Special Thanks Roll Down
Running with Scissors (Postal 2)
Awfully Nice Studios (The Bug Butcher)
Ape Law (Albino Lullaby)
Cockroach Inc. (The Dream Machine)
Nathan Meunier (This Book Is A Dungeon)
IMGN.PRO (Kholat)
Scorpius Games (I Shall Remain)
Shiver Games (Lucius Demake & Lucius II)
Jesse Makkonen (Silence of the Sleep & Distraint)
Zoink Games (Zombie Vikings)
Funcom (The Park)
Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, a few weeks before Halloween. I bought two game bundles from Bundle Stars. Demon Bundle is easily one of the best bundles I ever bought. This is the closest to actually being an successor to their own Horror Heroes Bundle. Yes just like that bundle, all of these are indie games. This bundle is perfect for Halloween covering more ground than any horror or Halloween inspired bundles. I am honestly very impressed with the selection of games in this bundle.
1. Postal 2
Along with The Dream Machine are the only games to have dlcs included in the bundle. You are getting Postal 2 Complete with Paradise Lost that's exclusive to Steam for great prices. In this game you play as the Postal Dude, going around town doing some really not pleasant & horrible unspeakable things. Let's get a few things straight before I continue with the review. Officially this is more of an sandbox FPS than an horror game. But you do face zombies with possibilities so horrifying I'm amazed this game got released. Honestly you are very likely to get offended by this game than being actually scared. If you played games like Conker's Bad Fur Day or Grand Theft Auto series. You get a lot of freedom to do what you want yet it's really offensive to the point of upsetting all kind of people. This might be an tough pill to swallow but I like stuff like this. When I think of freedom of speech this will be one of my examples of it. Postal 2 has a few expansions that further built onto that madness. What's crazier is this stands as one of the select few games I own on Steam that has the workshop. This allows people to upload mods including making the game completely sandbox like Garry's Mod. All that extra content easily makes Postal 2 one of the best Demon Bundle has to offer.
2. This Book Is A Dungeon
An text adventure with horror elements isn't common in today's world. Back then there were an handful of them on several platforms. This game pays tribute to those game, You have to pay attention to everything to get far. You won't have much control over your character which that's expected in those games. But when you face enemies it is up to luck. This means you could be doing fine until one battle & you could easily lose. Very palm appearance with some detail images. This game won't hold your hand from the moment you start playing. You have to consider so much in every location. Honestly it isn't bad for that style games but it just isn't my thing.
3. The Bug Butcher
I am really amazed how great this game is. You are firing rapidly at all kind of insects. You can play two modes with one having two versions. I love the power ups you get as they make it more fun & entertaining to watch. There isn't bosses but there are creatures I could consider bosses. Very good art style with mind blowing audio that's really good. I really like my controller works perfectly for this game. This game is really addicting to play no matter how you view it. The Bug Butcher has large potential of being one of the greatest indie games of all time. I kid you not this game is an must have in most gamer's collections.
4. The Dream Machine (Episodes 1-3)
This bundle gives you half the entire game. But I got to be honest I didn't think I like this as close as much as I do now. Yes this is an strange point & click game but an very interesting one indeed. You won't have to worry about taking too long or losing. Some puzzles especially those in Episode 3 are tough. Very easy controls with interesting animation style. Every character with some stuff you see is made out of clay. Everything else is made out of card boxes yet both are used so well that I'm impressed. What's crazy is they been working on all the episodes since 2010 with only Episode 6 isn't out. This is an great game with lighter dark humor from Blackbay Asylum. I do recommend this game for fans of the genre or what more indie games standing out.
5. Lucius Demake
An alternate version of Lucius 1 that started from pictures an fan made in 16-bit retro style. This concept really hit home with Shiver Games. They quickly started working on this game coming an year after Lucius 2. I am really impressed by how well everything is done. They took an recent game series to recreate in classic 80s style. All the audio especially music really works for this game. I love how easy & fun this game is making it achievement friendly. Lucius Demake has some of the most graphic scenes I ever seen in an horror game. This is heavily inspired by The Omen movies with an similar concept. An surprisingly dark game that constantly gets you more interested in what's going on. Only an handful of bosses but after a few tries you will figure them out. It is really fun to go around exploring the place. This game is amazing in everything it nails to perfection. Possibly one of the surprise hits in Demon Bundle.
6. The Park
This game has you play as an mom searching for her kid. You can explore the theme park to get on rides. Some creepy unexpected moments will get you by surprise. An interesting dark environment with some an very clear idea where to go. Very achievement friendly that it's possible to get most achievements in your first run. Some parts will throw you off like any typical horror game. There isn't puzzles which I know some don't like dealing with them. To me an great horror game should have an complex design even if that's only in it's puzzles. It makes you think about the reality & all the possibilities no matter how unlikely they are. This is an good game but there are better games in Demon Bundle. I will say for an spin off game it is one of the best I played.
