Free Itch.io Games #22

What's shakin, bacon? Today we have another small collection of free games from Itch.io that may or may not be worth your time. We'll only know by playing, so let's get to it!

1. The Hair in the Wall

The Hair in the Wall is a strange tale woven by AndreaPignataro. A long time ago I played another one of Andrea’s games called That Spongey Thing on Your Tongue, and you can find the review for that *here*. This happens to be one of her earliest works though. You play as someone who moved to a new town, a new job, ready to start a new life.

As you are settling in you notice a hair sticking in the wall of the basement. Thinking nothing of it, you pull it off and continue on. The next day you host a party and go to the basement to search for wine… and there is that hair again. Didn’t you pull that off already?

This game is short, and does a good job of building suspense. It sort of has a Junji Ito feel to it, which Andrea cited as inspiration, so well played. There are some grammar issues that don’t affect the playability of the game too much. So, if you like horror/suspense, give it a try free *here*. Just remember this is an earlier work that the developer improved on in following games.

2. Silent Crossing

Source: Itch.io Page

Silent Crossing is an atmospheric suspense game created by Lycaon. Very similar to Silent Hill fashion, you traverse a foggy town on your own, with nothing but a flashlight. The sound effects and atmospheric white noise is very unsettling, which really makes the game I think.

Overall the game isn’t bad, but there isn’t much to it either. You can always give it a try for yourself free on Itch.io *here* and let me know how it was for you!

3. If One Thing Changed

  

If One Thing Changed is a text based, emotional, choices matter story created by kahmehkahzeh. You play as a girl reliving her memories through childhood and into adulthood, and your choices shape how her childhood goes, good or bad.

My first play through I played it like I would have done as a child or adult, and got the bad end. I guess there’s no real surprise there. On my second go through, I just got ‘end’. So I wonder if there is a good end?

There are no images for the game, just text, music and sound effects. I could relate to the story. Perhaps not the content itself, but the emotions that the girl goes through are definitely familiar. The story is about 10 minutes long, and has some grammar issues, but you get the idea. You can download and play free from Itch.io *here*

4. A Melon’s Tale

A Melon’s Tale is a short and cute tale about a watermelon, created by Shelly Alon and Nikolai Reinke. You play as a watermelon that was thrown out in the trash, and now you want to help those who might just need some watermelon in their lives.

You only need to use your left and right arrow keys for this game. It’s simple, but I liked the cute visual style, and the ending was cute too. I also enjoyed the music and sound effects. The music and graphical style together almost made it like a children’s story book.

You can download it and try for yourself free on Itch.io *here*

Thanks for stopping in once again! You have no idea how much I appreciate you all. I hope you found a game worth playing, so I hope you enjoy. Happy gaming!

Bell

Free Itch.io Games #9

Hello, Friends! Here we are again, ready to dig through the deep reaches of Itch.io to find the most interesting games we can find and, hopefully, a hidden gem or two. If you don’t mind, let’s get right to it!

1. Forget Away

Source: Itch.io Page

Forget Away is a short sort of a mystery game with a surreal feel to it created by joot. You play in a first person perspective and get to explore a mysterious cabin for clues about what is going on. The entire experience was confusing and rather surreal. From the clues in the cabin you can determine that Nora and Kina were in a sort of hot and cold relationship, and had their own fair share of issues. We can also see that they were involved in an accident, and Nora did not survive the ordeal.

I had some trouble putting my ideas about the game into words, however, Angry does a good job in his Youtube video *here*. You can also download the game to try for yourself free from Itch.io *here*.

2. That Spongy Thing on Your Tongue

Source: Itch.io Page

That Spongy Thing on Your Tongue is a strange and twisted tale created by Andrea Pignataro. I didn’t know what to make of this game on my first play through. You are playing as a man, who seems to be being held against his will by a woman. The woman’s monologue will tell a bizarre and unsettling story. I played through this game twice because the first time kind of went over my head.

I don’t want to spoil the game for anyone who plays it, so I can’t say too much. However, the conclusion that I came to at least, was a surprising twist. It does touch on some rather taboo topics, such as a stalking relationship, obsessive or delusional love, and it also swaps the typical genders that you see these behaviors from. A female stalking a male is much less talked about than the other way around. The game was quite an interesting experience, and you can download and play the game for yourself from the Itch.io page *here*.

3. You Were Made for Lonliness

Source: Itch.io Page

You Were Made for Lonliness is a text based interactive story created by Tsukareta, which is comprised of a large team of individuals. You can find detail on each of them on the Itch.io page for YWMFL *here*. In YWMFL, you are an android who has been purchased and awoken after a long slumber. This story takes place in the future, after a cataclysmic event called “The Fall” and what remains of humanity has taken to colonies in space to live.

This game is like reading a novel. I will tell you now, if you don’t enjoy reading, you will not enjoy this game. I did enjoy it. It felt confusing, but enthralling all the same. It made me think of a TV show that is out now called Humans, where there exist androids with expanded consciousness. This topic has always fascinated me. From what I gathered, it seemed that our android has been filled with a multitude of memories, many you will experience through the game. I couldn’t quite decide myself if these memories were past incarnations of her consciousness, or if someone simply stored a bunch of other peoples’ memories inside of her.

Whatever the case, this text adventure wove quite a tale of love, loss, and finding your independence. It is a long experience, so settle in and relax with this story. You can experience this game for yourself, by downloading from Itch.io *here*.

4. Continuum

Source: Itch.io Page

Continuum is an exploration puzzle game created by Baku, the same bloke who made Blomst from a previous entry (*this one*). In Continuum you are a ghost, but for some reason you haven’t moved on from this earthly plane yet. In order to do so, we have to go back and relive some of our strongest memories. Perhaps it’s that “life flashing before your eyes” moment?

This game was creative and well done. The atmosphere is fitting, I like the Limbo style characters, but the music can seem a little more suspenseful than I thought was appropriate. I felt the game was more sentimental and though some more relaxing music would have fit better. The game advances by you making rotations around a looping scene, which was an interesting mechanic. It’s short, about half an hour long, but I recommend you try it for yourself. You can download free from Itch.io *here*.

As always, please be sure to leave your words of encouragement or helpful criticism on the creator’s Itch.io page. Doing so helps them continue to improve their skills and content.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell