Recent reviews by CorvusCorax

I launched the game and realised the settings menu for changing graphics was completely missing. I then started with the first mission (apparently, there are 4 but only the first one is available) where I quickly got shot down by some sort of special soldier unit or perhaps robots. I'm not sure.

This first mission takes place in a small apartment only with a couple of rooms and you only have 5 hearts before you die which means failing the mission as a cadet. I found a key that opened a drawer after eliminating the first two enemies. Then another key then another. Is this what the store page refers to as finding "hidden objects"? For all this you have 6 or so minutes. If the countdown reaches zero you get the same message on failure.

Now, I found a safe and a piece of note in a separate drawer which was needed to find out what the right safe combination was. Once this was done i was able to open the last drawer that contained agent equipment such as a revolver and a badge. Only the badge can be picked up - if you hover over the rest your character just interacts with the drawer and closes it again. I didn't understand what my task was so once again the countdown reached zero and I failed.

F1 brings up the tutorial and you also have a table whose first screen has some exam questions. Not sure if the contents of the drawer are meant to represent the answers but you can do some guesswork 5 times. This whole scenario made no sense to me. In addition to this the enemies you shoot down have corpses that can easily block you. Hitting ESC in-game brings us to the graphics options but while "high" settings is easy to find there is no vsync option.

Everything is bad here. The sound effects, the gameplay, the FPS value you get during mission... your tablet has other functions but I found no use of them. Not sure what "mysteries" are to be "unravelled" here or "challenges" to "master". And the whole noir approach of the trailer is completely misleading. I recommend that you avoid this one.

It's been 10 years since Five Nights at Freddy's was released. There are a lot of games getting inspiration from this franchise and Indigo Park joined in. But this is not a bad thing; quite the contrary! I should also mention that the game was released not long ago and it had graphics issues (blurry textures regardless of the level of settings applied) but the developer quickly released a patch to remedy the situation.

Now, in the game we venture into a fun park that has been in an abandoned state for a while. This is a walking sim so don't expect any weapons at your disposal to fight back - when you have to run you have to run. Essentially, Indigo Park consists of short sections and the transition (loading time) between them is rather short. There are some easy puzzle sequences and in an hour or so you are done with this first and free chapter.

What I liked is the mascot that appears on screens regularly giving us details on the park and notifying us on current events. The train ride is particularly funny. The animation and voiceover for Rambley the Raccoon is fantastic. The atmosphere is great and we can find collectibles in this prologue - items that can be checked on an information kiosk where Rambley just keeps rambling on!

I had fun with the first chapter and appreciated that the developer quickly stepped in and solved a technical issue. Oh, and the song we get during end credits is just superb! Highly recommended!

This is a walking sim made by an artist. You enter this person's unique world and you just enjoy the scenery. The theme is holidays / vacation. The game consists of various scenes that either require you to walk or just observe your surroundings. A departure lounge at the airport, a beach and car rides will be returning scenes.

It is an interesting game with a very good soundtrack. The only downside I had was the omission of graphics settings. The game looks quite beautiful but the vsync was off the whole time. There is an interesting effect applied to your surroundings that limits the viewing distance. The basic form of objects that appear in the distance can be indicative of the topography so you can assume you are headed in the right direction. I'm not sure why this was necessary - to ensure the game runs on every type of hardware? Also, sometimes when you reached your goal you have to wait until the next scene commences. At the beginning you'll think you need to do something and you - naturally, if you are a fan of the genre - will just keep pressing "E".

This is a walking sim without a real story. You can check Kim's Instagram for additional artwork if you have found the game interesting. It's not everyday that such an artist collaborates with others in the making of a video game. Defective Holiday is a fun little walking sim that takes roughly an hour to complete. Don't expect a deep story - consider it a 50-minute long music video.

Foreword

Deck Nine is the developer here instead of DONTNOD, however, Before The Storm was their first Life is Strange game so they were not really unfamiliar with the genre and the series when they started developing True Colors. They were also responsible for the remastered versions of the first game and its prequel.

The developer has recently been accused of fostering a very toxic place of work. There are numerous articles out there detailing this. It is a sad thing but given the controversies related to Blizzard it was expected that such news would come out about other developer companies. I put this aside when starting True Colors and I tried to see it as a work of art created by several talented people.

A spin-off with Alex Chen

I often see references to this game as a spin-off but it might as well be called Life is Strange 3. In part 2 we had new protagonists and here it is just the same. Steph (from Before The Storm) is now a major character so by re-introducing her we can see this one takes place in the same universe. The title is great, though, and it also hints at Alex's special ability.

