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[PandaPedinte]

Endless Legend - $34.99 (Win, Mac)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/289130/

Endless Legend is the second 4X created by Amplitude Studios, and it expand the lore on the universe they created for the Endless series but this time with the focus on a single planet, Auriga. As expected from Amplitude the game is beautiful and very easy to get into, but can be complex at times if you're new or just a casual player of this genre. The backstory, different quests and the unique traits made me care for the development of the story on the game.

Defining Moment: Pacifying nearby villages and slowly expanding your influence over the other regions.

 

[Messofanego]

List for the new page:

Now, same as last year. We need personal blurbs (please write something up yourself instead of using marketing/store descriptions) for each of these. As soon as we have all the texts, I can put up the "IndieGAF recommends..." thread.

I'd like to keep it in the style of last years thread:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766928

...so the layout would be:


Example:



I am going to cross off the games we already have of the list, so lets see how long it will take us to finish that list.

Kentucky Route Zero Act 3 - $25 (PC)

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/kentuckyroutezero_storefront
http://store.steampowered.com/app/231200/

If you’re not playing this insanely weird and beautifully surreal Americana adventure that opens new territories for storytelling design in videogames, you are missing out on a unique experience.

Defining Moment: The bar (pictured above).

The Talos Principle - $40 (PC)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/257510/

I was debating whether to include any of the other first person adventure games from this year or “walking simulators” like Vanishing of Ethan Carter (beautiful pacific northwest world and nice weird fiction overlay but intrusive narration full of pointless truisms that feel tangential and standard tale of murder mystery being about misunderstood persecution) or Mind: The Path of Thalamus (beautifully surreal world but the puzzle mechanics get cumbersome). The one flaw with those games are those overly wordy protagonists who don’t know when to shut up and let the player do their thing. Thankfully, The Talos Principle came out of nowhere to deliver a lengthy (20+ hours) puzzle adventure that might not have a unique setting or mechanics but is all about brain-twisting levels that test your spatial cognition skills. On top of that is an ambiguous tale of man-machine musings, religious dogma, existentialism, and hackers through a computer text adventure with enough levity to balance against such heady subject matter. It’s surprising how eloquent and concise the godlike Elohim narrator is, only ever speaking in relation to your progress in the game. Head-scratching because of both elements in the best possible way. It’s a mystery worth figuring out. Makes me wonder if Jonathan Blow's The Witness could top it.

Defining Moment: The interviews in the text adventure and when you realise there are others trying to subvert the system.

 

[More_Badass]

The Floor Is Jelly - $9.99 (PC, Mac)

http://thefloorisjelly.com

The Floor Is Jelly is set in a weird abstract world where everything from the ground to water is made of the titular substance. On the surface, The Floor Is Jelly is a standard platformer, as you jump across gaps, avoid dangerous spikes, and wall-jump up narrow tunnels. But it's the game's artstyle and fluid environments that make it something special. A vibrant world constantly in motion, affected by your every movement, that can act as a trampoline and boost you to great heights or mold to let you bounce around spikes. From flower switches that bloom in the rain to rotating levels and dimension swapping, The Floor Is Jelly builds on its core gameplay and unique world to deliver a fun and wonderfully artistic platformer

Defining Moment: Is it really a defining moment when the entire game is continually impresses? Every time you see the world react and bounce and wobble with every hop and run, it's always so visually cool and doesn't get old to watch

 

[zero shift]

Freedom Planet
Price:$15
Purchase: http://freedomplanet.galaxytrail.com/

The best way to describe Freedom Planet is that it is to Sonic the Hedgehog as what Bayonetta is to Devil May Cry. A game that takes the mechanics of one game and makes it more frantic, more polished, more complex, and most of all,better. The game is what Genesis fans have been demanding for years,as they have been crushed over and over by failed Sonic games and a pathetic Rocket Knight reboot. The game spots great replayable levels, a cast of memorable characters, and tight controls. It is as if one of the Genesis's greatest games of all time was lost in time and space and wound 2014. Shovel Knight rebooted the juggernaut NES game and Freedom Planet does the same with the Genesis. If you like Sonic and Rocket Knight there is no reason not to get this game.

