Your Story DEMO – Quick Look

‘Your Story’ is a choose-your-own-adventure themed visual novel, in which we aid a lovely elven young woman named Lia.

The demo showcases a casual narrative that flows nicely and allows you to get into the whole story, which on itself is intriguing as well. While there are not many characters, each of them seems to have a unique personality, and you want to get to know them better as you progress through the story.

The game pulls you into this little adventure and makes you feel like you’re part of it, even if you’re a mostly silent observer that can only advise Lia so often. Even then, though, it is made obvious poor girl truly needs you and you feel compelled to make sure Lia manages to get through the day.

Lovely aesthetics, intriguing plot, and generally a good little demo. I advise you all to have a look at it, and if you do enjoy it as much as I did, don’t forget to check out the game’s Kickstarter  and wishlist it on steam!

A Mortician’s Tale Review

A Mortician’s Tale is a short, narrative little game from Laundry Bear. The independent studio not other has developed another game – “Speed Dating for Ghosts” – but has also worked with others to deliver exciting and unique experiences for their players.

‘A Mortician’s Tale’ on Steam

The game takes us into the life of Charlie, a fresh graduate who begins her new job: she will be a funeral director for Rose and Daughters. We are able to experience what the job looks like first-hand, but also to learn more about Charlie, people she works with, the whole ‘culture’ one might say around her job.

There’s plentiful of information in the game about the job that one might consider a tricky subject. Nobody wants to think about what happens to the body once the soul is gone, and many will consider it weird or surprising for people to be interested in being a mortician. But the truth is that we need those people, and sometimes we need to think about this process – and how we would like it to go for us and our families when the time comes.

The game gives a wonderful look at all those things, as well as showcasing new ways and possible developments to the whole process, ones that are healthier for our planet. Alongside little gameplay, we are led through a story of Charlie and Rose and Daughters, and all in all, even if short, ‘A Mortician’s Tale’ is a great experience I’d recommend for everyone.

A little video & my first impressions

SoulVoid [Review]

You can get SoulVoid at Itch.io

Soul Void is, as the author states “a short, 1-2 hour experience made as a proof of concept to test out GB Studio”, however, I found it to be quite intriguing, well-made little game. It is definitely short, but it still tells a story from beginning to end, includes quite a few mini-games and puzzles, and doesn’t feel “unfinished” in any way. It is quite solid little game.

Note: The only thing that is missing is music, however, it managed to create a creepy atmosphere for me without any soundtrack, and that definitely tells you something! Alternatively, you can also put on your favorite spooky or chill or whatever music you want while you play.

Now, what really is a Soul Void? For that we should firstly look at the fact that it was made in GB Studio – which is a  ‘free retro adventure game creator’, and so Soul Void definitely feels like one of those retro games. Graphic style is simple but still beautiful in my personal experience. We also want somewhat eerie, spooky art style as we are talking about a creepy game here, and it definitely managed to portray that. As I mentioned before, just the story and graphics itself managed to creep me out. We are not talking about jumpscares kind of horror game, but just a little something that makes you stop and wonder, rather than shock you, it puts you in the unfamiliar, creeped-out kind of mood.

The story itself, I feel it is very meaningful, and together with gameplay, hides many metaphors, as well – and for everyone, based on their own life experiences, it can mean something different, something more personal to them. But, let’s introduce the story at least somewhat –

Basically, we end up in this world, which we do not know what it is, and any explanations are vague, and in search for answers, reasons, and so on we enter the Soul Void.

Soul Void is a dangerous and most bizarre place. You will experience bizarre and shocking encounters, but also meet quite a few interesting characters on your way there. This little game, despite its shortness, is filled with interesting mini-games, creepy moments and visuals, and as it should – it keeps you unaware of what truly happened until the very end.

