Tag: Mystery Game

Grunn – Demo Impressions

Who gardens at night anyway? ⁿᵒᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵃⁿʸᵐᵒʳᵉ

Grunn

Developer:
Sokpop Collective,
Tom van den Boogaart

Release Date:
4 October 2024

A gardener gets hired for maintenance work over the weekend. A simple task, but strangely some tools are missing…The owner of the garden isn’t around, and their house is off-limits. Perhaps new tools can be found in the mysterious town, or maybe some of the reserved townsfolk have seen them?

Grunn mixes together a type of game that I love with a type of game that I hate. Together, they become a genius concoction that I absolutely don’t want to play despite REALLY wanting to play. Let me explain.

I love a task simulator. Give me games like Powerwash Sim, House Flipper or similar and I can play them all day, getting myself into that hyper fixated state of ‘just one more task’. The entire idea of this genre – in my opinion – is to allow for a flow state, zoning out of your everyday life, keeping your hands busy and your dopamine bar full. No thinking, only doing. As soon as I begun cutting the grass in this slightly overgrown garden I instantly fell into this zone, my safe zone, forgetting any uncanny feelings I may have had prior. What a perfect zone to get someone in before intruding, pulling the rug and making their hair stand on edge.

In Grunn, we are hired to do some gardening. We are left some instructions, a deadline, and that is all you get as you are let loose into this sandbox of oddities. I am not going to spoil in which way this is a horror game, you will have to play yourself for that, but I will say that at one point I did squeal. Once you notice something strange, you may notice something else, until the things you are noticing are probably nothing at all. Or.. If you are like me you will just get on with the job you were hired to do, happily snip-snip-snipping away without a care in the world. Once you realise, however, that things don’t quite seem ordinary, the dread creeps in and the real game begins.

You have been placed into a playground and the world is yours to explore, experiment and tidy up.. or not. Every action you take, object you find or information you obtain will lead you to the next, adding to your knowledge banks ready to take action somewhere down the line. The game takes place with a running clock, which means you only have limited time to do what you need to do, and there is far more to do than you could achieve before the deadline. The time pressure looms as you make your choice on what you pursue. I recommend a notebook as you find yourself zipping around, following clues without context and discover leads that you may want to follow up on.

I found the games unique aesthetic to be a little jarring at first. The generally soft colour palette draws you into the initial ‘cozy’ atmosphere, but it never feels perfect as what can only be described as a surreal wobble obfuscates your environment. This can be turned off in the settings but I quickly got used to it, preferring to keep it on as a scapegoat for any potential peripheral movement that should not be, that I would rather deny happened.

The demo contains 5 endings, with the full game presumably adding many more. In my playtime I found 2, neither of which being the true ending of the demo. While I had ideas of more things to try, I decided to wait for the full game to puzzle it out. Maybe then, I will finally dare to stay out after dark.

If you enjoy weird and wonderful, subversions and curiosity, I recommend giving this one a go. Something is going on here, and it is NOT wholesome.

Demo Length – 1+ Hours
At a glance
+ All in on the surreal aesthetic that can so easily turn creepy.
+ Tasks feel good to do and complete.
+ Freedom/No handholding.
+ So weird.
+ Multiple endings feel achievable in a game this length and densely packed.
+ Non-traditional puzzle game.
+ Contrasts cozy ideas with less cozy moments.

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The Operator – Demo Impressions

I’ll be your newly hired guy in the chair. How can I help you today?

The Operator

Developer: Bureau 81

Release Date: 22 July 2024

Welcome to the FDI. As our newest Operator, your role is to use your detective skills to assist our field agents and investigate mysterious crimes. Use cutting-edge FDI software to dig for clues, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth.

In The Operator, we take control of a high security computer, using the tools available to us – such as a person database, evidence files, photo and video analysis and more – to assist the agents that are out in the field.

