Displaying items by tag: Atmospheric

Imagine the year is 2089 and the Cold War never ended. You would, of course, be a burly, time-traveling cyborg-agent who goes to dance clubs to flirt with and/or kill other burly men, right? Of course you would; the self-described tech-noir All Walls Must Fall is so chillingly accurate that an alternate history textbook could be written based off of it.

Publisher Iceberg Interactive and developer Davit Andreasyan announced Inmates, a new psychological horror game with puzzle elements for PC. In Inmates, you must discover the truth behind your confinement and discover the dark secrets of the run-down prison you find yourself in.

The Long Dark is imperfect, but it could be one of the best experiences in the survival genre. For the impatient, single-player gamer, The Long Dark holds little promise. However, if you relish the challenge of isolation and the feeling that you’re fighting against an environment that isn’t trying to kill you, but rather just doesn’t care about you, then you must try The Long Dark.

Gamers will talk about Pyre for a good while. Vivid visuals pair well with energizing audio, and both complement the subtle, mechanical gameplay; Pyre, a stunning package,provides with aplomb a depth of strategy not found in some AAA titles, and couches the experience in an engrossing narrative. Supergiant Games’ strongest showing to date, Pyre is a must play, a delight that can’t be recommended highly enough.

The Gardens Between is a surreal puzzle adventure that follows best friends, Arina and Frendt, as they fall into a mysterious world of beautiful garden islands. The player can traverse back and forwards in time to discover each garden's secrets and, along the way, reveal a story about friendship, childhood and growing up.

For an open-world, immersive experience replete with quests, fishing, farms, and more, look no further than Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. The design is apt to please any gamer interested in what Yonder has to offer, while nightfall and the gloominess of a heavy rain ensure that players who might otherwise avoid overly bright hues don’t feel left out -- a sure recipe on Yonder’s part for broad appeal. However, as an exploration-heavy title, especially one that does not offer combat, the allure is counteracted in part; ultimately, though, all -- save the hardcore -- can enjoy Yonder.

Seemingly an anomaly on the Steam store, Baobabs Mausoleum Ep. 1 Ovnifagos Don’t Eat Flamingos is a weird but worthwhile play.  It presents a unique and twisted world and a story with a considerable extent of both human imagination and sanity.  Each puzzle and problem is different and engaging, providing an innovative experience.  As the first installment in the series, we have hopeful anticipation for a successor, to see how the developers will continue to polish what they have here.

Perception features  an unique narrative thread, though it isn’t ground-breaking. Claustrophobic at times, Perception is at once elegant and creepy, but the title’s own core mechanic defangs any deeper sense of dread or terror it might have achieved. Perception sits comfortably in a casual gray area in terms of puzzles and story, but it offers up some solid voice work and unique, ethereal visuals. Horror fans seeking something novel, though not panic inducing, may find it worth a look.

Subject A-119 makes a strong showing with a variety of abilities, but the puzzles, through mechanical and logical limitations, quickly fatigue the player. Puzzle addicts might be tempted to explore this title but, overall, Subject A-119 mechanics are more confusing than the actual puzzles, ultimately leaving players underwhelmed.

A quarter-century after nuclear war devastated the earth, a few thousand survivors still cling to existence beneath the ruins of Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro. They have struggled against the poisoned elements, fought mutated beasts and paranormal horrors, and suffered the flames of civil war. But now, as Artyom, you must flee the Metro and lead a band of Spartan Rangers on an incredible, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in search of a new life in the East.

After decades of toil, an old machinist plots his escape from Communism, through manipulation and scheming. Along the road, he befriends the most unlikely creature, an abandoned robot. Could they solve the puzzles and flee this bleak world together?

Gambitious Digital Entertainment has released the first official gameplay trailer for Outreach, the upcoming zero-gravity adventure game from independent developer Pixel Spill.

Black The Fall has the makings of a deep and emotional retelling of life under a totalitarian communist regime. The literally dark, oppressive, and intimidating imagery combines with the music, sound effects, and mechanics to narrate scenes without using a single word, and that alone has to be respected.

The Falling Nights is clearly a passionate undertaking; taking four years of development to make. This feels like an incredibly ambitious title for a studio that is just starting to find its bearings. Delusion Arts Entertainment shot for the moon on this one, but they'll have to settle for landing amongst the not-so-bright stars of inconsistent design choices, cheap scares, and overall graphical muddiness.

RiME is a wonderful experience filled with both light-hearted excitement and touching emotional moments. It invokes the old cliché, “I laughed, I cried,” but, of course, that doesn’t do justice to the amount of effort it took to coordinate the vivid yet dreamlike artwork, the fun and easygoing gameplay, and the dramatic musical score. It’s unfortunate that the graphics can be choppy and the movement can be finicky. Otherwise — especially if you value aesthetics over fun — this is an incredibly satisfying title.

Impact Winter may have just a few too many issues now, but the real reason it isn’t a must-buy is that it would be much more fun if you were just a lonely man wandering the wasteland for items to make your church better. Instead, you must keep wondering if the campfire burnt out, and if the nearly-useless compatriots huddled around it are slowly dying now because no one knows how to throw another damned baseball bat into the embers.

Developer Zoetrope Interactive and publisher Iceberg Interactive are delighted to announce that their Lovecraftian Horror game Conarium, will release June 6th on PC. The game will be available through Steam and other digital retailers, with an SRP of $19.99. A brand new 4K launch trailer, that will lead you to the brink of madness and chill you to the core, has also been revealed.

Empathy: Path of Whispers is an atmospheric and story-driven adventure game where you explore a seemingly abandoned world through the emotions and memories of the people who once inhabited it, trying to restore the world’s lost balance by journeying through its past.

Greetings from mysterious Thimbleweed Park! Since their March 30 release, Thimbleweed Park's developers have been at work on behind-the-scenes additions you may want to know about.

Between the graphics and exploring this abandoned world and piecing together what happened, Empathy: Path of Whispers is incredible and highly recommended, even if you might not usually play an exploration-driven title.