Chronicles of Magic: Divided Kingdoms

2 hours playtime

25 of 27 achievements (92.59%)

So I’m actually really mad because I was so close to 100%’ing this but I missed /one/ of each collectible :))

A pretty typically AM game, though I did find the story more engaging than some. A little less backtracking, too. The puzzles were extremely easy, though, which was a bit of a letdown. Worth playing if you have it, I’d say.

The Little Acre

5 hours playtime

17 of 27 achievements (62.96%)

Saw Neku’s post about it being a short but good game, so figured I’d actually have time to beat it! And I did! Huzzah!

An adorable little game about the bond of a father and daughter, and their adventures into a world found by the girl’s grandfather. A short point-and-click game with an adorable art style and a good story!

The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game

46 minutes playtime

6 of 6 achievements (100%)

Finished this bad boy at the beginning of the month but never posted this whoops.

100%, without a doubt, one of the best games I’ve ever played. I already knew a good amount of the gameplay due to watching Barry Kramer’s stream of it, but I still wanted to play it myself. And it still made me laugh and smile despite knowing most of it. Normally, I have a $1 per 1 hour of gameplay rule. I was 100% willing to break that to support this game.

It’s a cutesy little detective game with hilarious dialogue and a very spoopy story. Ghosts??? On the island ???? What do ???? Follow Detective Frog (Lobster Cop was too busy, unfortunately) as he solves the mystery of… the haunted island.

Really do recommend this game!!

LEAVES - The Journey

3 hours playtime

13 of 16 achievements (81.25%)

So, not the greatest game and not the worst. More of a neutral to positive rating here I think? I liked it, but I did have to brute force a few puzzles (as well as google one). The task of finding the inhabitants feels like an annoyance because it’s pretty much the only time you need to use the magnifying glass (aside from maybe 2 puzzles?). I wound up giving up and not grabbing the last 2 or 3 because I couldn’t remember where I’d checked, and I’m tired.
Overall, a bit of a Samorost feel, but didn’t feel as polished to me. It’s definitely cute, and I did like it. Fine at the sale price I got it for ($1.59), but I wouldn’t pay full price.

Long time no see~

Don't Disturb

30 minutes playtime

no achievements

So this game is both beautiful and short. It’s also a pretty sad story.
You play as a dog whose owner, Grandmother, passed away. Follow her into an adventure of Asian Afterlife Folklore and chose one of two paths.
The game only takes about 15 minutes to play through.

I can say that there are bugs. At the top of the elevator, I got stuck behind the people to the right and couldn't move. Had to restart. However, with how short the game is, it's not hard to replay.

HIVESWAP: ACT 1

1 hours playtime

23 of 44 achievements (52.27%)

Finally took the time to play this, and I really enjoyed it. Lots of flashbacks to highschool hours spent reading Homestuck. While the fandom grew toxic, I always did really enjoy the webcomic itself. The animation in this is so smooth, and the puzzles aren’t too fetch-y and obnoxious. I really hope they continue working on it.

The Lonesome Fog

38 minutes playtime

no achievements

Not really a game, but it’s on my BLAEO list so I’M COUNTING IT :D

A cute, short story related to the shelter 2 lore. It’s about a cub who is scared of everything overcoming her fears. It’s really short, maybe 10 minutes tops, not sure bc I read it while multitasking.

Cold Dreams

9 hours playtime

7 of 9 achievements (0%)

Decided to pick this one up again, with a walk through this time. Definitely made it easier. Turns out, I had just missed a note that told me what to do next. Go figure.

Not a great game, but not horrible Takes about a half hour, maybe? It’s really easy to get lost, though. Which is why I neglected one of the achievements that required me to go into the woods - I tried, and couldn’t find it, and didn’t want to get lost so close to the end. Honestly, wasn’t worth playing through again for the bad ending.

But at least that’s one less abandoned game and one more beaten!

I’m curious - what do you guys do when you have a SteamGifts win that you’re just… really not enjoying. I already have 4 that I’ve abandoned, and I feel very bad about it. And now I’m on a fifth that I just… ugh. I feel like I should go back and try to plow threw all of them. All of their premises looked cool when I entered the giveaways, but… in gameplay, less-so.

On Earth As It Is In Heaven - A Kinetic Novel

2 hours playtime

no achievements

I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this VN based on the reviews. Maybe it’s because I went in with such low expectations that I enjoyed it. Or maybe it’s just that I have low standards. (Probably both).
On Earth As It Is In Heaven is a Kinetic Novel, meaning no choices are made. It’s basically a picture book where the characters can blink at you. It tells the story of a heavenly scribe, life, death, and everything in between.
Let me forewarn that the grammar is… sub-par. Nothing horrible, exactly, but also not something that looks like it was read over.
However, I enjoyed the story itself, and that made up to it for me.
While I think that the price tag of $15 is very steep for this game, it’s something that would be worth picking up if you happen across it cheap or free.