The Random Adventure Game News Thread

[V_K]

Not in love with the visuals but gameplay seems intriguing. Wish they stopped mislabeling proper adventures as "narrative adventures".

 

[LESS T_T]

Horror adventure set in 90s Russia.

Russia in the ‘90s. A provincial town on the outskirts of the crumbling Soviet Empire. A big yard where many kids hang out. They make friends, fight and reconcile, love and hate, but mostly just play. Life goes on as usual until one kid mysteriously goes missing, and the rest of the group has to face the horror they are unable to comprehend – the DØM RUSALOK. This is a place where the worst nightmares come true.

DØM RUSALOK – is a story that follows the traditions of great works by Stephen King and Robert Stine. It is a story about children who have to face a disturbing horror. Only this time action does not take place in cozy suburban America but at cellars, basements and yards of provincial 90’s Russia. The post-soviet russian setting gives the game a unique atmosphere like no other. It creates a space where no can hear your scream.

A number of challenges awaits the children who are about to discover the deepest darkest secrets hidden away in a human soul. A homicidal maniac is on the loose, while the street gangs thrive under the police protection. A cult with a TV psychic medium leader grows in popularity among the people. However, most importantly, at the heart of an abandoned research institute, which the town was originally built around, a somewhat chthonic power is about to awaken.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Not in love with the visuals but gameplay seems intriguing. Wish they stopped mislabeling proper adventures as "narrative adventures".

Inaccurate genre labeling triggers the fuck out of me but I had to let that one go. Narrative adventure initially meant, to me, C&C focused adventure game with minimal or no puzzling. But it quickly just became another catch all term for adventure game. To the point where Cyan's Firmament is described as a narrative adventure in their kickstarter and it's a Myst-like. One of the most puzzle oriented flavor of adventure game (as im sure everyone knows).

I still get triggered by people calling every Japanese adventure game a visual novel regardless of whether it has exploration and puzzle solving, though.

 

[V_K]

Cyan's Firmament is described as a narrative adventure in their kickstarter and it's a Myst-like.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Dordogne is a narrative adventure game in which you play as Mimi, a 32-year-old woman visiting the house of her recently deceased grandmother. As a souvenir of the childhood summers Mimi spent with her in Dordogne, her grandmother left her letters and puzzles to solve, to remind her to make the most out of life.
In this colourful region, full of wonderful scents and feelings, Mimi will immerse herself back into her childhood memories, and see once again through the eyes of the little girl who marveled at everything.

Dordogne is set both in the present and the past. In the present timeline, Mimi explores the rooms in her grandmother’s home. In the past timeline, you’ll help a 10-year-old Mimi explore Dordogne and complete her quests, affecting the present.

Along with the puzzles that both versions of Mimi will solve, you’ll collect photos, sounds, objects and words to create Mimi’s journal – keeping young Mimi’s memories of summers spent with her grandmother in Dordogne.

Add Dordogne to your wishlist to get notified of its release!

A wholesome family story
Discover the close relationship between Mimi and her grandmother through touching and fun gameplay moments. We hope that these slices of life, from the most trivial to the most symbolic, can make you remember your own positive childhood memories.

Explore the beautiful Dordogne region
Through the quests of young Mimi, discover the beautiful environments of Dordogne. Faithfully adapted into watercolour, they’ll immerse you in this charming French region, so dear to Mimi. Forest walks, climbing, kayaking, cave explorations… Discover these typical activities of the region.

Puzzles and mysteries to progress in the story
While playing as Mimi in the present (as an adult) and in the past (as a child), you’ll need to be resourceful and patient to solve puzzles and mysteries left by her grandmother.

Craft Mimi’s journal
With pictures, sounds, objects and words that Mimi collects, let your creativity flow and create Mimi’s journal, unique to each playthrough. A truly symbolic object of a high sentimental value, it reflects Mimi’s adventures and memories of Dordogne, and the connection she shares with her grandmother

 

[Boleskine]

http://adventurexpo.org/adventurex-2020-cancelled/

AdventureX 2020 Is Cancelled

AdventureX 2020 was due to be our 10th year, marking a decade of getting over-excited about narrative games. We’ve exhibited hundreds of games, brought indie developers together with their childhood heroes, and found new ways to think about interactive storytelling.

And we’re not going to stop doing any of that stuff, but we are going to wait until 2021.

