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

SPROUT

http://www.kongregate.com/games/customlogic/sprout

Reviews:

A rather short and simple game with a minimalistic story. Still good fun and time-killer, but not the most extensive story. The puzzles are not too challenging, but at times you might need to do some thinking, which can be slightly annoying, but also help make the game more of a game than just a short story.

It was a nice little game. It had its hard parts and it was really fun to figure it out. The story was interesting and simple to understand even though not a word was written. The game was so small that it’s hard to review a lot from it. But the sproutling was cute! I just loved the little plantguy!

LOONDON

http://www.kongregate.com/games/flipntale/loondon

Reviews:

My first impression was that the music and art were really good in their own way. Even though it was kinda short little game, and it didn't have many puzzles, the story was interesting enough to play through. The game was more of an interactive story to click through more than an actual point-and-click game. The ending didn't make a lot of sense though, but more of that in the next section.

The length and the amount of effort required to beat the game makes one question whether it can be called a game. Nevertheless, I still recommend it because it has a very good story with a moral as well as unique art and fitting music. If you don’t mind a simple, quick and easy game with a nice story, then I recommend Loondon.

Thoughts:

The very core and the very moral of the story of Loondon is the society of this city being so decadent and deranged to the point of being hellish. It also reflects some of the vices of humanity; prejudice (the people’s rejection of Jonah based on his looks), ingratitude (no one in Loondon was thankful of Jonah’s help (except for the workman)), injustice (Jonah being framed for murder), indoctrination (the demonic church manipulating the city), cruelty (people’s delight in Jonah’s execution), and betrayal (the spectacled-man, whom Jonah had helped, was the one who turned him in). Another thing it points out, is how not everyone is bad despite what one might think.  For example the werewolf in the woods was not bad despite it being a beast. You were even able to find someone nice and non-prejudiced in Loondon; the workman.

The ending could be said to be a testimony to how the world sometimes can be very unjust. In this scenario a kind-hearted person is sacrificed to save his friend, but in the process save the evil too. This could also be a testimony to the whole point of sacrifice; giving in to dark consequences for saving what you hold dear.

The game was full of small little fun details; first thing i saw in the whole game was the man lifting the weights. And that he looks like he has saggy boobs. :D Then in the forest i liked the little lights that went up, it was interestingly unique. There was also a fishtree in the forest that we liked, it was interestingly out of place. Oh! And i loved the little demons in the church windows! Overall the game was full of fun little details to look at throughout the sad story. I hate the man that Jonah helped to find his glasses, as he is the one to get the police to arrest Jonah. 

My biggest problem with the game was the ending that didn't make sense to me. Maybe if the game/story was a little bit longer and there was more of a connection to the machine friend. Or more of a reason to sacrifice himself. The artwork and the story is otherwise wonderful, just disappointed in the ending. I.e good story but i would have liked an option to kill them all XD

HETHERDALE

Same creators of Morningstar: http://www.redherringlabs.com/

A different story, the same positive traits. 
If you loved Morningstar, you will love this one. http://www.kongregate.com/games/RedHerringLabs/hetherdale

Reviews:

Just as well-made as Morningstar, Hetherdale has a very interesting and original story. However, it differentiates from Morningstar in story genre and a new way to explore, making it more of a fresh experience while retaining the positive sides of Morningstar. Helpful quick-travel for backtracking, fitting background music, interesting puzzles and a good plot to boot and you got a nice point-and-click adventure game.

Same as Morningstar, loved the movies and music. But similar to Morningstar it left a lot of questions open. Points for amazing story! The story was interesting and unpredictable, which made it fun to play. The art was maybe not the best one around, but still good enough not to bother with the overall experience. As Welden said, the quick-travel helped a lot and made the game overall more fun. I recommend playing it, even with the plot holes and unanswered questions.

Thoughts:

First of all, i hate unanswered questions. I really loved all the mystery stuff but i hated how they don't explain everything! I'm such a curious person that the questions continue to bother me for long time after I am done with the game. But good thing the ‘’To be continued’’ in the end!? Or not.. As according to the RedHerringLabs there is little hope for the sequels :/ 
I will keep on hoping though!! :D

I also found the way you moved the character was really silly and i giggled a lot at how the character walked all funny! :P Playing it in the middle of the night might have had something to do with it, but still! :D The walking in the game is frustratingly slow, so thank god for the quick-travel! Also, some of the solutions to obstacles are, honestly, a little silly. And the concept of any "scientist" killing a native creature just to get one red feather to decorate a statue is so absurd. But i like silly things so all the more fun for me! Could have used some more explanation and tying up of loose plot ends - much like Morningstar, actually.

