnants of their existence have been reduced to nothing more than myth and legend.
Setting
In the not too distant future advancement in science and technology led to the development of the hyperspace drive. Hyperspace drives create rifts through time-space allowing access to a time altered dimension known as hyperspace allowing for faster than light travel. Together with advanced cryopreservation techniques, this gave rise to a new era of deep space exploration.
It was however discovered that the cryostasis procedures that deep space astronauts were subjected to caused severe mental stress. Combined with the extended periods of isolation associated with deep space travel this led to a massive rise in incidents associated with dementia and other mental afflictions.
In order to maintain safety aboard deep-space vessels, a new advanced type of artificially intelligent android was developed. These androids known as AIVO units are unaffected by the
Banished and entrapped in a time sphere Kronos is adrift in a time altered dimension. Each time a hyperspace drive creates a rift through time-space it triggers an anomaly within Kronos’s time sphere. Sensing these anomalies Kronos conjured a spell allowing him to align the position of his time sphere with that of the rift causing such an anomaly.
The Phlegethon is in hyperspace nearing the planet S3-15P778 as its final waypoint in a three-year mining operation. As the hyperspace drive opens a time rift in order to drop from hyperspace Kronos senses this anomaly and casts his dimensional alignment spell. As the Phlegethon emerges from hyperspace the dimensional alignment spell bends time and space and the ship collides with Kronos’s time sphere. The ship’s control systems are heavily damaged by the impact, and the crew awake from cryostasis to find that only the basic life support systems are active. They immediately scurry to try and get backup power and control systems online.
Meanwhile during the collision Kronos manages to board the Phlegethon and he starts transforming crew members into mythological creatures to serve as his minions. Those who manage to escape the transformation are hunted down and slaughtered by these creatures.
Due to system damages sustained during the impact, AIVO-D13 the AIVO unit aboard the Phlegethon remained unactivated. Amongst the chaos a crew member manages to bring the backup systems online, and AIVO-D13 is finally activated.
In order to prevent this affliction from possibly spreading to other systems, AIVO-D13 sets out to find and contain the source before he can signal for assistance. He starts battling his way through the service and maintenance quarters toward the control deck.
Mundaun
Mundaun is really good. It’s very refreshing to play a horror game set elsewhere than an asylum, a space station or a suburban house, there’s way too few games taking place in Switzerland. The game looks unique and I’m in awe just thinking how many graphite drawings it took and there’s quite a few striking setpieces I still think about to this day. The atmosphere is thick and eerie, you know something’s not right but can’t quite put your finger on it.
The characters are great, huge love for a certain evil one who oozes darkness. The romansh voice acting adds so much to the sense of mystery and it’s not like you’d play games in romansh everyday. The story is pretty straightforward and feels like a folktale you’d tell just before bedtime, a story the whole town would know.
– Real player with 24.4 hrs in game
Sometimes it only takes one picture to see that the game will be - at the very least - interesting. I saw the first picture of Mundaun on an indie website something like two years ago, and after that was patiently waiting for release. I was expecting another tiny 2-3-hour horror game - only this time with actual style and atmosphere.
What I didn’t expect was was ten hours of high production values all across the board.
- A culturally informed take on the classical European ‘deal with the Devil’ scenario.
– Real player with 9.9 hrs in game