Video games of the Month: February 2020

Video games of the Month: February 2020

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Hey itch.io followers, it’s been some time hasn’t it? We didn’t need to go away you excessive and dry with none video games to play (I imply you may additionally take a look at our Youtube channel or our e-mail digest) so we’re again with a brand new format we’re tentatively calling video games of the month. This primary one is a bit out of sync with the tip of the month however I hope you’ll prefer it all the identical.

World of Horror

World of Horror has been a very long time coming, however form of just like the monster in It Follows it’s regularly transferring in direction of us. Additionally just like the monster in It Follows it’s form of right here and form of not. Whereas this month’s replace isn’t 1.0 (no matter which means nowadays), it’s a big sufficient growth that I really feel snug recommending this as a leaping on level for anybody who’s all for experiencing this distinctive model of procedural dread. 

For many who aren’t already on the World of Horror hype practice, let me get you on top of things through a bunch of buzzwords: Scary Junji Ito-esque cosmic horror in an Apple 2 1-bit coloration palette. There’s a bunch of bizarre stuff happening in your city and also you’re going to analyze it whereas attempting to keep up your sanity by quite a lot of old-fashioned journey mechanics that change every time you play the sport. This randomness can be one of many greatest promoting factors for the sport and makes it one of many few horror video games you may play repeatedly with model new scares. 

There are a pair of pre-rolled adventures for you in World of Horror however you can too design your personal campaigns or tempt destiny with utterly random tales with modifiers you may set prematurely. Theoretically you may play this sport eternally. To essentially crank up the enjoyable, there’s additionally the promise of mod help in a future replace. 

World of Horror is tense, trendy, and can solely get higher with time. This one is a straightforward suggestion.

Extensive Ocean Large Jacket

Up to now few years we’ve seen the rise of what I’ve been calling tone-pieces: video games which might be much less all for explorations of mechanics or the finer particulars of their plots and as an alternative construct a particular tone or sense of setting. In these video games there’s a hazard of sliding into navel-gazing collections of distractions, however Extensive Ocean Large Jacket has set the brand new excessive water mark for all the pieces that the style might be. 

Nominally the story of an aunt, uncle, and a few teenagers on a trip within the woods, Extensive Ocean Large Jacket is a sport that completely nails the sensation of a tenting journey. Every beat of this sport is a rigorously constructed vignette that hints at a wider narrative that exists with out you however one that you just’re respectful sufficient to keep away from interrogating. After all that is all set in opposition to the backdrop of the requirements of tenting like establishing a tent (or discovering the right bush to pee in. Sure, actually) which drives residence the sense of being in nature. WOBJ solely takes an hour or so to finish — and the dev compares it to watching a film on its sport page– and retains you because the invisible cameraman round simply lengthy sufficient to fall in love with this ragtag group of dorks and never a second longer. 

I really like Extensive Ocean Large Jacket and I hope everybody performs it.

Desktop Goose

This one is much less of a sport and extra of a toy. Do you hate your desktop? Do you would like your laptop was barely much less usable? Nicely look no additional as a result of Desktop is right here to contaminate your favourite computing machine with probably the most hateful form of avian. Whereas this has no affiliation with one other common waterfowl, for those who’re aware of the goose zeitgeist you already know what to anticipate right here. This nasty avian prowls your desktop and wreaks havoc in your mouse, desktop, and different issues you have to go about what you are promoting. Sure it’s cute, however it’s additionally a nightmare. Identical to actual geese. 

For those who’re the form of masochist this appeals to, you may get Desktop Goose proper now totally free.

Haunted PS1 Demo Disc

It’s time to return clear: I’m a little bit of a coward. One thing about scary video games simply will get underneath my pores and skin and simply destroys me. So who higher to advocate a set of horror video games than me? The Haunted PS1 Demo Disc is a set of 17 demos for video games that don’t exist from 17 of the most popular names in indie horror. To maintain issues constant the entire video games are made with PS1 sensibilities in thoughts. It’s going to be a bit laborious to speak about all 17 video games, so I’m going to must be pretty common on this suggestion. The video games are, by and huge, examples of various disciplines of horror. Some are spooky, some are unnerving, a handful are dreadful, and others are simply straight up scary. The Demo Disc is an actual tasting menu of frights. What this additionally means is that there’s one thing for everybody in right here. For those who play one of many demos and it doesn’t hit you in the best method? Nice, there are 16 extra already in your harddrive. 