Soul Void, despite being a ‘proof of concept’ is definitely worth checking out, as well as its creator – if you enjoy the game, and other works of them, definitely support them. Seeing this little magnificent game that came from them using free software and their own skills, you can only imagine what amazing pieces could be made with the right budget.

 

Love Ritual DEMO review

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the silence, but life has been busy. Today, I am going to share a little demo with you, which I have truly enjoyed. I am hoping for this to be a little warmup for me – and, if luck allows, in upcoming weeks there will be more posts!

Click on the picture to check out the game!

Today we are going to talk about the demo for game called “Love Ritual” by Xand. Love Ritual demo is not very long but it does give you an idea where the developers want to take it and what you can expect from it. You are welcomed by beautiful backgrounds and sprites, including subtle animations which add up to the feeling and expression of the game. It is always hard to create a visual novel that tells the story the way you want it to be told, but Xand’s approach surely seems like a good one. Personally, I always enjoy it when visual novels have little details like that.

For me, art style go towards realistic while not losing the appeal of less realistic styles – it’s somewhere in between and I think many will be able to enjoy it. Writing is clear and even in the demo, I haven’t spot any typos, mistakes or anything like that, which is a big plus.

I really don’t want to focus on the story too much, as I don’t want to describe all or most of the demo. I want you to dive in and let the atmosphere pull you in. Personally, I was really sad when demo ended – I wanted, even needed more, as this game did nothing but amaze me and I desired more. But, we all gotta be patient!

Nevertheless, I probably should tell you a little bit about Love Ritual. This is a little detective merged with romance story, and we are in the shoes of a sweet Riilai, who is called to solve a mystery… and in the process, meets two gentlemen, a very, very interesting gentlemen…

Demo gives you a feel of aesthetic, a couple of choices, and let’s you get an idea what kind of protagonist Riilai may be. I am looking forward to the release of Love Ritual!

Note: I have been contacted by the developer, but of course, demo is free of charge, so this is not #ad. The game looked interesting, I played it and genuinely enjoyed it. I decided it deserves a little blog post.

Adventures of Pixels

Pixel art adventures were one of the very strong milestones in the history of video games.  King’s Quest or The Secret of the Monkey Island are a great example of that. Nowadays, it is mostly that indie developers try to bring them back. Pixel art adventures made by indie developers are succesful because they bring back what was the secret of succes of old adventure games: freedom and innovation.

Don’t get me wrong – AAA games are innovative from time to time. But, very often, big studios are scared of trying new things, fresh ideas and going with the idea in hopes player will love it. Back in the day, nobody knew what people wanted because the whole market and playbase was still in the making. Possibly why Sierra created all kinds of different adventure games, of different themes (fantasy theme, police theme, space theme, etc) to gather a full range of audience, people of different tastes and likes.

Indie developers do not have an easy job either. It is often working two jobs, and putting your passion first. But in the case of an indie studio, where you do not have to worry about paying hundreds of people, just couple – you can allow yourself to take risks. Maybe not big risks, because you still need to eat, but this is how pixel art game suceed.

The sad true of success of an indie developer is to create for passion and for love for creating rather than making enough money of it, although for many of them it does pay off. It is a mixutre of skill, dedication and sheer luck.

But, pixel art adventures became a well known genre created by many indie developers.. It is a one of those smaller risks, because of the popularity of the genre. Turns out that a lot of us, especially us gamers remembering the times of first pixels, don’t mind lack of 3d high quality graphics, if the story or gameplay or both are stunning.

And today we are talking about something stunning.

There is a very skillful creator called Octavi Navarro that has worked on quite a few such productions, like Thimbleweed Park, and is a truly talented individual. Recently, he has released his second short game called “The Librarian”, and on this ocassion, I decided to write this little piece.

Navarro has created two short games, but it’s shortness show you just how time consuming and how tough it may be to create game on your own. Yes, Navarro created almost all of the assets by himself. Fonts were done by SomePx, and some of the sound effect were taken from royalty free assets.

