Still time to get some voting in!
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Indie Games 2014 [November] Now Voting - Post 241!
- Thread starter Toma
- Start date
Still time to get some voting in!
As Moo said, play some games, I wont do the new thread until tomorrow/day after tomorrow
As Moo said, play some games, I wont do the new thread until tomorrow/day after tomorrow
Or if you don't have time to play things (which you should - they only take a few minutes some of them) then post some upcoming stuff if you've seen anything cool
Phawx
Member
My LP of Concrete Jungle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu8lccS1nY
Quick Impressions:
Originally I thought this was going to be a city-sim and with the visuals I was pretty amped for it. Then when I read what the game was about, I was still intrigued but less excited. Essentially, it's a mash-up of Tetris and tile-matching games with the theme being City-Building as a coherent choice. You have to clear out columns by getting enough "points" in the left most column. The number of points in the clear column is determined by the number in the top right. If you clear enough columns, eventually you'll need more points per column to clear.
If you goof-up you can "clear" a column by using hearts, so from the get-go you have three times that you can fail before it's game over. Buildings are given by cards that exist in your deck. You get more cards by clearing columns with high valued buildings on them.
I'm not the biggest fan of puzzle games, but this was an interesting twist on the genre and the visuals are fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu8lccS1nY
Quick Impressions:
Originally I thought this was going to be a city-sim and with the visuals I was pretty amped for it. Then when I read what the game was about, I was still intrigued but less excited. Essentially, it's a mash-up of Tetris and tile-matching games with the theme being City-Building as a coherent choice. You have to clear out columns by getting enough "points" in the left most column. The number of points in the clear column is determined by the number in the top right. If you clear enough columns, eventually you'll need more points per column to clear.
If you goof-up you can "clear" a column by using hearts, so from the get-go you have three times that you can fail before it's game over. Buildings are given by cards that exist in your deck. You get more cards by clearing columns with high valued buildings on them.
I'm not the biggest fan of puzzle games, but this was an interesting twist on the genre and the visuals are fantastic.
Messofanego
Banned
I was called to action, so here are some games I played that I liked. This is last second so I played all the free games on the list only.
Voting
1) Return of the Obra Dinn - Cool and mysterious murder mystery on a ship with interesting mechanics.
2) Rituals - I didn't get too far into it but there's some surreal first person narrative coolness of dialogue choices that can affect stuff and I like the alt historical period of 19th century India it's set during even though the aesthetic doesn't give that away. Definitely more to it than meets the eye. If you're into first person weirdness, check it out.
3) Chipset-0 - Fantastic little 2D puzzler demo with 2 endings: either you connect all the humans to the power or disconnect them all and become an emancipated ALIVE robot Robot spider protagonist is too cute, nooo don't get shot!
4) Computer, Open That Door! - You are the spaceship trying to kill off the crew in a limited amount of time. Darkly funny as you see the humans get thrown out into space.
5) Totem's Sound - Pixel top down adventure/action game where you're a Norwegian explorer of early Americas based on this real life Johan Adrian Jacobsen dude. Got to chapter 4. You go to various parts of the land fighting off wolves, bugs, or bears to get items. You're meant to get rare items to send back to a Berlin ethnological museum, and after you get each one, an anachronistic infomercial pops up for that item. Some tribes are cash-only, some have to be paid in blankets, and some in tobacco. It's downright hilarious and charming.
6) Here And There Along The Echo - That is the most interesting telephone interactive fiction narrative I'm going to experience ever and damn funny. KR0 creators are weird in the best way.
8) hets - Tough psychedelic little 2D action platformer!
Voting
1) Return of the Obra Dinn - Cool and mysterious murder mystery on a ship with interesting mechanics.
2) Rituals - I didn't get too far into it but there's some surreal first person narrative coolness of dialogue choices that can affect stuff and I like the alt historical period of 19th century India it's set during even though the aesthetic doesn't give that away. Definitely more to it than meets the eye. If you're into first person weirdness, check it out.
