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You know those silly “Mon Hid My Game!” games I played a while back? This is one of them, only with a slight difference.
Each level, you have to hide from your sister. The first few are easy – behind a curtain, or in a cupboard – but they soon get more complicated. The gameplay, such that it is, is almost exactly like the other games and it has some similar 4th wall breaking “surprises” later on, but it’s a bit of silly fun for a low price, so why not, eh?
Now this game I have heard of. It’s one of those single screen, clear out all the baddies games like Parasol Stars and Snow Bros, only in this one you grab them with your rod and then bash their brains out on the floor. As you do.
I had forgotten, however, that there were bosses! But, and like most of the rest of the game actually, they were surprisingly easy to beat.
A very happy jolly platformer with cute graphics. Not as good as Parasol Stars though.
Despite the name, there’s no actual detectiving in 64th Street. Sure, at the end of each level a wall of text comes up to say you found a clue to, uh, whatever the thing you’re supposed to be doing is, but actually, the game is 100% punching and kicking people. Because, it’s a Final Fight type game after all.
I’d never heard of it before, and, when I came to write this I’d already forgotten what game it was. But I do remember the gameplay and it’s fine. Nothing special, it’s not up there with Streets of Rage or Final Fight, but it’s fun enough even if it does nothing new and copies pretty much everything from those two games (which, to be fair, are very similar already!).
A point and click murder mystery adventure game where all the people are actually animals? Why yes, yes I do believe I will buy and play that.
It’s really very good too. The puzzles are neither too easy nor too obscure, and the whodunnit (and, after that, the whydunnit) were both surprises and kept me wanting to play to get the resolution. The graphics are amazing, and the voice acting really something special.
My only issue is the pacing is a bit off, with the bulk of the story, puzzles and events occurring in the middle act, and the final act being very short, but it’s not a problem, and certainly shouldn’t put you off playing it.
What an unusual game. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just not really like anything I’ve played before. Heaven’s Vault has the feel of a point and click adventure game (albeit with direct control of your character), but it’s also mostly a visual novel. Except, it has “driving” sections. And, perhaps most interesting and unusual, there’s an entire language you have to slowly translate as the game progresses. Then there’s the animation style, which is like a flickbook with static frames rather than fluid animation – again, not something you see often.
All these quirky features are before you even get into the world (or rather, worlds), the lore, the story and the characters.
In the universe you inhabit, there are a number of moons. Some are huge, with cities of people living on them, and some are not much bigger than a house. Some are very technologically advanced, some are farmers, and some have slums. Water is an asset, and the richer moons have lots of it. Religion and history play a big part across the moons, with the main concept being The Loop, where everyone that dies is restored and history is cyclical, but as Aliya (you) discovers on her travels, it’s not quite that simple. Or true.
As an archaeologist, she’s interested in the artefacts found on all these moons, on wrecks of ships that once travelled the “waters” between moons, and books and inscriptions with the ancient language I mentioned previously. Slowly, with the help of Six (definitely not Johnny Five), a robot from times past who was reactivated, you discover the true history of the universe: The gods, the robots, the reason why it declined, and the nature of The Loop itself.
Heaven’s Vault has probably the most compelling and deep story I’ve found in any game for a long, long time. There’s just so much to find out, piece together, and draw your own conclusions from. So many questions, not all of which are answered (at least, not in a single playthrough). The basic mechanics of the game aren’t perfect, with the navigating from moon to moon being somewhat dull and boring (although you do unlock some fast travel later) and a lot of to-and-fro to take items to various people, but the world building is top notch and has to be experienced.
