misthold

Jenny LeClue, Detectivu (2019) is an adventure/mystery/puzzle game starring the titular character, a kid detective living in what only SEEMS to be a boring small town.

I picked this up for the Switch as a) I love mystery games, b) it has (excellent) full-cast voice acting, and c) it's kinda more on the visual novel end of things, such as having dialogue choices. And it's 80% off right now: score!

Immediately got sucked into the story, which is framed through the narrator/mystery writer whose book series which Jenny is a character in. He's forced to change up his regular book formula due to abysmal sales, including adding a murder and REAL mystery plot points. The whole game has his narration running throughout, and there's even some neat scenes where the book text hovers in the physical world as Jenny moves through it. It's very meta.

Jenny is dealing with a lot of personal stuff in this game, and her dialogue choices all involve either being kind, mean, friendly or distrustful. Normally I play as nice as possible, but tbh Jenny isn't a very nice person right now and so I thought it'd be more true to her character to be more stand-offish. That said, the major plot points seem to happen no matter what you do. Like, I refused the walkie-talkie but it shows up later anyway as it's a necessary plot point. Also stuff in your journal changes, such as a page with your personality type, but I don't know how that ties into the rest of the game. Reviews from other players say there IS no differences and it doesn't matter what you choose, so I guess it's not that important.

I'm planning on playing it again and trying the other dialogue option route, just to see. I also need to go back and find the rest of the stickers and postcard scraps. (I love it when games have little collecting side quest things.)

The puzzles are, for the most part, pretty easy to solve if you pay attention to your surroundings. I only used help guides twice, when I was nearing the ending and too impatient for the mystery to be solved to properly look around.

Honestly, I'd have liked to have seen slightly more difficult puzzles the further you went into the game. For instance, the "connect these wires to jump start this thing" puzzle appears three times, and it's all the same difficulty. Mostly puzzles become more difficult due to running back and forth between pieces, which takes forever because...

A couple niggles: the setting/tone screams kid-friendly game, but the dialogue is aimed more at teens/adults. There's also an extended section in a collapsed mine full of ghosts and skeletons that aren't exactly kid-friendly...

Walking is PAINFULLY slow, and running is just a slow gallop. It felt like moving through molasses. It took SO much longer to move through places than it needed to, especially considering there are several times you have to backtrack to get somewhere else.

And finally, the ending is a cliffhanger! It turns out this is an episodic game-- not something mentioned anywhere except in the reviews I didn't read until I already finished the game. Whoops.

Still, despite the disappointment of having an incomplete ending, I really enjoyed playing Jenny LeClue, Detectivu. It feels substantial, unlike some other puzzle games which tend to be shallow. And I love how the story gets more and more twisty the further you go into it. I'm planning on picking up the next part to this series, whenever it comes out!

Price: $24.99 (on sale regularly)

Available for Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, and Playstation 4(?). I played the Switch version and it took me about 5 hours to complete the story (with 83% completion for stickers/postcards).

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The Hex (2018) is a multi-genre mystery game starring six protagonists from different fictional video games. The main story is a murder mystery (sort of), but each protagonist has their own goal which then culminate into a wowzer of an ending. They're also self-aware-- they know they're video game characters-- and their creator also plays a part in their story. The more you unravel their backstory, the more interesting and exciting it gets.

It was super fun getting to try out different genres, actually. I normally only play adventure/puzzle games, so it was neat to try out shooters and strategy games. And despite switching genres with every character, it's actually pretty easy to play. That's great for people who don't normally play certain types of games, as it means you won't get stuck somewhere too long. And if you die, it just resets to immediately before your death. Nice!

The best part was finding the different pieces of the story and unraveling the protags' stories and the ACTUAL main story of The Hex. There's tons of stuff to find, like weird glitchy things, "hacking" into game parts, secret clickable things, etc. A lot of it involves "breaking" the game in some way, or doing things totally incorrect for whatever genre you're currently in.

For instance, in one part of the game you get a power-up from the villain, which then breaks the normal game mode but allows you to do things necessary for The Hex's storyline. In another part, you literally go "behind the scenes" to the game creator's bedroom. There's lots of little things to find, all very meta to The Hex's game and the video game industry.

It's obvious that The Hex was made by someone who really loves video games, and who loves playing around with the medium of video games. I really enjoyed playing it!

Apparently there's a second secret ending if you play through again, too. I haven't done that yet, but I'm definitely adding it onto my "sometime in the future" list.

Price: $10

Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. I played it on macOS and it took me about 8 hours to finish.

This was part of the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality.

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Secret Little Haven (2018) is a visual novel (with some puzzles) set in 1999. You play as Alex Cole, a teenage trans girl stuck in an unhappy situation with only her computer for a creative outlet.