I liked how the story arched from being a ‘simple’ expedition to some random ruins based on an uncertain claim to becoming a more and more serious and eerie situation.This was, however, already hinted at the beginning with the mysterious Ashcroft, who behaved way too strange to not have ulterior motives (and being a Nazi too!). Initially, you are just trying to find your way around and figure out some clues. Next thing you know you’re in the village of a forgotten people, you’re trapped in an ancient tomb and lastly you are walking through a haunted and sinister temple. A bit like Morningstar where the initial situation is somewhat plain (yet more troublesome in Morningstar than in Hetherdale) and then taking a turn for the worst in a slow and ominous way. That’s what I like about RedHerringLabs. You don’t know what’s gonna happen next, but it probably isn't something good.

MORNINGSTAR

There are two versions: The ArmorGames one has voice-over dialogue, the Kongregate one doesn’t. We prefer the ArmorGames one, but just in case you don’t want voice-over, here’s the Kongregate one too:

http://armorgames.com/play/3814/morningstar

http://www.kongregate.com/games/RedHerringLabs/morningstar
The company who made this game is The Red Herring Labs. http://www.redherringlabs.com/

Reviews:

Was really fun game, even when i’m not really into all the spacey wacey stuff, still was interesting and fun, so big plus for that! Left a lot questions open though. Loved the movies! The atmosphere is kind of eerie, but not that scary. The plot is really good and interesting. It kept you interested throughout the game. There was some going back and forth, but it didn't make it boring as it was well explained and still engaging.

One of my favorite point-and-click games! It’s pretty extensive and well-made with an interesting sci-fi story. And it got cool intro and outro cutscenes too! I agree with Avantra on the atmosphere. It made you feel that there was something amiss, but couldn’t quite figure out what. The exploration part of the plot is interesting, but as always, you will have to do some backtracking. Fortunately, with an interesting plot and a helpful “quick-travel”, it wasn’t that tedious

After game conversation:

- And morningstar just what are the easter island hebos and why are they there why are they collecting people why didn't they stop them from leaving and why did it turn to a helicopter but didn't do anything XD

- Well, the moais (as they're called) are obviously some form of cybernetic race that attracts the spaceships of other species to their planet with their gravitational device often forcing the spaceships to crash. They then collect them and study them (like they did with the previous military cruiser crew, or at least tried to). They even categorised them in large vats. Presumably to conserve energy, they hibernate when there are no spaceships crashing and then re-activate when there is. However, they start by watching the crashed species before collecting them (the eyes watching you). I dunno why they didn't act earlier with the protagonist, perhaps they malfunctioned or didn't know how to respond. That would also explain how one could escape.

- True dat.

- They malfunctioned or didn't know how to respond or perhaps they wanted to wait. The military crew was there a fair amount time since they were able to set up camp and explore before being attacked

- True that. 

- But still they didn't put the device back on but let them escape.

- Perhaps that never happened to them before and they didn't know how to respond. They are part- if not entirely machine, which mostly runs on routine algorithms

- But they could have just put the device back on? Of course they know their own devices.

- Oh wait

- You mean the gravitational device?

- Yes.

- Well, you shot its crystal

- That seemed pretty crucial for its function

-Oh true! I remembered that he only shut it down. :D

- Oooh : D

- That explains a lot!

- Anyway, did you have fun with the Red Herring in Morningstar?

- .... Red herring?

- You didn't pick up a red fish from the cargo bay?

- I did!

- But how have fun?

- Did you use it on anything?

-Tried :D

- And did it work? :D

- Nope. ''i don't wanna stink that up''.

- You do know what a red herring is metaphor for?

- Nope?

- Because I didn't

- A red herring is a metaphor for something that is supposed to distract you from the real goal

- XD

-  I.e. the fish was completely useless

- Awesome!

- Plus the guys who made Morningstar are called RedHerringLabs

- I also really liked the many “sciency” concepts in it where some of them I found rather original like the Hibernation Chamber solution to long-space travels, handy MedSuits, species-adopting cybernetic beings that attract space vessels with gravitational devices, AI, Nano Adhesive etc.. Yet when these concepts are introduced, they aren’t exactly difficult to grasp and at the same time Powell uses some simple methods like makeshift shovel and crowbar and mixed-on-the-spot black powder so it isn’t just a neverending “SCIENCE FICTION TRIP” but adheres a bit more to realism.

- Well as i don't like that much spacey wacey stuff, i didn’t even pay attention to all of that :D To me it was just awesome scenery and puzzles. :D

- XD