Recent reviews by deb

Uninvited Guest is my type of first-person horror game. I don’t really care for extremely gruesome horror games, so Uninvited Guest had just the right amount of fright factor for me.

It’s dark and it’s creepy; there are strange ghoulish creatures following you or at times impeding your progress as you journey through a long abandoned old mansion. It’s brimming with jumpscares and chilling sound effects. For the most part the jumpscares are more fun than frightening, some of them made me literally LOL; at other times, I found myself turning around to see what might be lurking behind me.

Your mission is to find a one-of-a-kind painting hidden within the old mansion. Along the way you collect notes that fill out the storyline as well as the dev’s signature collectibles. So, if you’re an achievement hunter, those are fairly easy to snag.

There are a few simple puzzles to solve throughout the game. However, there’s a QTE in Level 4 that is somewhat maddening because you are not equipped with a sprint key. There is also a bizarre event following it where you have to avoid a statue that comes rushing at you from various directions with no clear hint on how to survive the event. I prevailed after many tries by pure luck and determination.

If you are a fan of this dev’s work, as I am, this is worth adding to your collection. The game has 5 rather short levels, so I would recommend waiting for a sale.

7th Chance had been sitting in my library for a while, so I decided to try it as a break from a game I was frustrated with; so for me, it was sort of a gaming “timeline cleanser”.

7th Chance is more about choices than chance. It is a visually lovely game with a thought-provoking storyline; but is brief enough to complete in less than an hour; and that included two runs to snag all the achievements.

It was the respite I was looking for and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Where is everyone?

Homes, stores, and churches stand empty. Even the pubs are abandoned; tables are littered with unfinished drinks as cigarettes smolder in overflowing ashtrays. Ringing phones go unanswered. Cars, trucks, farm machinery - all abandoned. Birds lie dead where they dropped mid-flight. Playgrounds stand silent when there should be the sounds of children's laughter. Why are all the radios repeating the same garbled messages? Why is there so much blood?

Follow the light … In Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, you’ll take a journey through the village and countryside of Yaughton Valley. The light will reveal the clues - flashes of past events and snippets of conversations - to help you piece together what happened to the inhabitants of this now abandoned community.

Be prepared for a slow-paced journey reliving fragments of memories and events impacting the story’s six main characters. This truly is a walking sim. There is a toggle for speeding up a bit, but if you want to sprint through this game, it’s not going to happen. I was happy with that, since the environments are quite stunning; I really enjoyed the exploration. I thought the voice acting was well done and the soundtrack is powerful, poignant, even soul-stirring at times.

This is definitely an immersive, intriguing and thought-provoking game if you’re willing to invest the time to explore the events and uncover the mystery. If you want to dash through the game or are interested in 100% achievements on one run, maybe take a pass. But I think you’ll miss out on a really beautiful and captivating game.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have never literally sobbed playing a game before. Until now.

The First Tree is a beautiful, touching, and emotional journey.

Bottle: Pilgrim Redux is an emotional journey and can be a painful topic for many who suffer from addiction, regret or loss, but I thought the story’s progression handled it well. It’s a tale full of joy, grief, anger, sorrow, remembrance, and redemption and I was very touched by it.

I really liked the inclusion of ‘interludes’ … touching little snippets of the narrator’s memories – some endearing or funny, others heartbreaking – to support the main chapters of the story; it was quite effective. You can also view the story through the eyes of 6 year old Emily as you collect her crayon drawings scattered throughout the environment … another poignant and effective way to advance this story.

Bottle: Pilgrim Redux, as with all of Bodur’s work, is filled with gorgeous environments to explore. Chapter 4 was particularly stunning and I probably spent more time taking screenshots than progressing through the story. It was really quite beautiful. While I spent a little over 3 hours in the game, it was mainly just admiring the scenery and capturing some really stunning screenshots. The game can be completed in a little over an hour and is well worth the time.

This is my favorite of Bodur’s games I have played thus far. If you’re not a huge fan of walking sims, I’d recommend trying Bottle: Pilgrim Redux, it might change your mind.

This game should come with a free box of tissues. You might need them ... I did.

It's really more of an emotional journey than a game. You have to take actions to make the story progress and to pick up the achievements, but it's more about the experience than gameplay.

It's pretty short, so I'd recommend picking it up on sale. But if you're in the mood for a charming easy game, it's definitely worth grabbing this one.

First, I'm a fan of this dev's games and have played and enjoyed many of them.

Genie, as with all of Bodur's games, is filled with beautiful environments to explore. And as described on the game's store page, Genie is 15 chapters of traveling through different environments, collecting shards and then locating platforms where you stand and listen to the story in poetry form.

Rinse, repeat … 15 times.

The dev does give you the option to fast forward through the narration and by about midway I was thankful for that option.

If you haven’t tried any of Bodur’s games, I would recommend most of them if you’re a fan of the walking sim genre and if you enjoy taking screenshots; Bodur’s games are filled with lots of excellent opportunities to capture some nice shots.

However, there are better options from this dev than Genie.

Based on the mixed reviews, I almost passed this game up; but really glad I didn't.

You start out in the woods wandering around trying to figure out what's happened; then you discover you have an ability to toggle back and forth in a "vision" mode that allows you to "follow the clues" as a narrator reveals his/her story and what led to their demise. Eventually, there was enough mystery about what was happening to make me start looking over my shoulder as I progressed through the stories.

The environment is quite beautiful and the voice acting was pretty well done. It's at most about an hour and a half of game-play. Although, I ended up playing through twice because I missed one achievement and it helped me to pick up on some of the story that I missed the first time.

I would recommend catching this one on sale as I did. It was well worth the dollar I spent on it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Based on some of the reviews, I almost took a pass on this game ... so glad I didn't. It's delightful. It's a quirky, weird, funny gem of a game. The story line has that classic sci-fi/paranormal/supernatural strangeness. It was easy to play; basic point & click. No timed sequences; just enjoyable game play. The art work is quite beautiful and one of the best features of the game. The ensemble of characters range from charming to almost creepy, and for the most part the voice acting is pretty well done. I’d recommend waiting for a sale, then grab this jewel of a game and enjoy it!

What a sweet game! It is absolutely delightful. This game takes you through a relaxing few hours as an enchanting and brave Ember saving the lost Forlorn in an amazing and imaginative world. This game delivers a message of hope in a world that often feels devoid of caring and goodness.