Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.4 Himatsubushi
5.2 hours playtime, 8 of 8 achievements
User avg: 93%
And that was the end of Higurashi's "Questions" arc - a little bit shorter than previous games, but still good. To me personally (I've watched all seasons of anime), the story was better when it was mysterious and creepy, without answers, before they started to explain everything. Because of that, I'm not that eager to play the next couple of games in the series, but I'll be waiting for them.
INSIDE
5 hours playtime, 14 of 14 achievements
User avg: 95%
A short 2D horror puzzle game; a dark and disturbing, but outstandingly good and immersive experience! You are just a boy who needs to escape from somewhere, and that's it. You won't hear a single word, won't see any sign or inscription during the whole game, but the story it tells by its visuals, music and sounds is powerful and it's not easily forgotten (especially the last chapter, where things are getting beyond imagination). What I loved about the game, among other things, are the controls. Maybe I didn't play many 2D games to compare, but playing Inside was heaven! Jumping, grabbing things, the physics - everything was perfect, even during the unusual last part of the game. Puzzles were smart, but not frustrating - I used the guide only to find secret rooms (they are well hidden) for the achievements. The game lasts only a few hours, and it doesn't offer replayability, but I advise you to keep an eye on it during the sales - it was definitely one of the best games of 2016.
The Turing Test
8 hours playtime, 15 of 15 achievements
User avg: 90%
A worthy Portal successor! The game is very similar to Valve's creation: a girl has been woken up by an AI, and she finds herself in a series of test chambers, where she needs to reach the exit by using logic and a specially designed gun. This gun grabs and sends though a distance lumps of energy, which power up doors and machines. Despise the similarities, the game looks fresh and interesting - it's beautiful, the mechanics is nice, and "A Space Odyssey" type of story adds a degree of enjoyability. I didn't find most of the puzzles hard, but this must be a result of training by two Portals, Qube and Talos Principle =) I didn't need to use walkthrough, but I solved the last puzzle the wrong way (not using logic) - it seems that I wasn't the only one who used this method, but, at the same time, it was clearly "out of the box thinking" that the characters used to talk about.
Added:
What a coincidence, I’ve just completed INSIDE as well ^_^ And yes, the physics here is exceptional (sadly it’s not a platforming standard, even now) - basically it’s a hallmark of these series (if you can call them that, just 2 games for now). Limbo (the first game of this developer) got famous because of that. It looked like a regular 2D platformer, like any other at that time (albeit with very interesting aesthetics) and then you played it and discovered that objects have real tangible weight to them, thrown object are affected by gravity not animation arc, or that being pierced by a giant spider’s leg almost hurts inside IRL ;) Anyway, if you haven’t played Limbo, highly recommended, especially if you liked INSIDE :)
The Turing Test caught my eye the moment it came out (still waits to be played), but it’s nice to subject myself to some confirmation bias by reading positive thoughts on something I assumed I might enjoy ;)
Yep, I had Limbo in my library for a long time, but I’ve always been anxious to play it, because it is a platformer, and I’m not very good with those (to be more precise, I was so happy when I got rid of NES, because I thought I’ll never have to play 2D games again =D). But I might try it after all =)
Great games! I really enjoyed both INSIDE and The Turing Test. Congratulations :)
Congrats on the progress! Inside and The turing test looks really interesting (not that the first one doesn’t, I just don’t know much about that series)
Inside and TTT were a part of my new strategy to play games in a short time after byuing them, without adding them to the backlog =)