In these games the protagonist always has a power. Call it a superhuman ability but the story focuses on how they try to live their life with it and also to conceal the ability so don't expect Professor Xavier showing up in the end taking away our hero to a special school. Alex is just out of the orphanage and wants to spend some time at her brother's place in Haven Springs. Her special skill is quite amazing: she can sense what emotions others feel and given the circumstances she can alter them (e.g. take away their fear or anger) to solve a problematic situation.

A personal and detective story

As usual the story is about self-discovery but following the events of chapter 1 Alex sets out to investigate the local corporation that gives jobs to a lot of folks as the biggest employer. Steph and Ryan will be there to assist her. There are some other interesting characters and locations, too. My favourite was Jed, the owner of Black Lanters which is the local bar and restaurant and Alex lives upstairs and works there as a waitress.

A not so strange gameplay

Gameplay remains identical to previous games. With Alex we interact with objects and talk to people. An icon in the upper-left corner often appears when picking dialogue options meaning we said something that will have consequences later on. At key moments a major decision has to be made - here the game stops and allows us to think before proceeding. These moments can determine what happens in the finale and overall we have several endings available.

When outside we are free to explore Haven Springs. Alex also receives messages on her phone and can check new posts or comments in the local social media hub. Our objective can always be checked when pressing TAB, however, it's worth investigating everything before moving forward with our main task. Achievements are mostly related to collectibles - with Alex we can check objects and applying our ability we can read what emotions they have. By doing so we have access (we hear) past conversations between townsfolk.

We have two romance options and at the end of every chapter we get statistical feedback on the decision making we did. Comparison is available with our friends or with the rest of the gamers. Since all actionable, key moments are included here this screen is particularly important to tell you in case you missed out something crucial. But don't worry: selecting a previous chapter after a successful walkthrough will be an option. This feature is something that characterised Telltale Games.

Graphics and soundtrack

Both are great. I took a lot of screenshots. We have certainly come a long way since the first LiS game. Just look at how Steph looks now. Facial expressions and voice acting are both superb. The soundtrack has always been good in the series. Now, we have Steph who works in the local record store. What more do we need? Once again we have the option to sit down and just enjoy the moment. It can be at the docks, in the park at the bonfire or at home on the sofa. You can hear some relaxing music and the camera starts panning around. There's also an arcade machine Alex can use!

Summary

Of all the 3 games I believe this is the shortest. But given the choices you have multiple playthroughs can be done. This episode is more on the emotional side of things; for me it is comparable to episode 1. Teen angst will be a returning theme as well as references to the LGBT community. If you have issues with these then this game is not for you otherwise if you liked previous episodes True Colors is highly recommended. We have a short (unnecessary) DLC for Steph (who lacks any "special" ability) and Alex has multiple outfits we may use at the start of each chapter. True Colors is a great game that can easily be referred to as Life is Strange 3.

Another release from 100 Cozy Games but this time in colour. The option to go back to black-and-white remains available. The game is identical to the ones released before: easy-to-play, relaxing and you are done in roughly 10 minutes with all achievements obtained. A DLC is available for an additional level and support to the developer. Some cats hide in some very interesting places. I had fun once more with another HOG from this creator.

I am an avid fan of Viscera Cleanup Detail so as soon as I saw the store page of this game I decided to download it immediately. If you have played Thief then this game will be somewhat familiar in the sense that you are not out cleaning on official business but this is a 2nd job you have since with your janitorial salary you barely make ends meet. Plus, medical bills are especially high for a certain family member. Yeah, well, we won't get fond of this game because of the story.

Your home serves as a hub area where the computer we access to pick up missions. It's nice looking around in your apartment and interacting with everything you can (including your dog). You hop into your car and you'll find yourself on scene and you can immediately start cleaning. Now, the game says "prologue" but the mission details mention this is the 6th one. I assume they included a later level to showcase that several items available at your disposal to do the cleaning. You also notice that apart from the cleaning you can collect (steal) money, jewelry and other items, plus, you have several skill trees you can look at (but in this "demo" buying and assigning skill points is not possible). Oh, and you can also collect (remove) evidence that the cops would otherwise find (including erasing camera footage).

The basic concept is identical to that of Viscera: get a bucket full of water and use your mop to clean every surface. Your mop requires cleaning and your bucket needs fresh water after a while. In Viscera accidentally kicking (and tipping over) your bucket was possible but here I didn't notice such a thing. Also, bigger levels would be better so that a friend could join you but, sadly, this will remain a single player game. First, you are outside then you go inside and beside the ground floor and first floor you also have to do the cleaning in the basement. Taps for the bucket are always close so this won't be an issue.