I have played a few games that take place within a computer interface and I am thoroughly impressed at how this particular game has implemented it so far. In order to recieve files to investigate we communicate with agents via phone call. These are fully voiced and continue running regardless of whether we are listening intently, or furiously doing our own research in our other files. It is all transcribed and logged in-case you need to re-read and the dialogue itself feels natural and easy to follow.

At it’s heart this is a puzzle game. We are provided with information and questions, and it is up to us to solve the query, whether it is as simple as finding someone’s last known address, or a little more complex like pointing out discrepancies in a victims testimony. A notable point is that we don’t loose access to the previous case we were working. I am very curious to see how far they take this. Can you imagine the web of mystery that we could uncover, finding minor, seemingly unrelated details that weave together further down the line, unravelling a mystery that we didn’t even know we were trying to solve? Someone get me a corkboard and some string!

While the demo is brief, it told me everything that I need to know about how The Operator plays, showing that I am not in for a railroaded experience and will be required to use my brain in detective-like ways. Not only that, it laid plenty of ground to get me feeling very intrigued. The opening minutes of the game set a scene that is unexpected for a computer based experience, and the final minutes confirmed that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Demo Length – 30 mins
At a glance
+ Polished.
+ Allows player freedom.
+ An unexpected but intriguing mystery.
+ Potential for some complexity.
+ Very user friendly.
+ Good voice acting and dialogue.

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The Horror at Highrook – Demo Impressions

Screw the madness, I have got to know more..

The Horror at Highrook

Developer: Nullpointer Games

Release Date: To be announced

The Horror at Highrook is an occult card crafting RPG. Explore a haunted mansion with your team of investigators, summon dark entities, craft powerful protections, uncover the fate of the missing family, and choose your own path through the darkness.

I have been searching for my perfect crafting game for a while now. So often I have the urge to gather stuff to make things, to distribute them, to gather more and make more, but I have yet to find the jackpot game that satisfies my very specific itch. I didn’t even consider I would find it here. The Horror at Highrook demo allows players to play through Chapter 1 of the game. I could have played a LOT more. I am not saying that this is the perfect game or the jackpot, but based on this first hour, it not only hit that compulsive management corner of my brain, but made my eyes sparkle at the idea of increasing complexity. All of this, seasoned with a really enjoyable flavour made this demo an absolute treat.

The game begins with an instruction manual which I found incredibly easy to read. It suits this game a lot more than a conventional tutorial would, immediately setting you loose playing god over a group of investigative explorers. The house that we are inspecting is our board, the team and their belongings are our cards, and it is up to us to set everyone away doing tasks, using the resources that we have to discover new tasks to perform.

As we perform our tasks we find journal pages and other bits of lore scattered throughout the mansion. This guides us forward as we follow in the footsteps of the family that lived here. Doing questionable rituals to appease eldritch horrors is never a good idea, with one exception. Luckily for us, we are doing it to rescue someone, which makes it absolutely fine, and we can all be sure that nothing terrible will happen.

I like the cast of characters. One of them wants to leave – rightfully so might I add – but is reluctantly convinced to stay due to history with another character and despite the fact that I have only known them for 30 minutes, I totally believe it. I didn’t expect to empathise with a card on a board but it is the little details like that that engage the player within the story and make it a memorable experience.

It is hard to put my finger on the exact reason this game hits for me. It has a lot of elements that I like individually, like crafting, management, cosmic horror, character interactions, investigation, and even exploration somehow works considering we are on a static board. Everything feels additive to the next thing with no padding involved. So far it has been linear and I imagine the rest will continue to be the same, I just hope the game continues to feel as fresh as the beginning, as getting new cards is a dopamine rush that only has limited legs. Either way, I will certainly be keeping an eye on the game, consider it wishlisted!

