Back-Log #3
April, 2017
Posted: 2nd May, 2017
This has been yet another busy month.
My college just got over! Just my finals remaining! (T^T)
Which probably means I won’t be able to play much during this month either.
Anyhoo, I somehow did manage to take part in the monthly challenge.
Special thanks to Evolve for picking out these titles for me (Show/Hide)
- The Silent Age - HLTB Time: 3 Hours
- Crystals of Time - HLTB Time: 3 Hours
- Broken Age - HLTB Time: 10 Hours
- Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition - HLTB Time: 11½ Hours
- Tropico 4 - HLTB Time: 38½ Hours
Out of these, I got two games down (Show/Hide) that were the shortest :P
I wish I could’ve done Broken Age as well. I was looking forward to playing it since a long time :/
Anyway, I also added 4 titles to my library this month. (Show/Hide)
- Overlord
- LEGO Jurassic World (Birthday gift from a friend)
- Saints Row 2 (Free for limited time)
- Sparkle 3: Genesis (Free on Indiegala for limited time)
The Silent Age
5.3 hours of playtime, 24 of 24 achievements
Unique point-and-click game with clichéd story but awesome art
I got this game as a gift from a friend.
I really like the art.
It's a point and click puzzle adventure game where a random old man suddenly hands you a time machine and warns you of an impending apocalypse and you've to figure out a way to stop it.
Clichéd, I know (Even the ending is pretty predictable), but it's still fun.
You've to swap between present and future realities, collect objects and use them appropriately.
The swapping between the realities is what makes this game unique.
Screenshots
PS: You can find the same review on Steam here. So if you like it, rate it up maybe?
Crystals of Time
4.5 hours of playtime
It was meh..
It was my first HOG and it felt just okay. Nothing special.
The story is that some people, including your father, have disappeared at this mansion. And you're trying to find them.
I wouldn't recommend buying this game.
It's named Crystals of Time. Such a catchy name. You'd expect some funky time manipulation tricks and time paradox and shit like that. Like in The Silent Age. But nope!
Also, the crystals were completely redundant and replaceable in the story. The only real purpose they served was providing hints.
Screenshots
PS: You can find the same review on Steam here. So if you like it, rate it up maybe?
Classy layout. :)
Yeah, I also liked the Silent Age. Predictable and I wish it did more with puzzles, but the stylized visuals were nice and story was compact enough to keep you engaged.
Thanks! :) Though I feel your’s are prettier XD You put so much more effort into your posts :P
I completely agree with you. I loved the art. I did get stuck in the puzzles initially, before getting used to the time thingie. But the overall experience was engaging and awesome! :)
Hey, thanks. I wish I had a sense for aesthetics because I just throw colors and tabs at things. I actually like your more minimalist approach way more.
Hey you’re being too hard on yourself.
Yes I try to be minimalistic. Trying to make my stuff more compact without compromising on the content and yet making it look pleasing. So I put those collapsable show/hide lists and game reviews in tabs.
Your stuff is longer. But aesthetically, I don’t think it’s lacking anywhere. When you said “I just throw colors and tabs at things”, I was like “Is it? ._. “ Your headers are just awesome! Love them! And your placement of text and images, it’s above par too. Seriously man, IDK why you said that XD
With all the text there and with such formatting, I can already imagine how messy and cluttered the code must be becoming.
You’re doing great man! :)
Eh, it’s not really. I had some problems getting the layout the way I wanted it so I can hide my walls of text behind it and keep getting the kinks out over time with some tweaks. Very little in the layout is mine as I borrowed a lot of it from people who do actually know their code. :)
That is exactly what I do! Borrowing and tweaking XD
All the code I use is borrowed from Akantha’s profile XD
That is why I like your posts. There’s your own genuine creativity in your images :)
PS. I’m so sorry for the really late reply (._.)
“Just okay” is an apt description of Crystals of Time. It’s sort of a shame that it was your first HOG. There are many better ones out there!
Can you please name some? I’ll look out for them :)
A short, lazy answer is to recommend looking for games developed and/or published by Artifex Mundi. There are of course bad ones by them, and good ones by others. I haven’t played that many of these games, and they’re all kind of the same? But I played all of the “Nightmares from the Deep” series and enjoyed them. The “Time Mysteries” series was also pretty good if you don’t mind backtracking. These are often bundled and easy to obtain– don’t buy them retail. The newer games might have shinier graphics, which I think is a plus. I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer for you, but maybe this will get you started.
[Edit: I just realized I have a bunch of extra keys lying around. Added on Steam.]
Yeah, this is cool :)
I did notice the Artifex Mundi games in the bundles. There were a lot of SG giveaways of those too. So I didn’t think about them much.
“I haven’t played that many of these games, and they’re all kind of the same?” I understand XD A HOG is a HOG after all. But I feel at least it has to have some decent story. Y’know what I mean? Like I found CoT to be completely bland.
It’s named Crystals of Time. Such a catchy name. You’d expect some funky time manipulation tricks and time paradox and shit like that. Like in The Silent Age. But nothing!
Also, the crystals were completely redundant and replaceable in the story. The only real purpose they served was providing hints.
^ I think I should put this in the review as well :P