Score: 7.5
2016-2017
Elsewhere High is a kinetic mystery novel about a special school and the bunch of kids going there. The first chapter is free, so all friends of visual novels should give it a go. Third chapter is coming out this summer. Continue reading
Score: 9.0
Ages: 12+
2017
Herald is an adventure/visual novel hybrid set in an alternate history of colonial times. The genres mix nicely and the story is truly engaging. It will be hard to wait for the two remaining chapters.
I’ve played the first two chapters of this excellent and atmospheric point & click adventure, and now that the makers are looking for some extra funding for the third and last chapter, I just need to make a notification of it. The kickstarter campaign is doing fine, but all the extra support can of course make the game even better.
I reviewed the earlier chapters briefly on my compilation of the best games I played in 2014. And I don’t really have a lot to add to that review. Perhaps the fact that I’ve become so excited about the last chapter now that I’ve actually pledged for the physical tier the first time in my life. This will make me even poorer than I am, but I just want to be a part of this campaign. Another reason for a high pledge is that I got the earlier chapters basically free of charge. The first one was a part of some ridiculously cheap bundle and the second one was a freebie from the makers.
The Journey Down is a piece of adventure game history with its distinctive art style, awesome music, wonderful mixture of noir and comedy, and the most lovable protagonist ever. Bwana has a deliciously positive attitude and with it he definitely stands out among all the usual, sarcastic heroes.
Support Bwana!
Score: 8.5
2015
The third episode of the sci-fi point&click adventure was released as a standalone game. As a Kickstarter backer I got my “episode” all the same. The third part is a clear improvement in some aspects like graphics, interface and overall polish. It could be played without the earlier episodes if someone isn’t fussy about things like that, but I’d recommend starting from the first anyway. The review will unavoidably contain a vague spoiler or two concerning the earlier episodes. Continue reading
Score: 9.0
(17+)
2015 PC (2014 Xbox One)
I already wrote about this Xbox One exclusive adventure by Swery65 finally being released for PC. Now I grabbed the game from the Steam summer sale, eager to play as David – the ex Boston Police detective and a handsome devil – who lost his wife a couple of years ago, and is now working as a PI, diving (in more senses than one) into the past to solve the most important case of his life.
David is somewhat a cliche with the scruffy looks, a lost love and a personal case to obsess over. But that’s really where the familiar ground ends. Continue reading
Going through the list was a lot more work than I originally thought. I didn’t have a thing written down most of these games and I only started taking screenshots quite recently, so I had to go back to some of the titles just for that. And then I didn’t even have savegames for all of them. Well, these shots should give some kind of idea anyway.
The whole top10 ended up being rather traditional adventures, visual novels or hybrids of them. I did play some other type of games too but I’m not sure I finished any (not that they were bad, they’re just longer). I can’t really anticipate what my top10 for 2015 would look like but at the current rate it’s probably going to have even more visual novels.
My top5 or 2014: Continue reading
I’m not one of those people who immediately plays every promising looking game when they come out. Because I’ve been absorbed in The World of Warcraft the last ten years, I’ve skipped so many interesting games that I’ve lost count. So I always have a couple of hundred titles on my backlog. Then I just pick something I feel like playing and go for it. So my top games for any year, or game reviews in general, will most likely not be about brand new titles. That being said, I noticed that my best games of 2014 all ended up being titles from the last few years anyway.
I’m probably going to write a bit more about the top 5, but first, here’s the titles from 6 to 10: Continue reading
Lux Atarnia 