Tuesday 28 January 2014

The Infinite Ocean

Created by Jonas Kyratzes 

About 30 - 120 mins







 











Ok, I reckon when you first play Infinite Ocean you will think "this is shit". However the reality is that you have no patience young padawan. In truth if you don't persevere with this game and get a slowly growing sense of trepidation and wonder, YOU are shit. Go back to Candy Crush Saga, we don't WANT you to play, bam! Ahem. That is to say, sometimes it may be challenging and I certainly needed to use a walkthrough at times. 

In short, this awkward, tense, black and white monolith slowly evolved into one of the most moving games I've ever played. Seriously, how can a progression of mostly text based blocky windows almost make a grown man cry? I've written and deleted a few sentences here before realising that I can't write any more about the story unless I want to give some of the plot away. Also I am lazy, so here is a great blog post from The Nocturnal Rambler with spoiler alerts that will give you more info than I ever could. 


The writing is amazing, the development of main character of the story is what makes Infinite Ocean so compelling. Also, it really seems that a point and click environment is the only way the story could be told to this level of effectiveness. A movie couldn't do it better, or a book. 


Dear readers, if anything justifies the existence of the point and click format, and indeed the world of casual gaming itself, it's this. Enjoy - JP

Friday 17 January 2014

Samorost

Created by Jakub Dvorský

About 10 - 15 mins




















 







I played this game in 2003 and it was instantly unforgettable, way ahead of it's time and has gained a cult following ever since. Music and sfx are brilliant, and sometimes you feel like you are playing within a piece of organic art. Amanita Design have since created a few more games, including one of the best games EVER made - Botanicula - but if you want to see where it all started this is where to go. Enjoy!  

Thursday 16 January 2014

Freedom Bridge

Created by Jordan Magnuson 

About 2 mins
















Well this is the first game that started me thinking - "Well I play so many of these damned little flash games that it would be silly not to share what I've found, maybe others with like em too". We start off my little casual gaming blog with Freedom Bridge, a "Notgame" by Jordan Magnuson. That's all I'm going to tell you. Ok, I'll tell you a little more. I never knew I could care about a moving dot until it started bleeding.