Offspring Fling (PC) (2012)

Offspring Fling (PC) (2012)

Relevant Links:
Offspring Fling Website
Offspring Fling (Wikipedia.org)
Offspring Fling (Steam Store Page)
Offspring Fling (PC) (MetaCritic.com)

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Overview: Offspring Fling is a puzzle platformer where you play as a mother forest creature who has lost her offspring. In each level, pick up, fling, and do whatever else is necessary to collect all your children and get them to the exit. Managed to beat the level? Now try getting the best possible time!

Carry your offspring. Note that you won't be able to jump as high.

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20140426:
In addition to the puzzle platforming element, Offspring Fling has an addictive time trial component. As such, it immediately reminded me of Super Meat Boy (PC) (2010), a platformer with a time trial component.

However, Offspring Fling levels are generally easier and less frustrating than those in Super Meat Boy. As such, getting a good enough time to achieve gold is considered par, while getting a good enough time to unlock the developer ghost* is the real challenge.

Use Down + C to drop an offspring onto the button.

In some cases, the time discrepancy between the benchmark for gold and the benchmark for the developer ghost is so large that I stop and wonder what sort of trick is required.

Overall, I'm not as compelled to get the best possible time as I would be when playing Super Meat Boy, but game's puzzle element is definitely worth the experience - at least in short bursts.

I'm not even close to the developer ghost benchmark for this level.

Steam Game Time: 1.6 hours (according to the save files, approximately half an hour in the afternoon and one hour at night)

*I'm not sure if the developer ghosts are software-assisted runs or actual recorded runs of the developer.

[20151028 Edit]

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20150421:
Today I played some more Offspring Fling. Luckily I had a backup of my previous save file and loaded it up. As such, I didn't have to start from scratch.

Tips/Discoveries:
: One way to shave off time is to only stand as close to the offspring as needed in order to pick them up.

I'm so close to the developer ghost benchmark for this level!

: An essential part of the game, but one that I forgot, is being able to drop your offspring (as opposed to flinging it*):

Drop: Down + C

: Sometimes you can toss an offspring and manage to pick it up again (before it hits the ground).
: [20151028: Apparently you can begin a jump and then pick up an offspring while maintaining the height of an offspring-less jump.]

Steam Game Time: 1.9 hours (for a total of 3.5 hours)

You can fling your offspring to break down certain walls.

*I didn't realize until today why the game was called Offspring Fling.

[20151028 Edit]

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20151028:
Today I revisted Offspring Fling for a third time and having learned a new technique* from a YouTube video, I started from the beginning and tried to make sure I had unlocked the developer ghost for each stage.

During this time, I had trouble unlocking the developer ghost for one or two stages, but also managed to beat the developer ghost for two of the stages! When that happens the game rewarded me with a white flower for that level. This suggests that it's always possible to defeat the developer ghost.

As of 20151028, I've unlocked three rainbow flowers.

*You can pick up an offspring as you begin to jump and attain the maximum height of the jump as if you jumped without the offspring.

Steam: 1.7 hours (for a total of 5.2 hours)

Legend of Grimrock (PC) (2012)

Overview: An action RPG, dungeon crawler where four prisoners join together in hopes of escaping.

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20140426:
Today I decided to play Legend of Grimrock.

Giant Snail!

Gameplay Log:
: Find equipment, weapons, and food to survive.
: The characters must be fed.
: I initially didn't understand the battle system, but eventually I learned the following:

* In the default group there's a mage. Click on his mana pool to access possible spell signs and cast spells.
* Thus far I figured out his fireball spell, but it was unclear to me how I was suppose to figure it out.
* The game's instructions regarding battle were minimal.
* For other characters, once his/her item/weapon is equipped, just right click on the item/weapon. The character will then use the item/weapon which is equipped.
* If the item/weapon equipped was a ranged item/weapon, like a rock, then the item/weapon will be thrown and you may retrieve it later. If it was a melee item/weapon, then the character will swing and there will be a cooldown period.

Introduction

:Clicking each character one at a time felt slow and inefficient. I did, however, get slightly used to kiting the enemy.
: On a different note, I didn't realize that the characters can get sleep in order to regain health and mana:

* Just press the 'zzz' button to have them start sleeping.
* Click it again to stop.

: (Tip) Use the mage to destroy!

Equip Menu

[20140426][20170324 Edit]

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Thoughts:
Pro:
+ This game felt real old school, but in a good way.

Cons:
- In-game instructions for fighting was insufficient
- I wish the battle system was more fluid.

