Recent reviews by hulanoobisplaying

I am a huge fan of the Pixel Pulps because the games are visually stunning, have amazing writing (don’t be fooled by the “pulp” tag, the plot is pulpy but the writing is incredible and characters are very layered and interesting), are super fun to play and feel very unique.

In Bahnsen Knights, LCB Game Studio tackles a tried and true crime movie formula: that of an undercover agent. In this case, we have infiltrated a weird road rage cult and need to investigate to nail them for the possibly horrible and escalating crimes.

If you’re new to Pixel Pulps: This is not a point & click adventure game but a sort of new version of text-based adventure games. There’s plenty of choices to be made and there are a lot of mini games that are innovative and very diverse (and heavy on strategic thinking).

For me, these games combine a lot of elements that are on their own already remarkable but create a very immersive world. Additionally, Bahnsen Knights seems to be also part of the wider Pixel Pulp universe which is the better Marvel experience in my humble opinion.

And to toot my own horn: you can get a first impression and/or the full lets play here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcaI3FIf0qosOb69-sZ3Bqu_KEjGGr35n

Fear the Spotlight is basically a kid-friendly love letter to Silent Hill (or other PS1 era horror games) which is a perfect fit for younger gamers or people who love horror games but might want to have a less intense/stressful experience. Since the dev team is called “Cozy Game Pals”, the name checks out.

But even if you do enjoy your hardcore horror games, this indie horror stealth & puzzle game is impressive because it has a clear vision and makes sure that all the details fit. The story is a high school murder mystery with a few creepy apparitions sprinkled in and it’s paced incredibly well and told through notes, cut scenes and a lot of small and big environmental details.

The gameplay is reminiscent of PS1 games but controls a lot better, even the parts that annoyed me (our lovely protagonist is very slow even during stressful moments) seem deliberate to create tension. The stealth sections are designed well and therefore offer the adrenaline spike without the frustration. Admitted, stealth wizards might think it’s too easy but even then it might be interesting enough, since hardly any section is alike.

The puzzles are also not breaking anyone’s spirit but are varied and quite fun, again, given that this game seems to be aimed at a younger audience as well, this is a fantastic entry game for kids and teens who want to dive into indie horror.

I loved the controls and how intuitive everything feels. The voiceover is great, the writing is fun and moves the story along and the different chapters all feel well paced. Nothing overstays its welcome. This is not a long game but that’s an advantage since there is no confusing puzzle box mess in the storytelling, nor any repetitive stuffing to the gameplay.

I really have no criticism because it’s so clear what this game wants to achieve and in my view, it does so with a cherry on top.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcaI3FIf0qos8tXcO-xh9rgHdmu1Q8tlJ

Developed by the amazing duo Octavi Navarro and Susanna Granell, this sequel to the Midnight Scenes: The Nanny is the longest Midnight Scenes episode so far and absolutely gorgeous. It’s a point & click that has everything: an engaging story, interesting characters, and beautiful visuals. It’s also very creepy AND funny in all the right places.

Also, although a sequel, it’s not necessary to know The Nanny, as everything is explained well enough to not feel like you’re missing out.

My playthrough time was roughly 100 minutes, it really pays off to check everything you can and explore. You get rewarded with some backstories, world building or just very amusing musings by our protagonist Elijah.

I think my only two (minor) complaints regard the villains, which are very villain-y without many layers but this kind of fits the 80s “Dream Warriors” style of the story. The other one is regarding a small cool gameplay element that concerns Elijah’s asthma which I would have liked to do more than once during the game because it would have really made sense to use it more than once since it is quite an elaborate gameplay element.

But these are details, all in all I had an amazing time with this and enjoyed it from the soundtrack to the writing and the many small scary, funny, and lovely visual details. There’s so much love and attention to detail in this game, it’s well worth the price.

https://youtu.be/GQEfJSDzzio

I got the key for The Whispering Valley from the devs, probably because I previously had played their demo/prequel The Whisperer on my channel.

The game is beautiful, a quiet, sad town full of quiet, sad people who lead you towards one mystery to the next. You slowly uncover the darker secrets of the town and deal with past sins.

The puzzles are very well done, not too difficult and contained within the game, so no worries, you don’t need to know morse or do maths to solve them. The story deals a lot of regret and loss and even though there are a few bright spots (yes, you can pet the dog AND the cat), it’s all around a very dark story full of broken people. The scary parts are subtle but well done, keep your eyes open, so you don’t miss something (because I did).

The ending came a bit fast and abrupt but all in all, I really enjoyed The Whispering Valley as a slow-paced but engaging point & click that tells a very linear story with great writing and beautiful visuals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSbGfXTkoVA&list=PLcaI3FIf0qotz6_GJxZ0t18gjNAijZi0o

This point & click adventure is a great example of how a slow paced horror story still works in a gaming environment, if you have fully realized characters, puzzles that make sense and don’t try to frustrate you, a storyline that slowly, subtly moves forward until it turns into an avalanche and amazing peaks of terror in between.

Above all, The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow is beautiful because opposed to so many Point & Clicks, this game manages to be warm and heartfelt, so all the terror hits you twice as hard.

Also, the voice acting, SFX and music are absolutely gorgeous.

This feels like a classic horror story, in that its environment and characters draw you in as much as the mystery does.

If you like to watch me gush over this game for 6+ hours, here’s my lets play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsOTZzpTlE8&list=PLcaI3FIf0qosyNh3lZ7TxZyRvwKpE82oS

The Mortuary Assistant is one of the best puzzle-based horror games of the last 5-10 years. The premise is genius: you’re an intern at a mortuary and have to do the nightshift where things turn a little demon-y.

