Recent reviews by Pointnclickster

Dear Developer,

I have played Parts 1-3. All I have to say is this: hurry up. But don't hurry, because I want Part 4 to be as good as the rest. But still, you know, hurry up.

Guys, this is a great little gem. Yes, the first part is literally a half hour and it's free. Part 2+3 bundled together are 1.99 AND IT'S WORTH IT. If you are a lover of horror, we need to support this developer. Imagine the film 1408 mixed with elements of Silent Hill and then add tropes of all the good horror movies worth mentioning thrown in.

I love the plot. I won't spoil it at all. The soundtrack, and sound effects are very effective. I love the pixelated graphics. It reminds me a little bit of Lone Survivor, another great horror game. The puzzles start simple. By part 3, I was taking notes, and drawing simple diagrams and maps. There were genuine moments of AHA! There are no guides covering all three parts so figuring out a puzzle really gave me a sense of accomplishment.

The scares. Everything from creepy atmosphere, to jump scares to NOPE! are in here. The game is great at making sure you are not comfortable for really any period of time.

The only gripes is that there is a bit of backtracking and when you are stumped, you're running around thinking,"WHAT AM I MISSING?". But then again, it just makes the AHA! moment all the more rewarding. So is that really a strike against the game?

I love being surprised. This game is a nice surprise. Also, could we get a soundtrack DLC?

Dear Sick Chicken Studios,

I absolutely loved this love letter of a game. Please make more games, and give me review keys to sing your praises.

Everyone, this is a short but extremely sweet game to those who are lovers of science fiction, fantasy, the 80's, the 90's, LucasArts, and Sierra. To get even more specific would be spoiling the fun. Let's get to the particulars.

For a pixelated game, it's looks great. The game has a serious Sierra fantasy/sci-fi look. The cut scenes are those wonderful pixelated but cartoon cut scenes that reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons.

The voice acting is very good. Considering a very small group of people did so many voices is an achievement. I enjoyed listening to all the background stories, even if they had nothing to do with the main plot. There were many laugh out loud moments, which hasn't happened in a while for me. The dialogue is great. I took so many screenshots not just because the game looked great but that the dialogue was so funny!

The soundtrack is DLC for a reason. It is very good. It covers both genres of medieval fantasy and 80's-90's techno dark fantasy very well. I fully intend on purchasing the soundtrack.

Now the puzzles. Unlike Sierra and LucasArts, you won't be banging your head in trying to figure them out. The emphasis is the story. There is also an ingame journal to keep track of what you are supposed to be doing, but it is there for comic effect more than anything else.

Now, the story is a complete cliche. However, when you have got a great script, great music, and wonderful characters, it doesn't matter. It is paying homage to a beloved genre.

This is a game I will be buying/gifting to give my monetary support and to spread the word about this great little indie title.
Sick Chicken, I look forward to what you will be doing in the future!

If you are OK with spending a little money in order to play an achievement grabbing, short, repetitive experience, then by all means pick this up.

In this game, you are a man (don't remember his name) taking his lady friend on a romantic camping trip. However, you are not alone. There is a murderer on the loose and he has you on his radar. Prepare to die many times, until you find the way to kill him.

I hate to rain on an indie developer's parade, but the monotony of this got to me. I don't really care about these characters. The woman's voice was particularly irritating to me. The story is not original. If I'm going to unlock multiple endings, like in Heavy Rain, or any Telltale Game, I need to be invested. If anything, I figured out a solution to kill the killer since I didn't want to find all the ways I could die. Luckily, there is an option to skip the death animation. Probably because the developers knew we would be seeing it a lot. I wish we could also skip the guy waking up every time after said death scene. So are there any good things in this game? Well, I do like the art style. It fits the tone of the game.

I really thought I would like this game. There is a killer, and you have to find a way to stop him. I loved the idea. I just think that the great idea was not executed well. I think I would have liked it more if I had gotten to know more about the characters, and why there is a loop.

Developers, have you ever played Oxenfree? That game handles the whole time loop masterfully. The time loop in this game felt like it was put in there so people could get achievements. You seem to be getting quite a number of positive reviews, so you could stand to have a little bit of helpful criticism. I hope you continue to make games, and see this one as a learning experience.

