Indies for the weekend
2022-05-05 by George P
Karawan
Karawan is a game that first caught my attention with its fantastic pixel art style and its
wonderful color palette, but kept me engaged through its simple but smart gameplay. In the
game, you enter a crumbling world, and you are given the task of safely escorting your caravan
to a magic portal in order to escape. But you need to be careful with your decisions, as with
every passing turn, pieces of the map will collapse behind you. Karawan is a great example of
a strategy game that is easy to grasp but hard to master. The game's mechanical foundation
is minimal and straightforward. You only control the direction your caravan will travel towards
and you are occasionally given the chance to choose from a few tactical actions when reaching
specific landmarks. Using this very simple formula, Karawan is able to develop a surprising
amount of depth and complexity through clever design choices and a well-thought-out main
level. This is a game that encourages you to plan many steps ahead and calculate the potential
outcomes of your choices in regards to resources, survivability, and most importantly,
positioning. Along the journey, you will get the chance to unlock new units that will join your
caravan, such as farmers that can collect food, miners that can excavate precious materials,
or woodcutters that can chop down trees and build bridges. But the Karawan's most
interesting unit, and a central part of both the gameplay and the world's lore, is the Magus.
A master of sorcery that gives you access to eight reality-bending spells such as time control,
teleportation, and earth manipulation. The smart twists and mechanics that the game
introduces through the Magus work very well with the game's simple foundation and provide
an additional layer of depth and complexity. Karawan is a project that showcases great
potential through its strategic gameplay and sharp aesthetics and has the opportunity of
becoming a successful full-fledged game in the future
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Odglos
Odglos is a one-of-a-kind experience that is equally bizarre and fascinating. It is a peculiar
game that feels both cheerful and soothing while at the same time inspiring curiosity. In
Odglos you follow the surreal journey of a series of adorable stuffed creatures in an
experience that explores the origins, history, and evolution of experimental music. The game
mainly focuses on the role and influence of Polish musicians and composers, as Poland is
where the game’s development team is based on. What I found most impressive in Odglos is
how well-coordinated its visual and auditory presentation was. Every piece of music in the
game is represented visually by unique sets, props, and figures, as well as the game’s very
charming stop-motion animation. The highlight in Odglos is how the animation is masterfully
used to dynamically communicate sounds, melodies, and rhythms, creating an experience
that feels vibrant, lively, and full of energy. For a short game, there is also such a wide variety
of scenes and locations all of which are representative of a range of styles, variations, and
sub-genres of experimental and electronic music. Additionally, Odglos manages to be
interesting and informative without ever feeling tedious. The game achieves that through the
harmonious synchronization between its stop-motion animation and its soundtrack, as well
as the use of plenty of fun and subtle ways to indirectly communicate its topic. Odglos is
primarily an interactive experience without any challenging sections. However, the game also
includes some light puzzle elements that I thought were cleverly executed and made the game
feel more dynamic and adventurous. After finishing the game, I felt like I had just returned
from a magical trip to a world that was previously completely unknown to me. Odglos is great
for anyone looking for a relaxing and delightful experience, but also for anyone who enjoys
unique games with unusual themes and topics.
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High Entropy: Challenges
High Entropy: Challenges is a unique puzzle experience with FPS elements that includes an impressive amount of content for a free game. In High Entropy, you find yourself in a survival simulation and your main goal is to escape each one of the game’s fourteen levels without getting killed by the various threats that you will you encounter. Many games follow a similar formula but what I found remarkable in High Entropy is the number of possible ways a player can approach each level. There are various tools and choices you can utilize to escape and the game does not hold your hand but instead lets you discover these different options on your own. As you navigate each level you will be confronted by a range of deadly obstacles such as traps, environmental hazards, sentry turrets, and the different types of corrupted robots that linger in the simulation. All these elements make the gameplay loop feel engaging as players can explore many different options, craft their own plan of action, and execute said plan in real-time. On top of that, each level includes optional objectives that provide an additional layer of challenge for completionists and encourage players to better understand and evaluate all of the tools, paths, and choices available to them. One of the highlights of High Entropy is the way the game integrates computers and console commands as mechanics. Terminals and screens are common interactive objects in the puzzle and survival horror genres, but High Entropy takes that concept one step further. In High Entropy, computers are an integral part of both the level design and the array of gameplay options that the player can utilize to escape each level. Beyond the core gameplay, High Entropy also manages to be graphically interesting. The game combines 80s/90s era old-school technology aesthetics with a mix of Portal and Half-Life characteristics and uses vintage toy designs for the robot enemies. Both the visuals and the audio complement the envisioned aesthetic and they help make the overall experience significantly more distinct and captivatingGame Link