Demo Length – 1+ hour
At a glance
+ Easy to learn.
+ Drip fed the story.
+ The character interactions.
+ The theming is great, especially when surprises happen.
+ I just love arranging my cards on a mystery mansion.
+/- On one hand I could see the game remaining engaging with complexity, but on the other I could see it getting repetitive. Hoping for the former.
+/- We can choose the way we manage our time and characters but the overall story so far appears to be linear.

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The Drifter – Demo Impressions

I can’t think of a better set up for a point & click adventure.

The Drifter

Developer: Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd

Release Date: To be announced

A Pulp Adventure Thriller – A murdered drifter awakens. Alive again, seconds before his death. Hunted and haunted, help him untangle a mad web of conspiracy in this fast-paced point ‘n click thrill-ride.

The Drifter is a demo that I tried for the first time around 2019, back in one of the early Steam Next Fests. It left such an impression that it has been on my Wishlist ever since. I was thrilled to see the game in the LudoNarraCon line up and delighted that I enjoyed it just a much the second time around as I did all of those years ago.

The first thing that immediatly stands out to me is the presentation of the game. The pixel art and animation is fantastic, the colours immediatly setting the gritty tone that will continue throughout the entirety of the chapter contained within the demo. The game is fully voice acted, including narration from the main character himself which in my opinion, elevates The Drifter from a typical point and click adventure to a more unique cinematic experience.

The demo can be played in less than 30 minutes and even in such a short space of time manages to establish two excellent story hooks. One is more realistic, setting the tone in what immediatly feels like a very down to earth game. However, the other is a science fiction twist that has the potential to allow for some very stressful, suspenseful, intense story and puzzle scenarios, or even hilarious ones if they want to. One of these hooks would have been enough but together, along with the entire aesthetic, this is the set up for a narrative that I am itching to see play out.

Demo Length – 30 minutes
At a glance
+ Lovely pixel art and animations.
+ Great story hooks.
+ Narration.
+ Writing feels good so far.
+ Drama.
+ Nice, clear, time saving UI.

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Let’s Play – Exit/Corners

Exit/Corners is a free-to-play browser based visual novel, which you can play yourself here. The mysteries keep on coming as we puzzle our way out of a hotel that is set to collapse with a colourful cast of characters. Created by a tiny team, I do implore you to give this one a go, whether you are playing yourself or watching my series below. It is an interesting one!

Full playlist available on Youtube!

Guest Appearance – Left Behind Game Club – The Nonary Games: Virtues Last Reward

I joined the Left Behind Game Club once again to continue our journey through the Zero Escape series. If we thought 999 was mind bending then we needed to buckle our seatbelts. Virtues Last Reward is the sequel, upping the ante in every which way possible! Beware, this episode is full of spoilers and I recommend playing through the series yourself if you have any interest at all!

Available on your platform of choice!

This episode aired on 15/06/2022. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Left Behind Game Club and give them a 5 star rating if you enjoy their content, it helps them out and they definitely deserve it! Have a scroll through their content and I can guarantee there will be some episodes for you.

Let’s Play – Zero Time Dilemma

We completed the Zero Escape series with a full playthrough of Zero Time Dilemma! It took me a while to get used to the different style of this one, but once I did, I was all in. A fun entry to a fun series.

Full playlist available on Youtube!

Let’s Play – The Nonary Games: Virtues Last Reward

I really enjoyed my full, blind playthrough of Virtues Last Reward. Every time I thought things were peak crazy, something else happened. And yet somehow it all ended up making sense!

Full playlist available on Youtube!

Let’s Play – Jessika

I was going to play this one for Halloween but got the opportunity to jump in earlier!

Jessika is a German, Indie, FMV Detective game developed by Tritrie Games. This game first jumped onto my radar at the Steam Game Festival, where it was one of my favourite demos of the Summer Edition 2020. I was instantly drawn into the immersive UI and I have a building fascination with FMV games after working in video IRL. Join me as continue beyond ‘that moment’ in the demo and attempt to unravel the mystery of what exactly did happen to Jessika.

