Overvulture

This game pretty much makes up for every one of its shortcomings, and there are plenty, through pure style. There are some fantastic fan mods that even out the rough edges, but even unmodded this is one of the most immersive games out there, one that throws you into its world and lets you explore its darkest reaches. Rather than excessive exposition, it lets you discover the ins and outs of the underground vampire society yourself, much as an outsider like the player character would have to do. It has a fantastic amount of player choice, and a genuinely good storyline to follow, however you choose to play. Many of the core mechanics are pretty sloppy, and the various skills are terribly balanced. Not to mention an excess of bugs can impede your progress. But if you can ignore, or mod out these issues, you'll find it's the perfect vampire game. Just as the Arkham games make you feel like you really are Batman, this makes you really feel like a vampire. And makes vampires cool again in the process.

A great experiment with mixed results, the use of face capture technology is very impressive but probably won't age well. Tying the unique tech to an interrogation mechanic is a great idea, though sometimes the interrogations themselves can be frustrating and illogical, even to the point that I'd just restart the mission if it became a wash. Shooting and driving are both passable and functional, except for a frustrating sequence in the finale which involves way more shooting than the rest of the game. What I love most about this game is its adherence to Noir style, complete with all the backstabbing intrigue that comes with it. Nearly every Noir trope is in full effect here, and there's some truly excellent acting to be found, on par with Hollywood productions, probably because there are a great deal of talented character actors involved that you'll probably recognize from this thing or that. The story is solid and kept me hooked, and its final scene is brilliantly delivered. As with others I've enjoyed, this is a game I recommend not for the strength of its mechanics, but for its "feel", and in terms of making you feel like a hard-boiled Noir detective, you won't find anything better on the market.

I'm a total **** for "twisted fairy tale" settings so this one earns easy points from me. It's weird and twisted, sometimes bloody and violent, and makes for a very fun journey, if not the most polished one. Gameplay is a mix of platforming and combat, both of which are so-so. Never too frustrating but never feeling especially engaging. The real strength is the setting and backdrop, exploring deeper and deeper to find out what creepy surprises await you as you press on. It's worth diving into, and I had enough fun with it to keep going right to the end, and it is surprisingly long too, clocking in at 10-12 hours if you take your time to look around.

Stylish and tries to be something different. Not the tightest action, but unique and interesting enough to stay compelling. It's definitely a labour of love on part of the developers and has a lot of great moments here and there. Fans of Max Payne 1 and 2 will enjoy some in-jokes and stylistic touches. It looks like a horror game, but it's much more of a shooter with a bit of extra atmosphere. If you're looking for scares, you'll be disappointed, but it does have a creepy feel to it that sets it apart.

Everything that needs be said about this game has already been said. It is a fantastically frightening experience for those that get immersed in horror games and even after countless imitators, it still stands out as the best example of its particular style. Cracks may begin to show in the mechanics if you play it like a regular game, and it requires a certain commitment of mind and focus to have the intended effect, but for those into this kind of thing, it will always be one of the scariest games ever made.

This isn't a game that was made on drugs. This game IS drugs. There aren't really any words to describe the full experience of playing Hylics. It's sort of a JRPG, though it flips a few classic elements of such on its head in a way that makes you play it differently than most. The combat is the pretty ordinary turn-based sort with the usual attack/guard/skill/item options, but there is no levelling up and new skills are learned by finding TVs scattered throughout the world. Death actually is the only way to get stronger, and can even be used as a teleporting method. The way the items and stats work is confusing and requires you to figure out its odd logic. I made plenty of mistakes in equipping and advancing the party, but the game's short enough that it doesn't really matter. So, from a strictly combat perspective it's weird and confusing and fairly simple. There's a lot more to it than just combat. I wouldn't call it story-based. In fact, there isn't a story at all, just a weird, jumbled set of progression through a series of trippy, bizarre backgrounds with the **** feeling in the back of your mind that somehow this all makes sense even when it really, really doesn't. The dialogue is all a mish-mash of vaguely philosophical-sounding gibberish that the creator admits was just him plugging things into a random word generator. It's bizarre, makes no damn sense, and yet I never found myself getting lost or unsure if I was going the right way. For having a total lack of plot coherence it makes so strangely much sense. It's also one of the most unusual games to look at out there. The graphics are some kind of weird hybrid between claymation and retro Apple colours, and sometimes just looking at it it's hard to even tell you're playing a game. Everything is distorted, garish, and sometimes nearly blinding. This, along with a muffled, garbled sort of soundtrack and sound effects, makes everything just a little off, a little confusing. The whole journey is a hell of a trip, but it enraptured and pulled me to the end even though I didn't know why I was doing the things I did. Just to see what weird thing happened next was reason enough to see it though to the end. It won't be for everyone, but if you like old-school rpgs with a twist (see also: Undertale, Lisa, etc), then you could spend your three bucks a lot worse. Just don't try to make sense of it, or you'll never be seen again.