First of his games is Midnight Scenes.

Midnight Scenes is Navarro’s first game and much more spooky one. Of course, point-and-click horros are not fully scary, but they do not intend to be. They are about building atmosphere, and Octavi Navarro has a tremendous talent in that. He builds atmosphere so perfectly it makes you shudder. I am amazed at how many little things his games have that help set the atmosphere.

You follow a story of young woman being stuck on a road and… some very interesting events happen. I am really curious about the story and all the things that weren’t said.

Midnigh Scenes is a very short let intriguing story, and feels like it has potential for much longer, bigger game. I would love to see what could be made out of this, and how the story could develop.

His newest game, The Librarian, shows even more professionalism and beautiful design.

The Librarian has one very specific feature that I adore. It is not as hard to tell a story, if you can tell it through words.Many mysteries and secrets can be revealed this way. Navarro shows his skill by telling us a story through no words what so ever. Midnight Scenes had very few words as well, but still they needed some because of how the story went. Librarian defends itself through it’s design and the only time you read something is at the beginning. One, short sentence and later you need to observe the game and solve puzzles to learn the story.

Both games from Octavi Navarro are beautiful, a bit spooky adventures that you need to check out. Details in character’s animation, beautiful art and other assets, and amazing design are what makes those games truly delightful. In anticipation I am awaiting Octavi’s bigger production, because I am certain it will be the real GOTY. Navarro is the artist you want to follow and see just how he will surprise you next.

Here is the link to his website, when you can see how to support him, see some beautiful pixel art and more!

Magical Stories vs Creepy Novels {NaNoReNo 2018}

Every year, March is a magical month where people try to make a visual novel in a span of just one month!  It has been run since 2005 and every year plenty of visual novels are posted on lemma soft forums, home to RenPy users and lovers, one of the most popular software for coding visual novels.

Since I ADORE this genre of games, I am going to look through all the entries and see what interesting project I run into. Today we have Magical Stories vs Creepy Novels, so! I got for you some cute, fantasy stories and then, some creepy ones, too!

 

First cute, magical story is Mermaid Isle. It is a very short, yet adorable little game about a girl who meets a mermaid. Doodly art really hits a spot and takes me back to my childhood and really fits the game! Beside the story between the girl and the meramid, you have mini game involving fishing! It is very simple and short, but very fun, too! Looking forward to further developments of Mermaid Isle. Check it out and see if you can catch ALL THE FISHIES!

On the other side, it is time for our first creepy novel. Do Not Love – Violators Will Be Shot, is a game still in a very early alpha, however what I have read was truly exciting and intriguing. Just reading the descrption should interest you a lot! Right now, game is playable for 7 minutes, and has no art whatsoever. Maybe you shouldn’t run to download it, but DNL deserves to be bookmarked.

Back to the fantasy land, we play Luck and Key! This was a very curious and interesting, though short adventure. It is more like an introduction to the story, with beautiful GUI, even though first font is a little tough to read. I admired the art, that was very specific but very lovely at the same time. It’s another one to bookmark, since the story ends abruptly, but I look forward to it!

Spooks fight back with Neopraxia , a very cool somewhat futiristic story. Only somewhat, because beside the intro explaining story to us, graphics and all is more casual; or well futirstic/apocalyptic in a way. At this point in time, it is hard to tell, but the story is really interesting, and it is a good chunk of code, art and story made in just one month!

 

If you are interested in NaNoReNo you can check it’s official website here!

Hope you have enjoyed those short reviews – more coming soon 🙂

How to get away with murder…?

The Deed is a short crime adventure created by Pilgrim Adventures, developer that have created quite a few rpg maker adventures. I think with accesibility of rpg maker and such engines, there is a lot of not bad but also not good games. It is not as easy to find really enjoyable and intriguing RPG maker adventure, and many dislike those games, right away labelling all of them as “bad”.  However, The Deed is ever so short game, that could take the place of one of those more unique adventures, from the art to the story itself.