By now, most people have family, friends, or friends of friends who’ve had a bad reaction to Covid-19. That’s certainly the case among the volunteers who run AdventureX. While the lockdown may be over by November, we don’t feel it would be fair to ask volunteers, exhibitors and speakers to invest time and resources in an event that could be cancelled at short-notice.

So, what are we going to do instead?

AdventureX Game Jam

We’re going to host an AdventureX Game Jam in November. The details of the jam are a closely guarded secret because we don’t want to spoil the surprise. And because we haven’t decided yet.

But, we hope we can bring together members of the AdventureX crew from across the globe, and welcome newcomers to our supportive and inclusive community.

If you can’t wait to start jamming, remember that AdventureJam 2020 begins on April 21st!

We know how you feel, pal.
Why Not Livestream AdventureX?
We may end up livestreaming elements of the AdventureX Game Jam, but we’ve chosen not to try to recreate the AdventureX experience online. We could stream talks, however Narrascope 2020 has beaten us to it! They’ll be streaming talks (for free) from May 28 – June 4.

Over all, we think the community side of AdventureX is what makes it really special. Rather than trying to recreate it on Twitch, we think it will be more fun to try something totally new.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Jacob's actually trying to get the rights to make his crazy Seinfeld adventure game. Full pitch: SeinfeldGame.com

 

[MRY]

To be frank, no one was expecting "giddy up."

 

[WallaceChambers]

To be frank, no one was expecting "giddy up."

Full transcript of Kramer's laugh factory rant or bust.

 

[LESS T_T]

Neyyah is a first-person point-and-click adventure puzzle game, set within a collection of remote almost abandoned islands, separated by a series of complex portal machinery.
You play as Theo, a training assistant in the science department on your homeworld of Olujay. Your professor and Chief Scientist Vamir sends you to Neyyah in the hope you will be safe there, after realizing that you are in danger on Olujay – for reasons you will discover upon your many explorations.
Instead, you end up on Neyyah with only a small amount of knowledge given to you by the frantic Vamir on what you’re supposed to do when you’re there.
Things don't go as planned ...
In order to return to Olujay, you will have to explore Neyyah – linking together the mechanical contraptions scattered through the bizarre landscapes and learning about the cultures that have shaped Neyyah, for not everything is as it seems. Your discoveries will lead you to uncover the biggest secret kept by your people on Olujay …

Neyyah reflects similar situations depicted within our own society … what is real and what is false, questioning your beliefs. Through environmental storytelling, the player will be able to enjoy hours of non-linear gameplay, solving puzzles through use of close observation, visual links, writing down your own notes, using inventory items … while immersing yourself in a rich story and environment driven game, delivered to you with beautiful prerendered graphics, immersive sounds and a compelling musical score.

 

[toro]

 

[Modron]

The Last Days of Adolf, looks like shovelware but it was my codex duty to post it :D.

 

[CryptRat]

FoxTail’s Chapter Three releases on May 7!

Source : https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/581360/view/3433374676484102405

The English version of full fan game was just released : https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2434-money-mansion/

Another fan game was just made available too but it's only the first chapter : https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2436-a-son-of-xenon-a-space-quest-prequel/

 

[LESS T_T]

This story tells about a long way to home. Through child fears, on an edge of fiction and reality. There is no way back if you step into the elevator. A common day turned adventure, from which Alex has to get out.

• classic 2d adventure with horror atmosphere
  
• danger awaits at every step
  
• solutions change story and ending
  
• well-developed locations and characters in comic art style
  
• many interesting characters
  
• puzzles can make you think for a bit (though not a lot)
  
• intrigues, secrets, questions

The story follows Francis Black, a down on his luck, borderline alcoholic, private investigator. He lives his life surviving one day at a time, doing odd jobs for anyone willing to send some coin his way, and spends what little money is left after paying for food and lodging in the nearby pub. The setting is a crime infested city in a fictional version of early 1900’s United States.

One morning when Francis is woken up from a particularly bad hangover, he finds himself forced to investigate the grisly murder of a dancer from the local nightclub. She was found in her apartment with her head cut off, and the head is nowhere to be found. Said nightclub is owned by the criminal outfit running the city’s booze and drugs, and they want Francis to find the killer before the cops. Francis normally stays out of gang related business; he’s smart enough to not stick his neck where it doesn’t belong, lest it risks getting chopped of. This time however, he has little choice in the matter. Francis will need to get his hands dirty whether he likes it or not. Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and dive in to the dark waters.

