Larger than Light‘s gameplay takes full advantage of the medium its made for, with a playful style that’s a feat for the eyes.
The gentle pastels and harsh shadows don’t just look good: they’re used for gameplay! You maneuver Characters that represent both Shadow and Light source to traverse this puzzle-platformer.
You help the main characters Skia and Lux overcome their differences and bond as siblings as you adventure, and listen to their conversations as you go along. This game not only looks good, but also sounds good, with fully-voiced dialogue!
This game can also be found on steam, for the more than reasonable price of $4.99!
Two strikes is a samurai-based fighting game, and technically a sequel game to the pixel-style One Strike!
This sequel uses masterfully done Black-and-White sprites in full-res on colorful, elegant backgrounds as parts of its showcase. There are currently 6 options for fighters, and it’s set to be released on the 31st of May on Steam.
Any piece taken by you becomes your piece. You can then drop onto your side of the board in any free location, at any point in time.
Difficulty: Just above average chess; 5.5/10. The difficulty is now in placement and knowing gthe consequences of losing a piece.
Fun: 10/10!!! Rub salt in your enemies wounds by using what they lost. Adds an additional boost to eating and really reinforces the consequences of losing pieces.
Edits to be made: Have an extra set of pieces set aside for use.
Dark/Fog of War Chess:
Your opponent’s moves and pieces are not visible. Pawns, who’s movement may be blocked by a piece will be informed that a move forward is an illegal move- on this point some variety is seen on informing players, as some versions have an umpire who can decide on whether they announce what piece has moved or where it may be moved to.
Difficulty: Extreme: this style of game play requires knowledge of common moves and tactics. It works best for people who know how to play, and play well. 10/10.
Fun: If you like puzzle games and riddles, and deductive reasoning, this is the variation for you. If you love battleship, this is perfect.
Edits to be made: For an in-person game, this version would require 3 boards (you, opponent, 3rd party) and an umpire (to decide legality of moves).
Omega Chess:
Two pieces are added: The Wizard moves 1,3 or 3,1. It’s placed in the corners of the board, starting just off it. The Champion can either jump 2 diagonally, or move up to 2 horizontally or vertically, reminiscent of Chaturanga.
Difficulty: With a larger board and two new pieces, I feel the difficulty will be found in learning and adapting to the new pieces over anything else. 6/10.
Fun: Yeehaw WIZARDS!!!!!!! The names of the new pieces and the added gameplay gives this version a 7.5/10.
Edits to be made: 10×10 board, 4 additional pieces per side (2 wizards, 2 champions)
Cannibal Chess:
Difficulty: Definitely on the higher end: Remembering all the pieces that were eaten, and by whom, and doing so for your opponent as well is hard. A good way to train one’s memory!
Fun: Perfect opportunity for obnoxious munching noises during gameplay. 10/10.
Edits to be made: None to the board or pieces themselves. I would recommend marking the figures with some sort of symbol and then writing out which ate what on a sheet of paper.
Kriegsspiel is a highly accurate game of war, created by a Prussian general.
This game not only has its place in gaming history as the forerunner to modern games like Battlefield or Warhammer, but has also lead historians to the exact methods used during Prussian Warfare in the Napoleonic period.
Photo by Brett Bayley
The game is directed by a combination of strategy and dice, directing pieces representing all the parts of the army during the time period. In 1862 (years after it was released in 1824) there was an update to accommodate for improved weaponry and transportation, including both railroads and telegraphs.
The base of many modern games, the hit point (HP), can be seen here, in the “points” that each piece is worth. The number of points relates to the number of hits each unit can take before it gets destroyed.
The game requires real-life topographical maps (a scale of 1:8000), and the tactics used reflect real-life. The use of the map itself was a show of printing and map-making technology created in the era, and with it’s rules, was used by the Prussian army as a method to teach tactics.
The goal of the game is actually determined by an umpire. the umpire also interprets the written orders (moves) of the two armies (teams of players) and is the one to move the pieces. The size of the teams is recommended to be 4-6 players each.
This does give me memories of watching a few friends of mine play Warhammer. Cheerful, pre-Covid times at game club, with the swell of voices chatting over all kinds of games.
This game from 6th century India is believed to be the ancestor of chess and other games (worldwide!) like it.
There are a few things that set Chaturanga aside from modern chess. For one thing, unlike modern chess, this game can be played with up to 4 players. In 750 CE, this version of chess reached China, and by the 11th century it had come to Japan and Korea. It went through Persia and into Europe around the same time.