3) Chipset-0 - Fantastic little 2D puzzler demo with 2 endings: either you connect all the humans to the power or disconnect them all and become an emancipated ALIVE robot
Robot spider protagonist is too cute, nooo don't get shot!
4) Computer, Open That Door! - You are the spaceship trying to kill off the crew in a limited amount of time. Darkly funny as you see the humans get thrown out into space.
5) Totem's Sound - Pixel top down adventure/action game where you're a Norwegian explorer of early Americas based on this real life Johan Adrian Jacobsen dude. Got to chapter 4. You go to various parts of the land fighting off wolves, bugs, or bears to get items. You're meant to get rare items to send back to a Berlin ethnological museum, and after you get each one, an anachronistic infomercial pops up for that item. Some tribes are cash-only, some have to be paid in blankets, and some in tobacco. It's downright hilarious and charming.
6) Here And There Along The Echo - That is the most interesting telephone interactive fiction narrative I'm going to experience ever and damn funny. KR0 creators are weird in the best way.
7) Fluid Perspectives - Character switching puzzler with a cool girl and a fiery guy. Definitely a brain twister.
8) hets - Tough psychedelic little 2D action platformer!
9) Spinlot - Even though it's not a platformer, it reminds me of N with the menus, level layout, and simple style.
More_Badass
Member
Deadnaut sounds really cool. The site has a digital manual, was reading through it. The game sounds kind of like Capsule meets Space Hulk. You're watching and guiding your team from your command console as they explore derelict ships. You can see the power levels of a ship's systems to determine what kind of threats might lie within (high power might mean more security, life support means more enemies, etc.)
But ship's security systems can interfere with your console, obscuring your displays, corrupting data, and cutting the signals to your team. You also have to deal with the relationships between your team; a team that doesn't get along will have reduced stats. Your team develops flaws as they grow more skilled, and relying on stims for enhancements can have adverse effects like withdrawal
I'll probably pick up it soon. Definitely sounds like my kind of game
But ship's security systems can interfere with your console, obscuring your displays, corrupting data, and cutting the signals to your team. You also have to deal with the relationships between your team; a team that doesn't get along will have reduced stats. Your team develops flaws as they grow more skilled, and relying on stims for enhancements can have adverse effects like withdrawal
I'll probably pick up it soon. Definitely sounds like my kind of game
I await people you like and Toma playing it and making it sound super cool with your stories. I'll never play it because it looks like something I would suck at.
Another day off from work (Christmas must be coming) but no sucky DOTA or FIFA, I need to do some website stuff so here are the choices;
Knock Knock
This War of Mine
(Revisit) Sunless Sea
Minimum
This War of Mine as its inevitably a GOTY list contender. Might as well have it on your website for 2014 if you dont yet.
I think you're right - I played a little of it already but it's getting away from me a little. You know when these kinds of games just... hit the fan? I played like 5 days, got raided and all my dudes are starving.
I think I should start again...
I have to confess, the game looks really uninteresting to me. The (seemingly) very naturalistic design philosophy is a big turn-off.
What have you been playing?
As I said, I do have some issues with the game, and its not going to end up as my GOTY because of it, but its definitely a contender.
Considering the dev studio partnered with War child (Charity for Children affected by War), the very naturalistic design isnt only thematic but also helps raising awareness of the actual real life issue at hand. I mean, not everybody needs to want to play such kind of games, but I applaud them for the direction they went for, considering the theme.
More_Badass
Member
No, don't. It's one of those games where being on the back foot and struggling adds to the tension and experience. Just roll with the punches
You mean in general or just Indie stuff? From the OP, I really enjoyed Return of the Obra Dinn, Here And There Along The Echo, Environmental Station Alpha.
These last few months, I haven't really been able to go through the majority of smaller titles like I used to (I miss writing up my big impressions posts). Chipset-0 I found a bit simplistic. Both the punchline at the end (machines' obedience) and the puzzle design seemed to be at the minimum of what's possible with the mechanics.
There's three other titles I wanted to try (Rituals; Totem's Sound; Computer, Open that Door!) but it seems I'm out of time. Maybe if I quickly fired them up now, hm..