Defining Moment: Completing the first level and realizing that this game is the real deal when it comes to being a successor to the classic Genesis games.

 

[okiemok]

Dungeon of The Endless $12.99 on Steam

http://store.steampowered.com/app/249050/

Dungeon of the Endless is a Rogue-Like Dungeon-Defense game, in which the player and their team of heroes must protect the generator of their crashed ship while exploring an ever-expanding dungeon, all while facing waves of monsters and special events as they try to find their way out...

Each Turn is a tower defense round to protect your crystal, as you seek the exit to the next level. Increase your team, perform research, equip team members, kill monsters, but mainly - survive.

Defining Moment: When you survive assaults on the upper levels - and how you persevere when a party member is lost.

 

[aiat_gamer]

Divinity:Original Sin - 39,99(PC)

http://www.divinityoriginalsin.com/

Think old school RPG, then think old school with all caps "old"! Divinity:Original sin harks back to the old days where there were no dumbed down RPG mechanics: Objective locator on the map, tedious fetch quests, watered down spells/abilities...The game is a turn based RPG taking you on an epic quest with tons a interesting side quests. It takes the old RPG mechanics and adds to it, like how you can use the battlefield to your asvantage during fights (setting up oil on fire, making acid clouds explode). That all comes with a price though: It is pretty hard especially during the first few hours and since there is not map markers it could get confusing at times. But overall, if you are a fan of RPG games, you have to play this. If you are not, this could be a great entry point.

This game made me, a person who never liked and played any turn based games to spend 70+ hours on it...

 

[Toma]

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - $19,99 (PC)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/258520/

Ethan's adventure is not particularly long. But the game is always presenting you with something beautiful to look at, something suspicious to chew on, or some puzzle to solve. It even changes up the mechanics here and there to help keep things feeling fresh, avoiding too much repetition in the more game-y mechanics. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is meant to be taken slowly, absorbed like a good book dripping with detail. The ending may not exactly be the most surprising and some may find themselves a little disappointed. But the journey towards it is full of heart and imagination. Much in the way that Ethan Carter himself is.

Defining Moment: Finding out what your supernatural abilities do and how they help you progressing the story.

<- Taken from Steam Reviews & Shortened

 

[Toma]

Sportsfriends - $14,99 (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, PS3)

http://sportsfriendsgame.com/

An amazing collection of local multiplayer games, that are almost always guaranteed to be a crowd favourite. Each of the games is easy enough to pick up from watching a match or two but are deceptively complex and very competitive. JS Joust has some unusual requirements in order to play (2-7 PS Move controllers and a large-ish room to play in), but the effort is definitely worth it. Joust is likely to be one of the most memorable and universally enjoyable party games you've ever encountered. Even the two secret games are hilarious fun once you figure out how to unlock them (you'll have to figure this one out by yourself). Definitely a great purchase if you have friends over from time to time.

Defining Moment: Getting into ridiculous antics while shouting at our friends.

<- Taken from Steam Reviews & Edited

 

[Toma]

The Journey Down Chapter 2 - $10,99 ($14,99 as Bundle with both Chapters) (PC, Mac, Linux)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/262850/

The Journey Down is a wonderfully afro-infused adventure, with Chapter Two giving it a great noir detective vibe reminiscent of the second chapter of Grim Fandango. The jazzy soundtrack of the late Simon D'Souza has been amazingly carried on by Jamie Salisbury and has been recorded with a full orchestra. The original voice cast is as colourful as before and is joined by newcomers dripping with character. The puzzles offer entertainment and light challenge while the story gives a simple yet endearing motivation throughout.

Defining Moment: Delving into the really thick and marvellously executed atmosphere.

<- Taken from Steam Reviews

 

[Toma]

1001 Spikes - $14,99 (PC)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/260790/

"We are going to die" (Indiana Jones Temple of Doom) Yes, you are going to die in this game about every 10 to 20 secs upon entering a new level. The levels are not random but there are brutal none the less. This is a side scrolling 8 bit platformer which requires you to much memorize the stages because otherwise you will not be prepared for what the game throws at you. Ceilings are falling down or spikes arise from a block, you just never know what the game might throw at you in any given level and your memory is your best tool for survival. Trial and error is the name of the game here. If you like games like Spelunky, Super Meatboy, Braid ect. then you will likely love this game as well. Not for the faint of heart, but highly recommmended!

