My Time at Portia is a gorgeous game with solid crafting mechanics and a mysterious post-apocalyptic tale, but its intriguing story is buried beneath slow pacing and flimsy characters.
From what I understand, it’s been a difficult journey for Dopterra, starting from their Kickstarter campaign, beginning in 2014 to being released on Halloween 2016, but you can see the love and passion the developers have put into Creepy Castle. It has a compelling story, charm and humor with a sinister undertone, throw back aesthetics, a memorable soundtrack (composed by Marius Schneider), and a fun and unique battle system.
Miaou Moon is not a terrible game. It’s a cute, silly game about a bouncing, guffing space cat with some fun aspects and gameplay. Both the developers are very active on steam and itch, releasing new updates and improving the game.
Okhlos is a comical and chaotic game with dashes of strategy, but it is mostly just complete madness and obliteration. It gives you a wild rush of excitement but can get a tad repetitive.
Pan-Pan runs around two hours of playtime, so, for some, the price tag of £9.99/$12.99 might seem a bit steep. However, its unique puzzles, relaxed atmosphere, wonderful graphics and 3D world are what make it worth it. Lets hope that developers like Might and Delight continue to collaborate with these small projects and help them come to life and that Spelkraft continues to create more peaceful gaming experiences.
It's an overwhelming experience with a captivating story submerged in beautiful visuals and music. It has some magical sequences and is an all-around unforgettable game. It holds moments of relaxation but also action and tension. It explores ones of the few places left on earth we still have yet to fully understand and embraces that mystery and wonder. ABZU is a reflection of what makes video games so amazing because they create places and feelings that we will never be able to experience, like the feeling of being one with the ocean.
Replica conjures a complicated totalitarian world of privacy invasion and information censorship. It’s a short game with a powerful message and definitely worth £1.99/$2.99 over on Itch.io and Steam.
OPUS: The Day We Found Earth, is a chilled star searching game with a light-hearted narrative. It’s a touching game about a robot continuing one person’s life long ambition to find the beginning of human history. Even though the gameplay is simplistic, it adds to the overall feeling of relaxation. It’s a short game that can be finished in 2 hours or a bit more if you’re a completionist.
The world of Moon Hunters keeps you playing. The story seems short and straightforward at first, but actually conceals a variety of branching narratives. You can set out to find all these hidden secrets in multiple playthroughs or just grab a couple of friends and enjoy the combat and decision making as a team.
Samorost 3 shares some of the same ideas with its two previous games of the same name but is also completely its own game. The game is around 5 – 6 hours long, and some say that the asking price of £14.99 is a bit steep. But what you get in exchange is a unique and charming pocket sized adventure with exceptional visuals and music, a game from an award winning independent studio whose previous games have also won a variety of awards and a game that can be played by anyone of any age.