SECRETNET

http://www.kongregate.com/games/31eee384/secretnet

Review:

A game with a very interesting story-telling style much unlike the typical point-and-click games. But still fun and captivating one! Unfortunately, it is unfinished, as it was supposed to have multiple endings, but really only have one (except for the “Game Over” ending), thus making it feel kinda very lacking and dissatisfactory when you try to get to the multiple endings. Despite the linearity in storyline, we still think it has a very good story and theme. It does sacrifice music and graphics for a more “in-feel” with the gameplay, which we find interesting and enticing.

Thoughts:

It was a very interesting idea and fun game, but it totally needs the multiple endings to be good. The ending there was a bad ending i would have liked a better ending :3 I agree. Especially considering the theme of it all where you explore this hub of illicit dealings by posing as “one of them”. A really interesting story, but very sad it never got its exploration-part extended with multiple endings with other interesting sub-themes like the smuggling and forgery. And kittens. That was the smuggling. Yeah, smuggling kitty pictures :D Anyway, as I stated on review, the whole “in-feel” of the game, where it actually feels like you’re chatting over an IRC channel is a really nice touch. Yes, it was a fun addition to it.

SAMSARA ROOM

http://www.kongregate.com/games/Abroy/samsara-room

Review:

It was interesting and maybe a bit weird game. It was particularly the weirdness that I found interesting. The game is very good and full of Eastern philosophy, even when i didn't notice it first. I too enjoyed the game. I was intrigued by the very weird situation that got more and more weird as you progressed, but without being completely nonsensical. Quite a bit of puzzle-doing, but nothing too difficult to be frustrating. It was easy, but it stayed interesting the whole time. The art was quite minimalistic, but still well drawn and served its purpose well. The music was quite interesting in that it served a specific role. Without spoiling, it can be said that the role is to convey the different “atmospheres” of the game.

Thoughts:

I think the first thing that struck me was that you could see your own reflection. That was pretty unusual compared to other games, also since the player was obviously meant to be depicted vaguely. But then it became clear exactly why you could see your own reflection, as it was meant to reveal the transformations you underwent.

At first it seemed like a little silly game, but then i noticed the enlightened references that were there. So i looked up the meaning of Samsara. Samsara is a concept in some Eastern religions, it's an cycle, and the goal of these religions is to break free of this cycle by achieving enlightenment. You reincarnate into creatures over and over until you are able to achieve enlightenment (in this game: escape the room) which is like breaking free of the cycle! Yes, so essentially in the game, you’re dead and need to break free of the cycle, as Avantra says. Some of the comments I have seen speculate that the player in fact is the dead fat guy, which makes sense, as well as that you were killed in the very woods you see once you enter the corpse. This is also supported by the fact that you hear some eerie music at the very start of the game (telling that you’re actually being murdered), which you then hear again once you re-enter those very same woods as a ghost. The entering of the woods through the mouth of your corpse also makes reference to the “seek-inwards” philosophy of many Eastern religions, supporting that the dead fat guy is indeed your own corpse.

FINDING MY HEART

http://www.kongregate.com/games/SmallIsBeautiful/finding-my-heart

Review:

A sweet little story. It’s a rather short game and although simple and easy to beat, I found it pretty entertaining nonetheless.
A “romantic” fun point-and-click game that’s good in a silly way! 
Also it has a rather interesting game mechanic in the sense of the usual “pick up items and use them somewhere else” except it’s not items. You will see for yourself when you play it. 
And it has good music! 
Furthermore, it’s another one of those short games with no words at all, yet is still able to convey the circumstances to the player.

Thoughts (sort-of):

I FOUND WHERE TO USE THE COINS 
AND IT WAS AWESOME!
I was quite surprised by what the coins were used for. 
It’s strangely amusing to control the dude 
and hear his speaking and singing.
Fully agree on that. His attempt at mimicking the guitar guy was quite funny.

CRIMSON EVE

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/628930
Review:

Very good little game, even when it’s really short, maybe 10-20 minutes max. Even when it’s a short game, it’s still interesting to play, unlike other games of similar length that often seem lacking. The puzzles and story have elements typical to Lorestrome (the author); inventive and enticing. It also has the classic dark theme that we see in many of other Lorestrome’s games, which is quite fitting.

Thoughts:

A phenomenon I discovered in this game that seems typical for Lorestrome’s games. It struck me as I was about to open the door to the tomb: Whenever Lorestrome puts a puzzle in where you have to open a door of some kind (and usually a not very welcoming-looking door) through a rather complex puzzle, you’re either at the end of the game or very close to it. Also, the game had almost no backstory explained and the game doesn't give you any hints on where to start or what you should do. It’s kind of boring to just randomly click around stuff to get items and progress to know the story without even knowing the objective. Also the Cosmo was totally redundant; you could have done his part on an opening scene. It felt lazy on Lorestrome’s part to just put him there and not do an opening scene to explain things. Honestly, I disagree with Avantra on this. Having no backstory explained through a common opening scene and instead just getting the eerie feeling that something is wrong without knowing exactly what or what to do about it both from the atmosphere and from a warning you get from Cosmo in the beginning is kind of interesting in my opinion. You basically have no choice, but to explore even if you don’t know why or what for. This also added a “story-backtracking” game mechanic where you learn about your character and his backstory by progressing the game. I agree on most of that too, but there could at least have been SOMETHING to let you know what your objective is, not just finding stuff by clicking everything.

