Hyper Light Drifter - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Hyper Light Drifter is an action adventure title influenced by classics like Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, only cranked to eleven in terms of scale. A number of large zones are immediately open to explore, but dozens of areas are either cleverly hidden or locked away. This game doesn't just reward you for exploration - it kind of requires it. Earning upgrades and finding some of the keys (or other unlock mechanisms) means scouring every inch of the map looking for hidden paths.

The Witness - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

The Witness is an open world puzzle and exploration game that feels somewhat like an updated version of Myst. You awake on an island that's seemingly been abandoned, with all manner of unusual devices strewn about. Logic is vital to progression, as entire sections of the island are locked away until you can solve the puzzling nature of the devices. 

The early areas of this game are right up there with Portal in terms of teaching the player, which is no small feat considering it uses no dialogue to do so! The difficulty spikes a bit later on, especially if your exploration takes you to an entirely different part of the island! Overall, The Witness seems like an interesting title that puzzle-solvers should be fairly entertained with. You can hear more of my thoughts on the game at 4:25:58 in the video above.

Slime Rancher - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Slime Rancher is a sandbox farming simulation game with elements of exploration and experimentation in a colorful, stylized world. You play as a young rancher learning the ropes of the business on a far away planet. Though a long way from home, you still have access to your entrepreneurial network, including a trade station and personal messages via spacemail! It's a cute and mostly relaxing game, but there's quite a bit of depth in the whole slime-ranching system, particularly when it comes to the largo hybrid slimes. You can hear more of my thoughts on the game at 3:08:30 in the above video.

Axiom Verge - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Axiom Verge is about as close as one can get to Super Metroid (in terms of gameplay - the story is much, much different) yet still be unique. You play as a scientist that wakes up in a bizarre world after an experiment gone awry. As a fan of metroidvanias in general, I was quite happy with this title. Some of your acquired abilities differ slightly from Samus' skillset, but they're still interesting and offer new design space to challenge players with.

You can find a few more of my thoughts on the game at 4:01:12 in the above video, but it's safe to say this one is worth grabbing!

Worlds Adrift - Prepare to Be Bored, Dead! - MMOMG

I began writing up this post by detailing my short time in Worlds Adrift back in early July. I fully intended to drop a laundry list of complaints I had with the game, complete with links to forum threads showing how many others were aggravated by the same things. Upon browsing the Worlds Adrift site and forums, I realized that its developer (Bossa Studios) recently addressed a number of issues I had... though others have cropped up in the meantime and some of the larger problems still exist. As usual, I'm getting ahead of myself again - let's get the basics out of the way first!

The Way of Cinnamon - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Return to the days of early 3D platformers!

The Way of Cinnamon is a 3D platformer with elements of exploration and puzzle solving. Armed with a magical shield, you play as Cinnamon, who sets out to rescue his red panda family from a gang of snow leopards.

The Plan & Onirim - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

It's a double feature this time with a short exploration title and a mystical solitaire card game!

The Elder Scrolls Online - Weeks 1 & 2: The Biggest Gatekeeper - MMOMG

The first MMOMG episode for TESO is finally here... and only a couple of weeks late!

It's been tough finding time to get these done. I'm reconsidering the entire format, but the devil's in the details.

I like the idea of progression throughout the month, learning how characters improve and the game systems work. It's also easier to find the footage you want when you only have to sift through a week or so of material instead of an entire month.

I dislike the thought of making a single long video (really anything over 15 minutes is too long) of any kind, let alone for an MMO. There's some things that require a bit more explanation to cover, and trying to pack that all into one video is just a bad idea.

These are the main factors for why episodes every week or two seem to make the most sense. This particular episode took a lot longer to write too - I scrapped and rewrote a large portion of it when I realized it was more detail than I really needed. In general, the process of writing the script takes me way more time than I'm comfortable with, but I haven't been able to get faster at it. Something to look into, I guess.

Uurnog - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Explore and collect in this open world puzzle platformer!

Uurnog is what happens when Super Mario Bros. 2 and Metroid spend a drunken night together, do things they regret, and ultimately put the result up for adoption to be raised (or more accurately, left unsupervised) by Doug Rattman, who has recently become obsessed with creating music.

Jotun: Valhalla Edition FREE on Steam & GOG!

Jotun: Valhalla Edition is an action exploration game set in Norse mythology. Unleash the elemental Norse giants to prove yourself worthy of Valhalla! You can get the game FREE for a limited time on both Steam and GOG!