Oh this was a scary little game that was too short because it was so good, but then if it had been longer would it have been better? You know when you have a yummy dessert but it's a small portion? It tastes so good!....but then it's gone!...and you want more! Thats how I feel about Alpha Polaris.

Playing this, I got serious Lovecraft/Blackwood (Algernon Blackwood, check him out he's great)/The Thing vibes. Those are great things. You play as Rune, a young man studying polar bears with a crew in Greenland who are looking for oil. During an oil expedition, some old bones and an ancient manuscript is found which leads to paranoia, hallucinations, really bad dreams, and the return of an ancient creature. You know, all that good stuff.

For it's time, the game looks good. The characters move kind of mechanically but the portraits showing their fear/joy/paranoia were really cool. The voice acting was believable. This was a cast of characters you got to know in four days. All in all, it is a tight cast in a small location, and i love stories like that.

The puzzles weren't really puzzles. These were actual tasks that made sense to do. If you are stumped, you can click on Rune and he will guide you in the right direction. There is a funny little side mission that you accomplish before everything gets really bleak. You have to make Bombe Alaska for Nova, the only female on the team. It's her birthday so don't screw it up!....or screw it up and use gasoline and a fire extinguisher. Your choice. Every once in a while there will be dialogue options. It doesn't change the end game but it does give some variety.

OK, is the game scary? For a P&C, yes! The ambient tracks got to me. During the day, you are researching and figuring things out. At night, the Aurora Borealis is out, bathing everything in beautiful lights. Yes somehow it makes the empty hallways ominous. And the nightmare cutscenes are awful...meaning they did a good job. I dreaded when it would be night, and for a third person P&C game to be able to instill dread in me, I'd say they did a good job.

Alpha Polaris is a small game, with a small story cast. Yet, it does what it does well. It tells a story, connects you to characters quickly, and freaks you out. I would definitely recommend it on sale, since this game will take you 5 hours tops if you don't use a walkthrough.

First, there was SUNLESS SEA. Great game. You should read my amazing review of it. In January of 2019 I'll be binge playing SUNLESS SKIES. BUT! Before that comes out, I will happily binge play the daylights out of Curious Expedition.

This game taps into the nostalgia a lot of us 90's kids are going through lately. OK, how many of you remember The Oregon Trail and the Yukon Trail? If you liked those games, you owe it to yourself to get this game. This is like those games in spirit, but adds a hex-based, strategy, choose your own adventure vibe. You play as a famous historical figure in your quest for greatness by finding wonderful loot! The replayability of this game is astounding with each explorer having different perks. Who you have with you on your expedition will also change how the adventure goes. Each supporting member of your team has different strengths and weaknesses. For example you may have a wonderful soldier who is a great shot and carry quite a bit, but he is sexist...or a pyromaniac....or a cleptomaniac...or even just claustrophobic. You have to weigh the cost of having members with you. How much do you trust them? Will they stick with you? Will they murder each other while you sleep? Will they fall in love with a native? Who knows?!

Now the graphics speak for themselves. They look old for a reason. I know it's nostalgia talking but for this game they really work. The soundtrack also has that midi track sound. You will constantly be wondering as you discover each hexagon of map, well I know there is a gold pyramid over there, but there is a question mark looming in the distance! Do I have enough sanity, water, and health to make it. Probably not! ....but I'll try anyway. This explains why I died so many times...on easy mode.

While this was gifted to me, knowing what I know now, this game is worth full price, considering how many hours can be sunk into this. Each "game" is six expeditions, and they can take a while depending on the difficulty and explorer and how prepared you are. OK slight spoiler. You can find the Necronomicon and go through portals possibly. You could be playing this for a while....

This feels more like a gushy love fest than a review, but it's so good that I can't see anything wrong with it. Oh! and there are mods enabled too! I'm going to stop now. Just play it.

After waiting six years, all I can say is this: It was worth the wait.

After playing this game multiple times in the original version and the Landmark Edition between Steam and the PS4 Pro, I have a rather short bucket list:

1. Go to the Outer Hebrides and walk very very slowly.

Also, please go read my friend Faudraline's review of this great experience. Her review is what I hope I would have written, but she beat me to it.

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/id/Faudraline/recommended/203810/

I hated this game.

