Adventure Gamers - Forums

I hope you’ll enjoy the game. It’s rather slow-paced, but quite charming.

I should be sleeping, but I can’t. Or I could, if I popped one of these pills, but I really don’t want to. So I’m playing the successor to the deeply unsettling Bad Dream: Coma:

Bad Dream: Fever.

I’m not fond of one particular thing it does in the puzzle department, but everything else about this game has captivated me in a way not many games have done in a long time.

Playing Buddy Simulator 1984 - read about it in the Candidates for best adventure game of the year thread where it was favourably compared to There Is No Game. What a weird experience. You are led by a programme with its own AI through a set of adventure-related levels, only this time it doesn’t try to stop you - instead it wants to be your best friend, creating universes to enteratian you and gain your friendship. It starts as a simplified interactive fiction which turns into an early graphical adventure which is then upgraded to a 3D-like adventure/RPG. A number of glitches along the way hint you there’s something wrong to all this situation.

I really like the concept and the meta humour, but graphically the game is pretty ugly, also way too easy (yes, it makes fun of early adventure/RPG cliches, but still a good challenge would be welcomed), and it’s glitchy - in a bad, unintentional way. You can’t save in this game, there’s only autosave, thus I had to replay half of it because I started a final quest and then returned to the previously unfinished subquest which led to a dead end. Then I couldn’t leave a location and had to reload the whole thing. And now it suddenly turned into a JRPG with turn-based combat which is basically a set of quick time events mini-games. I’m genereally not a fan of QTE, and here it becomes very intrusive, so I’m not sure I want to continue. But the game is very unique, that’s for sure, very 1980s.

Oh yes, and Merry Christmas to all forumers!

dirac - 26 December 2021 07:54 AM

Started with Danganronpa Decadence for the Nintendo Switch, it’s a game collection that launched this year with all 4 Danganronpa games 1,2,3 + Ultimate Summer Camp combined in one collection. Never played any of these games before but they were always on my list, heard so many good things about it (best visual novel ever, yadayada…) and god it’s all true, this game is phaenomenal, so far. Think about a twisted, morbid, Phoenix Wright game with much better storytelling, characters and cases, all baked together in a Battle Royal style setting. Also of course as a japanese Visual Novel with all the typical quirks. So far I like everything about the game, if it can keep this quality till the end, probably my game of the year.

I wish I was you. Loved these games. I replay them all the time. Best adventure games on the PSVITA.

V3 won a silver Aggie for best Japanese adventure game, well deserved.

After failing to fall asleep again, I figured I might as well use the extra time to play another game from the back catalogue:

The Painscreek Killings. I believe it’s been mentioned on the boards before, I think that’s what triggered me to try the game.

It’s an investigation. An actual investigation: you get a couple of tools, like a journal and a photo camera, but that’s it. Walking around in an abandoned town that at some point was defined by a very particular and seemingly inexplicable murder. No one was convicted of the crime, but it was the death sentence for the town itself; you find yourself walking around in a ghost town, looking for any information that could help close the case.

I’m pretty impressed.

Vegetable Party - 26 December 2021 11:21 PM

After failing to fall asleep again, I figured I might as well use the extra time to play another game from the back catalogue:

The Painscreek Killings. I believe it’s been mentioned on the boards before, I think that’s what triggered me to try the game.

It’s an investigation. An actual investigation, you get a couple of tools, like a journal and a photo camera, but that’s it. Walking around in an abandoned town that at some point was defined by a very particular and seemingly inexplicable murder. No one was convicted of the crime, but it was the death sentence for the town itself; you find yourself walking around in a ghost town, looking for any information that could help close the case.

I’m pretty impressed.

This is one of my favourite games of recent years and I’ve certainly mentioned it here, as have others (not all so complimentary )
As you say it is a proper investigation, little hand holding and loads to keep note of. I actually bought a large desktop whiteboard to keep track of everything which got filled up 3 times during the course of the game.
I just checked my Steam account to see how long I spent on it to find it was 21 hours. And that was just the one play through. I did want to replay it but my friend’s little girl (8 years old) has also an interest in playing it as she likes the searching and thinking about what should be done. Being 8 she doesn’t get to call round very often (school during the week and off to her dad’s weekends) but I’m waiting for those times that she is available and wants to have a go.
As you probably gather it’s a big game and there’s no fast travel. There’s very much a sense of realistic investigative journalism here and you have to work hard at it. Very enjoyable even if I did completely cock up the ending.
I really should get back to playing the demo for the creators’ next game (Scene Investigators) which looked good but there’s no save facility and I don’t know how long it is nor how log I can give it in one sitting.

DCast - 26 December 2021 02:29 PM

Buddy Simulator 1984 was one of my personal favorites, although it’s not for everyone, and I wouldn’t compare it to There’s No Game, mostly because the only thing they have in common would be a meta element about game playing.
I think the ugliness was intentional overall, but structurally, the first part of the game with text and early graphic adventure was stronger than later parts. I didn’t encounter any glitches or issues because of the autosave only, but it sucks if you did - I hate those moments.

Generally though, I love these kinda games - unique, bold indies where the developer tries something completely different and take a risk, so to speak. I also liked the story, and the slow escalation - as a player you get to speed it up/slow it down, depending on your cooperation. I found to be a very neat idea wrapped in a well-done execution. I played it back when it came out in February, and I still think it was one of the best one for me all year, and hey - I’m glad you gave it a try!

The bug in question occured to me after the stone asked to talk to the deilvery girl who is running around the town. Instead I went to the secret house with a ringing phone which gave me a quest to steal a package from the girl. After I did that, she just kept running without ever stopping to talk, so I had to replay the whole thing. And from what I read at Steam forums, I accidently avoided another game stopping bug that involved the stone which couldn’t be retrived from a certain location.

The game is very good at imitating the earlier days of gaming (the “old monitor” effect and distant sounds from the street add to the experience) while creating a unique experience. It may be just me since I discovered video games during the 1990s, missing the majority of earlier games, so that I can’t fully enjoy these kind of throwbacks today, idk. Although it still feels unnecessarily simplified and udercooked to me.

Like, the parser in the IF part. Or when you get the sword and start hitting everything - to no result. Zelda, Ultima or similar 1980s games were often filled with interactive breakable environment and hidden secerets. Buddy Sim is not too rewarding despite all the efforts of your “friend”. I was rather dissapointed to discover that no matter which pet you name, it will appear as a simple dog in the game. I’m currently accompanied by a zebra called Zebra that looks like a dog)) But at least it’s there and it’s funny. Maybe I’ll finish the game after all, I’m curious to see what it’s all about.

I am playing 2064 read only memories and Still Life 2. I’m enjoying both, I’ve just started them so I don’t have any major issues with the games so far, hopefully that will continue.

2064 has got to be the most retro game I’ve ever played, very, very, very basic graphics. But, the characters are amazing and the dialog is quite funny at times.

Still Life 2 looks great and plays great, solid puzzles and plot so far. Hopefully these games will continue to please.

I highly recommend them so far.

im actively trying to pretend summer camp does not exist.

It’s not an actual release like Dangaronpa 1-3. It’s a bonus game for those who bought the Spike Chunsoft Danganronpa Decadence collection.

So, like it or not, it’s just a fun little bonus for those who bought the collection. I myself don’t care for it, but technically it’s a freebie, so I don’t mind.