Weekend Download
Who needs bajillions of colors, seriously? The games below illustrate that all you need for a visual presentation are a few well-placed shades of gray (or orange and black, for the last one) and you've got yourself a visual style!
ButaVX: Justice Fighter (Windows, 7.6MB, free) - A short but wholly enjoyable RPG that plays out with comic-style cutscenes and action sequences. ButaVX's favorite ball has ended up in the wrong hands. In order to retrieve it, he has to go on an adventure to find the Sword of Justice. Explore the village, head out into the wilderness where you'll encounter discarded cell phones as enemies, and return to complete your quest. Although the setup is standard RPG fare, the manga-influenced action shots and overall art style really pull you in to this pencil drawn world. You'll be sad when it's over!
Umbrella Adventure - The Castle of Cake (Windows, 48.7MB, free) - Just as you wake up, you find your stash of cakes has been stolen. Great. As you head out into the rainy night, you pick up an umbrella that can, eventually, be used for all sorts of things. Work your way through this inventive adventure platformer, smacking enemies and soaking in the surprisingly deep monotone atmosphere. There's a lot of jumping and other action skills required to beat the game, but there's also a fair amount of Metroidvania-style exploration, too.
Home (Mac/Win, 1MB, free) - Home is a brief tale of an old man's daily life. Shuffle back and forth in your room, taking care of your basic needs such as food and rest as the bars at the top of the screen begin to deplete. Talk to the nurse to keep your happiness level high. But... what happens if you let something run out?
Note: All games have been confirmed to run under Windows Vista and are virus-free. Mac users should try Boot Camp, Parallels, or CrossOver Games to play Windows titles, Linux users can use Wine. If you know of a great game we should feature, use the Submit link above to send it in!
Home was a very touching game. It was sad to see the old man walk slowly between the bed and the food, trying to make it in time...
The game seems to set you up for failing though.
Re: "Home": Is that Eric Clapton? http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/69304/Eric+Clapton.jpg He never had time to sit back :'(
ButaVX was awesome! If it were a little longer, it would deserve its own review. If you only play one of these games, play ButaVX. Short and very, very sweet.
Home was pretty sad =( Nasty, brutish, and short.
I played about half an hour of Umbrella adventures. Even with the graphics turned down, it was pretty slow to play, especially the dialogue. Sitting around for 3 minutes for the duck to tell me I can whack things with an umbrella was annoying. I really like the aesthetic and the generous (lack of) life system.
Can't download Umbrella. It says the download site takes to long to respond. Is it down? (Not the creator's site.)
Umbrella adventure
How do one get past the rope screen (after up-arrow passage in forest), can't get to the ropes either?
House doesn't work for me. I hear music, but I can't see anything. I hope the creator will answer me soon.
wow, home is freaking sad....
"Home", that was some kind of ending...
"I've never been happier in my life"
Home is... interesting. The bars all go down at a rate faster than the one at which one increases when you're fulfilling the need. You also can't use a service after a few times (not sure of how many times for each). And the ending...
When he can no longer do anything for himself, he seems happiest...
My thoughts on Home's ending:
Didn't he take the depression pills? That also coupled with the possibility that he might be getting senile (which I think is hinted at mistaking the nurse's look and also mistaking the daughter's weekly Monday visits), makes me think he's not "the happiest" when he can no longer do things himself, rather he's just saying it as it not bother others or is caught up in his own illusion that he is.
Granted even though the presentation of the game itself is pretty unrealistic IMHO(getting depressed at the same rate while sleeping, taking forever to eat to being full), the ending still hits me pretty hard.
ButaVX is cute as hell, I can't imagine it being that much longer though. It would have been nice if the creator left a description of what the Inspire and Intimidate did in the readme file (raise own atk, lower enemy stat), but overall a nice little game.
Here's what I didn't get about home: why does taking sedatives make it so that you no longer need sleep?
Looks like the creator of Home couldn't find a better way to make it so he no longer needed to take care of sleep.
Quite depressing really. The poor man ended his life as a vegetable. Lying there, living when there was no more reason to live.
But at least he was happy...
Right?
It really makes you think.
Update