The game has several endings and is designed in a way that you actually enjoy several lets plays. The gameplay is incredibly fun and made all the more exciting by a sheer endless amount of different scares throughout each nightshift. On top of that is a very fun story that has multiple layers and also is worth a few playthroughs to get to the bottom of them all.

I am absolutely in awe with the entire concept and execution of this game, a true standout and so generous in all the little details, there’s scares so subtle you might miss them but still feel that something bad just happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR3xnD34cpY&list=PLcaI3FIf0qosmbpOgV8U7GzDuUnxTRhQh

The game is a beautiful little experience that leaves enough to the imagination and has fun gameplay if you don’t need to shoot or hide your way through horror games to enjoy them. The Director's Cut has some neat extra experiences to explain the lore, plus, the different endings make for some entertaining replays. Some of the scares are not necessary in my opinion and rather hurt the overall fantastic setup but it's not too distracting. I love the little details like the conversations you have with your "colleagues" as well as the great, disturbing sound design. All in all very nicely done.

https://youtu.be/rQrk1hQH3jE

This is a perfect, atmospheric, fun pixel adventure with choose your own-adventure mechanics, some cool puzzles, and a story that is worth the ride. Seriously, the “Pulp” in the game description is no lie, go in with no expectations and enjoy the ride.

You get to play as three different - very distinct - characters and interact with each other to uncover a X-Files-like mystery. The visuals are gorgeous, I love the neon greens and the old school comic style. The game also knows how to use the old rickety PC game soundtrack as well as sound effects. Those who are old (like me) and remember ye olden adventure games, you’ll be delighted by the sound effects. For the young kids: enjoy, it’s highly atmospheric.

The game takes about 90 - 120 minutes and it’s worth the price. The pacing is great, nothing is drawn out, there is a mini game in there to play and quite possibly multiple endings (I only played it through once but suspect that there’s ways to lead the characters in different directions).

For 8 bucks, this is a steal, given that you get unique visuals, a great and very smooth gameplay, a unique soundtrack, a mini game, AND honestly one of the greatest plots your pulpy heart could want.

Take a peak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcSBPVaddVo&list=PLcaI3FIf0qosB7k8yWLxngFjMp3BGoWTc

This is a really cute, fun, and at least for me quite tense indie horror game that is basically a “collect all x to succeed”-game but does so much more with a great soundtrack, unique designs, three different characters, the chance to learn and adapt with different tools, and lots of exploration that tells a story.

I usually don’t like these types of games because I am a scaredy weenie but I adore everything creepy by Granell and Navarro and therefore wanted to see their spin on this sub-genre of horror games.

Given that you can try different routes and that certain - not all - assets are randomised, you can get a few hours out of the game and since it’s 100% self-made - own assets, music and gameplay - it’s well worth the price.

https://youtu.be/UomSfezX-7A

“Martha is Dead” is a mixed bag of a psychological horror game with some beautiful ideas for gameplay, gorgeous visuals and a story that could have been a lot more.

What was nice?

I played the game on PC and had no bigger issues or bugs. The visuals were a little off at times, apparently the highest resolution didn’t work well with my PC (although I am not sure it’s my PC which is pretty new). However, all in all it was no big deal and the general gameplay and movements were smooth.

The game looks lovely, from the environments, to illustrations and details, there’s a lot to see and the design team clearly put love into their products.
Likewise, the soundtrack was fantastic and the sound design worked well.
The voice acting was overall fine, nothing spectacular with some nice surprises here and there. I think the direction of the actors might have made for some rather odd choices when it comes to the acting.

Quite a few of the gameplay elements were surprisingly fun. Initially I thought it would be incredibly exhausting to go through the whole process of developing pictures but the team did a great job. There’s other things you can do that are fun and add to the overall story (however, not all succeed in that goal).

The story had a slow, very slow start but once it picked up steam it kept me intrigued. Not always for the right reasons but I still wanted to know how it ends, so I guess I can count this as a plus.

All in all, I saw a lot of love for the craft in the game, which in the end is the reason why I gave it the thumbs up even though I did have not the best experience with the game. But I see the potential of a much better game in the final product and hope that the team can build on the feedback for their next project.

What was naughty?

My two main, ongoing issues with the game were mostly plot-related and based on intuitive gameplay.

Since the game gives you a massive amount of clues, it was always jarring, when it didn’t, disrupting its own design and making some things more frustrating than necessary. From a weird map that needs to be zoomed out to see all of it (I’d say the reverse would make more sense), to a few quests that give you no hint at all that they need to be done within a certain timeframe to successfully master them, I had a few “looks sternly into the camera”-moments with this game.

My main issue was with the plot/characters, though. I could not - for the life of me - identify with Giulia enough to really care for her or her family. The plot feels too vague and confusing in some parts and overly descriptive, even repetitive, in others. It’s like a lot of people worked on the story and characters and no one was really in charge to tie it all together to make for an overall round experience.

I also thought that barely anything in this game was really scary, which is unfortunate for a horror game, you know? There were some scenes that were jarring, and a lot of shock value content but hardly anything really felt truly terrifying or tense. Maybe I play/watch/read too much horror but this did not grip me, despite trying very hard.

To sum it all up

I think my very conflicted, exhausting “scenes of a marriage”-like relationship with this game had a lot to do with my own tastes and preferences. As such, I know that quite a few people might enjoy exactly the parts that I hated or was “meh” about.
But even from a more objective point of view, Martha is Dead feels disjointed and could have used some more polish both in game design and story structure.

However, I am looking forward to what the devs will do next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDomrHkc-Vo&list=PLcaI3FIf0qosWQZCe0wREqUN8v6WOkQKX