If you're a fen who grew up in the late 90s/early 00s then this will hit HARD on the nostalgia feels. Alex and her friends are fans of a Sailor Moon-esque magical girl show and Alex spends most of her time hanging out on a fan forum and chatting in ICQ-style program. There's also a doll maker, a desktop pet, and other early 00s computer stuff that sent me right back to my early teen years.

There's some really clever little things in this game. At one point you have to use terminal commands to do a little hacking past some parental controls! Another puzzle put a text file on my ACTUAL computer (not the game computer), breaking the fourth wall in a neat way.

Gameplay is basically clicking and reading text, centered on interaction between Alex and her friends (and father). You can choose certain dialogue, and depending on how the conversation goes you'll end up with more or less friends at the end of the game-- important because ( spoiler ).

Massive warning for flashing lights/jiggling screen when chatting with Dad. There's an option to turn off the worst of it, but it's till pretty jittery even then. Also, a content warning for parental abuse, gaslighting, emotional abuse, etc.

Took about 3 hours to beat. I very much enjoyed it and recommend it for people who like both visual novels and odes to early Sailor Moon fandom.

Price: $5

Available for Windows, macOS, Linux. I played the Mac version.

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Anodyne (2013) is an action/adventure game. I specifically downloaded it because of its comparison to Legend of Zelda, and in style it's definitely reminiscent of the early GBA Zelda games. You play as human male Young, who is tasked with saving the world but doesn't seem all that prepared as his main weapon is a broom.

The main goal is to collect keys (and gems) to open portals to new places in the world, and then...do something. Fight boss monsters, maybe. Eventually you pick up new tools/power-ups, unlock new locations, and meet new characters (who do nothing). It's pretty straight-forward except for the stuff that's just a little...off. There's a pervasive sense of dread and unease throughout the game, and it makes for a really interesting playing experience.

So, I never actually finished playing this. Something's slightly iffy with the fighting element-- like, it's off by a few pixels, so attacking a thing meant missing it most of the time-- it was very frustrating actually trying to kill things. (Maybe that's the point?)

I also got lost, all the time. I'd make it to a new section of the world, then had no idea what to do, where to go, or how to move forward. The priests would just tell me to look for keys, but actually finding a key was VERY difficult. Routes were blocked by something, like a boulder, that needed a power-up skill to get past, but I had no clue where to get that power-up which meant more wandering around. Unfortunately, there's no walkthroughs for this game, so I couldn't even muddle my way through with instructions.

I played for about two hours and then put it down, and just never picked it back up. I do think people who like to really explore and dig deep into a game with little guidance would enjoy Anodyne. For me, I don't particularly enjoy wandering around the same three areas trying to figure out how to open something for an hour. I liked the music and the art style, and the game concept is cool, but I needed a Navi or something.

Price: $9.99

Available for Windows, macOS, Linux and mobile. I played the Mac version.

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adjacency (2017) is a 2D abstract puzzle game where you click shapes to move colors around into other shapes. It looks like a perfect mobile game, honestly, something you can zone out to while listening to podcasts.

Has a good selection of customizable options depending on how you like to play. Like, you can turn on/off the score and par, depending on whether you feel anxious or emboldened by seeing how you stack up against the computer.

60 total puzzles; I played maybe 5 before ditching it. Love the ambient background music! (Available as a separate download, too.)

Price: $2.99

Available for Windows, macOS and Linux. I played the Mac version.

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The Novelist (2015) is a narrative adventure game with visual novel leanings. You play as a ghost who interferes with a family's life to try and move them towards making better decisions over the course of one summer. The father's a novelist (hence the title), the mother is an artist, and the kid is being bullied at school (maybe because of a learning disability?).

Gameplay is: you wander through the house trying not to be seen by the family while looking for clues on what they're worried about. Then you pick one narrative choice and one compromise choice per session. So, for instance, the dad might be worried about finishing his novel on time, the mom's concerned with networking with local artists, and the kid wants his dad to pay attention to him. You can pick one of those concerns to resolve, which then blocks the other characters' concerns from being resolved. But you can choice a "compromise," where one of the non-picked choices is only a LITTLE messed up, instead of a lot.

The story alters depending on what you choose for the family, and every choice has good and "bad" outcomes. I suppose it's more realistic that way, but I felt so bad for every member of this non-communicating little family that I really tried to choose the most positive outcomes for everybody, which mostly worked.

Added difficulties are: if you get spotted more than once by the same family member they get "spooked" and you can't choose their option for the compromise, which might make it suck more. Also, you move through lamps and some lamps get turned off at different times, making it nearly impossible to get into some rooms safely. Otherwise it's a pretty easy gameplay, just looking for glowing items and hovering behind people to read their memories, etc.

I think it was an interesting idea and the characters were well-written, but I was also a little bored after about 30 minutes because it was so simplistic. It took about 2 hours to get through the first run and most of that was just trying to dodge the family members. If I had turned on the "don't need to dodge" option it would've been closer to an hour, maybe?

