Journey

Post-Launch Review

Journey (PS3)

Developer: Thatgamecompany

Released: March 2012

Played: complete in ~2h:30min

About

A robed pilgrim moves through the desert toward a distant mountain through the ruins of civilization, sometimes alone, sometimes with others.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut

Post-Launch Review

Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut

Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Released: January 2015 (standalone)

Played: complete in 18h:12min

About

What should have been an easy job goes horribly wrong and your crew of mercenaries suddenly finds itself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy. A dragon that was believed killed decades ago after a post-Awakening rampage is actually alive, and now that you know, it wants you dead. The only way to protect your teammates and your home is to discover the dragon's plans and put a stop to them.

Shadowrun Returns

Post-Launch Review

Shadowrun Returns (PC)

Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Released: July 2013 (PC) / September 2013 (mobile)

Played: complete in 10h:36min

About

Set in a future where magic has returned to the world, you are a shadowrunner, a mercenary operating in the underworld independent of the megacorporations. Your friend Sam has died, and he's left you a message offering you a huge payout to find his killer. You're on the job, but the case quickly grows bigger than you imagined...

Betrayer

Post-Launch Review

Betrayer

Developer: Blackpowder Games

Released: March 2014

Played: complete in 5h:42min

About

You've washed up on shore in colonial Virginia in the 1600s. The colony is deserted; the only people you see are animalistic Spanish conquistadors who attack on sight and a mysterious woman in red who warns you away. As you explore you discover hints of a supernatural force, evil spirits, a shadow world, and the wraiths of the colonists who will slowly lead you to piece together what happened to the colony.

Among The Sleep

Post-Launch Review

Among The Sleep (PC)

Developer: Krillbite Studio

Released: May 2014

Played: complete in 97 minutes

About

It's your second birthday! Someone at the door wants to see you but mommy won't let them in. They left a present, though - a teddy bear! As you play with teddy you realize something is wrong in your house, and that night, mommy disappears. It's up to you to find her, but there's a scary monster following you...

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Post-Launch Review

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux (PC)

Developer: The Astronauts

Released: September 2014

Played: complete in 2h:48min

About

Paranormal investigator Paul Prospero has received a plea for help from Ethan Carter, a boy who gets carried away writing stories. As he tries to locate the boy, Prospero's investigation slowly reveals that Ethan woke up something he shouldn't have, something that slowly turned his family against him one by one...

Democracy 3

Post-Launch Review

Democracy 3

Developer: Positech Games

Released: October 2013

Played: 4 games over 2h:30min

(one two-term win, two first-term losses, and an assassination loss)

About

You've just been elected as the leader of a powerful democratic nation! Implement, alter, or scrap policies to balance your country's finances and wellbeing while aiming for reelection. Be careful, because if you become unpopular and lose the next election, it's game over!

Transistor

Post-Launch Reviews
Transistor (PC)
Developer: Supergiant Games
Released: May 2014
Played: story complete in 8h; 100% complete in 13h:12min

About

A man dear to popular singer Red lies dead with a sword called the Transistor in his body, but his consciousness has been taken into the Transistor. Pursued by the mysterious Camerata who stole her voice and robotic entities called the Process, Red races through Cloudbank to discover why she was targeted and why the Process are re-shaping the city.

FarSky

Post-Launch Review

FarSky

Developer: Farsky Interactive

Released: April 2014

Played: Adventure mode complete in < 2hours; some survival mode

About

With his submarine destroyed and his pressure suit too heavy to swim up, Nathan is trapped at the bottom of the ocean. He'll need to gather resources and upgrade his equipment to explore the seabed and find the broken pieces of his submarine, all while being hunted by dangerous ocean predators.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Post-Launch Review

Octodad: Dadliest Catch (PC)

Developer: Young Horses, Inc.

Released: January 2014 (PC) / April 2014 (PS4)

Played: story complete in 1h:50min

About

Experience a day in the life of an average dad... who happens to secretly be an octopus. Make coffee, do your chores, shop for groceries, and take your family to the aquarium while maintaining your cover and the angry chef dedicated to exposing you.

