Indies for the weekend

The Nightmare Catcher

When it comes to gaming genres I like to think that I like them all. I like RPGs as well as RTSs and FPSs. JRPGs as well as racing games or sports games and like everyone else, I have some genres that I prefer more than others. However, one genre of games that I haven't really managed to get into and this might also be because of a lack of trying, is the first-person survival genre. I just can't bring myself to play them for very long and I tend to lose interest pretty quickly. Even though the number of games in this genre has exploded in the last few years and a lot of players have taken quite a liking to them, I'm one of the few that just can't bring myself to do the mundane stuff that is usually required in this sort of game. Chopping wood, breaking rocks, cooking food, making clothes, etc. If I want to do chores, I'll just do them in real life. That way I at least get something from it.

As you already might have guessed, The Nightmare Catcher is an FPS survival game with a unique twist. You play as an explorer sent from Earth to find a way to save it after it has gone through WW3. On your way through space, your ship gets into an accident upon which you escape the ship in one of the ship's escape pods. Now you must find a way to survive and hopefully leave the planet you find yourself on. The game follows the regular tropes of the survival genre which usually are explore, collect, craft and survive. The game has a few unique twists of its own to make it stand out from the others but it's nothing major. Currently, it is only a single-player experience, but considering that it's still in Early Access this might change along the way. It looks great and plays okay since it could use some performance optimization. Overall though, might be worth spending a few hours on but in the state the game is in now, I wouldn't recommend it as a regular mainstay to any hardcore survivalist.
Game Link

Dissonance

Let me start by saying that even though it says that the game is a topdown adventure, it isn't. The game's camera gives you more of an isometric view which you can see for yourself on its Steam page. In this one, you play as someone that works for an organization that is responsible for containing and extracting paranormal creatures and artifacts. You have been sent on a mission to seek out a team that hasn't returned from its latest mission and hopefully also find your brother, who was part of the team. This one is a nice adventure puzzle game that doesn't really have any direct combat but instead makes the player come up with inventive ways of getting past enemies and obstacles with the help of the environment and the tools at their disposal. Solving these puzzles and getting past the various obstacles and enemies feels quite satisfying and I never got to a point where I got frustrated or the solution to a puzzle or obstacle seemed too illogical.

The game also has some pretty nice music and atmosphere even though the music tends to cut off pretty quickly in some places. Technically the game isn't a visual marvel however, it does suffer from some pretty severe optimization issues. Still, though, this is not a detriment to enjoying the gameplay and feeling the satisfaction of cleverly disposing of enemies or getting past a puzzle. With that in mind, I believe that it would be enough for most gamers out there to see the game through to the end credits.
Game Link