Fairy Song - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Explore a strange world and discover your purpose in this open-world adventure.

Down the Rabbithole - Hayven Games (WoW Exploration)

Videos exploring the hidden or hard-to-reach places in WoW are what really got me interested in the game many years ago. While watching some random videos today, I stumbled upon Hayven Games, a channel devoted to finding the really hidden stuff. Take the above video for example - a look at an alpha version of Ironforge with two tiers, an entirely different Great Forge area and tram lines running to both Stormwind and Gnomeregan.

My interest in WoW dropped right around the time Hayven's channel began, so it's no wonder I haven't noticed this awesome channel until now. I'll certainly be sinking a few hours of free time into these videos, taking in sights of things that never saw the light of day. There's just something about seeing these alternate/hidden versions of the game I find intriguing, even though I have no interest in the title itself anymore. Nostalgia obviously plays a part of it, but I think it's more about imagining what could've been.

Eschalon: Book I is FREE on GOG!

Eschalon: Book I is an open-world, turn-based, isometric RPG from 2006 built in the style of classics such as Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate and Fallout. The game focuses on character customization with lots of skills available (including a cartography skill that affects your game's auto-map). In addition to HP, you also have to manage hunger and thirst, and overall this title does little hand-holding.

Considering it's currently free over at GOG.com, you might as well pick it up and give it a try! Oh, it's probably worth noting that it's available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep76: Electric Highways

A first-person journey through a bizarre virtual world...

Electric Highways is an exploration game set in a future where people live almost entirely in a virtual reality on the web. You play as a virtual engineer taking a final look at your current project before it goes live.

I was interested in trying this game because I enjoyed The Mask Reveals Disgusting Face - a horror game made by the same developer (Zykov Eddy). As with TMRDF, this title also features visually striking and atmospheric environments. Each level is unique and interesting to explore, with decent overall pacing. I was expecting there to be more puzzles, but looking back I think they would've only slowed down the game with extra backtracking. As it is, Electric Highways is more of a walking simulator with a character that actually moves at a decent speed.

While the game has a great visual style with a decent splash of mystery and weirdness, I wasn't too keen on its ending. Unless I missed something, it felt really ambiguous and left several large unanswered questions... which might be exactly what was intended. I feel that Electric Highways may be one of those games that focus more on the journey than the destination, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that.

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep66: Project Adventure Game

Challenging Metroidvania-style platformer!

Project Adventure Game is a difficult but rewarding exploration platformer. It plays similarly to classics like Metroid or Castlevania, requiring you to learn the patterns and moves needed to survive an area with save points being few and far between.

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep54: Transcendence

Space exploration, combat and roleplaying with roguelike elements!

Transcendence is a sci-fi space game where you pilot a ship on a divine mission to reach the galactic core. You can choose from three different starting ships - freighter, yacht or fighter - depending on your playstyle. Beginning at the Sisters of Domina outpost, you're given some basic missions to get acquainted with controls and game mechanics important for your journey.

One of the game's strong points is its variety of options. While your choice of starting ship can affect your success at certain missions, you can always upgrade your ship with an assortment of weapons, armor and devices (and later on purchase entirely different vessels) assuming you have enough credits.

The title has a high amount of replayability as well. In addition to piloting a different class of ship, each new game has some amount of procedural generation to keep things fresh. If that wasn't enough, there's even an array of expansions and mods to provide you with more campaigns. options, content and missions.

I don't have much in the way of negative remarks for this title, but I'll mention what few small gripes I have for sake of disclosure. I couldn't seem to find a reliable way to stop/brake my ship - the period key supposedly does this, but it didn't work for me. Also, a recent update added in-game music, but it seems to only have one song which plays just once, leaving you with the silence of space afterwards. I assume that a patch will likely fix that issue soon enough though, either with more tracks and/or a looping feature.

Those minor issues aside, Transcendence is a great game that provides a plethora of space exploration, combat and trading goodness!

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep49: Into the Underdusk

Retro platforming adventure!

Into the Underdusk is a retro-styled platformer created using the Multimedia Fusion engine. You play as the last remaining person in a world now shrouded in darkness. You're losing your memory and decide to seek out a locket you had long ago.

The game features classic pixel graphics and tight controls. You'll spend most of the time trying to navigate each screen's obstacles, dying until you get it right. Thankfully, there are numerous checkpoints scattered about, giving a "difficult but fair" level of challenge overall.