Do you like crime stories, figuring out who’s the culprit and all that? Good. This time you are on the other side. You are the murderer and it is your job to make sure you are not caught. What I like best about this game is that it is programmed well, so it’s not as easy as it seems to get away with murder.

Your character had a tough life as a child, and he has escaped his family house. Now, he is back since learning that all his inheritance is going to be taken away from him, and promised his cruel sister… He cannot allow that, and decides to put his sister out of her misery.

It seems easy at first glance. You need to find incriminating evidence that will cover you and then you choose a weapon of murder. Simple enough, eh? Not exactly. Every little thing you did, and what response you have given anyone during your conversations, counts. And because you are that black sheep of the family, if police have even one small reason to be suspicious… you’re a goner.

The Deed is a short adventure for, maybe half an hour, maybe an hour. It surely has replayability value, and there are quite a few ways to reach your goal. There are also 17 steam achievements you may want to grab while you’re on it. But at the same time, you keep on doing one thing – trying to get away with murder – so after an hour or so, you reach the maximum of the entertainment the game can provide.

If your evening is too lonley or if you would like to know how does it feel to plan murder – this short game is for you.. Original art, fitting music, despite it’s shortness story pieces and plot that you can learn if you care for it, and that gives your character the reason to kill… All that together is a nice piece put together by Pilgrim Adventures, and makes me wanna try their other creations.

There is also The Deed: Dynasty which I am planning to check out really soon so look out for the review!

 

My first gamejam: Summer Edition finds #1

My first gamejam: Summer Edition is a game jam inviting especially people new to game making. It ran from 9th of July ’16 to 24th of July ’16. 

 

Vee is Calling

Vee is Calling is a very short visual novel, with a theme that seems very basic yet, the story has it’s own magic, I feel. You have a video-call date, and well… as usually, dates don’t always go the way you want them to go. This game is very, very short – just couple of minutes of play time – however, with how astonishing art here is, I can understand this. It’s a very short period of time, so it is not easy to make something that is both beautiful and long. I think this project could surely be developed in a lovely, little visual novel with deeper story, more choices and more endings. Surely worth checking it out.

Amoris Flore

Date Plants as a gameplay mechanic surely sounds rather weird and confusing, but Amoris Flore looked like another interesting visual novel, and I thought, let’s give it a shot. This one is longer, not full-game lenght, but you will get lost in it for a bit longer than with Vee… However, this one uses basic GUI, so that’s the price for the longer gameplay and longer story.

I would say… try it out. Date some plants. Have a weird evening, and appreciate the creators. Good stuff.

Out of the Box

Have you ever thought, how may a solitary box that gained conscience feel, amongst all the other boxes that just… are there? Never think of what they could become or maybe they could leave the corporated magazine of some company? Yes? Well now you have a chance!

Out of the Box is a tale of just such a box, and their quest is a quest for freedom, out of the magazine and towards… well, you should see that for yourself. An amazing humour from the creators will surely make you enjoy the adventure even more.

 

And that is my first pick from My First Gamejam: Summer Edition! I have not gonve through all of the games so further parts might show up later on. This is one of those shorter articles for you to enjoy! All of the games are surely worth your attention though!

Update 16.03.2018

Hello all!

My latest post took me a long while to finish – and writing was the shortest part of the process – so I came up with something to make sure there is enough content. I noticed couple of people enjoying my posts and I am really glad! So I want to post more often.

I will try to post twice a week – at the beginning of the week, and then at the end of it. I am not setting any schedule myself, cause… well, me and schedules just do not work well together. Some of those posts will be short… because in that short span of time, together with all the other responsibilities, I cannot make posts like Movie Game Jam one all the time. But I am working on some bigger posts, so look out for them! They shall happen soon.

This weekend though, I am going to post something short and quick, but hopefully still enjoyable. Cheers!