Francis will have to solve the case, all while keeping himself safe from both the gang, the police, and not to mention the brutal killer. It's a hard-boiled noir thriller, filled with sex, drugs, and violence, in a world of questionable characters, where right and wrong is balanced on a razor sharp edge.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Metamorphosis is an adventure game about a man-turned-bug
2020-04-21 16:30:00by Jordan Devore
31


You know the one!


Metamorphosis is a strange but intriguing first-person adventure game about a man, Gregor, who has suddenly become a bug – a small, sticky-limbed, oh-so-squishable bug. It's not exactly an ideal fate.

Making matters worse, Gregor's friend was arrested "for reasons unknown," and he'll have to "journey through surrealist landscapes towards The Tower." I don't know what's lurking inside The Tower, but whenever there's a mysterious capital-T tower in a video game, nothing good can come from it.





Ovid Works, the Warsaw-based developer, is focused on filling out the small-scale world with "eccentric characters" and puzzles revolving around parkour, wall climbing, and searching for clues. Today's trailer is CGI, but that should start to paint a mental picture of how Metamorphosis will play. The Steam page also has a few environmental shots, one of which shows an insect soaking in a tub like Geralt.

If the premise sounds suspicious, the title – and the concept itself – are a nod to the Franz Kafka novella The Metamorphosis, which isn't everyday material for a video game adaptation. I'm into it.

Metamorphosis is aiming for a summer 2020 release on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.

 

[LESS T_T]

Unrelated to the above game, I've always thought The Metamorphosis will make an interestingly mundane point and click adventure, with verbs and items and such. You awake as a bug, suddenly you don't know how to move your body. You try things with verbs and item combinations, but they lead to unexpected and sometimes horrible behaviors, prompting "interesting" reactions from your family. Also cheaper art budget, because you only need to make a few rooms. (Or probably pour the budget into making disgusting animations.)

 

[LESS T_T]

The Adventures of Fatman: Intergalactic Indigestion is the follow up to the original Adventures of Fatman by SOCKO! Entertainment.

Tired of being ordinary? Feel an overwhelming desire to save the world? Tired of wearing your underwear inside your pants? Then rejoin our hero Fatman in this classic adventure game, as he attempts to defeat the new threat to mankind - the evil Taberian race!

Play as Fatman as he joins forces with Zarlog the keeper of the ring, to save not just the city of Shadowlawn - but the entire galaxy. Will Fatman be able to overcome the odds and protect the galactic ring? Only your efforts will decide!

Holy hole in a doughnut, Fatman !!
Start a new adventure with the cheese-puff-chomping crime fighter Fatman when an intergalactic invader crash lands in his home city. What happened, why did it crash, and where is the nearest Doughnut World?

Suitable for all ages and first released in 2016 for iOS, this budget point and click adventure by Mike Doak features a new comic-book styled story, original artwork, simple controls and inventory use to help you progress through and cleanse the colonic mystery that awaits you!

Thank you for supporting the developer. Why not play the original "Adventures of Fatman"?

Related is a game that plunges into the dark, but fascinating story of two sisters. Explore the dark locations of an abandoned orphanage, solve secrets, while immersed in memories.

The first chapter “Everything comes back” introduces the unusual protagonists. They are Siamese twins living in an orphanage, who haven't only one body for two, but also a head! Each sister controls only her half of the body, but they have learned to coordinate their movements so well that they can walk, run and do other basic things.

Chapters
The game will include three chapters. Currently only the first chapter is available.

Features

• The game was created with love by two independent developers.
  
• Atmospheric and hand-drawn 2D graphics.
  
• Deep plot.
  
• Unusual characters.
  
• Journey through the memories.
  
• Original Soundtrack.

 

[LESS T_T]

Silvie and Ahmal travel each day on the same Monorail, but at different times and opposite directions. They will meet different people and make different choices, but they don’t know they are sharing a common story.

Please get on board, enjoy this unique world and try to discover all the possible endings.

Features

• A Monorail!
  
• Two playable characters
  
• A unique cast of travelers (and their stories)
  
• Lots of cats
  
• Multiple endings
  
• A deep and suggestive world
  
• Charming pixel-art graphics
  
• A groovy indie soundtrack
  
• A Monorail! (did we already say it?)

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Ah man I remember playing the demo of this a few years back. It felt awkward and weird and interesting. Thanks for reminding me to pick it up at the next sale. Good to see they finally get the second chapter out of the door soon, too.

Edit: Oh crap now I remember, it was the awful tank controls that put me off.