Unfortunately, the first two episodes I had some technical difficulties on my end. The audio of the game did not record, so I went back and recorded all of the video logs and some background noise and edited them back in. Sadly (but also obviously) it is not as effective as the real game so please don’t judge the game on that! I had so many technical difficulties through no fault of the game, I think my play through was cursed 😅 The audio issues were solved by Episode 3!

Many thanks to Tritrie Games for the copy of the game, it’s very much appreciated.

Full playlist available on Youtube!

Review – Heavy Rain – PS3

Heavy Rain is an interactive drama game in which your decisions affect the outcome. The story is about the Origami Killer, A serial killer who targets young boys and always leaves them with an origami figure in their hand and an orchid on their chest. The story unfolds as you play from the point of view of four different people. Ethan Mars – a troubled dad. Scott Shelby – an asthmatic private detective. Norman Jayden – a drug addicted FBI profiler. And Madison Paige – an insomniac photographer.

FullSizeRender
The screenshot feature didn’t exist on PS3

The game starts with a normal day in the life of Ethan to allow you to get used to the controls and then things start to heat up from there. It was so engaging, I really grew to care about the characters and was rooting for a happy ending! Some parts were intense, some parts were emotional and some parts were bad ass! I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.

I strongly suggest playing this game through without reading anymore information than that. Don’t look up the best outcome, don’t read any spoilers, I wouldn’t even google the name. I googled a couple of things while I was playing and I’m so pleased I didn’t accidentally spoil it for myself. Use your instincts, make your own decisions and see how it ends for you.

IMG_2366
I played with a regular DS3, the game does have some motion control sections

The game is a set story, you are free to do what you want within reason but whatever you do, the story will keep flowing. You can’t choose the character you are playing, you will play the character whos story you are focused on at that time. You can walk around, hear the characters thoughts and interact with the environment if there is a prompt to do so. It is very much like an interactive movie. The camera angles are set, you can’t manually move them but you can alternate between different views to see different areas of the room you are in. This did remind me a tad bit of the original Resident Evil.

There are three difficulty settings. I thought mine was on moderate but when I had a look it was on hard so I have no idea, you can always go into options and change it if it’s too hard/easy for you. You must stay alert throughout the game. It is played with prompts that appear on-screen telling you what to press and how to press it. Sometimes it’s fast, sometimes it’s slow, some times it’s tap it and sometimes it’s hold it. Sometimes you will get options of what to ask or how to reply to someone in a conversation. Read them as fast as possible and choose one because if you aren’t quick enough the game will sometimes choose for you. Speed and accuracy aren’t my best skills when playing games so I spent most of the fights screaming and hitting the wrong buttons but it is all part of the fun. There was one particular part that I really struggled with the controls, crawling through some tunnels and could I get him to go in the direction I wanted? Could I heck. That was the biggest flaw in the game for me.

IMG_2367
You can tell how new I was to gaming, the thing I am describing above is QTE’s

The music was brilliant, it really set the tone. It got the emotions going at some points and the adrenaline going at others. It was so on point, brilliant. The game wasn’t too long either and kept me hooked the entire time. It took me three good sessions to complete, but once you’ve finished you will probably want to play through again while making different choices than the first time. You can also chapter select to play them out differently and extend the game even further. As far as I know there are 18 endings to find and once you’ve unlocked them all you will win a trophy.

I bought my game second-hand, the box was the normal version but the disk was actually the Move version. I panicked a bit at first as I don’t have a Move controller but once the game had installed (which took a LONG time) I found that it gives you the option between the move and the standard controller.

IMG_2247

Overall, it’s different, it’s haunting, it’s unique and I hope they make many more like it, in the same structure but with different, equally great stories to tell. I love it when a game makes you think long after you stop playing and I am still thinking about it so it has definitely stuck a chord with me somehow!

Only read on if you have completed the game.. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Continue reading “Review – Heavy Rain – PS3”