City of Brass (AND DEEPER) - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

City of Brass is an action adventure roguelike with the goal of reaching the center of the city. You begin armed with a sword and a whip (which has several interesting uses), but can find a variety of other items available as you venture in. It's a neat game, but I personally prefer Ziggurat just a bit more. You can hear more of my thoughts on City of Brass at 2:23:56 in the video above.

BONUS GAME - DEEPER

Deeper is a dungeon crawler that replaces Diablo's character classes with dodge rolls and a speed multiplier. It's in open alpha, so expect a few bugs. If you'd like to see a playthrough with some developer commentary, it starts at 2:32:03 in the video.

Stories Untold - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Stories Untold is an adventure puzzle game with some sci-fi and psychological horror elements. The game is divided into four episodes, each with their own mechanics (from classic text adventure to codebreaking). Episodes can be played independently, but are all connected by a story (which becomes clear during the final episode).

While the game as a whole feels like it could've been longer, each episode is just about the perfect length. Doing the same kind of puzzles can get tiring after a while, but the episodes make sure not to overstay their welcome. You can find more of my thoughts on the title at 3:32:07 in the video above.

Zap Zap Zombie Cat & Cat Quest Demo - The Friday FREE GAME =DOUBLE= Feature!

It's another double feature with a theme - the internet's favorite animal, cats!

First up is Zap Zap Zombie Cats, a tower defense game. It shows some promise, but it could use some tweaking. You can hear more of my thoughts on it at 1:38:20 in the video above.

Cat Quest is an action RPG that's been polished to a shine and is about as cute as it could possibly be without crossing the line into nauseating. It feels a bit short even for a demo, but gives you a small taste of what to expect. The art and presentation are fantastic, and the gameplay is competent enough to be fun (based on what little of it there was in the demo, that is).

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.

What Remains of Edith Finch - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

What Remains of Edith Finch is a narrative exploration game about the memories of the title character and her family. The Finch clan is quite an unusual bunch, and rumor has it the family has been living under a curse for many generations. Exploring the Finch property and interacting with personal effects let you learn more about each family member.

Greetings & Concluse - The Friday FREE GAME DOUBLE Feature!

It's time for another double feature, and since we were in full spoop mode in October, here's two frightful titles!

First up is Greetings, a first-person experience that was made for the UE4 Summer Jam 2017. I can't say much without spoiling the entire game, so I'll just let what I mentioned at 19:43 in the above video stand as is.

The second title, Concluse, is a first-person horror game with puzzles and a PS1-era aesthetic. You can find my thoughts on the game at 4:01:19 in the video, which are mostly positive with some criticisms and suggestions.

Marie's Room - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Marie's Room is an excellently written story-driven point-and-click adventure. You're tasked with collecting your friend's journal penned back in highschool some 20 years ago. Thus begins a trip down memory lane with a story of friendship, love, trust, compassion, secrets, betrayal... and much more. You can find my thoughts on the game (warning, includes spoilers) at 1:49:53 in the video above.

If you'd rather skip the spoilers, here's a brief take on the game. There's a great story here told in snippets, out of chronological order. Collecting these memories fills in the journal, which lets you understand what order all the events take place. The delivery is important, and Marie's Room does a wonderful job. Each segment is short enough to keep you from getting bored, but just long and personal enough to get you invested in the characters very quickly. If you're familiar with my thoughts on Doki Doki Literature Club, you'll understand just how much I appreciate the quality (over quantity) of writing found here. Marie's Room also has a great atmosphere for such a small area to explore - again quality over quantity - and a couple surprises as well.

8Bit Killer - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Oldschool FPS action!

8Bit Killer is a retro first-person shooter inspired by classics in the genre as well as S/NES-era gaming. In the 25th century, an alien known as the Master Brain has ushered in a new era on Earth, and all who oppose it are crushed. This game is an account of the final acts of the last resistance holdouts (of which you are a member).

Cod of Duty - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Many of you might be wondering why I played this game. I did it for the halibut!

The first game for our double feature is Cod of Duty. It's a parody of the popular Call of Duty franchise that goes all in on the cod puns! Enjoy!

The second game's video and write up will be up later this week (as per usual).

Gotham City Impostors - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

It's war on the streets (and the docks and in the amusement park... okay, everywhere) between the Bats and Jokerz!

Gotham City Impostors is a multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) based loosely on the rivalry between Batman and the Joker. Instead of playing as super-powered heroes and villains though, you're more like the member of a wannabe super-gang. Armed with an assortment of wacky weapons and hastily-made costumes, you take to the streets in all-out war against the rival gang.

Black Rose - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Investigate a funeral home where the dead don't stay dead!

Black Rose is a first person horror game developed in Unity. You play as a mortician investigating an old funeral home where all its workers have mysteriously died.

GentleMoon & No Escape - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

I decided to give each game its own video instead of a "Double Feature". The second title and video can be found after the break!

GentleMoon

Escape the zombie apocalypse... by flying to the moon!

GentleMoon is a first person shooter made by the creator of the Timore horror series. As the lone survivor of the zombie apocalypse, you formulate a less-then-genius plan of escape... to the moon. To accomplish this task, you'll need a working rocket ship and some supplies. Scavenge the area and gun down any zombies that stand in your way!

I Can't Escape - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Avoid traps, tricks and a lurking ghost to find your way to freedom!

I Can't Escape is a horror-themed maze game with procedural generation. As you can probably guess, your task is to escape the maze... which is much easier said than done.

Notes of Obsession - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Search your home and descend into madness with a mysterious music box.

In Notes of Obsession, you play the mother of a small family that wakes up on a dark and stormy night in your home. The music box your husband brought home recently is playing upstairs. Investigating the sound, you pick up the music box and discover a secret. Can you figure out a way to end the madness before it overtakes you?

Blameless - The Friday FREE GAME Feature!

Escape the house of a killer in this horror puzzle game.

In Blameless you play as an architect called to help with remodeling a house. Inspecting the residence, you find a pool of blood and are knocked out by the client. You wake up to find yourself locked in the building, and will likely be killed when the man returns. You're going to have to use your wits and resourcefulness to escape both the house and the killer.

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! Ep67: The Way of Life

Play through the same life experiences as a child, adult or elder in this unusual game.

The Way of Life is an exploration walking simulator that lets you experience life from three different viewpoints. It was originally created during the Global Game Jam in 2014 and over the last couple years received updates, crowdfunding and was recently released on Steam after going through Early Access.

After playing all three perspectives in all the free levels for about 2 hours on stream, I found this title difficult to recommend to anyone. 

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep65: Grass Is No More

Mowin' the lawn, movin' the lawn!

Grass Is No More is a lawn mower driving "simulator" where you score points by cutting grass while avoiding obstacles. It was developed during a competition in a limited time, so it's not going to have all the bells and whistles that one might expect due to the deadline.

The Friday FREE GAME Feature! Ep61: Process

Stuck on a train, you have 20 minutes before it collides to your doom! Can you stop it in time?

Process is a point-n-click adventure game with a couple of interesting twists.