Wouldn't be worth the time even if it were a free flash game. Based around the decent gimmick of rotating the level to progress, but with ugly visuals, bland audio, and poor level design that doesn't support the core mechanic very well. Feels slippery and hard to control, with death by falling damage annoying to judge. Physics can be easily broken to skip parts of levels. Minimalism doesn't equal quality.

An rpg with a distinct MMO-blandness to it, but no actual multiplayer. If it were online, it'd be the game you **** it up and play with your friends because they think it's good for some reason. As a fully singleplayer experience, it's, well, pretty much equivalent to playing a bad free MMO on a server with no other people. Weak interface, graphics, story, audio, animation, character customization, pacing, enemy variety, art design... Good setting. Ancient Greece has lots to draw from, but just go play Titan Quest or something.

An interactive story that offers a special kind of personal insight into the lives of others that only the medium of games could provide. If you connect strongly with themes of family and coming-of-age drama, you'll find the writing here is convincing and reinforced by the home you're exploring as you go. The story itself is fine, but the way the setting and environment design communicates with you as you move through it is what sets this apart as a memorable experience. If you're not a fan of the interactive narrative style of game, there's nothing here for you to enjoy, but if you want a well-crafted experience, this one has a story to tell that's funny, honest, and heartwarming.

A game about flailing your mouse around until a rock at the end of a chain hits something. Wonky physics air combat thing. It ****. All of it ****. You ****. I ****. This review ****. Life ****. I hate everything that ever was a thing or ever will be.

A nightmare. Feels like they took the Xen platforming sections of Half Life 1 and based a whole game around them. Clunky and awkward and miserable. Not something I could bear to force myself to play for any period of time.

Slicker and smoother than the first game, it polishes off a lot of the rough edges while telling a new and equally brutal story just as dramatic as the previous one. The shooting feels excellent and cinematic in a way that many modern games still fail to replicate, It's still as fundamentally simple as the previous one, involving lots of bad guys, guns, ammo, and painkillers, but it has a little more heart and a little less frustration than before. Max is as appealing of a haunted protagonist as ever, and somehow even more badass in this one, and the overall story is pulpy, dramatic deliciousness for someone who eats up this kind of style. It also has some impressive mod support! Worth checking out for sure.

I found myself tentative to recommend this at first, as it's a very slow burner that can prove irritating during some of its clumsy chase sequences, but digging deeper and giving it time to sink in has left me with a positive overall impression. It's thoroughly dark and depressing, with no coherent central plot until you start to read into things, and legitimately frightening. The art style is fantastic, though animations are clunky. There are a few different endings to discover, but none of them will take more than a few hours to get to. There's not a lot of game here for full price, but it's solid fare for horror fans. What makes it more interesting is knowing the context behind its development. Created from a dark place, it's an expression of depression and other psychological issues the developer was suffering from at the time. Taken with that in mind, it becomes a deeply personal exploration of someone's troubled mind, and offers an unsettling view of illness that's eye-opening

There are quite a few things I liked about this one and overall it's a solid effort with some cool ideas. Setting it in a museum is a good start, and some of the areas have a very believable, real look to them. I'm always a fan of setting-based horror games and this one uses that well. It has some effective creepy atmosphere and sound, and some of the puzzles were fun to solve, if a little easy. And I don't say that to boast. I'm a terrible puzzle-solver in games who frequently needs a guide, but this one didn't stump me at all. But, sadly, the shortcomings just kept it from working for me. The one monster, while creepy, was dumb and non-threatening, easy to escape or just glitch out entirely. An obvious setup for a chase scene had me just walking right in front of it with no reaction, as the detection radius seems to actually be very small. The moments where I was tense that I had almost been seen, I probably wasn't close at all. That along with some irritating physics puzzles that can glitch out and send boxes flying across the room, and a player character with a painfully small jump ended up eating up all the goodwill inspired by the positive aspects of the design. I don't like voting down games that I thought were original and creative, but the execution lacked too much for me to recommend this one. It might work for you if you're willing to overlook its flaws, but it didn't do it for me despite my love of all things horror.