Yeah, I mean, it seems like a game that is well-meant but not really outstanding, design-wise. It's the type of literature or filmmaking I couldn't take seriously in the slightest, and in this case, there's even a charity name attached to it. If interests like that seep into a work of art, the design usually suffers.
The design didnt suffer from it at least, but considering there aren't really a lot of these type of games (as compared to movies for example), its a welcome change that a game attached to a charity actually also strikes it home with the theme and gameplay mechanics.
But I still see where you are coming from. Curious where it will end up on my goty list.
I guess I should rephrase before I get a strongly-worded post from M_B: By suffer I don't mean it resulted in something that's poorly made - it seems like it pulls off what it wants to pull off with surprising earnestness - but at the same time, it has this almost ceremonial quality to its bleakness. I really think the term 'naturalistic' is fitting but without understanding what made (good) naturalism interesting.
Anyway, I'll shut up now.
Firstly I meant in general and the OP - and you should fire them up quickly! The more votes the better the games for next month's OP!
For what it's worth (and while I don't wholly disagree) Football Manager has the War Child name attached to it as well.
Didnt even think of that, yeah true. I dont think its necessarily a development thing for those games, as more of a "we raise awareness for their campaign and give them 2% of our cut" or something.
Messofanego
Banned
Here and There Along The Echo is just a bloody telephone interactive fiction and yet somehow those kooky people at Cardboard Computer made it compelling.
Yeah, really weird how that works.
Oh, mostly 3DS games - Persona Q, Fantasy Life and some others. I barely have time for games at the moment, though. I get maybe 3-4 hours during the week and another 4-5 on the weekends. You playing much Vita lately? I want to spend more time with Binding of Isaac, mostly to get a better sense for why I don't think it's a great game (but only a decent one).
So, I did give the three games a shot:
Computer, Open That Door! - Cute idea but I wish it communicated its rules better. As far as I can tell, you can dispose of ship members during the FTL-like jump period but aside from the doors, a lot of the other contraptions didn't really do anything when clicking on them.
Totem's Sound - This looked quite promising when I started it up. And indeed, the narrative seems interesting and the combat is serviceable enough. I got a good chuckle out of the dialogues and agree with Messo that the writing is rather likeable. However, the game is almost unplayable with the slow walking speed. The first (fetch) quest leads you from the top of one screen to the top left of another and it takes ages. I don't know how the glaring lack of a run button was overlooked.
Rituals - Talk about a game that you can't just quickly fire up and play. The visual design here is striking and it's well worth trying for that aspect alone. The subject matter is intriguing, even though I'm sure it could have been conveyed in a less verbose way. Speaking of improving the chatty parts, the 'alternate dialogue' mechanic would have benefitted from a better visual representation. I would have kept going but it crashed on me during an area transition. Not that I would have kept on going for much longer (for time reasons) but I did want to find out how the sound design was handled going forward. The beginning area was maybe a bit too quiet but just minimalistic enough that I could let it slide (while hoping it builds from there).
I guess my votes go to Return of the Obra Dinn, Environmental Station Alpha, Here And There Along The Echo, Rituals and hets. Usual disclaimer that I feel uncomfortable with such a barebones vote but I know Toma appreciates any ballot. Also, Obra Dinn needs to win this.
Oh, mostly 3DS games - Persona Q, Fantasy Life and some others. I barely have time for games at the moment, though. I get maybe 3-4 hours during the week and another 4-5 on the weekends. You playing much Vita lately? I want to spend more time with Binding of Isaac, mostly to get a better sense for why I don't think it's a great game (but only a decent one).
So, I did give the three games a shot:
Computer, Open That Door! - Cute idea but I wish it communicated its rules better. As far as I can tell, you can dispose of ship members during the FTL-like jump period but aside from the doors, a lot of the other contraptions didn't really do anything when clicking on them.
Totem's Sound - This looked quite promising when I started it up. And indeed, the narrative seems interesting and the combat is serviceable enough. I got a good chuckle out of the dialogues and agree with Messo that the writing is rather likeable. However, the game is almost unplayable with the slow walking speed. The first (fetch) quest leads you from the top of one screen to the top left of another and it takes ages. I don't know how the glaring lack of a run button was overlooked.