Empty-Handed

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Summary:
Overall, I thought the game was decently fun. And while I did not get fully into it, I figured it was because I didn't grow up playing this kind of game. Furthermore, I wish the tutorial had a little bit more detail.

[20140426][20170324 Edit]

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Legend of Grimrock (PC) (2012)

Relevant Links:
Legend of Grimrock Website
Legend of Grimrock (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Legend of Grimrock (Steam Store Page)
Legend of Grimrock (Wikipedia.org)

Closure (PC) (2012)

The little balls of light float in water.

Overview: In Closure, the player manipulates light in order to get from the beginning of each level to the end (a door).

[20140426 Assumed Entry Date][20190707 Edit]

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20140426:
This was a neat puzzle platformer where the light manipulation puzzle mechanic was a unique and fun experience for me.

The goal is to get to the door.

The game has an atmosphere which is relaxing and reminded me of NightSky (PC) (2011). However, the puzzles in Closure tend to require more thinking than those in NightSky. NightSky is more like platformer with some puzzle elements whereas Closure is more like a puzzler with some platform elements.

Strategically push boxes around.

Meanwhile, the white and black color scheme of Closure reminded Limbo (PC) (2011). However, Closure isn't thematically dark like Limbo.

Regarding the game's puzzle style, I was reminded of Toki Tori (PC) (2010), because solutions felt open-ended and require the player to try several distinct actions before succeeding. This is especially true further into both games as the levels get more difficult.

Strategically adjust lamps.

Overall, I enjoyed Closure and the only reason I stopped playing was because I got stuck on a level* and was too frustrated with trying to complete it.

Illuminate the pods.

*After completing the first fifteen levels of the first door, I got stuck on the sixteenth level. I got the box up, but I couldn't push it so that it fell onto the button. I didn't know what I was doing wrong and I got tired of trying, because bringing the box up was already a tedious task.

[20140426 Assumed Entry Date][20190707 Edit]

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20140531:
Today I completed that tedious level sixteen.

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20150416:
Today I played for about forty minutes as the tall, slim girl (second world) and completed levels 1 to 14.

Proximity-censored lights.

The second world features at least two new mechanics. One is lights which shut off when the player character gets too close. Another is door locks which are opened via remote pods; keep a light shining on a pod to keep its corresponding lock open).

[20150416 Assumed Entry Date][20190707 Edit]

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20150507:
Today I played as the short girl (third world) and completed levels 1 to 21. Overall, these levels were more straightforward than many of the second world levels I have previously encountered.

Break targets with laser guns  in order
to eliminate barriers and/or light sources.

The third world features at least three new mechanics: laser guns (fire with "Shift" key or gamepad LB), spiky floors, and light-powered lights.

Unlike some puzzle games, Closure is fun, but fails to hold my interest for long periods of time. Today I played for an hour.

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20240505 Snapshot:
Today I thought about revisiting this game. Coincidentally, the developer released a maintenance update recently (20240418).

Main: 1: 16/24; 2: 14/24; 3: 21/24
Moths:* 1: 1/10; 2: 2/10; 3: 4/10
Steam Game Time: 3.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 3h 11m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20150507

*In detail: 1.15, 2.4, 2.10, 3.5, 3.11, 3.15, 3.18

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20240505:
Apparently it's been about nine years since I've last played this game. Returning to it, I found it simple enough to find my bearings.
Setup: Played with Xbox controller. Per the instructions of the maintenance update, the developer said to change the save file location in the settings file. However, I just deleted the existing "closure_001.sav" and renamed the file "cloudsave_closure_001.sav" to "closure_001.sav".

Gameplay Log:
Completed the first area
Went back to the first level looking for the moths - it seems not every level has one, but I could be wrong [update: each of the three areas has ten levels with moths and there is an ingame method to show which levels have them (collect at least 15 and find the Moth Trove)]
After some time, I went onto the second area
I stopped playing at level 20 where the key falls twice due to motion sensored lights (the lights turn off when motion is detected)
Note: there are times when a transformation cutscene occurs. this cutscene is skippable by pressing a button
Read about the existence of the Moth Trove and found it.
Completed the second area.
Tried level 22 of the third area, but I didn't know how to use the laser, so went back to level 1.
Got to the introduction of the laser and it's the "Shift" key or gamepad LB. I've edited my entry from 20150507 to indicate this as well.