It's hard to say who this game was meant for. It looks rather kiddy at first, but deals with some dark themes and plotlines, and also is rather frustratingly difficult at times. In many ways the definition of an award-winning flop, it's got a quirky style to it that you may or may not be on board with. Gameplay consists of platforming (which is solid), combat (which is bland), stealth (which is fun but frustrating), and driving/shooting (which is unpleasant). Nothing in the gameplay really stands out as exceptional, but the world and story are well-realized, even if the plot is sometimes melodramatic. Flawed, but charming and memorable. It's goofy and creative in its best moments, awkward and sloppy at its worst. There's a lot to like and enjoy, but plenty of moments that left me scratching my head. Difficulty was all over the place, with tricky parts not helped by the camera, but most of it was on the easier side. Despite what it has going against it, the quirkiness and setting were more than enough to drive my curiosity to the ending. I experienced some minor technical issues, mostly just flickering textures, and a crash or two, but I didn't consider them enough of a bother to stop me from playing. Your experience may vary, as this is known to be somewhat unstable on newer OS's.

Creepy, atmospheric point and click adventure. Short but challenging, maybe unfairly so. Puzzles are pretty vague and often operate on adventure game logic, so probably just for fans of the genre. I enjoyed my playthrough, but probably only because it came in a bundle. Worth trying out if you happen to already own it.

A terrible port of a mediocre horror game that marked the moment Silent Hill truly jumped the shark as a franchise. While a few faint glimmers of hope remain in the music and boss design, the overall mood and feel of the game is nothing like classic Silent Hill games and it completely fails to create any sort of tension or compelling narrative. A greater emphasis on combat removes the horror from the equation, and the combat itself is awkward and jittery. Not to mention, the starting knife attacks so quickly it can stunlock almost every enemy in the game and makes every other melee weapon useless. And this is all assuming you can actually get it running. Especially on newer systems, you're likely not to be able to launch the game at all without some fiddling. And if you do, expect a lack of video options and weird performance issues or visual glitches all around, as well as frequent crashes. It's a messy version **** that was already a mess, and yet somehow they still feel fine charging $40 for it. If you're eyeing this one during a sale in hopes of one last little gasp of Silent Hill to satisfy your craving, just don't. You'd be wasting your money and your time on a game that is an amateurish, embarrassing shadow of those that came before it. It's not scary, it's not fun, and it's not interesting or well-written, failing to give any reason to justify its existence.

I really shouldn't have enjoyed this game, even for the ludicruously low price I paid. It's brown, dull, and disgusting to look at and presents itself with a laughable, tough-guy attitude that sounds like something a fifth-grader would make up when boasting about how violent his older brother's games are. It's five or so hours long and is almost entirely a trek through generic dark hallways that lead to more generic hallways, often leaving me turning around without noticing. The plot is a complete throwaway and it cuts to credits before any sort of ending comes about. Your teammates go down constantly and need reviving, often getting you killed and forcing you to restart the whole repetitive segment. While it does have some unique ideas, especially with special powers and character swapping, they're too poorly implemented for any credit to be gained. And yet, I played it through and had a weird kind of fun, revelling in how ridiculous it was and how hard it tried. It's a big dumb shooter but at least it's a unique one, leaving a somewhat lasting impression on me and the wish that it was so much better. Creative and stupid, a combination that's almost always worth experiencing

Another horror game where you can only run and hide, Outlast doesn't do a whole lot that's new but it stands tall as a strong, polished game that's genuinely scary. Essentially Amnesia-style gameplay in a new setting, it's good-looking, well-designed and doesn't fall prey to many of the pitfalls that remove the horror from supposedly scary games - it knows when to use silence and emptiness to full effect and doesn't ramp up the action as the game progresses, barring the weak ending. Jump scares come often and can get predictable, and aren't the main strength of the game. It's the organic horror that comes from being stalked or looking for a hiding spot in a panic that really makes it memorable. The sheer gore and disturbing elements, including sexual overtones to the antagonists, are uniquely unnerving though they might alienate some players. Good horror doesn't need to be gruesome, after all. Fairly short and with a very weak final act much less compelling than the rest of the game, it's not for everyone, but is fine fuel for those who love the unmatched rush of feeling genuinely afraid.

A game you will love or hate, absolutely. As a military shooter, it's a generic but functional game with a useless tacked-on multiplayer mode that the developers have openly disowned. As a story-based singleplayer experience, it's notable for taking what starts as the most generic story imaginable and turning it into a meta-narrative that questions the the nature of video games while the protagonist questions his own heroism. While not perfect in its storytelling, it tries something that flies in the face of current trends and is essentially a giant middle-finger to Call of Duty and its imitators. Either you'll be on board with the idea and enjoy its ambiguous storyline, or you'll find it a pretentious attempt at an art game built on the back of a mediocre shooter. If you're curious, it's worth the time and money simply because it exists.

