Pluviophile
First, I’ll mention that this is only a slight negative review, and mostly for reasons of polish. Given how cheap it is, if you like rain, and have any interest in an imaginary walk through a (mostly) rainy woods, it’s probably worth it.
Now, for the criticisms:
First, the mechanic of needing to collect a very brightly glowing thingamajig and take it to a stone slab to continue seems very out of place. Instead of a nice walk through a rainy woods, you’re interrupted by a series of inconspicuous dead ends that get magically opened up, for no apparent reason. This is exacerbated by the fact that the first one actually points you in the exact opposite direction of the path it opens.
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Walking Simulator Short Games.
This game is amazing!
Yes, its a short experience but its a good one. If you ever want to wander around in another world, this is the “game” for you. No killing stuff, no scary stuff. Just a forest and some rain.
You can escape to this world whenever you like. Just hit the play button.
This world looks gourgeous and it reminds me of the thought I had for many years already: if only there were more short linear games again. Nowadays everything needs to have a large and open world. Many of the processing progresses go to that.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Dear Esther
As always, TL;DR at the bottom. This game deserves more though.
In recent years it has become more common to hear gamers, and even some non-gamers giving credit to games as pieces of art. Truly all games are art in some form as they provide a visual and narrative experience no matter what type of game they are. Some games are simply greater classified as art than others, but even inside of that it seems something such as ‘Dear Esther’ should be given credit on the art scale much higher than any old “video games are art” scale.
– Real player with 9.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Walking Simulator Short Games.
A game taking place on a deserted, dismal Hebridean island, housing a peculiar, unobtrusive wandering, promptly sounds like the concept of an experiment. Given the complete absence of interaction between the player and the game, as the nameless player’s protagonist without visual identification strolls through the mist, while the release of random sound recordings of letters read out loud to a woman named Esther, it is indeed in fact an experiment. The identity of the woman is unclear, as is the relationship between the two of you; however, as you progress through the windblown beaches, the moors, the deep caves as well as the lighthouse - towards the peak of the island - detached diary notes depict the outlines of a tragic accident, and a ghostly tale appears.
– Real player with 4.4 hrs in game
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Review originally posted here.
8/10
Hi. My name is tsupertsundere, and I love walking simulators.
Dear Esther is the grandmother of them all. It started as a humble Half-Life 2 mod, but after becoming a darling of the Source modding community the three devs got together and spruced it up for commercial release. After many years and some final polishing, the Landmark edition was released with achievements and director’s commentary.
I played this game already, a handful of years ago, and was more than happy to revisit this sad, lonely island in the Hebrides. I appreciate Dear Esther for what it had done to spark a genre and influence design in many more, and I love me some director’s commentary. Getting insight into what the devs were thinking and what they were aiming for and what design principles they followed is really fun and interesting to me, and getting another 100% cleared game on my list didn’t hurt.
– Real player with 5.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Walking Simulator Adventure Games.
SPOILER-LESS REVIEW
Welcome to the premiere walking simulator which managed to coin the “revolutionary” genre (the devs called it that, don’t blame me). I’ve been playing it for a while to get an idea behind it and to better present it, and after completing it once and going through the developer commentary, here are my thoughts.
Gameplay
Regarding gameplay, there isn’t much. You walk around and listen to audio prompts which are offered by the narrator, while you explore the area around you and find elements which clue you in to the story. Notably, environment elements are being generated randomly and can have an emotional impact, depending on how and when they’re discovered, but this may be giving them too much credit due to how certain elements can be interpreted. The game can be very very very slow due to the walk speed and lack of any sprint, which is a deliberate choice. The game also does not have any sort of failure state; you try to drown, you get whisked back on the shore, you fall from too high, you get transporter back on the cliff. All these elements create a very slow and somewhat boring experience, but as long as you like to sift through the environment and just enjoy it, it should be fine for you.
– Real player with 4.9 hrs in game
The Path
!No spoilers, just my honest review!