Rituals - Talk about a game that you can't just quickly fire up and play. The visual design here is striking and it's well worth trying for that aspect alone. The subject matter is intriguing, even though I'm sure it could have been conveyed in a less verbose way. Speaking of improving the chatty parts, the 'alternate dialogue' mechanic would have benefitted from a better visual representation. I would have kept going but it crashed on me during an area transition. Not that I would have kept on going for much longer (for time reasons) but I did want to find out how the sound design was handled going forward. The beginning area was maybe a bit too quiet but just minimalistic enough that I could let it slide (while hoping it builds from there).
I guess my votes go to Return of the Obra Dinn, Environmental Station Alpha, Here And There Along The Echo, Rituals. Usual disclaimer that I feel uncomfortable with such a barebones vote but I know Toma appreciates any ballot. Also, Obra Dinn needs to win this.
How is Persona Q?
Also you should play hets before the voting is done - it's REALLY good (but maybe wouldn't gel with your tastes?)
Messofanego
Banned
Oh, mostly 3DS games - Persona Q, Fantasy Life and some others. I barely have time for games at the moment, though. I get maybe 3-4 hours during the week and another 4-5 on the weekends. You playing much Vita lately? I want to spend more time with Binding of Isaac, mostly to get a better sense for why I don't think it's a great game (but only a decent one).
So, I did give the three games a shot:
Computer, Open That Door! - Cute idea but I wish it communicated its rules better. As far as I can tell, you can dispose of ship members during the FTL-like jump period but aside from the doors, a lot of the other contraptions didn't really do anything when clicking on them.
Totem's Sound - This looked quite promising when I started it up. And indeed, the narrative seems interesting and the combat is serviceable enough. I got a good chuckle out of the dialogues and agree with Messo that the writing is rather likeable. However, the game is almost unplayable with the slow walking speed. The first (fetch) quest leads you from the top of one screen to the top left of another and it takes ages. I don't know how the glaring lack of a run button was overlooked.
Rituals - Talk about a game that you can't just quickly fire up and play. The visual design here is striking and it's well worth trying for that aspect alone. The subject matter is intriguing, even though I'm sure it could have been conveyed in a less verbose way. Speaking of improving the chatty parts, the 'alternate dialogue' mechanic would have benefitted from a better visual representation. I would have kept going but it crashed on me during an area transition. Not that I would have kept on going for much longer (for time reasons) but I did want to find out how the sound design was handled going forward. The beginning area was maybe a bit too quiet but just minimalistic enough that I could let it slide (while hoping it builds from there).
I guess my votes go to Return of the Obra Dinn, Environmental Station Alpha, Here And There Along The Echo, Rituals. Usual disclaimer that I feel uncomfortable with such a barebones vote but I know Toma appreciates any ballot. Also, Obra Dinn needs to win this.
Yeah the interface in Computer is really unclear. I like the concept more than the execution, but the result of people hilariously dying in space has me biased.
I didn't find the need for a run button in Totem's Sound especially in the outer places cause sometimes the wolves can ambush from behind trees and the space isn't long enough but I can understand for some places it's a bit tedious.
Wow, hets is really good. Great arcade shmup with a really interesting feel and interesting progression system to it. Really unique look, as well. Added to my voting list, thanks Moo!
Persona Q is fantastic btw. I mean, I really love Etrian Odyssey, I think it's an outstanding RPG series, and the most important EO tropes carried over like dungeon crawling, cartography and the formation aspect of the battle system. PQ adds stuff like Personas (thought they work a bit differently than in the main games), aspects of the Press Turn battle system, the shop system from those games (you sell materials and new items become available), and, of course, the characters from P3 and P4. The gameplay is just so, so good if you're down with mapping out the dungeon. The battle system is arguably an amalgamation of two of the best battle systems currently out there. Needless to say, the game's got a great visual design and a stellar soundtrack, as well. It's one of the best RPGs this year, no question.
Meanwhile, I was dying during those parts.