Confusing and tricky, but more of a traditional puzzle game than you might think at first. Much of the fun of Antichamber comes from figuring out the strange logic that governs things, and using it to make sense out of situations that wouldn't make sense in any other game. It rewards exploration and experimenting more than it does logically deducing the answer on the spot, and fairly often the solution to something can come about by accident while you try everything you can imagine. Having a mostly non-linear map that opens up more as you collect new abilities makes it much more fun to progress through than a straight, linear sequence of puzzles and for the most part there is enough direction that the temptation to look at a guide is rarely there. It's an unusual sort of puzzle game that plays smoothly and maintains a certain level of immersion instead of just leaving you wandering in circles in frustration. It can trick you and mess with you, and it is very satisfying to overcome its illusions and quirks. On the negative side, your results may vary, but I did find it very hard on the eyes with all the glaring white backgrounds. You may want to turn down your brightness and play in a well-lit room.

A game you should pick up if you`re a fan of the original, if you are curious, if you enjoy roguelike elements and challenge, or if you think jokes about child abuse and abortions are funny. Hardcore purists will have a few complaints compared to the original game, with a few tweaks and design changes not necessarily being perfect but for the most part everything has been improved. The frame rate, the controls, controller support, local co-op, a bigger item bank, more characters, more levels, more enemies, more bosses. It`s essentially a big expansion pack that irons out some of the technical issues the first game had while tweaking a few balance issues, for better or worse. Not quite a sequel, it wouldn`t be a crime to skip the first game and go directly to this one as the definitive edition of the Isaac experience. If you`ve exhausted the first game, this one will feel almost but not quite new, with some familiar elements mingling with all new sights and threats that bring back the sense of mystery and discovery again. I can safely call this and the original two of my favourite games of all time, despite the fits of rage they`ve given me, and I`d recommend them both to anyone who enjoys games, period.

Despite going into this one feeling a bit cynical and ready to mock, I couldn't help but be converted. The weird control scheme is both awkward as hell and also amusing to watch yourself fail at. The game does a good job of making the personality of the brothers come out despite the dialogue consisting of no actual words. Environments are varied and so gorgeous they left benches along the path for you to stop and sit on just to admire the view. The overall plot and setting is also VERY dark compared to what I was expecting, not afraid to show death and blood as the journey continues. Which pleasantly reminded me of being traumatized by Don Bluth films as a young child. I'm a little disappointed in the simple level design. It feels like there was so much more potential for complex puzzles and platforming sequences using the two brothers to their fullest, but instead everything's pretty simple and obvious. You won't die much, no matter how much you **** at the controls. Speaking of, some might disagree, but I'd say a controller is 100% required to enjoy this one right. And for those who beat it, that's probably the most emotional I've ever felt over pressing the left shoulder button to progress.

A short but very effective horror tale that uses the unique perspective of its toddler protagonist to great effect. Plays fairly similar to Amnesia, complete with blurred vision when you look at the monsters. More than just being creepy, it tells a very sad story that reveals itself through metaphor as you progress deeper into the world, making it memorable and likely to hit home for many of you. It's over fast, but it's definitely worth looking into for horror fans, even if it means waiting for a sale.

Legitimately funny on its own, with plenty of content both official and community-contributed, but it becomes a thing of hilarious beauty when played with a friend, especially for local co-op. Screw each other over in the most amusing ways you can think of, or just by accident, it calls to mind Portal 2 for the kind of co-op shenanigans you can get up to. Eventually you'll have to call a truce as you traverse the increasingly difficult levels, set to silly, catchy tunes and delightfully narrated by the silliest of people who may or may not be even following the script.

There are so many things about this game that I enjoy, and I wish it wasn't over so fast. Replayability comes through branching story threads and community content, but I still want more. The writing is razor-sharp and full of genuine wit and sarcasm, with the occasional breaking of the fourth wall to comment on gaming conventions. The art is simple but effective, using its minimal tech to create a convincing mood. The jazzy soundtrack is perfect for the story. And while its particular selling point of rewiring the building around you as you sneak through it wasn't implemented as well as it could have been, it still makes for some highly elaborate, complex solutions to puzzles at times. Everything about it was a treat, and I didn't have any complaints but for its fairly short running time. This is one of my highest recommendations when it comes to indie games.

More fun the more players you have, with smooth and functional online or local coop that allows you to save and continue your game in multiple sessions. With an emphasis on huge hordes of enemies and traps galore, there is plenty of fun to be had exploring and crushing massive swarms of enemies that fill the screen, and a variety of classes to make multiple playthroughs appealing. An assortment of workshop content can enhance your mileage even more. By default, it can be quite challenging, but there are plenty of options to customize your experience and make it easier or harder depending on your tastes. Infinite lives, no lives. Regenerating health, 1 health. The extra options add some spice and make it a good candidate for multiple sessions even after you finish the main campaign. It's all built on top **** whose core combat feels fast and satisfying, and that's always bombarding you with rewards just as much as it is with enemies. Well, maybe a few more enemies than rewards.

It's a pigeon dating sim. And it's everything you could ever want from one. While highly self-aware of just how ridiculous it is, and embracing the sheer silliness of everything, there's a weird sort of sincerity that makes it less just a throwaway joke and more of an actively enjoyable running gag. Though the premise is pure comedy and much of the dialogue is humorous, it never gets tiresome and instead actually becomes quite intriguing as you dig deeper into the bizarre fantasy world of pudding-obsessed pigeons. Also one of them is a serial killer. So there's that.

The highlight of the series, being immensely open-ended with a ton of different options for taking down your target, while having a better coat of polish than the other highlight, Silent Assassin. It's relatively easy to beat the game, but the fun comes from experimenting and figuring out just the many, many ways of finishing each mission, and working towards perfection in your final rating. It's not just a question of stealth versus frontal assault, it's poison versus bomb, sniper rifle versus falling chandelier, rigged fireworks versus chloroformed panties. It's got a dark, noiry style without the grindhouse cheese of Absolution, taking itself seriously even while it lets you do ridiculous things. Even now, having played through more than once, I find myself wanting to go back to try to screw around and finish the missions in new ways or perfect my old plans. I sincerely hope the new Hitman game can even come close to capturing the fun to be had here.

When asked what it is I enjoy most about a game, the best I can come up with is "the experience", as vague as that is. Whatever I mean by that, Hotline Miami captures it in every way. With the sickly bright visuals, the unflinching and brutal violence, the hypnotizing soundtrack, and the surreal plot, it sets itself apart as one of the most distinct experiences in indie gaming. It's comparable to drugs, getting under your skin and becoming a game you play by feel more than sight. You'll get into a flow and completely lose yourself in the violence, only for the last enemy to die. Then the music cuts abruptly, a dull buzzing plays, and you slowly walk back to your car through the trail of maimed bodies. Everything moves so fast, you don't even have time to think, you just have to react instinctively. The feel of the action very much compliments what's going on in the protagonist's head. No time to stop and think, only to act, and react, as fast as possible, no matter the consequences. The best games don't just have you play as a character, they make you feel like you *are* the character, and the gradually deteriorating mental state of a brutal killer wouldn't look like anything else than what you see in this game. The violence, intensity, and difficulty aren't going to be for everyone, but this is among my most loved of indie titles on the market.

A step down from the first game, with less focus and some annoying level design getting in the way of the hypnotic, automated "flow" you could get into in that game. But it remains a bitterly nihilistic story with a backdrop of ridiculously fast, challenging violence with the same kind of gratuitous style. Things get a lot more frustrating, but I simply could not stop myself from driving to the conclusion even if it wasn't exactly something I wanted to see. The game is a sensual feast that leaves me exhausted after a while, even more so than the first game, with a soundtrack that's even more driving and mesmerizing. The new characters add a lot of variety, but there are some serious balance issues going on and it detracts somewhat from the simplicity that made the first one so smooth. From tight, confined experience to broader and messier, there are still a lot of things here I enjoyed, but it's simply not as memorable as the first game and remains one for the fans who want a little more. Non-essential gaming but intriguing for the curious and adrenaline-addicted.

If you want to feel like a ninja, this is the game. With an arsenal of fancy moves, gadgets, and murder methods, this is 2D stealth at its finest and stands as one of my favourite sneak-em-ups, 2D or not. Extremely polished and well put together, it looks and controls great, and it's just so much fun to creep around and terrorize your enemies, with stealth that's similarly satisfying as the Arkham games. You're powerful and lethal in the shadows but vulnerable when seen, and as the game progresses you'll have to come up with fancier and fancier tactics to overcome the escalating security and new varieties of enemy immune to this thing or that. Succeed and you feel like the ultimate badass, fail and you're a fumbling idiot. It's all wrapped up in an excellently presented package with an enjoyable, if simple story to work through. It's a little on the easy side, but there is a new game+ mode in which all gunshots are fatal and your vision is more limited, etc. Definitely more challenging, but still beatable. There is a quicksave option that doesn't penalize you for using it, which can **** the difficulty out of things a little if you're prone to save-scumming. Because things can go so very wrong so very quickly, it's a welcome addition but it does make things a little less tense.

One of the first games I think of when it comes to talking about indie gaming, it nails the stark and depressing feeling better than its many other stylistic imitators. Dark as can be, sometimes gruesome, it's a haunting journey that'll stick with you. While it's over pretty quickly, it is plenty challenging and has such a gloomy atmosphere that you might actually feel glad it's over when it is. A great example of how to tell a story without words, and how to use sound or lack thereof.

