SummerAzure 2019 Challenge Post

I had problem to find “ugly game”.
GAUGE is about killing your spacebar. Sudden colour changes, random backgrounds and blurry, grainy graphic made me sick. Can be addictive for some people.

Goat Simulator - Comedy
Better than I thought, but it shouldn’t be played for too long. This joke is funny for one/two evenings, after that it won’t have that weird charm anymore. It’s one of those games that are great in bundles or during sales but you shouldn’t buy it for full price - one big glitch, hurting your eyes :slight_smile:

3 Likes

Rakuen
I two months ago I’ve given up after first arc. I had a lot of problems in reality and It made me too depressed. I new it’s about escaping from the hospital into imaginery land. No one said it’s palliative care unit. Mom and a Boy uses fairytale book as a way to explain such problems as brain cancer, coma from near-drowning etc. I managed to finish despite of waterfalls of tears.

2 Likes

Mountain is more than interactive screensaver or digital aquarium that you can play in a window for relax. The main hero is a mountain floating in abyss of universe. It’s a metaphor of pure human concious. Mountain is able of thinking and contemplates passing time - “I can’t properly describe today’s brilliance”. But a lot of various things arrives from every direction. They land with a bang and they make a noise when clicked. Cars, batteries, gramophones, fruits. They kill trees (primal innocence) of the mountain and try to spoil it’s thoughts - “All of this is for me. It must be for me”. But mountain is stronger and keeps talking about the weather.
You can play music with keyboard keys. At first it sounds like a piano for kids - but playing popular children tunes unlocks new weather modes with occult symbolism. Rain of blood (self explanatory), frogs (quasi-biblical plague), money or hearts (desires that block you from your true nature). Finally one of the tunes brings Apocalypse. For some mountains it’s star falling from the sky like in Revelation Book. Sometimes it’s sick devilish shape. My mountain was killed by giant ice-cream, that symbolises both gluttony and emotional coldness.

4 Likes

Stealth game - Thief
That game wasn’t a success and it’s easy to see why. It’s a bit ugly, all things look wet and dirty and most of the locations are greyish green. Its XIX’s London mood is intentional and there is very little “fantasy” elements. Gameplay is a bit repetitive but I liked that slow pace - I’ve spent more than 30 hours because I was looking for secret passages and loot. Even on master level of difficulty, it’s the kind of game I can play in bed :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Shooter Gryphon Knight Epic
Good Shmup game :slight_smile: I liked boss fights that required different tactics, and weapons with different projectiles. Stages are short but with detailed pixel art. The story and heroes are pure cliché but thanks to retro feeling it wasn’t annoying. Three levels of difficulty are great idea, the game can be easy (but not too much, you still have to focus on the screen) or very challenging. I played on keyboard instead of recommended gamepad and had no problem. I finished main story with secret ending in less than 5h, but I replayed some stages to buy new upgrades. I think that it can be beaten in 3h.

1 Like

Finished Group 2 !
MUSIC GAME - immortal Audiosurf :musical_note::notes::headphones:

In my memory the graphic looked better -but it’s still a great game, even after 11years :smiley: I tried another music-racing games (like Beat Hazard or Symphony) but the Audiosurf’s “roads” are so smooth! There are 3 difficulties and different “ships” with special moves (like erasing a color or saving block for later) that make the same track different.
The little problem is that you need your own music and I don’t have mp3 anymore because I use Spotify. I managed to find Adele’s “25” and finished that album a few times.

1 Like

Number in the title: House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame
I love very bad monster movies! Actually “The Killer Shrews” (1959) is one of my favourite movies of all time. :slight_smile: I recommend to watch it without checking the plot or photos and spoiling the fun. I cannot stand romantic comedies, only ridiculous movies makes me laugh.
Serpent flame is silly HOPA about giant snakes that jumped from the ground . It’s 6 years old, but in comparsion to other casual titles, was very well made. Except main heroine which looks… like a cheap doll? I would love more cutscenes with snakes (budget cuts :frowning: ) But I think I have to cheer up myself with “The Brain from Planet Arous” or even worse “Attack of the Crab Monsters” (both made in 1957).

