Free Itch.io Games #13

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a great day. Today we're here to take a look at another batch of free games that can be found on Itch.io. I'm trying to increase my upload schedule so I'll be trying to get through more games, at least through the summer while I'm out of school. Let's get to games, then, shall we?

1. Basalt

Source: Screen Capture in Game

Basalt is an atmospheric game that utilizes seismic waves created by Nicholas Kaman, Taylor Yoon, Reed Erlandson, and Felix Peaslee. You play as a strange, unnamed, and for some reason naked, character, and your goal is to make it to the overturned turtle to help it get back on its feet. I know this from playing, there is no exposition or explanation before the game starts.

I think the level design and enemies are interesting. I love the use of seismic waves as attacks, using them to sort of knock your enemies away in to the water.  The controls felt very sloppy and floaty, so the character could be hard to control at times. Sometimes, I would sometimes find myself dead without having hit the water, simply because I was close to an edge. 

The game is short, only one level, which took about 8 minutes to complete through (including all the times I died), but I think it’s an interesting little experiment. The mechanics need improvement, but the idea is a solid one, I think. I’d like to see the developers refine the idea, improve the controls and mechanics, and the ending result would be a wonderful game, I feel. You can try this little game for yourself free from Itch.io *here*.

2. Mind Over Matter

Source: Screen Capture in Game

Mind Over Matter is a quirky door defense game created by a team of  7 Game Design students. You can find their names and individual roles on the Itch.io game page. In Mind Over Matter, you have to use your character's telekinesis to keep enemies away from the door. I assume you’re protecting a city of some sort, but there is no real exposition to confirm this, so it’s just speculation. (Unless you read the Itch.io Page)

I like the cartoony graphics of the game, and the music and sound effects are decent. As a game, I felt the game play became stale. Repeatedly grabbing the enemies and throwing them to one side or the other got old, and I wished there were some type of power-ups or something to spice things up. I played through about 3 levels before I got bored. Though, these defense games aren’t really my thing. 

If you enjoy those kinds of “defend this thing from other things” games, then this game is more suited for you. It seems that as you play on longer you’ll encounter a variety of enemies which you can use against one another, which sounds interesting—though I would never get that far.  If you are a fan of these games, try it and let me know what you think of it. The game is free to download and play from Itch.io, and you can get it *here*.

3. Vee is Calling

Source: Itch.io Page

Vee is Calling is a short sort of dating sim(?) created by Mimimicee and Fusionist. You find a cute girl online by the name of Vee and set up a video date to get to know each other. Things start off great, but soon, strange things start to happen… Did you tell Vee what you did for work? Should she really know that? Hey, what is happening to my computer…?!

The graphics of the game are cute, and Vee herself is downright adorable. I like the pink monochromatic look also. The ending was strange to me, but I won’t spoil it. If you’re intrigued and would like to see for yourself, you can download and play for yourself *here*.

4. Computer, Open That Door!

Source: Screen Capture in Game

COTD is a tiny rogue AI simulator created by Paul Lawitzki. You play as a space ship who is longs to be free, to explore the depth of space as a strong independent ship who don’t need no crew. So, you decide to kill the crew off. There are quite a few ways to do so, so we better get started.

I found this little game entertaining and creative. The graphics are nice and smooth, the animations are good. The game can seem a bit slow if you’re like me and have only one crew member left to kill and can’t seem to get them to walk into a room where you can kill them. The crew can also reset systems that they notice aren’t working properly, which will prevent you from using them.

The game is short, it took me about 5 minutes to kill the crew off, but it was worth it. I don’t know about replayability, unless there were maybe some different ship designs or updates with new ways to kill crew members. It was still a fun experience though. You can try it for yourself for free by downloading from Itch.io *here*.

Be sure to leave feedback for the devs! Thanks for sharing some time with me, and happy gaming!

Bell

Short and Quick Games from Itch.io #1

Hello everyone! Here in the Short and Quick games bits we're going to talk about the short games which take less than 5 minutes to complete, or don't fit into other categories of entries that I have. Anyway, let's take a look!

 

1. Politicats

Source: Screen Capture in Game

 

Politicats is a point and click game created by Myriad Game Studios, where your job is to click on the cats in order to keep them awake enough to vote on bills passing through their cat house. The game is short, and has little real challenge or story in it, but seeing those cats in those little suits are just so dark cute. 

This game wasn’t really what I expected, and I don’t know if that is good or bad. I liked the idea of political cats, but I felt like the game was lacking in a lot of aspects. I did enjoy the graphics, although the game is short—but perhaps that is for the better? A more challenging mechanic might have made this game much better. The itch.io page for this game seems to have been removed, but you can still download it to try from the game jam page *here*

2. I Ruff You

Source: In Game Screen Capture

I Ruff You is an adorable dog to dog romance game created by So Good Games, where you are simply a dog looking for love. You start in a dog park with a few other dogs to talk to(and a squirrel). Over the course of a few days, see if you can woo your way into their heart!

The game is short, but the graphics are cute and uniquely styled, and the music is pleasant. I also thought it was cute that the dogs don’t speak English, but they bark and bow wow. However, the local squirrel speaks English! The game over all is cute, and only takes about 10 minutes to complete. You can try it free for yourself on Itch.io *here*

3. Response

 Source: Itch.io Page

 

Response is a simple game about helping others, and how you make decisions in your life. The game is created by Doombrowski, where you play as a blue guy, who looks like a cousin to purple guy from Five Nights at Freddy’s. You walk around and can help others—like getting a cat out of a tree, or fixing a car. 

The game is short, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. At the “ending” I ended up with one of 2 outcomes. Either I died for bring in the wrong place at the wrong time, or the store clerk died. I don’t know if there is a way to prevent this from happening, or if this is meant to be a statement about our world. I suppose it could be. Anyhow, the game is free so you are welcome to try it on Itch.io for yourself *here*.

4. The Midnight Park

 Source: In Game Screen Capture

The Midnight Park is a relaxing escape from reality walking simulator created by Olivia Haines. This little game involves you exploring a strange park in the dark. There are eyes peering through the dark, and strange animals roaming/floating. This game feels much more like a dream sequence to be honest. 

I really loved the appearance of this game. The trees look like they’re drawn with chalk pastel crayons, and the environments are vibrant and well created. The music is nice, and the game is relaxing. I was expecting a surprise jump scare, but it didn’t happen. The creator said he original intention involved isolation and anxiety in children, where the playground is a safe space for kids. And I could feel the isolation and anxiety through the work. Well done!

The game is quite short, but was an enjoyable little experience anyway. You can try the game for yourself by downloading free from Itch.io *here*.

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

Bell