I don't think I could possibly say anything about this game that hasn't already been said. It's a shining example of everything that's wonderful about indie gaming, with top marks in every category including music, sound, voiceover, control, art design, balance, story... etc etc. You get the idea. In fact, I'm hardly even sure why I'm recommending it. You probably already have it. Go play it! It's lovely.

Accessible at first, but quickly escalates into some tremendous challenges. Makes great support of local coop for up to four players, if you have the devices for such. It also has a strong sense of accomplishment, presenting what looks like an impossible challenge but making all the threats very clear and obvious. Despite its status as a bullet hell shooter, the visual design is very clean and smooth, keeping things from getting too washed out and unclear. Only on the rare occasion do you feel like you were hit by something you couldn't possibly have seen, instead usually feeling like you screwed up and can do better. It's one of the best local coop games on Steam currently, both nostalgic while new, smooth, and slick. Definitely worth giving a go if you have a few someones hanging around you can strap down for long enough.

It doesn't look very good today, and we've seen the central mechanic copied a thousand times since, but this is a classic of action gaming that's proven very influential over the years, for better or worse. Even if it hasn't aged the best, the copious helping of noir style and dead-serious melodrama mixed with weird humour make this one still worthwhile, and I recommend running through it as part of a full trilogy run. It comes from a simpler time where shooters could just be about shooting everyone, with no vehicle sections, no hacking minigames, no rpg elements, no sandbox elements, no moral choices, no collectibles, no quicktime events, no... well, you get the idea. It can seem like a relic today, but I appreciate the simplicity and devotion to doing one thing and doing it well. Coupled with one of my favourite video game protagonists, and this one remains a fond memory even when played today.

It's one of those games where you walk around, but it's much more interactive than most. It responds to all your choices, and the main fun of the matter is taking things in unexpected directions to see if the game is ready for it. Most of the time, it is, and has a new story branch to go right along with it. They thought of almost everything. There are a great deal of possible endings to discover and a few hours of pure comedy to enjoy. If you're not into meta-comedy or mocking the basics of game design in general, you won't find much to laugh at, but as someone who enjoys this sort of thing, it's irresistibly clever, made better by its wonderful narrator.

Intensely serious and dramatic, built on top **** whose mechanics are very simple and mostly adequate. Taken as a pure game, it's nothing fancy, and arguably resembles a mobile game in just how simple it is to play. But with its rich sound and stark visuals, it really deserves to be played on a full monitor. Like many indie games, it doesn't set out to be a fun and addicting game, but rather to create an experience and make you feel "there". It does this very well, with a sense of overarching dread and impending doom made worse by every little mistake. You never quite have enough food, or if you do, enough medicine, or supplies, whatever. No playthrough will ever be perfect and you'll be left to decide just what you can afford to sacrifice. Combat is something you're generally supposed to avoid, though that's no excuse for how awkward is actually is. Seeing as the game autosaves whenever you do much of anything, you may end up losing a survivor to the strange mechanics, which is a frustrating experience. Other than that though, this is a bleak and depressing survival sim that's nonetheless very enjoyable to play even though it left me feeling pretty devastated. Most importantly, it portrays a situation that's all too real in the world, and is very good at inspiring empathy in the player that may well translate to real life. That the only DLC is a donation directly to children affected by war just reinforces the solid intentions of the developers.

The end of an era, it marks the last great tactical shooter on the market before this series descended into mediocrity. Nothing else since this has come close to equalling its quality of brutal, unforgiving tactics. This is a game that wears its realism on its sleeve and isn't afraid to let you drop dead from one bullet fired from a guy you couldn't even have seen coming. You move slowly and even walking throws your aim way off. Repeated autofire might as well be fired with your eyes closed. Guns feel weighty and impactful, dropping enemies in one or two torso shots. It's harsh and doesn't feel remotely fair at times, but having smooth, flawless success in this game is more satisfying than any other shooter I've played. Unlocking all the maps requires playing through the campaign mode, where the iffy team AI and permanent injuries/death to the squad members can make things frustrating, but if you take the time to plan things out they usually go well. The game has no tolerance for the slightest mistake, for even a single corner left unchecked, and requires awareness and caution you rarely need in other games. The real fun comes with friends. Competitive modes are fine, but nothing's better than the sheer teamwork it takes to clear out a whole map in co-op. And the sheer disaster that can strike if any one of you slips up for a moment. Multiplayer no longer functions out of the box, so you'll have to take alternate methods to get it work, such as Hamachi or Tunngle, but it's well worth the effort. Still one of my favourite coop games of all time.

