Mid June Update!

Imposter Factory is a game made by Freebird Games and is the fourth game in the "To the Moon" series. It isn't required that you play the other games to understand this one. You will get more out of the story if you have played the others because there are little Easter eggs that refer back to previous games.

The game contains three major acts. The first part was the most interesting to me. It has the most mystery. The next two acts are more straightforward and story-heavy. The final act was my least favorite, but in the end, it still hits you with a powerful conclusion. 

Imposter Factory is, in my opinion, beautifully written and just as emotionally impactful as the others. I would personally rank it in second place. Behind "To the Moon" but in front of "Finding Paradise." The gameplay is very simplistic. It has even less gameplay than the others. Walking and reading make up all of the gameplay. It's pretty much a visual novel or a walking simulator. If that doesn't bother you then I definetely recommend the game. Especially if you are a fan of the others!

In untitled Goose Game, you play a menacing goose who is on a mission to terrorize the locals and cause fear amongst your neighbors, one honk at a time.

The game is short, fun, and very indie. You are given a check list of things to do, which usually involves messing with the people in town. The gameplay is mostly finding solutions to the puzzles on the checklist. The real appeal is getting to play a meddling goose. 

Even if there is a list of objectives, you can still go around and trigger other events that aren't listed on the paper. The solutions are fun to solve, and if you want to maximize gameplay, you can ignore the list and try to find the solutions on your own. I'm not a huge fan of puzzles, so I just breezed through it, but the game could probably be stretched to more than double my playtime. There are also post-game objectives that I haven't completed yet! 

Overall its very short but also very charming. I recommend it, but maybe on sale since it has been out for a while now. 

A Story Beside is a story-driven rpg-maker game with choices. It takes place in a world with warriors, brave heroes, and treacherous villains. Shadows that plague the town, causing death and destruction….  but you don't need to worry about any of that.. You play as a girl named Lyric, who runs a cozy inn with her family in a quiet mountain village called Pyreside. Lyric doesn't care much for warriors and definitely isn't the type to go on adventures. She is content just living the small village life.

What makes this game different from others is that it's an rpg fantasy game told entirely through the eyes of a bystander. An innocent civilian who just wants to live a cozy, normal life in a small town. As you play, you jump through different time periods of Lyric's life and make choices that affect the villagers, your life, and the town you live in. After tragedy strikes the village, you will grow and connect with your character, Lyric, and all of her neighbors. The choices in the game actually do make a big impact on the story. There are choices that you don't know are choices, and there are choices that affect the game hours after you've made them.

Overall, A Story Beside has a beautiful and touching story. It touches on subjects such as family, friendship, tragedy, sacrifices, struggles, and just how we view the life that we live every day. This game isn't for people who want an action adventure game. It has minimal gameplay and is very story heavy. 

I would give the game a much higher score if there wasn't a few issues I had with it. It does have a few bugs. Most of them minor but there is a very annoying one that made me restart the game at least 3 times. Occasionally, when I clicked on something to examine it, the game would get stuck on the dialogue box and freeze.

Another issue is the replayability. It actually has great replay value due to the choices, but there aren't any settings that make it easier or more fun the second time around. The walking speed for Lyric is slow, and there isn't an option to skip the long scenes that play out. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this game. If you want to know what it's like to play a civilian in a hero centric world, this is the game for you. 

Scheming Through the Zombie Apocalypse is a story-driven comedy game about a dog and an old rabbit trying to survive the apocalypse. You spend most of the game convincing other animals to scavenge resources and occasionally making small choices. It's labeled as a point-and-click game, but it's more like a visual novel. The appeal comes mostly from the comedy and characters. The voice acting is surprisingly good and incredibly fun. The humor is hit or miss, but if you like dark and somewhat crude humor, you'll probably enjoy it. The jokes mostly land, and the voice actors do a great job at landing them. There isn't much to say, but the game is just a fun time. I had a lot of fun playing it. It feels like a proper hidden gem, and I hope they eventually make a part 2.