Capital letters in the title OVIVO

It’s simple, short (4 hours with all optional “symbols” found) but very beautiful platformer with ambient soundtrack that really makes the mood. You can say that something only white and black is minimalist but that’s not true! I love the tiny details and different art styles - levels are inspired by plants, mazes, fractals, gears etc. Every part of the levels is carefully shaped and you won’t be bored by graphic “made of blocks”. It’s mechanic of “gravity up and down” is similar to my beloved “ibb & obb” - to win you need both good timing when switching gravity and a bit of logic.

2 Likes

FINISHED GROUP 1
Based on / inspired by true events - Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
I abandoned this game month+ ago but my pride was calling for revenge. Developers thought it’s great idea to shoot “ghosts of our past” in the MIST during final battle :smiley: The rest of the game on hard mode was challenging but not frustrating.
In Call of Juarez main character tells people in saloon a story of his life. The player fights multiple characters from Wild West like Jesse James. Some gunfights are historical but number of enemies is surreal - and it’s pointed by “listeners” a lot of times.

“Silas: Right about then I was attacked by some A…e on a gatling gun.
Jack: Seems like you run into a lot of them…
Silas: A…es?
Jack: Gatling guns!”

2 Likes

I finished Scribblenauts Unlimited for character - child category
English isn’t my first language & I could learn a lot of new words :slight_smile:
Making a throne instead of bench for tired old lady is a lot of fun.

I also finished Burly Men at Sea - interactive story book for kids. I was tempted by reviews but I’m much too old for this.

But then my time at work was a disaster - all Saturdays with AutoCAD made me sooo tired my speed decreased a few times. Overhours are b… So I’ve made some big cuts and chosen only 4 categories to finish.

PILE OF SHAME

I’ve played a lot of Hidden Object Games, especially “Nightmare from the Deep” trilogy - I used to love Pirates of Caribbean (as everyone I suppose). As a teenager I had my big closet fully covered in posters with O.B. :flushed:

Battle Chef Brigade is a hack & slash mixed with hand-drawn 2D platformer mixed with match-3.
I loved the plot: when fantasy land was overriden by monster beasts, they have eaten “normal” animals so the people where starving. But then some guys discovered “BBQ Dragon Shank” or “Steamed Hydra Rolls” & cooking became the most elite profession in the kingdom.

I’m currently playing Uncanny Valley - it’s pixel art horror sf but the title explains the plot twist - so it’s a bit boring. Uncanny valley - Wikipedia

I need game from 90’s to finish group so I bought Myst on Winter Sale. I’m spending New Year with my laptop & big fluffy cat again.

TITLE THAT CONTAINS

Super / Ultra / Mega or similar - I replayed arcade game Super Hexagon. It’s supersimple game about moving cursor around the obstacles, my average playtime is 30 seconds :crazy_face: The stage constantly flashes and changes direction of swirling what makes you dizzy but is addictive like vodka.

Name of character / place - I played hack’n’slash Victor Vran but I don’t recommend it - I thought it’s something like “Van Helsing” but almost all enemies are spiders and skeletons. And there is 0% chemistry between characters.

Colour - Black the Fall - it’s a logic platformer and an allegory of communistic regime in Romania. I’m also from post-communistic country, and loved the grim atmosphere. I’m not sure if the symbols are clear for outsiders without historical knowledge - but devs explained a lot on their blog.

5+ words - ugly, hilarious adventure game, about 40min of gameplay The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game. I don’t believe someone made it - and there is a sequel.

Signs - Void&Meddler is cyberpunk adventure game but the main thing is it’s music - “cold and shamanic rhythm of synthesizers” - trippy. It’s on Spotify.

1 Like