One of the most visually impressive games around, made even more amazing by a new, remade version with an updated engine and some of the original versions annoyances supposedly ironed out. I haven't played the redux yet, but it comes packed in with the original game for new and past purchasers, which is a very nice move on the developer's part. With some of the most impressively detailed environments around, the sheer attention to detail alone is astounding. I'd almost recommend this one just for the enjoyment of wandering around looking at stuff, and I'm not the sort who usually cares about graphics. Realistic backgrounds meet strange fantasy elements to make for a very distinct look and feel to things. It really is like playing a dream sometimes. But prettiness aside, there is also a mystery to be solved here. It's quite a dark one, involving murder, cults, and other things I won't spoil. It all wraps up in a way I found a little unsatisfying, but it's still a compelling narrative to follow. Which is good, because narrative is all he game really has going for it in terms of game stuff. Exploring, some fairly simple puzzle solving, and piecing together the storyline is all there is to keep you busy in the fairly short playtime, but this one's much more compelling than the usual narrative-only games, with some wonderful twists and surprises in store for you as you explore. Not for anyone who wants action, but great at what it sets out to do.

This game is pure interactive story more than anything. There are a few puzzles, some quicktime sequences to keep you on your toes, but more than anything it's a game that sells itself entirely on the strength of its narrative. If that's not what you're looking for, this won't be for you. Character models and animations are a bit dated, lip-syncing is pretty average, nothing about this game on a technical level really stands out. But as an interactive story, I can honestly say I've never felt so invested in a group of fictional characters before. Everyone is flawed but usually sympathetic, and the protagonist and his constant child companion are some of the most likeable characters in games. Even if Lee isn't a generic "everyman", you learn to very quickly identify with him and see things from his perspective, and Clementine is perhaps the only well-done child character in any video game ever. She's realistic, she's cute, she's scared, and she looks up to you. Every action you end up taking will end up going through the filter of "what will Clem think?", and the writing and acting does a wonderful job making you really live with your decisions. Despite the many player choices, this isn't a heavily branching story. The overall plot remains relatively the same regardless of what you do, though the fate of the supporting cast can vary. More than a branching plot, it wants to make it feel like your story, that everything that happens is a result of your choices, and it loves to make you feel guilty, whatever you end up doing. The writing and acting are excellent, and it's an emotionally brutal story in a way so rarely pulled off in games. Even if you don't like this kind of game, even if you don't even like zombies, this is a devastatingly sad tale that really needs to be experienced for yourself, if you can see past the limitations of the game built to tell it.

While not as DEVASTATINGLY EMOTIONAL (thank god) as the Walking Dead series, this is one cool as hell mystery that combines some very mature noir sensibilities with fairy tale characters. That alone is pretty much enough to sell it to me, and it delivers on the promise of dark, gritty twists on classic characters while also involving you deeply in the world around as it unveils itself right along with the mystery you're tracking. It's mature and has plenty of adult themes, but it doesn't indulge in these things just for the sake of them. The darker content fits very well with the sleazy underworld it's showing to you, and the writing and acting are consistently excellent from start to finish. Mystery, black humour, sudden brutal violence, and a great cast of weird, slightly crazy characters makes this one of the most enjoyable worlds to dive into in recent years. Telltale really knows how to capture a fictional setting well, so if you're into point and click adventures with emphasis on story over puzzles, you can't go wrong with this one.

A music game and a unforgiving dungeon crawler with heavy roguelike elements, all in one game. And it's not just a dungeon crawler with music game elements, or a music game with a dungeon crawl attached, it's a near seamless hybrid of both in a way that I never could have thought would work. But it does, so very well. A soundtrack by Danny Baranowsky means it's going to be good, and the tunes go well with the rapid, split-second pace you need to keep in order to stay ahead of the game. I'm not sure if it's extremely difficult or I just plain ****, but I still have yet to get overly far in it and consistently blunder into enemies as I try to stay on time to the beat so as not to lose my combo. It's embarrassing, really. But my own **** aside, this is a game that's just so much fun, especially once you start getting into the zone and responding to things before your brain can really process them. It strangely reminds me of Hotline Miami in that sense, but with less ultraviolence and more dancing skeletons. It is also now out of early access, and features a whole campaign, tons of unlockables and player characters with different playstyles, and daily challenges to keep you coming back. I must have rage quit this game a dozen times already but I keep wanting more, and it probably has something to do with those infectious beats. Nothing else is like it, and nothing else could do what it does as well as it does.

