Recent reviews by Big Sugoi ⸢すごい⸥

While my tastes are pretty eclectic and I play a variety of games, I still consider myself a fan of Myst-like games and have managed to finish or play a considerable amount in a small handful of Myst like games in the last few years. If any single title really stands out as being all around solid in this niche genre, it most certainly has to be (and is) Quern.

And being the complete package is exactly what makes this game stand out in such a positive way. To compare to a few of the other recent titles: Obduction is a fine game, with stunning and diverse environments and biomes and it does very interesting things with video that gives it a bit of a RHEM touch, but sadly it's not as easy to recommend due to some of the later puzzles becoming very tedious due to performance issues. The Black Cube series (starting with ASA: A Space Adventure) is a phenomenal myst-like in a more sci-fi setting. It captures that mystery element very well, but is developed by a very small team and lacks the polish and production values you'd see from a larger developer as well as some needed quality control on a few of the puzzles whose solutions seem like a bit of a stretch.

Now, I recommend both these games as well, especially the Black Cube series, but not in the way that I recommend Quern. Quern nails it down the board, great production values, beautiful world, it even manages to work in a bit of diversity in environments despite being contained to a single small island. Quern grabbed me quickly and I finished it quite fast for a myst-like. Often I pick these games up and set them down off and on as I get stuck in puzzles, but with Quern I more or less played it straight through I was that taken with it. I also think it's the most accessible which is another reason it's such an easy go-to recommendation, especially for someone who doesn't feel the need to purchase every myst-like that comes out.

There isn't much more for me to say. I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the puzzles. I enjoyed the overall experience. I had no qualms here, I had no qualms there. It's a solid game and such an easy recommendation for those looking for a nice little adventure game to play.

Campaign runs about ~10-15 hours.

P.S. Please do check out ASA: A Space Adventure and Obduction, they really are good games too!

As a big fan of typing and word games, I threw this game right onto my wishlist and acquired it shortly thereafter. Based on the looks of the game, I launched the game expecting to like it. However, I didn't expect to like it quite as much as I did. So what made this title such a surprise?

Without a doubt, the answer is the mechanics of the game. I am going to brush over almost everything else, well, because everything else about the game isn't worth more than a brushing over. The graphics are unique but not out of this world, the music is the one aspect of the game I can't even remember (admittedly this review comes a few months after I last played), the story is intentionally simple... quite honestly most of the things about this game feel pretty low production. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with a game being low production, it does not a bad game make, but what I am getting at is the bells and whistle aren't going to be the factors that draw you into this game. All that being said, there is a certain charm to the game that I did enjoy, so don't come away from this review thinking everything but the gameplay is garbage.

So where was I? Ah yes, the mechanics! The gameplay is very simply another take on word unscrambler games such as the once popular "Word Whomp" for the browser or the more topically relevant Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey. You, playing as Hermes, are running along to your destination, as Hermes is wont to do, but all of a sudden you find a series of deadly mythical creatures trying to kill you in your path. You must "attack" these monsters by spelling words using a set of tiles you are given, each word is an attack based on the length of the word you typed. After a set period of time, the enemy will attack you back, so quick fingers, type those words fast!

It all is rather quite simple, and while there is an array of enemies with varying attacks, treasure chests you have to open via a mini-gama a la hangman, upgradeable armor and weapons, and so on, none of these systems adds any significant depth to the game (I don't mean this negatively). If I were to have a problem with the game, however, it would be with the difficulty (I found it to be rather easy, even on the harder difficulty setting) and the fact that the always moving background of the top half of the screen was at times dizzying.

All said and done, I do recommend this game. If you are a word game aficionado then there is no reason not to include this title in your library. It's a pleasurable little romp with a little bit of B-movie charm to it. I will caution however that while I recommend this game in general, there are other games out there with the same style of gameplay that offer a better overall quality experience. Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey (Remastered) and Spellspire offer an almost identical gameplay experience, all three (including this title) have RPG elements on top of the gameplay basics. While I believe the other two may offer slightly better productions, I don't necessarily recommend one over another. If you find the theme and setting of this game more pleasing or more enticing, by all accounts I encourage you to give this title a try. And if you want my completely honest opinion, I'd recommend you get all three!

One final note: I do believe this game supports dictionaries of quite a few languages, so if you don't speak English natively check the supported languages, this game may support it!

