Mother Russia Bleeds

Frequently compared to Hotline Miami the only real similarities are in the brutal and visceral nature of both games. Gameplay is different (beat-em-up sidescroller vs fast-pace top-down action) and style is different (grungey underbelly of Russia vs electric neon of 80s Miami), that being said they're both very good at what they're aiming to achieve. The story unfolds as you, one of four "street fighters" are imprisoned and forced narcotic testing of the drug Nekro, something that reminded me of the notorious Krokodil (don't google that). There are four intitial characters, I was particularly fond of Natasha and her quicker movements but I paired her with the stronger more tank like Ivan, he'd beat them up whilst I kept them off him. The bots are somewhat dumb however and it was very inconvenient in later levels as they would just wander in to danger areas, kind of wish there was online co-op available to counteract this. It's not a particularly long game, I clocked approximately 8 hours but I found the game very difficult, someone who is more skilled at this particular genre would probably be able to finish it in less than 5. Each of the 8 level introduces something new, enemies/weapons/etc, finishing with creative and challenging bossfights, I wasn't always sure exactly how I beat them, feeling a little bit like I only won through brute force but most of them are excellent. Everything else being said it has some great atmospheric visuals and a fantastic OST.

Toren

An endless cycle of death and rebirth, the sun, the moon, a dragon and a tower. I am probably reading way too much into this game but from my single playthrough there seems to be a lot more going on than initially meets the eye but I don't really know enough about the subject nor can I find anyone really talking about the game. The strength lies in its story and mysteries as the gameplay itself is rather lacking, camera angles get annoying, levels don't really flow, controls are clunky... If you can make it past all that you'll be in for a treat though as it just does things differently.

Riptide GP2

This game is a blast. A bit slow to get into but once I finally got the hang of how to play and unlocked a few skills it was an incredible amount of fun. It's a "rocket-powered hydro jet" racing game where to earn boosts you do tricks, get the timing wrong and you will fail big time. I ended up keeping a list of the trick combos to keep track of what I had unlocked. It did get a bit easy in the middle levels but the final few levels felts like the difficult was fair. The only let down is the multiple is completely non-existant, it's one thing to play against bots but it'd be nice to see if I could actually win against other people. I managed to get every single player achievement at least.

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy

Where do I begin with this...? Probably the most bizarre game I've played recently without it feeling forced. I don't regret playing this, it's fantastic in it's own unique way but I still have difficulty recommending it. It refers to itself as an FPS but the RPG elements are not in anyway skimped on. Expect a lot of reading, skills points, specialisations and choices that matter. The interface and controls were overbearing and cumbersome at times, with so much to remember I ended up getting stuck on a couple of occasions despite having the skills to get solve the problem. Keeping a notebook at hand is highly recommended if you do dare to venture into this strange post-apocalyptic world. There's a lot of hacking involved, just about everything can be solved by hacking, if you're not careful it becomes a game inside a game and if you even less careful, you will be hacked back. The visuals aren't much to look at now but the design is something else, I spent ages just looking at armour for the individual characters and there's a neon sign for everything! I can't really say much about the story because quite honestly, I have dumbfounded as to what actually happened. Cliché amnesia, you wake up with no memory, everyone seems to know who you are and you're part of a secret society, that's certain. Everything else, not a clue. Great game though.

Darkness Within

A point & click, Lovecraft inspired horror detective story, it's actually pretty good. Emulating the Lovecraftian style, the unknown and delving into madness enough for me at least. Okay... I was genuinely terrified at several points of the game, the atmosphere of the game is intense throughout and no jump scares. There were times when I really didn't have clue how to move forward in the game, despite extensive note-reading, I'd find myself roaming between several rooms of several places trying to figure out what I had missed, this could be very offputting. There is a very interesting mechanic with the notes, you'd have to turn it on in the settings but you can make it so you have to underline the clues, easy to bypass that extra but if difficulty by just underlining everything. If you like horror and you like point and clicks, this is a must play.

Call of Cthulhu®: Dark Corners of the Earth

If Darkness WIthin is Lovecraft-horror done right then this is Lovecraft-horror done wrong. Well, more the case of I really don't think this game has aged well. Taking direct inspiration from novella The Shadow over Innsmouth, an entirely different route is created to finish the story. Although it had its moments not only was I not scared but I was laughing at how superficial some of it was, even if it was accurately portrayed to the original descriptions. The monsters are downright goofy looking in parts. The beginning part of the game is really drawn out and tiring, you spend a large amount of time not even in possession of a weapon. It picked up a bit towards the end, maybe more so because those final levels have more unique architecture than just dark old-timey town but it still felt slow. I used this mod guide to update the visuals and FOV which brought an interesting set of problems on top of some the game already had albeit still playable.

