New week, new game. Since indie game Dear Esther is all the rage these days, it’ll be great to look back at what started it all, Dear Esther prototype version. So, without further ado, lets get started with the intro
Dear Esther is a first-person narrative that adds vocal interjections as you travel and observe the island. Each narration is supposed to be relevant to the view at hand, including writings on walls, landscapes, etc. Frequently, the narrative will contradict itself, leading to a surreal and disjointed experience.
The free, Half-Life mode can be downloaded at Mod DB.com.
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Warning! I am about to introduce a Japanese-style erotic visual novel, better known as eroge. While this game does offer an option to turn off the adult portions, be well aware that this is made for a far more mature audience. And by “mature,” I mean emotionally.
New week, new game. This week is about Katawa Shoujo, a visual novel from the members of 4chan, no less. As a love simulator, this game has one simple twist: every girl you can date is handicapped. While I’m sure many of you will find the origins of this game uneasy, I can affirm that the subject matter is handled very delicately. By the end of it, it’ll make you realize the truth behind a frequently told but rarely understood point: the difference between a normal person and a disabled one is only skin deep.
You play as Hisao Naoki, who one day collapses from a sudden heart attack. Upon recovery, he learns he has a fatal condition called arrhythmia: a disorder that causes the heart to react erratically. Forced to stay in the dreadful hospital for months, he’s finally given a decision one day to move to the Yamaku boarding high school, an educational school specialized in tending students with medical conditions. In an attempt to start life anew again, Hisao agrees, and ventures into the high school for disabled students. Little does he expect a huge emotional roller-coaster when trying to make friends in this initially-peculiar high school.
As the genre “visual novel” implies, Katawa Shoujo reads a lot like a choose-your-own-adventure novels. The majority of the game is devoted to characterizations and observations, but occasionally the game gives you a few branching choices that determines how the story progresses. While that seems like a chore at first, several features in the game helps alleviate the hours-long text. First there’s an auto-mode that automatically clicks through the text for you at an adjustable pace. For the really impatient, there’s the skip-mode that fast-forwards to the next multiple-choice question.
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New week, new music. Here’s a soothing chiptune-like music from the puzzle game, Blocks That Matter. Tetrobot is the title character’s name, who’s theme is composed by Yann Van Der Cruyssen — the same composer as Cave Story+. It’s relatively non-serious tone sets stage for a hilarious indie game about two kidnapped game designers, and their robot to save them.
Blocks That Matter has a self-referencing story: in the magical land of Sweden, renowned game developers Alexey Pajitnov (of Tetris fame) and Markus Persson (of Minecraft fame) were working on a project that, decidedly, was not game related. Lo and behold when a bunch of darkly hooded men with guns kidnap them to an unknown location, and it’s the role of Tetrobot, their secret project, to go save them.
Blocks That Matter is a 2D puzzle game that borrows ideas from Minecraft, i.e. digging blocks to move them to a different location. Unlike Minecraft, however, our robot can only place the blocks it carries in a Tetris-block formation. You know, the usual stuff. The game levels, of course, progresses in a predictable manner: go through a pre-set level, and reach to the black-hole-like portal.
Blocks That Matter was released on the PC, Mac, Linux and Xbox 360 in 2011. It’s available for download on Steam and Xbox Live.
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New week, new game. Lets talk about an MMORPG, shall we? Here’s one addicting, but queer RPG called Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online. Why queer? Well, for a Japanese anime inspired game, the visuals are oddly gothic and religiously offensive. Unusual to this genre, the game even has some cinema-scenes, too. And the most interesting part? It plays a little likePokémon.
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online can be downloaded at Aeria Games.
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online starts off in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where the city has been leveled by demons. As the typical MMORPG trope, you are a Demon Buster, one trained to fight against demons. While investigating a ruin, your leader takes a significant blow as a gigantic demon emerges. You’re rescued, barely alive, and decide to take some vengeance against this boss.
It wouldn’t be a Shin Megami Tensei game, however, if you couldn’t befriend these demons. As luck may have it, you have a talent to convince demons to join your cause, and have them fight alongside with you. Some NPCs are demons themselves, proving once and for all how resilient the human species are.
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New week, new game. Today’s free game is from the friendly team of students at DigiPen Institute at Singapore. The game? Void, a dimension-manipulating first-person puzzle game.
People who played Portal should feel very comfortable with this game. Void begins with our main hero, Artaith, desperately running away from the rubble, and investigating on its cause. Somehow, he’s gained the ability to create dimensional rifts into the past, as well as obtain eyeglass that allows him to see the complex he was in, pre-destruction state.
Artaith can create up to two temporary, spherical dimensional rifts on any surface. In doing so, certain floors and items may become visible, while others may end up being obstructed. As such, the player must carefully place the rifts to his or her benefit, without losing their footing. The puzzles becomes particular complex when water is introduced, allowing you to swim to higher locations that would be otherwise dry and difficult to climb.
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New week, new game. Here’s a popular game that helped launched the infamous artsy game studio, ThatGameCompany. Cloud, is a Katamari-like game of collecting clouds and achieving various missions. Incidentally, it was one of the games I’ve introduced in the Weekly Game Music series as well.
Cloud describes a bed-ridden boy who’s given a spiritual chance to enjoy flight. As one of the cloud spirits, his role is to collect clouds. With these clouds, he can create cloud formations, calm storms, and even cause the clouds to rain.
As its name implies, Cloud is intended to be a relaxing game. As the spirit, you fly towards a patch of cloud to collect it, and have it follow you as you gather more. Since the clouds will lag a little bit, you’re forced to proceed in a slower manner. The said clouds can be stored and released, however, whenever you feel like it.
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