Defining Moment: Making a hard jump, only to notice that you shouldnt have stopped in that spot and are squashed by a moving boulder.

<- Taken from Steam Reviews & Edited

 

[aiat_gamer]

&#1615;Scrolls - 5 (PC, Android)

https://scrolls.com/

Scrolls is one of the latest additions to the virtual card games on PC. If you have ever played a card game you feel right at home. What this game does differently is that when you play cards, you put the on hexes on the battlefield. The placement of units on the battlefield is very important so it gives Scrolls a feel of a board game as well. Every unit has a certain hit points, attack and cool down. The attack is initiated upon cool down reaching zero. The unit runs in a straight line and attacks the first unit it encounters. The goal of the game is destroying three enemy idols in the opposite side of the battlefield. There different types of resources for each card type (growth, decay, energy, etc.) and you gain resources by sacrificing a card belonging to the same resource group. There are also synergies dependent on the card types (Beasts, Rats, Undead and such). Over all the game is very strategic and deep! It has one the best balances between being pay2win and Free2play. You can buy cards and card packs by gaining gold which is given to you by doing certain tasks, daily challenges, playing other players and selling cards on the market, or you can put your cards to be sold on the black market to other players. You even get a good amount of gold even if you lose a match. On the other hand, there is a limit on how much you can spend on the game and even if you do, you cant buy card packs with real money, only individual cards and some pre-made packs.

Playing for an hour and having enough money to buy 5 packs!

 

[Toma]

Mini Metro - Browser Demo / $6,99 (PC, Mac, Linux)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/

This is a very addictive, simple, beautiful and elegant game. You have to create and manage underground lines and trains to get passengers between stations, and it's quite a rewarding experience to see your creation when you've lots of stations on screen, all connected up and delivering efficiently. The design of the game is so simple, pretty and just amazing to stare at once things get moving. The city never stops moving.

Defining Moment: How you constantly need think on your feet as to how to connect new stations into your network, but also easing pressure on other routes.

<- Taken from Steam Reviews & Edited

 

[Toma]

Super Win the Game - $12,99 (PC, Mac, Linux)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/310700/

Super Win The Game is a great homage to old school Metroidvania games, from great retro music to emulated CRT graphics this game goes out of the way to make you feel like you're playing those old games. The world is big, with a lot of places to explore but at the same time the dev managed to make it compact, not overwhelming you with tons of near identical screens. You are never really lost because every area is designed in a very distinct way. Platforming, while tricky in some parts, is never really hardcore and should be no problem even for beginners. Super Win the Game is a little masterpiece. Managing to pull off feeling very "NES" while being extremely playable and keeping things fresh till the end.

Defining Moment: Realizing that retro games dont necessarily need to feel outdate and can still be pretty great experiences.

<- Taken from Steam Reviews & Edited

 

[More_Badass]

Wish I could have helped with more of the blurbs, I remember writing a lot more last year.
Edit: yeah, I did 19 posts for the last thread.

 

[Toma]

TRI: Of Friendship and Madness - $14,99 (PC, Mac, Linux)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/293660/

Tri is a very very good game. It is a puzzle-exploration game. In each level there is a locked teleporter, which require three keys to open. Your task in each is the find the keys, find the teleporter and continue to the next level. Off course things do get more complicated as you go along. Tri is yet another game that can be added to the list of already excellent first person puzzle games like Portal and Q.U.B.E. It introduces a new gameplay mechanic that’s original and one that works surprisingly well, even in puzzle format. The mysterious atmosphere makes you want to keep playing and the increasingly difficult puzzles are(mostly) fun to solve. All in all this is a great game for puzzle enthusiasts.

Defining Moment: Exploring the effects the rather unique puzzle mechanic.

<- Taken from Steam reviews & Edited