I REMAIN

http://www.kongregate.com/games/AtomicCicada/i-remain?acomplete=i+remain

Review:

A zombie apocalypse game where you explore an abandoned house and a little bit of the outside! It follows a pretty standard formula for point-and-click escape games. It was a lot of fun to play, even when not everything made sense. Yeah, some of the puzzles might seem a bit illogical, but it’s a fairly entertaining game. Especially if you like zombie games and don’t mind if it’s not in the style of a shoot-’em-up. The atmosphere in the game was maybe a bit dark and slightly alarming, but not in a scary way. No jump scares or anything.

Thoughts:

The game was an interesting one, as even when it’s a zombie game, you do nothing to the zombies, you just find a way to get away from them, and that’s rare, at least to me, in zombie games. Back to atmosphere; I agree with Avantra on the dark and alarming. The fact there’s no music, just the wind gives the feel of seclusion and perhaps also the sense of “silence before the storm”. Also, walking around a completely empty house with barricades everywhere gives quite an eerie feeling and also conveys “there’s definitely something wrong.” This increases as you progress in the game; first discovering a zombie in the basement, and seeing zombie hands blocking the hallway. Then killing the zombie in the basement and finally witnessing the numerous zombies right outside the house. 

And killing some when you drive away :D

There were some tricky parts where you had to use some creativity to find out what to do next, or just randomly click everything, as you got clues from doing so, which is a classic point-and-click game mechanic.

A SMALL TALK AT THE BACK OF BEYOND

http://www.kongregate.com/games/scriptwelder/a-small-talk-at-the-back-of-beyond

Reviews:

That was nice little game. It took me some time to stop clicking around and start to write stuff on the computer :D But when i got hang of it it was a very nice small game. There was not much art or music to enjoy, and it was short and based on just writing, however, the well written story and the multiple endings made the game worth playing.

This is a pretty interesting alternative; doesn’t really qualify much as point-and-click, but is close to that genre. It is a bit simple and has a good story, a fitting atmosphere and an unorthodox yet really interesting primary game mechanic… can’t say anymore without spoiling. If you enjoy slightly short and simple interesting games, this can be recommended.

Thoughts:

Firstly, I liked the fact you could explore a bit and play around with the computer to get various responses, which also created the opportunity to reach the “final choice” through multiple routes, making the game less linear and more interesting. Secondly, the fact you have the power to make a decision on the ultimate outcome is pretty critical to the whole story and message of the game. Except if you start to play chess or talk about art, then you just die :D Oh, yes. That was a hilarious implement in the game that caused a lot of confusion at first. If you tried angering the AI, it would also result in your death.

It was pretty clear about the whole message of whether you want to die with someone else (whom had just tried to trick you into doing that) or trying to survive risking dying alone. It all comes down to how you empathized with the AI during your whole conversation. Yeah or how much of a jerk the computer seem to you :D It all comes to how do you feel about the computer. Is it just a computer without any feelings or is it your friend trying to have fun with you at your last moments and not wanting to die alone? A common thought would be “Why can’t I take the AI with me and save both of us?”, but if that was the case, it would make the game and its message redundant.

HUMANOID 47

Game can be found here: http://www.kongregate.com/games/joquatrevingtdix/humanoid-47?acomplete=humanoid

Review:

First warning! The game has bright colours and metallic music with often high notes. The colours and music can hurt eyes and ears at first. And at all times. So if you are sensitive to those things, like I am, proceed with caution! I thought, on the other hand, that the art and music were interesting and very unique. It depends on the person who plays it.

The game is certainly weird but fun at the same time! It has a rather short story to it, albeit pretty interesting and indeed very weird. The puzzles can sometimes cause a deadlock, especially considering some items that need to be picked up are somewhat obscure and won't be any different from the background so many of the items are found by accidents and random clicking! :D Which is slightly annoying, yet doesn’t ruin the game.

Conclusively, this is a very unique game in almost all its aspects compared to other games in the genre. It’s totally worth the time playing this unique and weird game. As in its weirdness it’s still fun and beautiful game. We totally suggest you try this, if you can bear the noise and the colours.

Thoughts:

For the game’s defence i have to say it was around 4 am, but my first impression was awful :D I just.. My eyes hurt. And ears from the music. I got headache from the game and didn't finish it at all the first time :D The next time i played i got stuck on finding a leg :D With help from Welden and Walkthrough i got to play the game to the end. It did arise some humorous conversation, as you shall see at the end. I liked the story but i hated killing the girl :/ She should have been saved too!

I was quite intrigued by the really weird scenario unfolding before me. However, I did struggle occasionally with finding items. For example the bug spray in the cabinet for the spider monster. Nonetheless, the music and story kept me going and I was satisfied with the ending. Yeah! Screw you, Mad Doctor!

After game conversation:

*as Avantra was stuck in the game and telling 
Welden where she was*

- And i have killed the bug and got the thinggy from it

- That was the fricking bane of my existence 
because I didn't pick up the spray

- Awwws.. i just click constantly everywhere so i pick up stuff randomly :P

*after the game*

- Awwwww i killed the girl :/

- Uhm, well she is an android

- Don’t know if she dies by taking her heart

- Regardless, you are in a fricking insane prison about to escape and you are worried about killing an android???

- But she was pretty ;( He could have taken her with him and live happily together!

- oh

- true

- uhm

- Well.... she didn't die for nothing!

- But still. *moment of silence for pretty android girl*

- And my eyes. And ears. 
I think i'm going to get headache again ^^’

- Did you notice how the music in the escape cutscene was more or less the music from the rooms put together?

- Ooh i did! It was fun add to the end :D