The theory of the game’s spread revolves around the Silk road, an ancient trade route spanning from Italy in Europe to Xian in China. This trade route moves through land and sea, and facilitated trade of all kinds.
It’s due to the silk road that it can be hard to determine the origins of chess, as pieces simular to what we know have been found all over 3 different continents.
Like other ancient games, some of the rules are up to speculation.
What we know about the rules and play:
Of the pieces that we know of today, the rook, knight, pawn and king move the same. However, The kings do not face each other (aren’t in the same column), and the pawns don’t have the option to move 2 spaces on their first move.
The Queen was the Counselor, and could only move 1 square diagonally. The Bishop was the Elephant, and could only move 2 spaces diagonally.
One of the theorized rules is that the pawn, instead of automatically becoming the Queen/Counselor, would actually become the piece that occupied that square in the beginning.
Chaturanga was won by what we know as checkmate, or by eliminating all pieces except the king.
Castling and En-passant weren’t introduced until the 15th century, and the checkerboard pattern we associate with Chess was only introduced as decoration around the year 1000.
What I found to be interesting, was that in the 4 player version of Chaturanga, what piece you played was determined by dice throw, which completely change the flow of the game. The dice is a D4, and the sides are as follows: The Raja (king) and pawn, the knight, the elephant (bishop), and the boat (rook). The four player, as you can see, does not include the Counselor.
Where to play?
You can buy physical boards around the internet, or just use a regular chess set, and modify the rules.
You can play online here, but you have to sign up, and there are a few apps that allow multiplayer versions of the game.
“Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality.” (from the Steam Page)
Art, Music, and its deeply emotional storyline are GRIS’s selling points! The game is Simple to play, and also Short (around 4 hours total playtime). It has especially Ethereal artwork for a combined puzzle-platformer, with Tight color palettes that expand as the game continues.
Available on PC, Appstore, Switch, it has 38:1 positive to Negative reviews on Steam, which I think is pretty impressive.
Capitalizing on the Animal Crossing craze, this adorable game adds a haunting twist!
The lovely artwork is paired with a Real-time environment and missions to go on! There is more to do as more time passes, and game play starts at a half hour and builds to over 2 hours a day.
Cozy Grove is an easier and more character based alternative to animal crossing, and has mechanics reminiscent of Stardew Valley.
Decoration can influences your surroundings, and Item collecting is a relatively large part of gameplay. It’s Good for casual gamers , as it’s mechanics, by design, space out playtime.
With a ratio of 3 Positive reviews for every one negative on Steam, the game garners an 80% on MetaCritic. Most of the Negative reviews don’t care for the segmented, real time play style, rather than anything technical.
The art is light and whimsical, adding to the relaxing nature of the game, while the writing keeps you intrigued with each character’s story .
The game is available in 14 different languages. and on switch as well as PC!
3D platformer which acts as the debut platform for the Publisher Playtonic Friends, “Demon Turf” has a combination of 2D and 3D art. So far, some of the quirks include self-placed checkpoints and momentum-based battle.
It’s cute artstyle and unique designs show promise!
Demon Turf is planned to be released in 2021, a platformer for all ages!
Musicals and Music video, fan animations and artwork…. for a fantasy baseball browser game?
It’s indeed the case!
Blaseball is an absurdist online baseball game that was split into “seasons” (a la Apex Legends) with a rulebook with chunks that are redacted for the player. There’s a shop with in-game items purchased with in-game money won by backing teams, similar to various irl fantasy leagues.
The trick with this game is the unusual stats, the ability for you (as a player) to vote on actions of the teams or rules of the game, and “blessings” (random powerups) get randomly assigned to the blaseball players on the teams, like “performance enhancing demons” and “bloodlust”.
The trick is both in choice making, and knowing the players enough to decide which teams to bet on.
For fans, the joy is in the story telling, the characters, the competition, and the eagerness of waiting for your team to win.
Released for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system on April 10, 2020, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE is a reimagining of the iconic original game that re-defined the RPG genre, diving deeper into the world and its characters than ever before. The first game in the project will be set in the eclectic city of Midgar and presents a fully standalone gaming experience that provides a great starting point to the series. Along with unforgettable characters and a powerful story, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE features a hybrid battle system that merges real-time action with strategic, command-based combat.
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