Now, the interesting part is how you need to collect broken pieces of glass or bullets. Anything you break if you don't pay attention will be added to the amount of trash you need to dispose of. Once your trash bin is full your character can produce a sac. The game favours a casual approach and every equipment is easy-to-use and you don't feel stuck. Multiple sacs can be combined and disposing bodies is the easiest since you just have to pick them up. The back of your truck automatically applies the body bags. You can also hold left click to ensure multiple pieces of broken glass can be picked up quickly and efficiently.

There's more! A power washer for surfaces outside, a sponge for the same on the inside since a mop would break objects close to blood stains. Sponges are for a more careful, more meticulous cleaning exercise. You can apply detergents to the water to ensure stains disappear more quickly or that your mop lasts longer. Now, cleaning is not just about making everything spotless - remember it's about pretending nothing happened. So, all pieces of furniture must be put back to their original place. Locations are highlighted when you get closer - otherwise use your special crime sense to find out where everything belongs and if statistical data says a room is 99% clean only your sense will highlight that missing 1%.

In Viscera, a special item provided audio cues so searching for every piece of stain towards the endgame was a challenge. Plus, no statistical data was provided while performing the job. In fact, here you can get percentage values per location. Again, Crime Scene Cleaner leans towards a more casual playerbase. But this is fine! And while cleaning you can listen to music and your protagonist has some one-liners when spotting a new dead body. These remarks are actually pretty funny.

This prologue lasts for an hour or so. I look forward to the full game! I think Viscera and / or Thief fans will like it! I didn't include all pieces of equipment we can use in this demo so feel free to find out!

I have recently checked out LAVALAMP and I must say in terms of aesthetics the two games are identical but this one is a bit more down-to-earth, more natural. And also way more straightforward.

This game is about visiting a conservatory and learning a bit of horticulture but also a little bit about human nature. The puzzles are easy to solve and while the game is perhaps a bit too colourful this never bothers the eye.

Enjoy this 30-minute ride to the most colourful garden you have ever been to!

At this point I cannot recall a game where we are a radio station host. Imagine that you have such a role and suddenly you find yourself in the middle of an alien invasion. This is a short walking sim which handles the topic in an excellent way. I did say walking sim but since we broadcast the majority of our time will be spent while confined to a chair.

Just go with the flow: answer the call from your colleague from time to time and also do the request of the callers. Then as you hear the latest news remember to broadcast it - not just the good-old tracks from your collection of vinyl. Simple as that and when you are given a final task you'll know that multiple options are available.

I was surprised how great the atmosphere in this game is. Clearly a low budget software but with fantastic sound design. Perhaps a little bit too dark for my taste, but still. As usual in this genre there are not many options available for graphics (I found it strange that the fullscreen setting gave me a much higher resolution than the exclusive fullscreen which I almost never use).

Apart from the technical aspects and that I have found Void Whispers a tad bit too dark this is an excellent game. Highly recommended!

This is a new HOG that got released just today. The playable area is not that big and the cats are relatively easy to find. What makes it easy is that they look the same (2-3 types can be found). However, I think it is an interesting feature that other animals can also be found that can easily be mistaken for cats. So good luck finding all 100 without the hint function.

As for the hints: 1 available in every minute and the camera is positioned to a screen where we can find a missing cat. This is, however, not in the center and only the screen is adjusted meaning no further assistance is provided. An interesting approach that perhaps other HOGs could borrow.

Overall, this is an easy-to-complete, barebone HOG with relaxing music and acceptable graphics. No options to choose from, no achievements and no save function (if you quit everything will be reset). Still, it's fine as it is very cheap. Naturally, those of us HOG fans have our expectations when it comes to future releases.

An interesting walking sim that is, unfortunately, still in early access. There is an intro cutscene showing Jessica having a discussion with a detective. She then recalls what happened 24 hours before and the following will be 3 levels of storytelling.

One thing I noted is the presence of the reticule during cutscenes which is most annoying. Also, I set everything to the highest (including drawing distance) and for some reason I was able to see the trees only when getting very close to them. You can see the screenshots on the store page showing the road along which there are many trees meaning you are in a forest. Due to this being broke for me this looked like more of an open field to me.

With Jessica we can inspect a couple of objects (newspaper clippings and notes are all horizontal at first so you have to rotate them for the text) and later on use a flashlight when we are indoors. The last (3rd) chapter includes some sort of a chase but there is no warning - I just realised suddenly that something'd caught me. Then I went the other way, completed a strange button puzzle and the game was finished.

The idea looks promosing, but sadly, Worlds Collide remains unfinished. It is a playable walking sim so you can still check it out if you want. Someone noted the bad voice acting - it is a low budget game so that is understandable.