I honestly dont think this should be classified as a horror game. But yolo whatever.
ANYWAY,
If you expect: A good story, pretty music, solid characters, spooky settings and something that keeps you guessing, this is the game.
If you expect: Jump scares, ghosts, a straight foward story, a challenge and being a wolf and eating little girls, this is NOT the game.
I love The Path and support it with all of my heart. But this should not of been a video game.It should of been more of maybe an interactive comic, or even a book. Even so, this is great all around. Not great as a video game but great as a story. It is very powerful. There is a lot of different ways you could take the story and it still make sense and be…well, a good story. So if you haven’t noticed by now,
– Real player with 16.2 hrs in game
First, this game has its merits. It has great atmosphere and the graphics aren’t bad and the gameplay itself is creative and thought-provoking. But straight up, if you don’t like games that have an inconsistent story that gives you no answers, The Path isn’t for you. If you like games that make you think…The Path probably still isn’t for you.
Tale of Tales as a developer has completely imploded their own fanbase with their behavior lately, yes, and it’s really made me reconsider this game. Originally I thought a lot of thought went into this game; the developers established Livejournal accounts for the characters, there are a lot of details in the game, the girls all have some sort of personality and it seems like there’s a mysterious story unfolding behind all this.
– Real player with 13.5 hrs in game
Sunset
Sunset is a game that will either bore you, or move you deeply. Personally, it has become one of my favourite games, thanks to the subtlety and beauty it displays.
Sunset encapsulates one year of the life of Angela Burnes, an educated and ingenious African-American woman who emigrated from the US to the imaginary South American country of Anchuria in hopes of finding another, different if not better, life, and got trapped in a civil war. She now has has to work as a housekeeper in the apartment of Gabriel Ortega, a rich citizen and lover of the arts. For the player, this translates as having to accomplish some mundane tasks, such as dusting statues or setting the table for dinner. However, it is barely the focus of the game, which is based upon a narrative that can be accessed through Angela’s thoughts (namely the diary she keeps, her reflexions in the elevator and her remarks when she interacts with some objects in the apartment).
– Real player with 29.3 hrs in game
Glad I played it - but also now glad I’ve finished it.
I’ll try to keep it short, as others have covered many of the points I wanted to make below.
Some positives I took away from it:
- You play the entire game in a flat. By yourself. And it makes you feel part of something.
No cut scenes, no narrative, you’re just in the flat - but manages to give a fantastic sense of ‘world’ outside.
- I’ve no idea if what I did mattered. Normally in a game you’re popped into a world and told to change it.
– Real player with 9.4 hrs in game
The Graveyard
First of all:
Before buy this game, play the demo. The only diference from the complete version is that, in the complete version the old lady dies. And it is not a spoiler, it is told in game. So when you buy it (if you buy) you won’t feel cheated and you will know that you bought just for support indie and artistic games.
Probably, when you play The Graveyard you will say: Man! What the fuck is that?! - And, ironicly, that’s why I recomend this game.
Yeah… I said that too. However I played it several times wondering what Tale of Tales was trying to do when they made this, and I think I know the answer.
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game
Tags: Adventure - WS - Walking Simulator
Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library
TLDR: Misguided wanna-be art barely interactive 5 minutes title
Review:
What the game wants to be:
A videogame rendition of the inescapable fatalism inherent with mortality. A look on the frailty of life in a classy black and white rendition of an old woman at the twilight of her existence accompanied with indie folk music from the eastern block
What the game actually is:
A cheap 3D models map with unconvincing tree sway to simulate wind in which you clumsily turtle an elderly person to a bench have them sit, sit through a song of dubious talent and choose to either exit ASAP or see the old woman die. The death was incredibly telegraphed. The song has no subtely whatsoever, tries to have to gritty edge by mentionning people dying of cancer or having lung problems and making vague references to acid on concrete. It is not even gritty enough to really feel morbid, nor is it actually well handled enough to make you feel connected to anything from the nihilistic school of philosophers. It really is just a crude, smack you across the face with references to death while you stare at a semi transparent shot of a bad 3D model of an old person.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
TRIP Steam Edition
I love psychedelia, either in music, art or playing psychedelic looking games, unfortunately I was quite disappointed in TRIP: Steam Edition after experiencing it for nearly 10 hours in bite-sized chunks over the last 24 hours since I purchased it; that is, at least in its present state. As it is early access I may change my opinion as time progresses, but that will depnd on what the developer does for the game. It says the artware is an open world environment; for me that conjures up the thought that you are able to explore every part of the world you find yourself in. Sadly I found there were many places I wasn’t able to explore, for example trying to get from many places via hills, you aren’t able to climb anything steeper than about 45 degrees, this basically locks off loads of area of the world so far created. I tried for hours to find ways to access certain area’s, but was always held back by the inability to climb anything too steep.