Main: 1: 24/24; 2: 24/24; 3: 21/24
Moths: 1: 5/10; 2: 4/10; 3: 6/10
Steam Game Time: 7.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 3.7 hours (session game time) + 0.2 hours (blog time)

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Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Fun puzzle use of light/dark
+ Great music
+ Good artistic design
+ Simple controls

Neutral:
~ there's an implicit story, which is okay, but it would have been neat to have a more explicit story such as Shady Part of Me

Minor Con:
- Some puzzle games such as Toki Tori implement a convenient rewind button to remove the frustration of having to completely redo the level from the beginning just because of an error. This game lacks such a feature and it is unrewarding to redo a portion of the puzzle

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

[20240505]

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20240506:
Gameplay Log:
Completed the third area.
Completed the moths
Played first two levels of the fourth area

Main: 1: 24/24; 2: 24/24; 3: 24/24; 4: 2/10
Moths: 10/10; 2: 10/10; 3: 10/10
Steam Game Time: 9.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.4 hours (session game time)

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Closure (PC) (2012)

Relevant Links:
Closure (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Closure (PC) (IGN.com)
Closure (Steam Store Page)
Closure (GameSpot.com)
Closure (Newgrounds.com)

Lone Survivor (PC) (2012)

Lone Survivor (PC) (2012)

Relevant Links:
Lone Survivor (PC) (Metacritic.com)
Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut (Steam Store Page)
Lone Survivor - PC (IGN.com)
Lone Survivor (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Lone Survivor (GameSpot.com)

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20140426:
This game, while pixelated, definitely has a way of creating a scary atmosphere. There were a couple of moments where I was shocked or surprised, but overall, nothing that made me jump out of my seat.

Stare into mirrors...

The game's story is real solid. I'm really interested in seeing the rest of it.

The mechanic of the game that I don't exactly like is the need to eat and sleep. It's kind of cool and realistic, but it feels like it happens too frequently and beyond the rate at which I'm finding the food and means to eat.

Shoot to survive...

Finally, last comment for the night is that I didn't exactly find the controls to be intuitive. Perhaps I would have preferred a keyboard and mouse setup and the ability to customize the controls.

Tip: Reading the diary will tell you the latest thing that your character needs to do.

Go into strange crevices...

Tip: Shooting up is used for when the creature jumps up onto the ceiling. There is no such thing as a headshot. Just shoot straight if they're in front of you.

Tip: Combine the cheese and crackers. Note that after combining them, you will not have eaten them yet. So remember to go back into the menu to eat them.

Have hallucinations? (Is this real life?)

In any case, after talking to the director, I felt a little bored of backtracking to the various rooms and was done with the game for the night. I feel I would best enjoy this game in small doses.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if, after beating the game, that one could play through it quickly in a single sitting.

Meet "The Director"...

Shank (PC) (2010)

Shank (PC) (2010)

Relevant Links:
Shank (Klei Entertainment Website)
Shank (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Shank (Steam Store Page)
Shank (PC) (IGN.com)
Shank (PC) (Metacritic.com)

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Wall running.

20140426:
This is an awesome game. I love the combos that you can do. Some of the basic combos remind me of Alien Hominid (2004). However, the game throws a bunch of other fancy kill combos into the mix.

In addition to the killing, the game has some fun platforming elements, such as wall running and scaling walls with your knives.

One of the satisfying combos consist of jumping on an enemy, knifing him to the ground, and then, with one knife still in the enemy, drawing your gun and shooting other enemies before returning to the one on the ground and dealing him an extra shank.

In any case, if you have played and enjoyed Mark of the Ninja (PC) (2012), then you may also enjoy Shank. Made by the same developers, the two are similarly fun to play. However, while Mark of the Ninja focuses more on stealth and take downs, Shank delivers a straightforward beat-em' up and pure violence.

Overall, most people will probably find Mark of the Ninja more enjoyable, because it has a stronger storyline and less repetitive game mechanics. With that being said, there are times when one just feels like button mashing and watching a good show. For those times, check out Shank.

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20140811:
After pulling the plug on Aces Wild: Manic Brawling Action! (2014), my friend Josh and I started up Shank's co-op mode. While setting up controllers can occasionally be a headache for games,* Shank detected our Logitech controllers flawlessly.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten most of the combos and important controls. Nevertheless, the game was still a lot of fun.

We played the first two levels and would have happily played more, but it was getting late. While we were uncertain if our progress would be saved, there was nothing we could do about it anyways.

Tip: Grapple is activated by the Right Trigger. Thus, to rescue your fallen teammate, simultaneously press Down and Right Trigger.