As you explore, you'll encounter a number of glowing blue collectibles and other power-ups that improve your character (speed increase, double jump, etc.) and allow you to explore previously unreachable locations. 

There are many similarities between Into the Underdusk and You Have To Win The Game, so if you enjoyed one of these titles you should probably check out the other. Both are short but sweet classic-styled platformers with a few (more modern) improvements.

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep41: A Night in the Woods

A haunting look at survival in a dark and lonely future.

A Night in the Woods is an interesting experience. I'm inclined to call it art more than a game, as there's not much mechanically going on... but it makes up for that big time with atmosphere and exposition.

The title screen appears briefly, then drops you right into the game itself. It's dark, and you've stumbled upon what seems to be a long-abandoned town, though the street lights are still functioning perfectly. Crickets chirp in the background, but it's otherwise quiet. Being dark and cold, you're tasked with collecting scrap paper for kindling.

At first glance, the game appears to be a horror title. It has a dark and lonely setting, you've no way to defend yourself, and early on you find a flashlight. This keeps you guessing as to if there's any danger ahead, bringing the tension up a bit.

As you scavenge for kindling, you discover notes, books and newspapers hinting at what led to the world you now inhabit. The game gives us a glimpse of a possible (and rather bleak) real-world future based on present day issues.

A Night in the Woods is a thought provoking and atmospheric title with a cautionary warning as to where we may be headed. I felt like I was inside an episode of The Twilight Zone, which made for a unique and satisfying experience.

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep31: Naev

Trading, combat and exploration in space!

Naev (Not Another Escape Velocity) is a single-player open-world sandbox space title. You begin with a basic ship and make your way through the cosmos completing jobs. Each system has a number of locations, most of which contain NPCs, missions, goods and ways to upgrade your ship.

The game boasts a multitude of options in terms of customizing your ship and ways to earn money. The overall map is always the same, but missions and NPCs vary greatly with each playthrough providing a fresh experience with each game. There's an overall story you can follow, but it's often lucrative to find side missions to complete while working on the main quests.

Naev is open source - there's a number of mods available and even alternate versions of the game with different content. It's a fun title and definitely worth a look if you like open-ended space games.

WAR Stories - Lands Most Odd

Welcome to what I believe will be my final tale from adventuring in Warhammer Online. This one is actually less of a story and more of a "look at what I found" kind of post, so enjoy the show!

Stinkvat, the Explorer

After the first server merge, Stinkpot the goblin shaman needed renamed. I think the game recognized the word 'pot' and thought I was making a drug reference in my name, so I had to alter it. Once I got things straightened out, I set off exploring, questing, and grinding achievements.

Eventually I got bored and started wondering if the game had any hidden areas... and if I could find them. I used to explore all types of hard-to-reach places in WoW via careful jumping and those wonderful Noggenfogger potions and figured it was worth trying in WAR as well. It turned out there were many spots to go exploring, and even a few surprises to be found!

I'd like to explain the wheres and hows of getting to these spots, but I did this a number of years ago and have since long forgotten all that. On to the pics!

I found these guys not long after hopping up some foothills and exploring the highland a bit. I've never actually seen test NPCs hidden in a live MMO before, so I thought this was an exciting find!

Unfortunately, they didn't do much but walk around in a little group. My guess is someone was testing how a patrol of several members would work and forgot to remove them.

Moving on, I made my way to a canyon of some kind. I peered over the edge to discover some missing terrain, which is common when exploring these areas.

What was not common was the castle hidden underneath! From this angle I could see a large hallway, but it seemed there was much more to it.

Following the edge, I ended up at a zone line and could see even more of this hidden fortress. By the design it appeared to be a High Elf structure, and I was worried it could contain guards that would be none too pleased at the sight of a goblin wandering around. I kept my distance a good while and sought out a way to view the place from a different angle.

Working my way around the building, I found some water to swim in that allowed me to see from underneath the terrain.

I swam around the castle, snapping these images as I went.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be no safe route back out of the water I had gotten into. This is also common - you're in a place you're not intended to be and often there is no way back. Curiosity got the better of me, and I had to get closer...this was the end result.

 As you can see, there clearly were NPCs in the castle. I think I died from falling out of the world, I don't really remember. In any case it was a fun little journey and I got to see things not meant to be seen.