There are a lot of games, and it is simply impossible to write in detail about everyone. In gambling, we try to pay attention to the best indie projects, but large releases, of course, give priority. As a result, it is not always possible to play all potentially interesting small games in time – and it happens to them a whole overview. Therefore, we decided to create a new section “Nakhodka of the month”, in which we will talk about small games in free form. First of all, we will try to highlight fresh and good releases, but we will periodically affect the older games that deserve attention, and also warn about the disappointing new products.
Ready O r not
Platforms : PC
Andrey Duvanov
Ready or not The easiest way is to characterize as " Swat 5 , which we were waiting, but never received ". If you suddenly do not know, Swat – This is a fairly old series of tactical shooters, where the developers tried to reliably convey the specifics of the work of special forces. So, for example, any shot could be fatal, and before the elimination of the threat it was necessary to try to neutralize the target ablue: with the help of rubber bullets, tutors or a formidable cry, “lying in the face in the floor!"(A whole key was allocated for him). More than 15 years have passed since the release of the last part of the SWAT, but neither a continuation nor a worthy analogue has appeared – at least until the Ready or not access to early access.
All working elements of the SWAT series were carefully transferred to Ready or not, and the rest of the authors of VOID Interactive managed to successfully modernize without violating the original formula. Each task here begins the same: a detachment of special forces (under the control of players or not the worst bots) arrives at the place of assault. To neutralize the bomb, to remove the hostage, to eliminate the terrorists – there are five types of tasks in the game, but ultimately all comes down to leaving as many operatives and suspects as possible as possible. The ability to quickly make decisions, act harmoniously and not to succumb to panic here is much more important than a mark of shooting. Opponents and traps Mystake Casino will not leave single players and a chance, and understanding when it is worth opening fire is a key. Hurried with shooting – touched civilian. Did not grab the trunks on time – they themselves were killed under a hail of bullets.
But finding this balance may not be easy: Ready or not successfully keeps in tension from the beginning to the end of the entire operation. The premises where you have to work is always dark and cramped, and the danger can wait for literally at every angle: enemies here are able to both arrange full -fledged ambushes and go to your detachment in the back. Civilians constantly climb under bullets, and disarmed suspects adore at the last moment to get the second gun and attack stealthily. And each locked door is generally a whole event with a number of possible outcomes, which are very difficult to predict in advance. Knock out the door from the foot, hoping that there will be no stretching behind her? Or slowly check the room with a camera, risking to give yourself in the process?
Due to the fact that the smallest mistake here can cost a detachment of life, and a successful operation at any moment can ride to hell, almost every shootout in Ready or Not feels like the last. Shooting suddenly begins and also suddenly calms down, but in these short moments of the battle, everyone in the detachment fights like a lion: so fiercely and mercilessly that after a collision I want to naturally take a breath. Shootings here as a whole are felt surprisingly nice. Although in front of us and an indie project from a team of ten people, all the trunks sound and look great, but there is not a single useless tool in the arsenal.
But classic problems in the game are still enough for early access. I practically never met the bugs here, but the variety of situations and volumes of content begin to exhale much faster than I would like. However, even in such a short time, the game managed to give quite vivid emotions so that I was looking forward to the release of the full version of Ready or not. The main thing is that the developers can fully reveal the full potential of their brainchild.
Train Valley 2
Platforms : PC
Sergey Tsilyurik
In recent years, I have tried many games about transport: from dilogy CITIES in Motion And Transport Fever 2 to very tiny ** mashinky ** and My Train Arrives. But not one hooked as much as Train Valley 2 , where I managed to spend more than 500 hours in a year and a half.
Train Valley 2 – half manager, half a puzzle. Here you will not have to build a global logistics empire: each level is a compact test for the time, within which you need to deliver specific goods to these cities. From the settlements we carry workers who, upon arrival in mines or factories, begin to produce appropriate goods, and they can be useful as components for something else. So, in order to create electrical appliances, you need to deliver workers, copper ingots and rubber to the plant, and for ingots you need to collect workers, coal and copper ore at another enterprise, and for rubber – workers and resin. Each successfully arrived train gives revenue to which you can build new ways, as well as buy and improve the compositions.
Thus, the task of the player in Train Valley 2 is to determine the number of necessary resources, set the priorities of their production and delivery and lay the ways. And only then run trains, transfer arrows so that they reach the right station, and improve the compositions so that the goods are delivered more promptly. Train Valley 2 complies with the perfect balance between the importance of tactics and execution: most levels can be thought out completely before the launch of the first composition, but careful control of the movement of train and subsequent expenses is distinguished by a beginner from the pro. There is always where to grow in terms of improving your own results.