We were so close to beating Dusty and Dewy!

*I understand that hardware and software compatibility is generally hard to ensure. Furthermore, I'm also aware that sometimes I personally have to put extra effort into controller setup because one of my controllers is quite old. Omitting some other details, buying a new controller to replace the old one will be helpful.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition (PC) (2008)

Overview: Fight as Geralt of Rivia and defeat monsters.

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Geralt (right) and Shani (left)

20140422: 00:06 ET to 01:52 ET
I really enjoyed the game's opening sequence.

While this game has a great story, the combat system was clunky and uninteresting.

Compared to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PC) (2003) or Mark of the Ninja (PC) (2012), two games whose combat system both feels and looks great, the combat system in The Witcher felt and looked horribly unpolished. Then again, perhaps the combat system just had a very high learning curve, because it requires carefully timed inputs.

Since I rarely play fighting games with timed inputs, using the combat system was difficult. As an example, I managed to get the player character Geralt to jump up onto an enemy and pull off a fancy-looking execution once out of many tries.

Triss Merigold and Geralt

In contrast, the combat in Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC) (2009) allows the player to button mash, but further rewards the player who correctly times his/her inputs. However, in contrast to The Witcher, both button mashing and correctly timed inputs look and feel great.

Of course, one of the game's selling point is its attractive women; all the women in the game are attractive.

[20140422 Assumed Post Date][20190630 Edit][20191228 Edit]

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20191228 Comment:
As a result of the recent release of the Netflix series The Witcher, the game and its sequels, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), are trending games (ranking 1, 2, and 4 on steamdb, respectively). Perhaps I'll give the game another try soon.

Steam Game Time: 103 minutes

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20191228:
While waiting for another game to download I decided to play The Witcher. I started from the beginning.

Setup: Medium. Keyboard+Mouse (can be changed during the game).

Gameplay Log:
Watched the intro cutscene.

Triss Merigold

Attack by hovering over an enemy and clicking. Initially I didn't know I had to hover over enemies. I thought it was sufficient to face in their general direction and click.
Chain attacks. Click again when the cursor changes into a flaming sword. Enemies will take more damage from chain attacks (and thus will be defeated more quickly).
Left-click a stunned opponent to finish him off.
Change to 'Fast Style' by pressing 'X' (against agile opponents)
Change to 'Strong Style' by pressing 'Z' (against larger, armored opponents)
Tip: I noticed that enemies have a circle beneath them which indicates their hitpoints.
Press Alt to highlight usable objects.
Open the inventory by pressing 'I' or clicking on the satchel icon.

Geralt narrowly escapes his death as he jumps to safety after stairs crumble beneath him.

Steam Game Time: 0.6 hours (session game time) / 2.3 hours (total game time)

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Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Good story.
+ Decent graphics.

Neutral:
~ Option for casual play via mouse only controls.

Cons:
- I'm not a fan of the fight mechanics
- Peeling away from a fight can feel clunky; for example, when the fight ends, the character should resume an out-of-combat stance and view, instead Geralt will stay fixated on the unconscious/dead body.

Inventory screen.

[20191228]

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Summary:
None at this time.

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The Witcher: Enhanced Edition (PC) (2008)*
*The Witcher (PC) (2007)

Relevant Links:
The Witcher (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
The Witcher (Wikipedia.org)
The Witcher Wiki (witcher.wikia.com)
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition (PC) (Metacritic.com)
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut (Steam Store Page)

Lunar Flight (PC) (2012)

Sparks are good, right?

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20140420:
This game is a lunar flight simulator. With no in-game tutorial, the player is expected to watch some videos and/or read the manual provided to get the textbook understanding of how the simulator works. Afterwards, the player should just play around with the game and get used to the controls. As a whole, the game is more difficult than Flight Simulator, but still a fun experience.

It takes a lot of patience and practice to complete the different missions.

The game has a high learning curve, because there are many types of motions to keep track of. This curve will be lowered by either having an intuitive understanding of flight or a theoretical understanding of physics. Even so, there are fine details which will simply require practice and patience to master.

On a related note, it takes a while to understand all the various consoles and displays.

Its hard to use fuel efficiently.

19:26 ET to 19:51 ET (Twitch.tv)* (skip to the nine minute mark)
21:58 ET to 23:49 ET (Twitch.tv)* (skip to the three minute mark)
*Twitch.tv no longer archives recordings.

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Lunar Flight (PC) (2012)

When you get bored, try plummeting to the ground at high speeds.