If I can supply one criticism, it’s that all the pieces on the Demo Disc is a demo. I may play a number of of those video games for hours however they’re over simply too quickly. Hopefully the early love the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc has gotten will pave the way in which for a few of these demos to be spun out into full on releases. 

When you have any curiosity within the idea of horror there’s one thing for you within the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc.

The Lengthy Rim: A Lancer Setting

I’ve been spending numerous time with our tabletop rpg catalog in latest weeks. There are scores of completely incredible experiences ready for you and your folks to mess around a kitchen desk on the location. One of many greatest tabletop rulesets that launched final yr was Lancer, a sport about mechs and the individuals who pilot them. It’s a very creative system that I’ve already had a bunch of enjoyable with. However this isn’t about Lancer’s core guide, it’s in regards to the sport’s first sourcebook The Lengthy Rim. Whereas most TTRPGs might be performed with simply the core ruleset, many select to increase their performance by non-obligatory releases that increase on the sport’s methods, add new courses/characters, or increase on the sport’s advised setting. The Lengthy Rim does all of this. There are numerous items for gamers and sport masters to work with however my favorites are the brand new mechs (Lancer’s model of courses). Lancer already has the most effective mech designs round, however these new ones are someway each cool and soiled all of sudden. 

Lancer has located it as my favourite mech-based TTRPG ruleset and if the Lengthy Rim is any indication it’s solely going to get higher with time. Followers of Lancer ought to give The Lengthy Rim a glance, and tabletop gamers ought to give the bottom sport a go.

The White Door

The parents at Rusty Lake have constructed a bizarre, expansive universe spanning over a dozen video games (and a film!) however with the discharge of The White Door they’ve determined to interrupt their very own guidelines. Alright, technically this isn’t a Rusty Lake-developed sport — it’s developed by Second Maze who’re the identical individuals as Rusty Lake– however it locations itself within the expanded Rusty Lake Universe and shares some gameplay similarities with the prevailing video games within the canon. Followers of Rusty Lake most likely know what to anticipate from the White Door, however everybody else ought to learn on. 

Narratively The White Door is a sport about habits and life within the titular psychological well being facility. The sport performs in loops alongside a strict schedule starting with the character waking up and ending with them going to sleep. It’s a form of Groundhog Day puzzler with two equally vital halves of the sport display screen. To the left aspect you could have a largely unchanging view of your total room within the clinic, and on the best half you get a zoomed in view on the article/ puzzle you’re engaged on. After all that is all complemented by the sport’s monochrome coloration scheme which makes any pops of coloration stand out and works nicely with story beats that implement a extra strong coloration palette. 

To high issues off The White Door retains Rusty Lake’s conventional runtime: The itch desktop app says I completed the sport in simply over an hour, so there’s not a lot for potential gamers to lose right here.

The Bookshelf Limbo

I’ve been following Deconstructeam for what seems like eternally however I by no means would have anticipated them to make The Bookshelf Limbo. Previous Deconstructeam video games have been narratively dense, however they usually characteristic relatable characters in excessive circumstances. Bookshelf Limbo is nothing like that. This time we’re guiding our playable character by the method of shopping for a comic book guide for his or her dad. Why are they shopping for a comic book particularly? Who is aware of, however shopping the cabinets and listening to your character touch upon every guide reveals each a bit about them and also you because the participant. In my time with the Bookshelf Limbo I used to be taking part in much less because the unusual armadillo human on display screen however as Spencer, the particular person contemplating and reacting to the alternatives within the sport’s guide retailer. Sure The Bookshelf Limbo is totally a sport however it’s simply as a lot a immediate for self-reflection. 

The Bookshelf Limbo is 100% carried by its writing and it’s simply as private and heartfelt as you’d hope. Fortunately, The Bookshelf Limbo is each brief and free so you actually can’t go mistaken checking it out.

What video games have you ever been taking part in currently? Tell us within the feedback under.

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