Similar titles: Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey, Spellspire

I'll admit it. When I first launched this game and was greeted by the Unity Community Edition splash screen, my expectations for the game dropped a little. Already I was a bit unsure how I would like the game given it's "Horror" tag, a genre I usually steer clear of. However, by the time I journeyed through the first two maps of the game I was rather engrossed by the world and drawn into this strange and bizarre place that was oozing (sometimes literally) with originality.

Let's clear one thing up. Yes. It is a walking simulator. Not a fan? Move on, nothing to see here. There is no interaction, aside from some collectibles that lead to an achievement. Apart from that, what is left is a series of very interesting worlds and a story presented to you via the dialogue of chiefly two characters.

Screenshot 1 (World 1)
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1331933244
I won't go too far into the story. It's rather existential and I feel that, if you decide to pay attention to it and think about it, you'll come away from this game with a slightly different opinion of what the game was about from the next person. Not to imply it's excessively vague, but rather that parts of the story and the dialogue (especially earlier on) may be perceived differently depending on your biases and experiences. That being said, I wouldn't list the story as the game's selling point. It's rather hit or miss, some people will certainly enjoy it while others will write it off as easily forgettable.

What the real selling point of this game is, as I have alluded to, are the fantastic and sometimes grotesque worlds that you encounter. There are only a handful of worlds, the game is a pleasant two hour stroll. But even in this limited time, you are presented with a rather healthy variety in the world's you encounter. The first world features a lighthouse made of flesh and bone. The second world, a barren gray-scale world of monolithic structures evokes a decidedly Lovecraftian feeling. And so on.

Screenshot 2 (World 2)
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1331933428
This does bring me back to the game being labeled as "Horror" via user tags. I feel like this game is accurately a horror game, but only in the classical sense of the word horror. It isn't scary, it's not even suspenseful. There are no jump scares, no cheesy violin loop, nor objects that seem to move closer to you every time you look away. But rather it is, at times, grotesque and Gothic. The two worlds I used as examples above prove the point nicely. So my word to potential buyers, don't be scared away from this title by it's "Horror" tag, but also don't purchase expecting it to be scary or frightening.

All in all, as far as walking simulators go, I quite enjoyed this one. It isn't my favorite, but it did catch me by surprise. More than anything, if a walking simulator offers a unique and enjoyable experience, which this game does, then I am more than happy to give it my thumbs up.

Other vageuly similar walking simulators to consider: Dear Esther, Scanner Sombre

ASA: A Space Adventure - Remastered Edition captured me from the very beginning. I launched the game for the very first time and was treated to perhaps the only menu screen to leave an impression on me. I've included a link at the end of this review of a video of the menu screen.

Now I'm sure everyone is wondering what is so significant about a simple menu screen, and I will confess that the menu screen alone doesn't amount to much in any game. However it was what the menu screen represented that was important. Here you have a space adventure game, essentially Myst meets 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the first thing I see upon launching it up is a cinematic reel with short scenes that feel like they could be from a movie like 2001: A Space Odyssey and a chilling song to enhance the effect. Before I have even hit the play button I'm already asking questions about what's going on and the air of mystery and wonder has already been created.

So the question remains, does everything after hitting Play stand up to this menu screen I'm raving about?

In short, in my humble opinion, yes, it absolutely does.

ASA: A Space Adventure is in fact very similar to Myst, a slightly modernized version but still very true to the Myst style. A mysterious black cube appears nearby your spacecraft and lures you out, the next thing you know you're on-board a mysterious ship named 'The Ark'. From then on out, you are left to sift through diary entries left by one Philippe Forte and other clues to try and piece together what has happened on the Ark.

What ensues is a well paced science fiction adventure that hits all the right notes and maintains a good balance of feeding you parts of the story while maintaining an air of mystique. I was particularly impressed with the puzzles in this game. If you played many modern point and click style puzzle games you've no doubt come across a few puzzles whose solutions just seem inane. While some of ASA's puzzles tripped me up for awhile, at no point did I find any of the solutions dissatisfying, and in fact I enjoyed the problem solving process very much in this game. For many puzzles, figuring out the solution requires walking around and finding clues and taking notes. I have about seven or eight pages of notes, diagrams, and solutions that I had to write out, I even used a piece of graphing paper for one puzzle. The fact that I had to take notes alone was very satisfying.

