Absent minded is a ultra short hypertext fiction story accompanied by color distorted pixelized photos. Set on a deserted beach, a person wanders through the ravages of their life; unable to escape both from the place and the circle thoughts of despair and grieve; despite the grim theme, this is nothing like a horror game […]
Kategorie: Reviews
The liberation
A room under the roofs, with lime-coated walls. An iron basin on the floor. Clothes on a chair… The liberation is a short hyperlink fiction game done with the Twine-Engine (the developer told me that the game was made with Texture-Writer – interesting!). The story is about a revolutionary who is sitting in an embassy, […]
Winter break
No review in the last week of December. Have a nice holidays and a good end of the year; the arcane cache will return early in January with new reviews to great underground games.
Carcosa
Carcosa is a poem that was turned into a short video game. You read the poem of the same name while walking through images, probably the one the quoted verses evoked in the developers mind. The poet, Robert W. Chambers, was popular among the early weird fantasy authors including H.P. Lovecraft (and shared their virulent […]
Crystal Slaves
Crystal Slaves might be described as a story-focused dungeon crawler, but this honestly doesn’t cut it. A short and more fitting description: This game is experimental, bold, and rather challenging – but not in the sense of difficulty. Returning readers might have noticed (or know otherwise) that I only do positive reviews on this blog. […]
The games of Ondřej Trhoň
Ondřej Throň is a game developer who seems to be mainly interested in exploring the possibilities of narration and storytelling over the means of interactivity. The games that they created over the last five years are connected not only by common themes (among politics, mental health, social inequality, and the bleakness of a world shaped […]
Azimuth
Azimuth is a extensive spaceship shooter metroidvania game. On a patrol through far-off space, you come upon a wrecked space colony – once a collaborative science project in an attempt to create intergalactical understanding. What happened to its inhabitants? On the search for survivors you fly deeper and deeper into the planets core, slowly pioneering […]
Typhoon 2001
Its October. Just the right month for some underground game necromancy. Typhoon 2001 is a game that draws heavy inspiration from Tempest and its successors, the series that probably invented the tube shooter. When you see footage of Tempest, it looks much like the ideal arcade game – using the simple means available not only […]
The solar system tastes like chicken
The solar system tastes like chicken is a short science fiction game with leanings towards hyperlink literature. You play a self-aware sun that, in a distant future, devours her solar system. While doing so, you meditate about the things you wolf to expand your own existence, and how they and you are related. You might […]
The Fair
The Fair is a experimental exploration game developed for Gameboy dealing with environmental destruction, the melting of digital and non-digital spaces, sound and magic. You explore a area that might have been depleted by a power plant; the fishes that once were the source of life and a centerpiece of the towns culture have disappeared […]