Saira

Post-Launch Review

Saira

Developer: Nicklas Nygren
Released: December 2009

Played: best ending obtained in 4h:12min

About

After a teleportation accident, photographer Saira realizes she's the only person in the galaxy. After two years on her own, she needs only a few more parts to finish the new teleporter she's been building to try to find out what happened to her. Saira will have to travel across seven star systems to find the parts she needs.

The Banner Saga

Post-Launch Review

The Banner Saga

Developer: Stoic

Released: January 2014

Played: story complete in 9h:40min

About

A Kickstarter success now available to the public, The Banner Saga is a tale of vikings, giants, and monsters in a world where the gods and the sun are dead. This strategy game follows two groups of humans and varl in the sparsely populated north. The dredge are forming armies and pushing south, razing settlements as they travel... but even the dredge and their immortal leaders are afraid of something.

Dungeons of Dredmor

Post-Launch Review
Dungeons of Dredmor
Developer: Gaslamp Games
Released: July 2011
Played: 25h:36min

About

The evil lich Dredmor is attempting to break out of his ancient prison, and he must be stopped! Wield silly skills, face ridiculous monsters, and hoard strange items as you die repeatedly trying to stop Dredmor.

Papers, Please

Post-Launch Review
Papers, Please
Developer: Lucas Pope
Released: August 2013
Played: 2h36min; 3/20 endings unlocked

About

In Papers, Please, the player takes the role of a border checkpoint officer for the (fictional) country of Arstotzka in the late 1980s. The player is in charge of permitting or denying access to Arstotzka, and must adapt to ballooning regulations and balance the dangers of noncompliance against ethics and financial need.

Gone Home

Post-Launch Review

Gone Home

Developer: The Fullbright Company
Released: August 2013
Played: complete in 1h:24min

About

Coming back from a year-long trip to Europe, Katie Greenbriar arrives at home to find the house empty, her family absent. Katie explores the house, searching for clues that will tell her where her sister and parents have gone.

The Stanley Parable

Post-Launch Review

The Stanley Parable

Developer: Galactic Cafe

Released: October 2013

Played: demo complete in 33 mins; game complete in 2h:18min

This isn't as "post launch" as usual, but I played the mod when that came out a couple of years ago and I've been excited to try the full version. So this review is a little early, comparatively.

About

Originally a free mod, the full version of The Stanley Parable follows Stanley, an office worker who realizes one day that all his coworkers have mysteriously vanished. Accompanied by a narrator, Stanley's investigation is a sidelong exploration of player choice and decision making in video games, in a very meta and surreal style.

Gunpoint

Post-Launch Review

Gunpoint

Developer: Suspicious Developments

Released: June 3rd 2013

About

Freelance spy Richard Conway finds himself tied up in a murder investigation when he's caught on camera near the scene of the crime. As Conway works to clear his name, the jobs he works begin to expose a bigger conspiracy, and Conway is forced to choose a side.

Legend of Grimrock

Post-Launch Review

Legend of Grimrock

Developer: Almost Human

Released: April 11 2012 (PC) / December 19 2012 (Mac & Linux)

About

Legend of Grimrock is a dungeon crawler built like some of the old classics. A party of four is tossed into the dungeons of Mount Grimrock, told that they're absolved of their crimes... if they can make it out alive. The group must solve puzzles, defeat monsters, and bypass traps in order to survive and discover the hidden truth behind Grimrock.

Castle Crashers

Post-Launch Review

Castle Crashers

Developer: The Behemoth

Released: August 2008 (XBOX) / August 2010 (PS3) / September 2012 (PC)

About

Castle Crashers is a sidescrolling beat'em'up brawler set in a fantasy world. An evil wizard steals a powerful magic crystal and the kingdom's four princesses, and the king sends four knights out to get them back. Wielding both weapons and magic, the knights fight their way through barbarian hordes, forests, rivers, volcanoes, deserts, swamp, tundra, and of course castles, in their quest to defeat the evil wizard and his minions.

Black Mesa

Post-Launch Review

Black Mesa

Developer: Black Mesa Modification Team

Released: September 14 2012

About

Black Mesa is a (near-) complete remake of Half-Life, originally released in November 1998. Black Mesa brings the aging game into the current iteration of the Source engine with upgraded graphics and tweaked gameplay. It follows the now-classic story of Gordon Freeman, a physicist working for the Black Mesa Research Facility, caught in the middle of a catastrophic dimensional rift and the military response to the event.