The story in the game is just as impressive as the puzzling is. I found that throughout the game there is always a feeling of mystery and wonder, there are always questions, even at the conclusion of the game (there is a sequel in the works as of this writing called Catyph). Alien worlds, alien races, a gigantic mysterious ship...it is most definitely a full fledged science fiction setting. I have mentioned 2001: A Space Odyssey before, drawing similarities to the mystery and oddity of it all, but I also got Interstellar and Stargate vibes as well from the story. Regardless of influences or similarities though, I definitely found the story was well told and was fused together with the puzzles very nicely.

There is, unfortunately, very few games like Myst in today's market, which I find a shame as it's the perfect medium for telling mysterious science fiction stories via a puzzle game. This game is superbly executed and remarkably imaginative, and it's a shame that it's such a hidden gem since it deserves so much more attention and consideration than it currently receives. Anyone at all interested in Myst-esque games or science fiction adventures should not hesitate to give ASA: A Space Adventure a shot, it's a pleasant and interesting experience that is well worth your time.

Main menu: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=617980322

Not many games that you can beat in one short sitting manage to be so fun and rewarding. Refunct is a short first person platforming experience, it's kept simple...no narrative, no tutorials, just a short and sweet platformer that makes the most of the near thirty minutes it will take you to beat. If you want a pleasant jaunt into a minimalist platformer, Refunct is your game.

A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build is a great sokoban styled puzzler that while short, is also very cool. This game has perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing visual style of any puzzle game I've played. This game has also got some good spirit, each snowman you build get it's very own name and clothing style and you can even hug your frosty creations. If that doesn't spell out FUN then I don't know what else does. Perhaps a fun twist to sokoban style puzzles will do it instead?

The main twist from standard sokoban puzzles is that anytime you push a smaller or medium sized snowball across a snow patch it will increase in size until it grows to the large size. You are only given three snowballs (of varying initial size) per snowman (or snowwoman) you have to make. Each snowman is comprised of one large snowball, one medium sized snowball, and one small snowball. As you can tell, it takes some care and attention to make sure end up with the right sized parts...if you push the only snowball through a snowmatch, your future snowman is now headless (and you'll have to restart). This makes for some pretty fun and interesting puzzling, you definitely have to think things through on some of the harder puzzles. The better you can make sense of your spatial layout, as well as the how and where of how each snowball will end up the easier it is to solve the puzzles. The last puzzle really exemplified this the most. I pushed around the snowballs a bit to get some ideas but really had to think critically about what I was trying to achieve and what problems I would encounter by pushing the snowballs in certain directions/patterns. I didn't find any single puzzle to be too difficult (in the "IT'S WAY TOO DAMN DIFFICULT" sense not the "meh, it wasn't too difficult" sense) and I was pretty happy with the progression in terms of difficulty.

I will say the game is on the short side. I beat the "base" game in around an hour and a half. I will say that I found that the final puzzle was really well made, it was difficult but satisfying and it really made me think. While it was a great last puzzle, other puzzles like that would have been a great bonus. Also worth noting that there is apparently some hidden content, but I'm not sure what it all involves as I have yet to find it. If you are a budget gamer or if you prefer games give you a lot of playtime for their buck, I'd caution you towards getting this game. It is a great game, and I do recommend it, just keep the game length in mind before purchasing. Despite all this, I was still very pleased with the game. I'm not exactly someone who can throw money around, but I would not have been upset with what I got out of the game, even if I had paid full price for it. It's a very memorable game and it's something that I wouldn't mind replaying in a year or two once I forgot all the solutions just for the enjoyment of re-experiencing the game.

p.s. I've been shoveling snow for the past five days up until I wrote this review, and I still think positively on this game all about snow!

If you're in the market for solid logic puzzlers with cutesy hand-drawn graphics, then Rainbow Hero is just the game for you! Rainbow Hero features an even hundred levels and periodically introduces you to additional puzzle elements. You play as brave young gnome named Sam who has returned to his village to find all the colours have been taken away by an evil wizard from the Graylands! Sam must adventure his way across five colourful worlds, reclaiming the colours as he goes.

Most of the puzzling elements revolve around sokoban-style gameplay but there are different elements as well such as light reflection, world rotation, and dual character management (moving two characters simultaneously). For the length of the game and the low price point, I was more than satisfied with the diversity of and use of the variety of puzzle elements. The introduction to these different puzzle elements also makes for some great pacing.

