Time to dive into another 50 entrants in the Independent Games Festival. Tired yet? Luckily there are a few free web-browser games between the letters “F” and “L.” Now let’s see what games actually play well with others.
You might want to see last week’s blog for more info on the self-imposed guidelines that regulate what I include and exclude in these listings. Plus you can see who won last week. Won’t that be fun?
Flatland is one of those games that is better in theory than action. Play against other people online attempting to gain more sides to your polygon by sticking your opponents with one of your corners. It’s a simple game, yet the controls still drag, seemingly in an attempt to keep up with the numerous online players. That might be improved with more polishing, but, for now, don’t waste too much time attempting to attain circle-dom.
From the same people who gave us last week’s winner Fig. 8 comes Gray. Just like Fig. 8, Gray has a unique design approach. The gameplay lacks a bit but I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of statement being made but it’s too complicated for this blogger. It might be trying to teach kids the important lesson that talking to people is pointless. Maybe not. Play it and give me your thoughts.
Icycle is the only game of the 150 I’ve looked at so far that actually made me laugh out loud. I don’t want to ruin it, but the premise is priceless. It amounts to a well designed side-scrolling game that just asks that you get to point B without becoming part of the post-apocalyptic ice-age landscape. That means you can’t fall down or you’ll freeze. Did I mention your character doesn’t have any clothes. The game goes from easy to hard pretty quickly, but it’s a hoot just to play a game that finds a good balance of design and playability.
Kahoots is a standard puzzle game in the Lemmings mold. I would argue that the little ditties that are sung to help you understand the controls are probably more enjoyable than any of the 20 free levels. Not a great sign, but not a bad start either. Worth a glance just to hear the clothes-pin alligator sing about not being able to move boxes that bolted down.
What starts off as a promising tongue-in-cheek action game turns out to be an only somewhat intriguing puzzle game that has a bit of Tetris and a lot of strategy. I played about five levels of Knightfall II before getting a hang of the controls. And while it was unexpected Knightfall II is a pretty dense game that involves a surprising amount of concentration. Play it, but don’t get sucked in.
This week’s winner? Icycle. Hands down. A browser game that can make me laugh, play more than a few levels, and give me a genuine challenge is on its way to greatness. Greatness I say.
Enjoy.
This article appears in November 13 • 2009.
