HomeFeatures
Priceless Play - 1 February 2020Games to stave away existential dread
Games to stave away existential dread
Well, we’ve made it to February of 2020. Has the sheen of the new decade worn off yet? It sure does seem like, even with the new numbers and everything, we’re pretty much right where we left off. My laundrydoesn’tsuddenly do itself now that I live in the future, and politicsstillsuck. It seems that coming to live in the brave new world of the 2020s is a lot like growing up – I keep wandering around, blindly waiting to feel like I’m an adult. I’m almost 30, and I have a sinking suspicion that nothing is going to start making sense any time soon.
Here’s your free games roundup, folks. Today’s collection features the absurdity of being alive and navigating the horror of perseverance. But fun!
The SupperfromOctavi Navarro
The Supper follows one Ms. Applewood as she prepares aterriblyscrumptious meal for three doomed men. Or are they beasts? Like Navarro’s other work, this pixel-art adventure game sticks to the tried-and-true trappings of point-and-click games. You’ll have to hunt down the right ingredients, combine them in the right order, and solve small puzzles before you can get dinner on the table – it’s sure to be to die for. Didn’t I say I was going to teach you how to cook?
Endless Void ForeverfromBreogán Hackett
The SnakeMotherfromAdrien Brégeot
I recently saw the 2019 horror flick Midsommar, and I have to say: I don’t trust gigantic stone tablets with cuneiform from some long forgotten language I don’t know how to read. But it’s bully for me as far as The SnakeMother goes. The SnakeMother is a Bitsy adventure game that operates differently from most any other Bitsy game I’ve played so far. Rather than controlling a single sprite who makes their way cheerily from room-to-room, the game takes place as a series of images and prompts; much like a visual novel might. Perhaps this is old news for others, but it’s new for me. Regardless, Brégeot’s background as an illustrator comes across clearly – the images are stunning.
The GiftfromBalázs Rónyai
The Gift is a gorgeous adventure game from the same folks who brought usThe Herbalist. As in The Herbalist, you are a mute adventurer who is tasked with a quest. Where in The Herbalist you had to traverse the desert in search of a special herb, in The Gift you are attempting to collect a series of blue dots as you navigate down a winding river in a boat. The game is fairly short, but the topography is treacherous. The controls are sometimes a bit fiddly, but the game is more than satisfying enough to overcome the occasionally stuck boat.