On the note of pacing, I was very impressed with how this game lays out the puzzles and manages difficulty. Unlike many games where it feels like every new puzzle is getting more and more difficult to the point where it feels across just a few levels it feels like you spent over an hour looking at the screen, in Rainbow Hero the difficulty is spread across the entire game. How is this done? There are five sub-worlds, if you will, for each of the five colours you must reclaim, and you essentially play them in order. The first levels of every world are easier where the last few are generally more difficult. That being said, I didn't find even the harder puzzles to be that difficult, a lot of the seemingly harder puzzles are generally quite easy and just require a different perspective to beat them elogently as opposed to overthinking them and going with the more "straightforward" approach. All in all, the pacing in this game was great and that's important for a puzzle game of this nature.

The last thing worth noting is the time reversal feature. This game wants to make you think through solving the puzzles, not punish you for making a wrong move that can't be undone. Thus you can rewind the game as far back as you need to go (it is worth noting you can quick restart as well, if need be).

At the end of the day I can't not recommend this game for it's low price point and the amount of content it offers. My playthrough was just under 7 hours. I loved the (seemingly) hand-drawn graphics and just had a blast going through all one hundred levels. I never felt discouraged by any one puzzle being too difficult. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but if you've looked at the screenshots on the store page and were interested enough to make it this far to see my review, then I can confirm that it's a worthwhile purchase and a worthwhile time investment.

The Rivers of Alice is a short and sweet point and click puzzle game that manages to hit all the right spots. The game follows a young girl, presumably Alice, as she adventures through a dream sequence solving puzzles and meeting friends. In my opinion, this game is a great example of what a point and click game can be: an adventure where intuition and some observation make for rewarding puzzling experiences. While no game is perfect, and this one is no exception, the few flaws the game has are quickly buried by everything it does well.

I credit the beautiful art direction coupled with the great backing soundtrack to really drive the experience home. Gameplay itself is fairly standard point and click fare. The game offers in-game hints and dialogue with characters which are essentially another form of hints. I found that playing through the game without "talking" to the characters offered a well-balanced difficulty, the puzzles took a little bit of thought to figure out what needed to be done, but it was never so hard that it seemed unfair or the solutions illogical once you worked them out. Don't worry about missing out on story by not "talking" to the characters either, "dialogue" is really just pictures that hint at what you need to do to solve the puzzles. The puzzles themselves were mostly well designed and I did find myself using pen and paper to take notes on a few of them, something I always consider a mark of a good puzzle game such as this.

I'm always a fan of games where the different elements of the game come together and work with one another to make a truly remarkable experience, and I think that's exactly what has happened with this game. It's a very unique and very enjoyable experience from start to finish. Often point and click games rub me the wrong way and I often have to take breaks between sessions and lose interest. That's not the case with this game, every time I stopped playing it to do something else I had the itching desire to get right back to it so I could beat it. I rarely buy games at full price, but this is one game I would not regret buying at the full price.

At the end of the day, I play games for the experiences they offer, and this game offers one worth experiencing.

Easily one of the best adventure games I've played in these past few years, and one of the few games that I have on my replay list. How comes? I'm attributing it mostly to the developers keen sense of what makes a good space adventure game coupled with good production values and an enjoyable story.

When I started playing this game, something definitely clicked. I rarely play a single game non-stop unless it's really short, but I couldn't put this game down. There was enough mystery in the story to make me want to find out what has happened in the protagonist's past. The feel of adventure and exploration was also there, discovering the different worlds within the star system was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game. Each of the worlds were vastly different and snooping through the different science bases piecing together the mystery was fun.

Mechanics wise this game is a fairly standard point and click game. The puzzles in this game felt just right, unlike in many other point and click games where developers add difficulty by throwing in illogical and unintuitive solutions. I wouldn't say any of the puzzles were hard in this game, but I didn't feel like they were too easy either, the pacing in that sense was very good. It is also worth noting that reading in an important part of this game. Your character has the chance to read through quite a few emails sent and received by her fellow crewman, some of these may help you with the puzzles, but they will also help you piece together what happened in the story.

In the end, the different elements of the game just came together for me and worked very well. The atmosphere, the exploration, the mystery, it all made for a really great space adventure. There aren't many space adventure games on Steam like this, this fills in a hole for a very niche crowd and does so brilliantly. If you want a spectacular space adventure with a good flavoring of mysticism a la Space Odyssey, an enjoyable story, and puzzles that feel just right, this game is definitely worth your time and money.

I wish they'd just take the time and money to make a new game rather than spread the butter too thin with this title.