An Unsettling City || Vacant [Early Access] (PC)

"The world, although well-lighted with fluorescents and incandescent bulbs and neon, is still full of odd, dark corners and unsettling nooks and crannies." --Stephen King

Source: Screen Capture in Game 

Vacant is an unsettling point and click adventure created by HLNunnelly. You play as Jade, a new intern for a mysterious government agency called “The Eye”. On your first day as an intern, you get assigned to a case involving some missing people, and along with your commanding officer Hayze and his partner Jin, you have to find the culprit. 

You’re receiving strange text messages and phone calls yourself, and come to learn that the missing people were also receiving strange calls and messages. Could Jade be the next to disappear? Can Jade stop it from happening? 

Source: Screen Capture in Game

There seemed to be a lot more going on in this game, like the different planets, and aliens that were about the city. I wanted to know more about them. Many things about the game were unsettling, from the music to the strange black shadow figures, and the story itself. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. I enjoyed this game quite a bit—even though it’s in Early Access.

The graphics are nice, the character models seem vague, but that’s something I don’t mind, because then I could just fill in little details by myself. If I had read the graphic novel that the game is based off of(which I plan to do now), I may have had a clearer image also. The music and sound effects are decent. They certainly help create the atmosphere—although there were times that the sound would cut out or end prematurely (like the office sounds). 

There were some spelling errors in the game, and issues where you would have to choose all of the possible responses in order to progress or end a dialogue. From what I understand there was a lot of time constraint and this game is made by one person, so errors are to be expected in the early stages of a game. 

Source: Screen Capture in Game

I would have liked there to be more interaction around the city. The city map felt somehow empty. Perhaps a way to learn more about the world we live in? As it is, I still highly recommend the game. The ending was something else, and I wasn’t expecting it. I have no idea if I got a good or bad ending. I mean, I was alive, so I would say it was good, but it left me wanting something more. 

You can download the Early Access version of this game yourself free from Itch.io *here*. The game has also been greenlit on Steam, so look forward to that. I myself am looking forward to the full release!

Thanks for sharing some time with me today, and happy gaming!

Bell

Browser Games #5

Ohayou gozaimasu, mina-san. Good morning! Today we're going to find some more games from Itch.io that you can play right in your browser. So, no downloads, no waiting! Let's get to it!

 

1. Pie Planet: Octopus Flavor

 Source: Screen Capture

Pie Planet: Octopus Flavor is a cute little game about inhabiting a small planet and gathering resources to find a way off said planet. The game was created by FaFaStudio, and can be played in your internet browser.

This game is cute and interesting, but was a bit difficult to get the hang of. The resources you need to collect are often floating through space, and you right-click to send your octopus friend to go get it. But it seems, at least for me, the little octopus moved much slower than I did, so I would often miss the resources I was trying to collect. 

I also ran into an issue when a giant fly (alien) landed directly on top of me and glitched the game, leaving me trapped and unable to progress any further. I still found this game interesting, and think it’s worth a try. You might like it! You can play for free on the itch.io page *here*.

2. Crash Course

 Source: Screen Capture

Crash Course is a short survival game created by BrandonDiaz for the GB Jam. With the help of an artificial intelligence program known as AEGIS, perhaps you’ll be able to signal Fleet to come to your rescue. First, though, you’ll have to leave the wreckage of your ship to collect some items, and with limited oxygen outside, you’ll have to be quick. 

I really enjoyed this little game. The graphics are simple but cute, and remind me of playing old Gameboy games--it even starts up like one! (And the screen cut out looks like a gameboy too!) Overall I really enjoyed it, though the end made me a little sad. I recommend playing it for yourself *here*.

3. Get Witchy

Source: Screen Capture

Get Witchy is a flying witch simulator of sorts, created by austineast. You play as a witch and you’re flying through the night sky to collect candy, but avoid the spooky ghosts! You also have to make sure you don’t get too close to the edges of the screen, or you die. 

This game Is surprisingly challenging. You control the witch by holding the mouse button to sink, and then release the button to jump upwards. This can make it difficult to control yourself. I died most often by underestimating how far I would move and hitting the edge of the screen.

Despite that, I still had fun playing. My high score is 10 (as you can see in the screen cap), so… good luck beating that! (haha…) You can play right in your browser *here*.

4. Ink Motes

 Source: Screen Capture

Ink Motes is a strategy puzzle game created by aeveis. It involves bringing ink motes together so that they will be happy. They can only move in straight lines, though, so you also have to avoid obstacles to achieve your goal. 

The ink motes are super cute! They look sort of like more colorful versions of the soot sprites from My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. The game got challenging, and I had to really think of how to maneuver the motes to get them around the boxes. My spatial reasoning isn’t that great though, so it was extra difficult for me. 

If you like little puzzlers, then you should give this one a try! You can play it right in your browser *here*.

As always, be sure to leave your feedback for the devs! Thank you for sharing some of your time with me, and happy gaming!

Bell