You've probably already played a hundred different top down horde shooters for free on various flash game websites already. Or at least you have if you were in middle school when I was. So paying the full price for this game would just be silly. It doesn't do anything new or exciting enough to justify a full purchase and is mindless entertainment at best. That said, given I just stumbled across this in my library after purchasing some bundle or other, I had a lot of fun with it for a while. It's nothing revolutionary but it has tons of levels, guns, and powerups and is just dumb and satisfying. There's local coop and online leaderboards and generally a lot of features, plus the list of weapons is huge and inventive. All in all I consider it the best version I've played of that shooty thing I used to play on my middleschool lunch breaks, but not one I would recommend shelling out for directly.

I have no idea what this is actually supposed to be. It's sort of a board game, sort of a strategy game, and sort of a roleplaying game and exists as something entirely its own thing. Normally I'd call that a plus, but as you might have guessed by the gratuitously pretentious title, it's a game much more full of itself than it is actually well-designed. Playing as a family, you use tokens to move forward on a board that's constantly rotating towards a pit of crocodiles which represent failure to thrive. As you play, you might produce children, and one of those children moves on to be your next player character and start a new generation eventually. Choices you make, like neglecting one of your offspring, might affect you down the line. Pretty cool in concept, but everything is just so slow and boring that it lost me. I remained curious and entranced despite the repetition for a while, wanting to know where this was all going, but eventually I realized just how much time I was wasting clicking on tokens again and again. Every actual in-game action is so far removed from the overall story it's trying to tell that it requires you to bring your own personal narrative to things just to make it interesting. Coupled with a really self-satisfied writing style and a way of trying to sound philosophical without saying much, and my goodwill quickly faded away entirely. This was a bundle game for me, but I'm still not interested in playing any longer. That it sells for $20 normally is insane. Some people might find something of interest here in the unique concept - I do recommend giving it a try if it makes its way to your library via bundle - but everything it was trying to do just didn't work for me.

There's nothing inherently terrible about this game but it remains an average and passable experience at best. The movement and mechanics feel sluggish and nothing about the visuals or writing stands out as exceptional. Just bland. The puzzles themselves are fairly easy for most of the game, but it's easy to make a mistake that requires a complete level restart. There is no undo function. So the game is less about puzzle solving and more about tediousness. It's not awful, but it doesn't do anything to earn my recommendation. You might enjoy it if you like puzzle-platformers, but there are better examples of the genre out there.

Way more fun than I ever expected it to be. It's funny, it's fast-paced, and it's incredibly satisfying. While it's over pretty quickly, it's replayable, and there are high-score oriented modes aside from the main story. The core gameplay moves super fast and the shooting never feels repetitive thanks to the challenge of racking up score with combos and tricky shots. Even better, the action is framed by a narration that affects gameplay as the old gunslinger gets his stories mixed up or the audience interjects in the middle of the fights. Amusing and charming, it's a great little western tale wrapped up in a great shooter for a great price. What I'm saying is it's great. The duel mechanic takes a little getting used to, and feels needlessly awkward at first, but once I got good at the three-eyed stare required, it made me feel pretty awesome. Don't give up if you find yourself getting stuck on those bits, you'll get better.

I'm not sure why I'd even bother to write a review for this one, because you already know if you want it. Either you're intrigued by the concept, curious just how they can manage to make such a boring idea into compelling action, or you're instantly repelled by the premise, and rightfully so. This is about as indie as indie games get, and also as brilliant as they get. It takes such a simple thing, and wraps it up in politics, real-world parallels, and perhaps even some genuine feels to make you feel more invested in the fate of a fictional immigration officer than you ever would about a generic grimacing action hero. But drama and intelligence aside, it's also surprisingly fun, with a very smooth difficulty curve that makes you feel your own skills improving just enough to meet the game's increasing demands. It even comes with some bonus high score modes that you could conceivably see yourself playing. It tells an interesting, branching story through simple means while also somehow managing to make boring real life work into entertainment I want more of. This is pretty much the epitome of why I love the indie game market despite all its warts.

An obvious mobile port that's slow and boring, and not even entertainingly offensive. Despite the amusing title, there's nothing funny or edgy about it, failing to deliver on the implied promise of blasphemous humour I was hoping for.

A glorious flop, Alpha Protocol is a highly ambitious project with great ideas but weak gameplay. Sitting in the Deus Ex genre of rpg-stealth-action-espionage, it offers a customizable protagonist and a game world that reacts to your chosen style of play and personality to present a long, branching storyline where your choices really do matter. Friends might betray you, enemies might become allies, and the plot has plenty of ways it can wrap up. Stealth mechanics are passable and easily broken by overpowered skills, combat is fairly generic, but between plot and player choice and overall style, it creates a distinct sense of immersion and does a fine job really making you feel like a spy. Frustrating at times, but satisfying, it's worth a look if you enjoy a game you can play any way you want to.