 

[jfrisby]

Chapter 3 releasing on May 7th

 

[Jenkem]

 

[CryptRat]

New MACVenture-like in an Arabian nights settings by the dudes who previously made INFESTED was just released.
Link : https://grahfmetal.itch.io/spectacle

Spectacular Retro Adventure
In SPECTACLE you will find yourself stranded in a magical desert kingdom with only your wits to keep you alive. Use whatever you can find to uncover the secrets of this doomed land and overcome its dangers and traps.

Meet fantastical creatures, mysterious allies and deadly monsters as you solve puzzles and piece together the history of the kingdom.



A Quest for the Ages

• 100+ game screens
• Save Game feature so progress can be continued between sessions
• Time passes as you travel between screens: solve puzzles by not only figuring out how, but also when
• Learn Spells that allow you advance time forward or temporarily stop time completely
• Randomized elements affect some puzzle solutions each time you start a new game
• A dungeon with a randomized layout every time you enter or die

 

[jfrisby]

 

[Boleskine]

This looks neat.



https://christopherlee.itch.io/timeout

In a city where the lives of humans are subjected to a time based currency system, you play the role of a hard up detective who goes on the hunt for a seller of fake time.

There are two different modes: Movie and Game Mode.

ABOUT THE GAME:

Inspired by the gorgeous visual style of The Last Night , Bioshock and the concept from the movie In Time, TimeOut is an adventure narrative game made for a university final year project. All assets including art and programming were done by myself over a span of two semesters in the School of Arts, Design & Media, Singapore.

 

[CryptRat]

A new Black Cube game (Catyph: The Kunci Experiment, ASA: A Space Adventure) was just released.

Boïnihi: The K’i Codex is, in the pure tradition of the Black Cube series, an exploration game where solving puzzles requires observation and learning the codes of the world. Created by Simon Mesnard (ASA, Catyph, Myha...) and magnified by an oriental-sounding music composed by Yazorius, Boïnihi has a gameplay never before seen in the series, halfway between Myst-like and traditional adventure games.

"An astronaut has been wandering through space for 4 years, and finally landed on an uncharted moon, where a mysterious hermit used to live alone. Boïnihi was his name, and he was one of the rare survivors of a terrible event known as "Day Zero", which happened long, long ago..."


Boïnihi is an independent and self-funded game, mainly created by one person. It has been envisaged as a 1st person adventure with a hybrid gameplay (3rd person camera). You will go through an exotic story based on the exploration of a faraway moon and the solving of didactic logical puzzles. This game is reminiscent of the Myst series but also point and click games like Syberia, The Longest Journey...


English and French (DRM-free)

Additional Bonus folder included in this purchase (mp3, video, dvd cover, comic book...)

If you buy the game here on itch.io, you'll have the possibility to request a free Steam key. Boinihi is also available for purchase on Steam.

This game is difficult and requires a pen and a paper to take notes.

Original release date: May 27th, 2020

The beautiful SciFi soundtrack of BOINIHI was composed by YAZORIUS and is available for free in streaming.
------------

Gameplay

Hybrid gameplay, between 1st person adventure (Myst, Rhem...) and 3rd person (Syberia, etc.)
Please note that a large part of Boïnihi is played with mouse, however moving the character is closer to what you could see in Grim Fandango and so playing with keyboard is mandatory (arrows or WASD). Visit the regions of the moon of the hermit, take notes on a piece of paper, and solve the puzzles!

Features

• A new episode in the The Black Cube sci-fi series (ASA, Catyph, Myha...), which can be played separately
• Visit the moon of Boïnihi (4 regions: Peibin Lake, Library Island, Ailhon Woods and Hydra Crest)
• Play as a Terran astronaut. Pick up items. Search for clues and solve puzzles to progress in the story
• 3D character on prerendered backgrounds
• Around 7~12 hours long (without the use of a walkthrough)
• Includes 3d animated videos for a better immersion
• 12 original music tracks composed by Yazorius, instruments with an asian/oriental sound
• Bonus folder included in the game files (mp3, video, DVD cover, comics...)
• Starring Klemens Koehring (Dark Nights with Poe and Munroe, JULIA: Among the Stars...) as the voice of the Hero Astronaut and as the voice of Boïnihi
• Learn step by step to decode the mysterious K'i Codex, a handpainted book made by Boïnihi himself
• Developed with Visionaire Studio engine (Deponia...)
• Available for Windows in English and French

It's also available on itch : https://the-icehouse.itch.io/boinihi