And if there are few 50 levels of delivery of goods, that is, also an excellent DLC "Passenger flow" , which adds individual passenger stations, which will also need to spend attention and active compositions. And thanks to Steam Workshop, the number of available stages, including very high -quality, is only growing day by day. The game has a devoted community that developers (by the way, immigrants from the countries of the former USSR) delightedly delighted with new Chellends with prizes. Do not tear yourself away!
Unsighted
Platforms : PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Denis Pavlushkin
Like any self -respecting person without personal life, I spent a significant part of the January holidays of the house, raking the Backlog of Games accumulated over the past year. However, no matter what I would take on, everything seemed to be somehow … indifferent, or something. Not bad, but at the same time not worthy of a separate conversation. I still did not understand what people found in Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights , Although connoisseurs of the genre call it one of the best metroids of recent years. The ArtFul Escape Stunningly beautiful, but behind the psychedelic visual hides just an interactive music clip. Road 96 It looked interesting, only the procedural generation went more likely to the harm to the narrative than for the good.
And then I accidentally stumbled upon Unsighted – Brazilian's debut Studio Pixel Punk. This is not to say that she makes an encouraging first impression. The cover of the game, where the multi-colored (in every sense of the word) are pushed a ribbon girl, pushes into a hasty conclusion that a high project score on Metacritic It is more likely to be a presentation of minorities and a social agenda. But in fact, Unsighted is a decent isometric action in the spirit of the early The Legend of Zelda , Very similar to Hyper Light Drifter. A painstakingly designed world, a dynamic combat system tied to endurance management, shallow puzzles, pleasant pixel art and unexpectedly good music. Nothing radically new, but everything old is done with knowledge of the matter and close attention to the details. Therefore, the gameplay is felt extremely smooth and responsive.
Although even familiar mechanics here appear in a slightly different light for one simple reason: in the world Unsighted the worst enemy is time. The city where the events of the game are unfolding is inhabited by all kinds of robots that have found self -awareness thanks to the fall of a mysterious meteorite. People died out for a long time, in a panic, having unleashed a deliberately losing war against androids, but finally sealed a meteorite, thereby blocking the only source of fuel. Therefore, all the reasonable inhabitants of the world, including the main character, are lending. Without regular injections of meteorite dust, their personal energy reserves sooner or later run out. And as soon as this happens, they will lose their minds once and for all – no one is safe from the inevitable death, including the characters important for the plot. Only the player decide which of them will last until the final of history: the life of robots can be extended by sacrificing a portion of scarce dust, but there will not be enough of it for everyone.
Tiemers and other forms of time restrictions have always been quite contradictory mechanics. I perfectly understand those who categorically do not tolerate such things: I myself do not like it when they are rushed somewhere, especially in video games-life is already full of stress. The authors of Unsighted also understand this and offer in advance to turn off the timer at the beginning of the passage. But it is better to leave everything as it is, otherwise it will not be at all. The inevitable course of time greatly increases bets, and you have to worry not so much about yourself as about other residents of the city, counting on your help. They are not too well revealed as characters, but still do not want to throw them at certain death, especially since everyone will definitely thank for the care. Some unique weapon, a useful gadget or at least a discount in the shop.
That's why it is doubly difficult to see how much the interlocutor remains to live: Unsighted constantly reminds that no one is eternal. As they pass, dust reserves are melting rapidly, and opponents become more and more dangerous. Each death of the heroine squeezes the timer for a few hours ahead, there is less and less time. At some point, you will inevitably have to make a selfish choice: to save the one you like more, or the one whose reward will bring more benefits in the future. I still lament that I stopped helping my cute grandmother, who always greeted me with a warm smile.
At times, Unsighted really breaks on emotions, and naturally, without an excess. It is a pity that the narrative still does not reach the heights that could. A fragmentary plot (if it can be called a plot at all) poorly reveals the central topics of the narrative, and the characters of the city residents are limited by brief background and equally brief replicas in dialogs. However, for the debut work of a small Unsighted studio – unequivocal success. I am slightly disappointed only because it could turn out even better.
- Dream Computer: Hyperpc Cyber test on the new Intel Core i9-12900K
- Review Dying Light 2: Stay Human – rebel from the production hell
- What to play in February 2022: Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Total War: Warhammer III