Relevant Links:
Lunar Flight Website
Lunar Flight (PC) (Metacritic.com)
Lunar Flight (Steam Store Page)

Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason (PC) (2009)

20140420:
While I only got to play the game for forty-five minutes before it crashed on me, I thought the game's atmosphere was excellent. In addition, I found the game exciting, because I didn't know what to expect with respect to the game's plot and was more easily spooked every now and then (see highlight).

I think the boxing part of the game is fun. At first you just learn to punch. Then the game instructs you to choose which hand you want to punch (forward jab, left, right, uppercut). Then you get to block. Then finally it shows you how to combo. There might be more, but that's as far as I got.

Unfortunately, I had trouble changing the video settings manually. In fact, I had to employ a manual fix of the config file as detailed in a Steam forum thread to even get the game working (change the resolution in the config file to the resolution of your monitor).

To top it off, I got to a certain point in the game and pressed F12 for a screenshot, at that point, the game just froze. Possible cause: while I had take several screenshots prior to the freeze, I believe it was the first time I tried taking a screenshot during a cutscene.

In any case, the freeze discouraged me from playing more right that moment. I do, however, think the game is fun enough to warrant further play in the future.

One thing to remember when that happens: most actions are taken with the right mouse button, such as warming up and opening doors. Furthermore, the game is pretty linear, so heading in the right direction will probably be simple upon resuming the game.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and would like to reiterate that I enjoyed the atmosphere of the game.

After writing the above, I read some reviews on Metacritic and they were definitely illuminating. Most reviews touch on the great story, but feel the fighting system is overly simply, the game is too linear, and the rooms become repetitive.

Twitch Recording: 12:59 ET to 14:02 ET (skip to the fifteen minute mark)*
*Twitch stopped archiving recordings.

[20140420 Assumed Post Date][20150831 Edit]

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Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason (PC) (2009)

Relevant Links:
Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason (Wikipedia.org)
Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason (PC) (Metacritic.com)
Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason (PC) (IGN.com)

Aquaria (PC) (2007)

Overview: Aquaria is an exploration (and probably eventually a shooter) game.

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Recommendation:
Without getting into too much detail, I found the pace of Aquaria to be aggravatingly slow. I also disliked the character's movements, whether its swimming, grabbing hold of a wall, or sprinting. Had the game been more of a shooter from the start (the game gives you a preview of what might be via a hallucination/vision), I might have been more interested.

In general, this game has gotten positive reviews, but as a person who enjoys action games, I would not recommend it. As far as atmospheric, exploration games are concerned, I'd recommend Dear Esther (PC) (2012).

[20150130]

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20140420:
While the start of this game seemed promising (interesting narration and story), I played for a little over forty-five minutes only to unlock two abilities: a shield and an ability to lift heavy objects.

Throwing the game a bone, perhaps it simply took me longer than the average player to find where I was suppose to be going. In my defense, the game does a horrible job of suggesting where I should be going. For example, a tooltip appears which says the white circles on the map represent new areas. What the tooltip doesn't say is that most of these white areas are actually inaccessible.

Tip: You'll see plants spread throughout Aquaria which have these colored bulbs. Continuously sing a note of the same color to get an item from within the plant. Some items can later be combined using recipes found throughout the game.

Unfortunately, I found the exploration experience dull and was hoping the game would have jumped right into the cool shooting experience. At one point I ran into this mysterious woman and temporarily played as a character who shoots projectiles. Unfortunately this experience is short and ends in death.

Curious as to whether or not I was alone in this opinion, I headed over to metacritic.com to read some other reviews. To my surprise, the game had mostly positive reviews and I was beginning to feel awkward for judging the game so poorly. There were, however, three reviews on which also thought the game was boring and suffered from poor game design.

[20140420]

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20150130:
Unfortunately, the screenshots I took during my first time playing the game got messed up (though I've had a similar situation happen to other games as well). As such, I went back into the game to take some more and I can verify that my experience this time was just as boring as the last.

I only went as far as getting a single power, running into the mysterious woman, and going a bit to the left of that before throwing in the towel as the game made me sleepy. Well, technically I was already tired from working late last night and just recently had some wine, but I'm sure there are plenty of games that would have kept me up and going until I dropped dead cold with my face on the keyboard. In contrast, I was very quick to end my experience with Aquaria.

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Aquaria (PC) (2007)

Relevant Links:
Aquaria Webpage
Awuaria (video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Aquaria (Steam Store Page)