It's like the character is walking through invisible molasses.Messofanego
Banned
Going diagonal makes you go faster. Serpentine!Meanwhile, I was dying during those parts.
Bear boss is tough cause it's in a pitch black area that you need a torch for, so I went below to corridor it and shot the rifle in the dark until it went down.
Has a nice ending with the spirit world and being a wolf/bear/sealion. Also, nice dancing minigame.
Dog Problems
Banned
Advent of Indies is happening again this year and previously happened back in 2012. For those unaware, it's a website set up like an advent calender and every day leading up to Christmas an indie developer gives something away. Sometimes it's a game or it could be some sort of extra. Today is by Amplitude Studios (Endless Space/Legend, Dungeon of the Endless) and they're giving away the soundtrack to Endless Legend.
Sweet, thanks!
I love me some Amplitude - thanks for the heads up man
Does it? That would be a #gamechanger, haha. Still, a dedicated run should be easy to incorporate.
Would you mind listing Malebolgia in the new releases? It'll be out on Early Access on Thursday.
13USD/10EU
More_Badass
Member
Hey Phawx, I saw you had a video for Satellite Reign. What do you think of the game?
Phawx
Member
Woooo! Gotta make sure I'm first to review on Steam!
In case others haven't seen my LP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv9jICZIX3Y&index=15&list=PLdC3pP79J-A9vVBkItqiJkURqd3aUW2Lv
Quick Impressions:
The version I played had a fair amount of bugs but what did work, worked wonderfully. I am a huge sucker for isometric viewpoints and to top it off Satellite Reign slathers detail into every nook and cranny possible. Visually speaking the game is striking. You know, it's not just that, the world just feels alive. I realize it shouldn't be a big deal to have motorists and citizens act appropriately to a given situation in a game, but even GTA stumbles on that part sometimes. Continuing on this line, even authorities act appropriately. Which actually gels the whole experience together because you can use your knowledge that a police officer will escort one of your party members out of a restricted zone. As long as they cooperate, you can completely distract a bunch of guards non-violently to another area whilst you happily hack away at some terminal trying to gain access elsewhere.
I just really dig the ability to have multiple victory routes to an objective when they would clearly be failures in other games. Unfortunately, the game bugged out on me pretty bad when I had my entire party enter a vehicle so I'm not certain if there was something I was missing outside of faster travel time.
Right now, the state the game is in is kind of bittersweet. You can have an amazing experience, but either things aren't fully fleshed out yet or things are buggy.
Overall, it's very easy to recommend to people who enjoy real-time tactical strategy games even in it's current state. Whenever it gets out of Steam Early Access the game is going to be amazing.
Desura Dump:
The Sheltered - $3,99 (PC)
C-Rush - $2,99(PC)
Move - Free (PC, Mac, Linux)
Fake Colours - $8,99(PC)
Just Get Through - $4,99 (PC, Linux)
Detective Grimoire - $4,99 (PC, Mac)
Urja - $9,99 (PC, Mac)
Distant Star - $6,99(PC)
The Sheltered - $3,99 (PC)
http://www.desura.com/games/the-sheltered
"The Sheltered" is a top-down adventure game with an emphasis on exploration and decision making. Players assume the role of a survivor in a world plagued by a deadly outbreak. The government announces their plans deal with infected by means of nuclear weapons. Lucky enough, there's a fallout shelter in the player's front yard - and enough food and water to last. But other survivors want in.
C-Rush - $2,99(PC)
http://www.desura.com/games/c-rush
Shmup with the main mechanic of positioning your ship (spreading/strengthening your shot) and rebounces. A new threat is coming from space; the plasma insects. Exterminate the vermin!! Beat your own score and compare it with the other players !
Move - Free (PC, Mac, Linux)
http://www.desura.com/games/move
Move features a simple but smooth gaming experience about creating a network of nodes. The player has to find a pattern for the colors that are produced or required by the nodes and link them together. The game offers 36 different levels, medals and touch support.