– Real player with 11.0 hrs in game
! Wait… Last time I remember I bought this game under $1 and now the price become like this? lol
This game is… Stunning. It is an art of surrealism and lots of random stuffs going on inside.
You just like, explore and walk around, seeing weird things and yet, ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ.
Pretty much no purpose or any kind of things to do in game.
Probably there are something to do but I still can’t figure out what to do, because I see ‘Collection’ in the pause menu of the game.
If you are an art lover and admirer, you should definitely get this game. (If you willing to pay that amount of price though)
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
4PM
Do they hand out gaming awards Willy Nilly in Brighton? How much brown nosing did the developer do to get an award for this pile of dung? The developer can be found here… https://twitter.com/BojanBrbora
4pm is the type of game after having finished it, not only will you want a complete refund, but you will also want to be compensated for time spent playing it, maybe in the way of a $10.00 gift card at Bunnings. In fact we should make that a law here on Steam, so that less and less trash keeps building up.
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
I recognise this game deals with some very serious issues. I also understand that this alone does not make it immune to criticism.
My thoughts are mixed. The game was short, and conveyed a powerful message. Succinct, and direct. But the dialogue was not particularly inspired, and felt forced.
The story being played over the course of a day I did like, and the revelations at the end were also thought-provoking. However, these high points are truly offset by the fact that the game is entirely played while the camera is criminally defocused. Yes, I recognise this does convey the feeling of someone who is ‘defocused’ in the head, as it were - the same with the unresponsive controls. I GET IT. That does however make for a vastly frustrating gaming experience. Enjoying a video game isn’t always about having fun all of the time - some of my favourite games are true heart-wrenchers - but sadly due to the fact that this particular game has all of the right ingredients, but frustrating execution means that I really had to force myself to finish it. Any longer and I daresay I’d not have had the patience.
– Real player with 1.3 hrs in game
All the Delicate Duplicates
A short, first person adventure with a strong artistic vibe, and a focus on narrative rather than puzzles. You explore the home of a family who has endured some form a mysterious trauma, which involves some psychological and metaphysical themes. Uncovering the narrative occurs through inspection of objects left lying around the home. One of the novel aspects of this game is the multiple timelines, allowing you to explore the setting and story at different points in time. The somewhat enigmatic story is intriguing and indeed I would have liked to have seen it fleshed out even further.
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game
Absolutely Highly Recommended… IF:
-
You have an OPEN mind
-
You go into this knowing it is an experience, not really a “game” like most would define “game”
-
you can deal with disturbing ideas, seeing the world as someone with a debilitating neurological condition (aka/mental illness0 might see it, every day
-
You aren’t a pew-pew-pew-pew only kind of gamer, with extreme biases agaisnt anyone who is different than you.
Especially that last one.
Worth Full Price. Absolutely.
– Real player with 2.4 hrs in game
driftwood
It’s one map in Unity. You make no sound and move at one inch per minute. The poems are ten words long, they don’t rhyme and they have no rhythm. The eponymous driftwood is perfectly rectangular. Otherwise it’s good.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
There is almost no content in this game and it should be in a group of other games for the same price.
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game