Out There (iOS)

Few games lately have grabbed my attention and held it like 'Out There.'

I have been watching it since its release but it took my brother to visit (playing it on his android phone) and then a board gaming night (where we played 'Space Alert') to finally get me into the mood to really dig into it.

I turned it on today around lunch; am now on my fourth attempt and have loved every minute (every hour actually, I've clocked 4 I think). Each time getting a deeper understanding of the game and getting a little further. 

One of my favorite sci-fi movies is Duncan Jones' "Moon" and this game touches on the same vein and I'm loving it. And until we get a beautiful point-and-click (fan made) version of that movie, this will do...

Firstly the visuals stand out: comic book style eye-popping colours accented with clean fonts but it won't be out done by the sound and music which seems to hold the game in its magical and lonely space journey. I'd love to upload all the screenshots I've been taking but am afraid to ruin the mystery for the players I know who are currently enjoying 'Out There' or who might be (should be) now considering it.

Log entries happen every time you enter a new star system (or dungeon - because the game design is rooted in the Rogue genre) and are interesting, humorous, believable and realistic as they become more and more bizarre the longer our lone hero is isolated in space.

The pace of the game really fits me well at the moment too: no timers, nothing that requires speed. If my kids (or my boss) come to interrupt my game I can simply close the app and continue where I left off - there are no battles (that I have seen) in the way that FTL or Star Command have. The excitement comes instead through the decisions and discoveries you make and risks you take and there are many.

The most original idea is learning an alien language; the more you encounter an alien species the more you learn, slowly working away at it, piece by piece, word by word. It's refreshing and clever and adds to the isolation and strangeness in this deep space adventure. 

 

Barbarian (iOS)

Barbarian has got me. I've bought the golden axe and am playing daily. I would never have thought....but then again I was really into Knightmare Tower as well.

Shadowrun Returns (PC)

I remember first hearing about Shadowrun Returns during their Kickstarter campaign almost 2 years ago. It's been on my Steam wishlist forever and I thought it was to simply become one of those games that I wish I had time for but would never have time to play. When I saw that it was on sale on this weekend I waited for a few days to think about if I would ever play it and then finally decided that (and this is my new rule for games) if I can get 1 hour for every buck I spend on this game then I have spent good money - I don't have to finish every game (although it would be nice) that I buy and I am very sure that I am getting my money worth with Shadowrun Returns.

I only played it for 23 minutes but from what I can gather it looks a lot like a mix of good old RPG's like Baldur's Gate mixed with the action and fighting of XCom Enemy Within in a Cyberpunk-Fantasy world inhabited by shotgun wielding trolls, dwarven deckers and even dragons. Along with all the modding with Steam Workshop there are loads of other fan made campaigns to try out as well!

The colour schemes and all the menus and the writing all seem to be really good, the game is well polished. I hope to return to this one, perhaps when the pressures of Neptunes Pride 2 have subsided. 

Prison Architect (PC)

In Prison Architect you are going to be able to build, manage and maintain a high security prison - the game is still in Alpha. I had promised myself not to buy anymore games in Alpha - mostly because of what happened when I bought Cobalt, but this game is from Introversion Software (makers of Uplink, Defcon and Darwinia) so I am betting they are actually going to finish their game.

The game is in Alpha and full of bugs - of which we were warned of during their hilarious trailer (check it out on the Prison Architect page) and I found it almost unplayable at the moment, so like with Secrets of Raetikon I am only going to check in on this again when I hear of a substantial update.

Prison Architect has a chance to be more than just another "sim" game. I hope that they bring in a little more of the morality and business of modern prisons - as we have seen in games like Papers, Please and Castle Doctrine there is a place for games that touch on more complicated themes. As in those games Introversion has a chance to place the player in situations forcing them to make difficult and ambiguous moral decisions that might sometimes go against their own morals. I am hoping that Prision Architect reaches those lofty aspirations while maintaining a tight Prison building sim.

Ilamentia (PC)

Ilamentia provided me with a distraction this week. I bought it over IndieGameStand without even knowing what kind of game it was - the abstract screenshots just dragged me in. I was expecting something along the lines of MirrorMoonEp actually, but it turned out to be more of a puzzler - each level seems to have a different mechanic to it, you approach globes with little faces in them and merge them with other globes - all the while trying to avoid the scary demon face globe....

Sounds exactly as bizarre as it is and although I really like abstract games - the abstract gameplay of this one didn't really make me want to come back for more, but because I didn't really understand it I can see myself booting it up once again to see if maybe I missed something (although I can say right now that I didn't) just to see if it interests me more on another day.

If nothing else the game provided me with some pretty awesome screenshots. Perhaps after I read a little about the game I might be ready to 'devour' Ilamentia.

Ilamentia's official page here.

Toto Temple (PC)

I have found the next game for my 4-player couch-gaming night. It's called Toto Temple and it's due out on the OUYA very soon (called Toto Temple DELUXE). But for people like me that can't wait, there is a free version that consists of only one level but that you can still play with 4-players. It's made by JuicyBeast, the Canadian's behind the awesome Knightmare Tower. The original (which I am assuming is the one they allow you to download for free) was made in 3 days for the Tojam in August 2013. The fancy-schmanzy Deluxe version is due this spring....erm, it is spring already, so where is it guys?!

I didn't play long at all; only long enough to make sure it was working before I invite people over to play and to make these screenshots.

Again it's got their funky cartoon look and a simplified gameplay but I know this one is going to play well exactly because the gameplay is so simple. I can't wait to smash someone's goat-toting noggin in!

Juicy Beast

Toto Temple

Blackwell Epiphany (PC)

Our 16-player Neptune's Pride 2 game has been taking a toll on my freetime and my will to play anything at the moment, so I devoted some time to beta-testing Blackwell Epiphany for Wadjet Eye Games. I have never played a Blackwell game before so I had no idea what I was getting into - actually I signed up to beta-test Gemini Rue for the iPad and since then have been on their list it seems. This game is really good though and fits quite well to the kind of gaming I can find time for right now - it's more like interactive television with a strong story and pacing and there are no endbosses, no resource management, no stress inducing timers, just story. It would make a great TV show actually.....come on HBO get on it!

I hope it does well. Good luck Wadjet Eye Games!