Fake Colours - $8,99(PC)
http://www.desura.com/games/fake-colours
Fake Colours is a 3D, cube rolling, puzzle game in which the player must move three coloured blocks to their corresponding target squares. Blocks are able to roll on top of each other, but are unable to roll onto tiles that are not their respective color.
Just Get Through - $4,99 (PC, Linux)
http://www.desura.com/games/just-get-through
Just Get Through is a randomly generated platformer featuring upgrades, explosions, traps, walljumping and more. You play as a dude trapped somewhere in a jungle-like environment.
Detective Grimoire - $4,99 (PC, Mac)
http://www.desura.com/games/detective-grimoire
Detective Grimoire has been called to investigate a murder. The owner of a small tourist attraction, found deep within the heart of the marshes, seemingly killed by the very mythical creature his attraction is based around... Explore the surrounding area, inspect the scene of the crime, grill the suspects, solve puzzles, search for clues and uncover the secret of the swamp!
Urja - $9,99 (PC, Mac)
http://www.desura.com/games/urja
Urja is fun, fast paced and challenging. This puzzling first person shooter will transport you into 12 beautiful worlds where you will try to strike the balance between stealth and tactical strategy to reach the top of our global leaderboards and take part in community competitions for real life prizes! The objective is simple; destroy all the entities as fast as you can. There are many different ways to approach each world and with intuitive AI every game will be different.
Distant Star - $6,99(PC)
http://www.desura.com/games/distant-star-revenant-fleet
Distant Star: Revenant Fleet is a real-time, space-strategy game for PC, featuring fleet-based combat, a dynamically generated galaxy, and an evolving narrative that is different every time. PLEASE NOTE that this is an alpha release and additional content and features will be added throughout the alpha phase.
More_Badass
Member
Thanks for the impressions, Phawx! Can't wait for the 11th
Toma, I already did a post for GunWorld
Toma, I already did a post for GunWorld
The current Debut 21 bundle contains several games of the december OP for $2 (which would cost more than 20):
http://www.indieroyale.com/bundle/the-mystery-2-bundle
Urja, Fake Colours & Just get through. Additionally, Ilamentia and the Ingenous machine are good games too.
http://www.indieroyale.com/bundle/the-mystery-2-bundle
Urja, Fake Colours & Just get through. Additionally, Ilamentia and the Ingenous machine are good games too.
Thx, deleted mine.
Phawx
Member
More_Badass
Member
I mean seriously, I never played the orignal Syndicate games but damn, Satellite Reign looks like one of those rare "all my favorite things in one" kind of games. Gritty cyberpunk setting, RTS gameplay, emergent living city, RPG elements, stealth, open ended mechanics. All that good stuff
Phawx
Member
I'll post this here and in the Dec thread when it's up.
I did an LP of Galcon 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq_rj9de2lc
What type of genre is this called? RTS lite? I've played a few of them before and I don't know how to specifically look for these types of games. BOID is another game similar to this.
I searched but couldn't find a december thread. I'll wait to post my impressions on The Deer God
I did an LP of Galcon 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq_rj9de2lc
What type of genre is this called? RTS lite? I've played a few of them before and I don't know how to specifically look for these types of games. BOID is another game similar to this.
I searched but couldn't find a december thread. I'll wait to post my impressions on The Deer God
Make a post for it?
Too late for the next thread, but yes, if someone loves a game, make a properly formatted post so its added to the threads
@mbpm1, you can make a proper post in the december thread for Craft the World
Still making the current thread, will 100% up tonight. Sorry for the delay.
More_Badass
Member
No need to apologize, we understandToo late for the next thread, but yes, if someone loves a game, make a properly formatted post so its added to the threads
@mbpm1, you can make a proper post in the december thread for Craft the World
Still making the current thread, will 100% up tonight. Sorry for the delay.
Meh, annoying to myself as well. I figured I have time for it easily, but then I got a huge extra task at work on monday, and then another one on tuesday. And nobody tends to care that my work time is not enough to handle those, bleh.
More_Badass
Member
Totally know what you mean. I was hoping to get to the November retrospective and 11/29 Screenshot Saturday and write more for my blog but I had other stuff to do
I'll have Deadnaut impressions for the next thread though