Ghostbusters: The Videogame

Surprisingly, this game is amazing. Felt incredibly faithful to the original movies, was an insane amount of fun with interesting twists and turns around each corner and considering it was released in 2009 still looks pretty good. Heck, I'd even go as far to recommend it to people who don't know much, if anything, about the franchise. Though to be honest I'd probably recommend it on just how many people sent me a message asking "Who ya gonna call?" alone. The game is fairly linear but it's more than a theme-park ride, you really do get thrown into the action and learning to control the proton pack and all its tools was tough but fair.

Particula

There is no point to this game. It's got zero content. I'm pretty sure I mistook it for another game because I was expecting a walking simulator and now I'm confused as to what game I might have been thinking of and how I ended up at this terrible tower defense game with 3 levels, even if there are over 10 difficulties, 3 levels are 3 levels. Just... just don't. If anyone knows what game I might have mistaken it for, it would be nice to know.

ಠ_ಠ

Idol Hands

A simple and very easy god game, it's okay, nothing special. If you want to waste a few hours or scratch an itch, go for it but don't go out of your way to play this. I also get the feeling this was a mobile port, I don't know if it was but it gives that feeling. The endless mode is incredibly pointless but very useful for getting once incredibly annoying achievement about becoming a Tree Expert. I'll give it one plus though, more entertaining that Godus.

Slime Rancher

Absolutely adorable, seriously. The slimes, they're already so cute then there are cat ones too and you can combine all of the slimes to be different colour cats...!?! Yeah it's early access but I feel I've already seen everything, especially when compared to the other popular farming game, Stardew Valley, lacks a huge amount of content. There was some fun but I see no reason to play this game until its officially released, that is unless you really like slimes. I could see it becoming a fantastic unique little title if it was given some more variety.

Violett Remastered

I want to finish this game, even more so as one of my SG wins but I've come across a game-breaking bug quite far into the game. There is no way around this and given how far I am in this game, I'm worried that if I restart I will just encounter the bug again, wasting time. The fact that this title has been given away makes me wonder if it will be fixed. It's a shame because it's a delightful little wonderlandesque point and click title.

Into The Gloom

This game a very good niche title but it has a massive flaw, a sin in gaming almost that really lets it down and that's not including the ridiculous amount of (harmless) jump scares. It probably doesn't look like much, it keeps within its aesthetic but nothing that makes it stand out from other games let alone horror-exploration titles, even the store description is generic and doesn't give credit for one of the more creative stories inside an amateur horror title, not only that but there are five endings (two failstates). As I've already mentioned it is an exploration title, there are chase scenes but more importantly puzzles. Puzzles themselves are not a problem and most of them in this game aren't that bad but the problem lies with the fact that a fair few of them are timed puzzles, I cannot abide puzzles that require you to solve something within a set limit but others may feel differently.

Awkward Dimensions Redux

Memes, dreams and wait that's a lot more depressing that I first expected. F2P artsy walking simulator, is it worth a look? Probably not. If it adds achievements? Maybe. There is some gameplay and the levels look nice but its mostly surreal, random. I'm sure there is a story it is nonsensical, not flowing between the levels. Someone might say its like The Stanley Parable, it is not.

Real Horror Stories Ultimate Edition

What a load of crap. This has cheap jump "scares" down to a fine art. Random clicking till grandmother explodes is not a puzzle. To top it off, gamebreaking bug preventing a transistion to the next level. I'm calling this done, I've seen everything this game has to offer.

Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh

The third and final installment of the Doorways Trilogy comes to a spectacular conclusion. Though there are parts that feel less action orientated than what I remember of its predecessors, I honestly feel this game is just as good if not better than them. It also seems to have gone all out in the visuals, level design and exploration. The puzzles are tough, in particular the "mansion" area of the game where I was stuck for absolutely ages but I'm glad I persevered for that ending. There are jump scares but they are few and far between and more importantly make sense, all the games are far more reliant on the unsettling atmosphere and flashbacks.

ARK: Fear Evolved

I'm playing ARK again! I'm on a new server which belongs to a friend, the admin of the last sever decided to randomly wipe everything and change the map. Very disappointing to lose all that progress. On the plus side, less server lag now and there is no land hoarders. Currently building something secret, will post screenshots when I'm done probably but it's taking its time to plan the design which turned out to be far more complicated than I first realised and also gathering mats. Even with the gathering rate turned up a notch so much time, kind of wish they'd give some console commands so I could just spawn the components I need to finish it but I guess they're too worried I might surround their houses with pumpkins.... Speaking of which, the halloween event is on and I haven't even seen the Dodorex yet, let alone killed it. The thing is suppose to be bigger than a t-rex but is more illusive than a Quetzal and that's not for the lack of trying. I thought I might try and get the witches hat too but seeing what I need to do for that is verging on the ridiculous.

Scavenger Hunt

a bloody weapon

a torch

a body

the writing on the wall

twilight sky

stars

a pretty flower

garden equipment

a terminal

lasers

my pimped out ride

a message in neon

it has more than 2 eyes

a mythical beast

a spider

man's best friend

the massacre

death by fire

up close and personal

got you in my sights

Happy Halloween!

(source)