7. I Shall Remain
An crazy zombie game that in an weird way reminds me of Dead Rising series. You play as someone already infected, you are trying to survive. All your zombies are different types of zombies you will be facing. Controls will take some time to get use to but that's when the fun begins. You can search areas for stuff like medical, ammo and weapons. Like some games in Dead Rising series, you can buy stuff from other survivors. Personally I felt this was done better in Dead Pixels. Especially the leveling can be tedious requiring a lot of patience. This was better done in Deadly 30 an better zombie game for your money. I actually like the artwork put into this game. Some areas are confusing due to being set up kinda like classic FPS game maps. A lot of detail got put into I Shall Remain. Survival is my favorite mode to play as you can keep going & stop at any time. This does come off more like an true tutorial than the actual one but it gets the job done.
8. Lucius II
This is an sandbox horror game where you have to kill people in such horrible ways. This plays similar to Lucius 1 with some improvements. Half the game takes place inside an hospital. Any horror game does well with that. More recently after sometimes it loads up my game after I die. Partly the game glitches with key items. Thankfully the maps do work but it takes an while to get use to them. There is an leveling system similar to many games I played recently. Sometimes you have to be creative to get things done especially low on that meter to do crazy stuff. The controls do work fine but a little sensitive when it comes to throwing things. Lucius II is an good game for what it is but there are better games in the Demon Bundle.
9. Kholat
This is similar to newer Fallout games. You get to explore to search for items, hunting enemies and fast travel between locations. But you are limited to what you have. Your goal is to survive under such tough conditions. Unknown enemies, heavy snow with no real direction where to go. This game has trouble running on my computer even after I toned it down as much as I could. It still lacks mostly in audio from time to time. This is an game of patience & having an guide could help you. Honestly this game is okay I don't see all the hype comes from. But it is far from an bad game & there are better games in the Demon Bundle.
10. Albino Lullaby: Episode 1
Only the first episode was included in the bundle. This is an weird stealth & horror chase game. You have to avoid these creatures by out running them, turning on blue lights or get them into hazards. It took an while to configure the game the way I wanted. Very interesting look to the game with good sound effects. Very good graphics for what it's suppose to be. Yes you can lose in this game from not getting far away from your enemies. It is likely you could get loss which I recommend reading or watching an guide. Albino Lullaby does get you thinking during the game. Sometimes have to take risks to survive. The controls do work but take time getting use to. I already played an better episodic horror game series called The Walking Dead. Now those I am going to save for an special occasion. You do get an ability to help you a little bit instead of avoiding the enemies. Some areas have more than meets the eye so pay close attention to your environments. Overall not bad I do enjoy what I played of it. We will see if I ended up getting the rest of the game in the near future.
11. Zombie Vikings
An hack & slash beat em up game with an store to buy helpful stuff like better weapons. You play as an handful of zombie vikings taking on all kind of enemies. Your goal is to stop the witch & Loki no matter what the cause. I am very happy I can play this with an controller. Yes it takes time getting use to but very quickly the controls do their job. Some levels involves keep moving to survive. I also like the map system allowing you to replay levels to help with upgrading. I really like this game's dark humor which I'm an huge fan of. For example around you face your first enemies, two of them are talking. Out of the clear blue one of them said go eat an turd and goes on about how delicious it is. Yeah that's disgusting although this is an horror themed game. You have to collect a lot of coins & brains during the game to get far. I also like I can skip cut scenes I already watched even dying from an boss fight. Zombie Vikings is an great game that I can't get enough of playing. I highly recommend it to those trying to find more games like it.
12. Distraint
A simple horror game that does require some back tracking. A lot of surprising moments to keep on your toes. You play as a man not happy with his job since he has to kick people out of their homes. You can tell how much of him is losing it. This does remind me of Silent Hill series just not as good as those. This is a very easy game to keep track of what to do. Of course I do recommend a guide but a few runs should be easy to memorize it. Although it takes some time getting use to the controls, they're simple enough to work just fine. Thankfully you can't lose in this game except if you give up. Which gives you no excuse to rage quit on it. Distraint was made by a man with some of his relatives. Despite how small the team that made this sure created a gem among horror games.
13. Silence of the Sleep
This is one of the absolute best Silent Hill clones I ever seen. It is a slow pace game with tricky puzzles & strict avoiding mechanics. You play as a man named Jacob trapped inside a hotel. Nothing in this game is what it appears to be. Silence of the Sleep is considered to be one of the scariest games in recent years. You have to pay attention to every major chance to survive. Easily one of the most out there experiences in any horror game you could ever possibly have.
Now it's time to rank all the games included in this bundle...
13. Kholat
12. I Shall Remain
11. This Book Is A Dungeon
10. Lucius II
9. Albino Lullaby: Episode 1 Missing two episodes
8. Zombie Vikings
7. The Park
6. The Dream Machine (Episodes 1-3) Half the entire game
5. The Bug Butcher
4. Silence of the Sleep
3. Distraint
2. Postal 2 (all expansions)
1. Lucius Demake
No comments:
Post a Comment