Price: $4.99

Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. I played the Mac OS version.

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Your Future Self (2018) is an interactive fiction game set in the future, post-worldwide catastrophe. You play as a genderless protagonist trapped in a time loop, ordered to convince your future self not to commit a terrible crime.

It's a very intriguing storyline, with very simple gameplay. You're trying to match up your dialogue choices with the current mindset of your future self: the more matches you get, the more they trust you and the further you can go into the game. But it's not that easy!

There's another group outside of your area trying to make contact, and of course the time loop keeps resetting. Each replay has similar dialogue but slightly different emotional variations, which makes it tricky to get 100% right.

I don't want to spoil it too much, but the ending was unexpected! I liked how the game sort of subverted whatever standard story expectations I might've had. That said, I don't particularly understand what gaining insight points did, since "leveling up" didn't seem to do anything. And failing dialogue options still gave the same dialogue information, I just had to loop a few more times until I got the right correct percentage.

Also didn't much enjoy the graphics. The old school computer style was really neat, but there was a LOT of flickering and juddering, even after turning it "off" in the settings. After an hour or so of playing, my eyes were NOT happy with me.

Still, it's a neat little game with some clever twists.

Price: $2.99

Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. I played the Mac version.

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Orion Trail (2015) is an adventure/interactive fiction game that's basically Oregon Trail but set in space! And it's just as difficult to NOT die as the original game!

So, you play as a spaceship captain trying to fly across the galaxy to a particular space hub. You pick your crew, who each have different skills (science, fighting, diplomacy, etc.), and you have to manage your resources while making your way through stars, planets, meteors, aliens, etc. Your resources are: crew members, food, fuel, and hull pieces. Get to zero on any of your resources and you fail the mission.

At each stop, and sometimes between stops (and away missions!), you have encounters where you can either gain or lose resources through basically random chance. You choose an action, and then the probability engine randomly selects an outcome. You can try to win the outcome by picking an action where you have extra skills, but it's not guaranteed you'll win. And if you lose, you lose a LOT of resources.

On my first mission I ran out of hull pieces and my ship exploded. The second mission I kept running out of fuel, had to send an SOS signal, bartered to re-fuel with my BLOOD, ran out of HP and died. On my third time, the ship exploded again.

I do think it's a LITTLE suspicious how the probability engine spins, slowS down, then SPEEDS UP again to round a corner and pick some other square than what it originally looked like it would stop on. Also, super frustrating when I loaded that thing up with skill points but still managed to crit fail MULTIPLE times in a row.

Still, I definitely enjoyed playing this! I really like the retro pixel art, the scifi setting, and the funny dialogue. Played about an hour and didn't manage to live to the end ONCE. The only thing I'd want changed is the stars/planets you stop at; they mostly don't have names or interesting descriptions, and that part could've been flushed out more.

Price: $9.99

Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. I played the Mac OS version.

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Secrets of Rætikon (2017) is an open-world action/adventure game set in the Alps. You play as a bird, exploring the world to find runes, interact with animals, solve puzzles, etc.

I played about 20 minutes before having to give up. It recommends using a controller, and I agree. Using the keyboard to try and navigate my bird over mountains and into the woods was very difficult; a controller would've made it much easier to do ANYTHING.

I actually have a Steam controller, but the buttons don't match up with the keys, and I can't change the bindings. I checked the Itch.io page and apparently it's set to an Xbox controller. If you have one of those, you're set!

Not being able to play this is a bummer, because this has really nice art! And the background sounds of a busy forest are very soothing.

Price: $9.99

Available for Windows, macOS and Linux. I played the Mac version.

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The Whisperer in Darkness (2014) is a visual novel game based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name. It's basically just a retelling of the story, set in modern times.

Since you literally don't have ANY input except for slowly moving a pixel person across the screen, which honestly could've been left out with no loss to the story, I don't think this is actually a "game." There are no dialogue options, no plot choices, no actual interaction except for moving the pixel person.

As an art form this is an interesting concept; as something I spent almost an hour reading I can't say I was that excited about it. (I don't like Lovecraft.) I liked the art and the old school style font, and I appreciate the unique delivery of a short story, but it was VERY boring.

Not really recommended unless you want to try out reading a short story via video game. I vaguely remember these sorts of things from my 1990s childhood, and I don't think I liked them then, either...

Price: $2.99

Available for Windows, Linux and macOS. I played the Mac version.

Content notes: Screamer-style art panel at the end, though there isn't actual screaming.

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Misthold Welcomes You

tozka plays (video) games

Jenny LeClue, Detectivu (2019)

The Hex (2018)

Secret Little Haven (2018)

Anodyne (2013)

adjacency (2017)

The Novelist (2015)

Your Future Self (2018)

Orion Trail (2015)

Secrets of Rætikon (2017)

The Whisperer in Darkness (2014)

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