Gold-Plated Games

I always get excited when uncommon titles pop up in the Weeklong Deals, and this week builders and rhythm warriors get their dues. Project Highrise and Thumper are both excellent picks for their very, very different genres, also notable for not gracing this list all that often. There are other fine picks to pick this week as well, and a sprawling list of undesirables that can teach some important life lessons, at least.

Really hoping to get a new review out this week! Really, really optimistic! Keep hope alive!

 

This pleases me

Project Highrise (Review) – If you ever enjoyed SimTower or YootTower, this is honestly a better treatment of skyscraper-building

Thumper (Review) – Self-described as “rhythm violence”, this intense experience does not disappoint

Shadowrun Returns (review) – More of a proof-of-concept for the later games, but still a solid RPG

Happy Room (Review) – Plenty of dumb fun destroying dummies in this one

Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride (Review) – Very polished, colorful hidden object game

The Darkside Detective (Review) – Intensely charming spooky point-and-click, broken up into simple episodes

Haque (Review) – Lovely little minimalist roguelike with a few secrets to share

OK/NORMAL (Review) – Extra creepy PS1-style thing

 

You disappoint me

Hard West (Review) – Supernatural Wild West XCOM sounds amazing, but some of the design choices here are seriously questionable

Rise of Insanity (Review) – A rather nice-looking version of every generic first-person horror game on Steam

Tower of Guns (Review) – Just play MOTHERGUNSHIP instead

Forward to the Sky (Review) – Entirely too sparse and clunky for a third-person platformer

Apparition (Review) – Poorly-designed ghost hunting game

Until I Have You (Review) – The platforming in this is just infuriating

8BitBoy (Review) – How to do platforming nostalgia wrong

Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals (Review) – Massively disappointing on so many levels