Tag: Time Management Games

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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A Noob’s [Mini] Review – Death Trick: Double Blind

Time is a balancing act.

Death Trick: Double Blind is a detective visual novel. And it is a very good one. There has been a murder at the travelling circus and it is their last day in the area. We have until the conclusion of their big show tonight to solve it and it is up to us to use our time wisely.

This game was satisfying on both a narrative and mechanical level, the game-play providing a fantastic spin on the genre while the characters played a large part in populating this colourful world.

In Death Trick, we play as dual protagonists. A private detective hired to investigate the case, and a magician, here to ensure that the show goes on. Through both of these characters we get to know the cast of the circus from both an outsiders perspective and within.

The game is played in hourly blocks. First, we play as the magician, behind the scenes of the circus getting ready for our big performance. We are under cover as the famed murder victim herself, meaning that not only do we have to work to be accepted by our peers but we must avoid public areas to keep our performance a surprise. Then, we play the same hour as our down on his luck detective, re-orienting himself after a nasty black-out. As an outsider, we are not allowed into the behind the scenes sections, catching the entertainers for a word in the public areas between their performances.

Conversations are made using Action Points. Every hour they refill, and it is up to us how we use them. As we chat to different characters we gain topics and evidence that we can then question them about. Each question takes up an action point so you really want to take care to ask the questions that matter. Scouring environments for clues and calling out contradictions also use points. You can’t talk to everyone about everything, so a huge part of the game play is prioritising your questions, deciding whether you want to chase up every lead immediatly, or get to know a character in ways which may or may not get you closer to solving the mystery.

The circus setting is pleasing, the cast are colourful to say the least, the currency of points adds an angle of puzzle and the dialogue, as well as the mystery itself are well written, entertaining to read and easy enough to follow along. The music sets the scene, the art is evocative and does a good job visually presenting the characters personalities and styles alike.

I discovered two things playing this game. One is that I want more games set in a travelling circus. The other, is that I want many other games that follow this structure, set in their own weird and wonderful locations and telling their own fantastical stories with their own cast of characters. If any of this sounds appealing to you then I would urge you to give the game a go for yourself.

Developer: Misty Mountain Studio
Publisher: Neon Doctrine
Release date: 12 March 2024
Average Playtime: 7 1/2 hours
Available on: PC, Switch

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Let’s Play – Citizen Sleeper

Citizen Sleeper is a game inspired by tabletop RPGs. Set in deep space, we play as a sleeper – a human consciousness uploaded into a robot frame. Escaping a life of corporate slavery, we find ourselves on a space station full of outcasts and misfits, all just trying to get by. Though helping others, we can help ourselves in our mission of survival. But what even is it to live? That, ultimately, is up to us.

Join me in a journey of wonder, perspective and community. My complete full playthrough is available now, including the DLC!

Full playlist available on Youtube!