However, it is undeniably brilliant. To try and explain how it is brilliant would cheapen the experience. I would put this game in the same category as The Stanley Parable, The Beginner's Guide, Dear Esther, and everything Freebird Games ever created. These are games that should be experienced by everyone.

I was gifted this by my wonderful husband. I'm sure he meant well because he knows I like horror games. I'm going to choose to believe that anyway. What followed was five hours of paranoia, frustration, and more of a feeling that the game was playing me.

Thanks honey.

Thank you Steam for Curator Connect. Otherwise I would never have gotten to play what feels to be a first time developer/publisher fledling attempt at their first P&C game. Also, thank you to Kerkko Rasilainen for allowing me to play and review your game.

This review feels strange to give, since it is still a work in progress. I really really wish there was a half way thumbs because its not a thumbs up!! kind of game but at the same time I didn't hate it enough to give it the THUMBS DOWN!!...so here we go. Maybe I'll make up my mind by the end of the review.

Anyway, the developer/publisher sites inspiration from Sierra and their catalogue. While I didn't necessarily get the vibe of Sierra, I could sense the desire to create an old school point and click adventure game. The music (only one song so far) really excited me and I hope that more music can be added for the upcoming episodes. The look will split gamers. This is a point and click from a top down perspective. I'm not a fan of top down perspectives in games. I think I've only really encountered them in dungeon crawlers or RPGs. While the perspective didn't kill my enjoyment of the game I figured I better make that known, because my brief look at the store photos didn't apparently get through to me. Also, the rain graphics. Yes it is always raining. However, I do not need to see outside the box of the building I am in to see rain falling everywhere. I find it really distracting. How about just hearing the rain when inside the building and then see it when outside? Also, there are a few grammatical errors in the first episode that need to be fixed.

For a seasoned point and click veteran, the puzzles are non-existant. Be thorough in your investigating and put the very obvious pieces together. Oh, and get a Steam achievement for it! When the developer sites Sierra as inspiration, I expect a game that is challenging. I expect multiple ways to die and have your character not be able to proceed because you didn't get the necessary item or code. This game fails completely, so far, on the challenge level.

I know these episodes are short and this is probably a first time attempt, but I didn't care about any of these characters. At all. Maybe I'm spoiled. Immediately after finishing this game I thought of other games with small developers that were able to create a connection between gamer and character in a very short period of time: The Last Door and The Detail. This game...just doesn't have characters that have hooked me.

For $1.99, I'm sure you could do a lot worse. The developer says that each episode is around 20 minutes and I have a play time of 40 minutes so they nailed it. Considering you get a complete episodic game for $2, I would say that what is here is acceptable. I would probably not gift this to all my friends for Christmas this year, but I would tell them to watchlist this. This game has room to grow and improve. I have seen it with other P&C games that I flat out hated (AR-K Episodes 1 and 2) but then loved thanks to tweaks and improvements (AR-K: The Great Escape). I look forward to how this game develops and will change my review as needed. So far, so acceptable.

UPDATE!: Today is 8/20/2018 and I just finished Episode 2: Kids. Developers, good job and taking constructive criticism and applying it. My expectations for your final act have gone up entirely. OK, they nailed the Sierra feel this time. I died several times. I got stumped a couple of times. I persevered and figured everything out and got that YAY moment. The cliffhanger at the end of the episode.....This was a big step up from the first episode. Developers, take your time with your last episode.

UPDATE: I finished Episode 3 - From the Depths. It is short but very grim. I love the sound of the rain. I love the new song for the episode! Let's just say that the ending left me wanting either Episode 4 or a new game continuing this story.

IN CONCLUSION: This game is worth it. It is short, but this is an indie developers beginning attempts, and I liked what I saw and played. I wish this developer well in the future.

If I was a person that was made from cardboard, I would want to live in Lumino City.

Say hello to the cutest handmade puzzle/platformer/point and click you will ever play. EVER. The game is cute, the puzzles are very intriguing and will make you think. The soundtrack...it's sold as DLC for a reason. Also did I mention that the game was made by hand? I kept telling myself this as the game blew me away with its visuals and camera work and electric lighting and actual water spray affects. Just play it. It is a moving work of art that doesn't come around often.