Time for another look at some games I’ve been playing lately. As I haven’t had a whole heap of time to play games the list won’t be too long, nor to surprising. Nonetheless I’m delve a little into them to tell you what I think.
I called them gaming experiences for a reason, because each game on this list is a very different experience and effect me in different ways. They all have their pros and cons but that’s not what I’m going to be talking about.
DOOM by id
Since I’m not particularly young (nor particularly old I suppose), I’ve been playing Doom since it was a shareware game in the 90’s. The original games weren’t very scary at all but were definitely adrenaline filled. DooM3 felt very much like a tonal shift towards horror and away from the speed and of the previous two games. I don’t find horror games particularly interesting but it was Doom so I picked it up, and it scared the pants off me. I’m a big scardey cat and couldn’t finish the game. It was too dark and tense and it stressed me out.
Then DOOM came out. The speed and adrenaline are back in spades, movement is fast, fluid and feels great. The game is still darker than I’d like it to be (But then I can always change the gamma I guess), and it’s still a bit scary but I feel like when I’m running around the levels that I have more control over my fate, even if I still suck. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, I highly recommend it.
Offworld Trading Company by Mohawk Games
So earth is dying and we need to colonize Mars. The intro sequence isn’t over yet and I already love this game. It has a strong identity and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’ve not had the chance to put too many hours into the game either, but I suspect that’ll change. It’s essentially a real time strategy game but without the tanks. It focuses on gathering resources (very typical) and building up your base (Also very typical) but the focus is on dominating the economy through whatever means you can. The mechanics are all woven together very tightly, but in a way that’s very intuitive and makes sense straight away, and most importantly, the UI shows everything very effectively.
The game runs beautifully on my mid range system, everything loads nice and fast with is a charm of it’s own. It really makes it east for you to get into and keep playing, I can see myself spending a lot hours on it in the near future. If you’re a fan of RTS games or have never played this one is a great place to start.
Subnautica by Unknown Worlds Entertainment
This comes with the caveat that it’s an early access game so it’s not finished at the time of writing. That said there is a lot of content to the game and it’s at a place where I would be happy to recommend it at that price. I’ve really enjoyed my time with the game. I’ve always loved swimming, and wondered why there as so few games that featured it as a main mechanic.
The premise is that you were traveling on a colony ship that was to colonize an ocean planet but of course something goes wrong and the ship crashes, you get to an escape pod and manage to eject and effectively are the only person left alive on the planet.
So this is a crafting survival game, and it’s not like we don’t have enough of them right? The difference here is that almost all of the game takes place underwater, and for me at least, that really sets it apart from the rest. I really don’t enjoy survival/crafting games but this one really drew me in. Everything in the game feels cohesive and the world is a thing to behold. The other part is the entirely real sense of foreboding and horror it generates when you go to the more dangerous parts of the ocean. Not the seemingly artificial (To me) jump scares and body horror but the very real and immediate feeling of being 300 meters underwater and running out of air.
If you want to see something different and done well in the survival an crafting genre or just wander around a fantastic and well realized world this game is for you.
Neon Ultra by PixelBark
I’ve been playing the alpha for this game and I have to say it is really excellent. It’s a twin stick bullet hell shooter that’s fluid, fun and really lives up to it’s name! Please go and vote for it on it’s Steam Greenlight page!
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