RE: Steam Winter Giveaway 2017 [Round One - Partridge in a Pear Tree]
01-11-2017, 08:41 AM
Random assortment of recommendations:
Ark: Survival Evolved is probably the only multiplayer crafting/survival sim that actually churns out quality material. It's one part Minecraft, one part DayZ, and three parts Pokemon tamer. The devs keeps adding cool and varied dinos for you to tame and ride and stuff. Little heavy on the hardware, but it's like honest to god a 3D Pokemon MMO in there.
Lethal League is a crazy fun fighter-lite in the vein of Divekick. 2-4 players smack a ball around the screen trying to knock each other out with it, all the while the ball is accelerating. Things quickly devolve into a chaotic blend of button mashing and clutch hits as the speed starts warping reality. Great party game, invokes a lot of excited yelling every time I play.
The Talos Principle potentially my favorite first person puzzler. While not very mechanically innovative (think all the Portal puzzle objects only without a portal gun) the puzzles themselves are all very well designed and in abundance. There's even a series of next tier objectives scattered throughout that reward you for outside-the-box break-the-system thinking. On top of all that is a thoughtful philosophical story about the nature of humanity.
Crypt of the Necrodancer is your standard dungeon delving roguelike except that everything is done to the rhythm of the beat. Movement, attacks, monster powers are all synced to kickass dance music in the background (or import your own if you've refined tastes) requiring you to step in time if you hope to survive. All the monster and boss designs are great and it has honestly one of my favorite soundtracks of 2015.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is one of the stronger walking simulators out there simply because they get the tone so right. You're a detective tasked with discovering the fate of a missing boy, using supernatural deduction abilities to piece together the series of events that led to his disappearance. This game rightfully earns its Lovecraftian tag by invoking the mysterious and maddening without an over-reliance on tentacles or unpronounceable elder gods.
The Wolf Among Us is Telltale's mystery thriller set in the Fables universe (fairy tale creatures are hiding in New York after being exiled from their homeland, pretty great comic series). Play as Bigby Wolf, the fable sheriff, as you follow the trail of a murderer deep into the seedy underbelly of fable-run crime rings. Excellent juxtaposition of fairy-tale characters and classic noir tropes. Certainly augmented by reading the comic series, but not necessary to enjoy the story.
Ark: Survival Evolved is probably the only multiplayer crafting/survival sim that actually churns out quality material. It's one part Minecraft, one part DayZ, and three parts Pokemon tamer. The devs keeps adding cool and varied dinos for you to tame and ride and stuff. Little heavy on the hardware, but it's like honest to god a 3D Pokemon MMO in there.
Lethal League is a crazy fun fighter-lite in the vein of Divekick. 2-4 players smack a ball around the screen trying to knock each other out with it, all the while the ball is accelerating. Things quickly devolve into a chaotic blend of button mashing and clutch hits as the speed starts warping reality. Great party game, invokes a lot of excited yelling every time I play.
The Talos Principle potentially my favorite first person puzzler. While not very mechanically innovative (think all the Portal puzzle objects only without a portal gun) the puzzles themselves are all very well designed and in abundance. There's even a series of next tier objectives scattered throughout that reward you for outside-the-box break-the-system thinking. On top of all that is a thoughtful philosophical story about the nature of humanity.
Crypt of the Necrodancer is your standard dungeon delving roguelike except that everything is done to the rhythm of the beat. Movement, attacks, monster powers are all synced to kickass dance music in the background (or import your own if you've refined tastes) requiring you to step in time if you hope to survive. All the monster and boss designs are great and it has honestly one of my favorite soundtracks of 2015.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is one of the stronger walking simulators out there simply because they get the tone so right. You're a detective tasked with discovering the fate of a missing boy, using supernatural deduction abilities to piece together the series of events that led to his disappearance. This game rightfully earns its Lovecraftian tag by invoking the mysterious and maddening without an over-reliance on tentacles or unpronounceable elder gods.
The Wolf Among Us is Telltale's mystery thriller set in the Fables universe (fairy tale creatures are hiding in New York after being exiled from their homeland, pretty great comic series). Play as Bigby Wolf, the fable sheriff, as you follow the trail of a murderer deep into the seedy underbelly of fable-run crime rings. Excellent juxtaposition of fairy-tale characters and classic noir tropes. Certainly augmented by reading the comic series, but not necessary to enjoy the story.