Tech Reviews & Gadgets

RPS Selection Box: Edwin 2024 Bonus Game of the Year

My select box isn’t really a select box. It was a plate of barely-eaten leftovers that I had hastily pulled from my backlog of orders on Steam. You see, one of the downsides of being a news editor is that I’ve developed a goldfish-level attention span. While I was busy looking for the next scoop or the next Elden Ring update changelog, I snatched up and tossed out game demos like a pickpocket scurrying through the tills at Harvey Nichols. I’m vaguely aware that some of these abandoned games are pretty damn good. Some games are even worth playing for more than 30 minutes. I feel very guilty about this. Maybe a little bit of…existentialism, too. I have measured my life on a coaching level.

so! Rather than pull out three games that I actually finished this year, like The Crush House, Death Of A Wish, and Mask Quest, I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend a few games that I’ve barely played, but definitely meeting. Feel Excellent and elicited a positive critical consensus. If I am wrong, may Horace the Endless Bear bite my head off for my insolence. Let’s get started.


withered room

Image source: criminal games

If you have fond memories of Alice in American McGee, and/or enjoy the horror sub-genre of Little Ghost Girl in the Big Haunted House, then pick up a copy. It’s a 2.5D hallway crawler set in a procedurally generated Victorian mansion that changes every night, moving from one dream to the next, deleting your inventory in the process. I liked it both because of the moodiness of the dollhouse demo and the inventiveness of its enemy and mystery combat designs, which made up for some of the clunky handling. Some ghosts can only be seen in mirrors. There’s a potion that makes you grow bigger, and a chance to play as a zombie to fool the ghouls. You can enchant doors to prevent monsters from entering, and enchant armor to act as rideable minions.

The writing, atmosphere, and supporting fiction reminded me of the golden age of survival horror games like Rule of Rose, Fatal Frame, and Clocktower. Hey, you should play this! Then tell me if it’s as good as I just said! If I’m wrong, endless Horace the Bear might rob me of my toilet paper supply.


to the stars

A bunch of planets with faces in space strategy game To The Stars

Image source: pufferfish studio

I feel more confident in recommending this game because it’s a quick-fix strategy game designed to be played in 15-minute bursts – a great coffee break diversion for your coffee-loving self, filled with scary, The planet of grunt. The idea is to draw a star line between these planets and have them send fleets to attack each other, but the problem is that each planet consumes its own mass to fund the war, eventually running out of resources and exploding. There are also Space Monuments, which bring victory when you have all of them but no shipbuilding facilities, and a series of special map-wide abilities with cooldowns to tip the balance.

Certain saintly elders in the Rock Paper Shotgun community have described To The Stars as Galcon, but with a twisted, upscale Hanna Barbera aesthetic. The demonstration is certainly unique: the planets are always glancing over you and each other, smirking or frowning or wagging their tongues provocatively. At the same time, the music is the kind that makes people feel happy. While it hasn’t been verified for the Steam Deck, I suspect it will work as a handheld game. If I’m wrong, may Horace the Endless Bear plunder my kitchen utensils mercilessly.


islands of sea and sky

When the protagonist feels cold in the water of Sea to Sky Island, the flamingo flies to the sea.

Image source: Stone Paper Shotgun/Cicada Game/Gamera Game

I didn’t much care for block-pushing puzzles until I stumbled upon a presentation of this cute, soothing SNESational puzzle game. It lets you play as a furry castaway exploring an open-world archipelago of single-screen puzzles with lots of blocks and keys. There’s obviously a story to uncover, but that’s nothing compared to the gentle tropical sheen of the pixel art visuals and the effortlessly complex puzzles that can be solved in any order. These include tiles that are impassable once you walk over them, propelling water, volatile blocks that count down to explosions, slippery ice blocks, and vortex teleporters.

This is a regular festival for Sokoban. I don’t think there’s zero way this won’t win a Best of the Best award. If I’m wrong, may Horace the Endless Bear make a delicious pasta lunch out of my innards.



Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
×

Adblock Detected

*We Appreciate Your Visit!*

To enjoy all the features and content on our website, please consider disabling your ad blocker. Our site relies on ads to provide you with quality content and a seamless experience. Thank you for your understanding!