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STEAM | January 2015 - Steam GOTY results: Delayed

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B

BinaryPork2737

Unconfirmed Member
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I've been meaning to type something up about Silence of the Sleep for a while, and since it's in a bundle, now's as good as ever to post ramblings. It's honestly best not to know too much about specific plot and gameplay elements outside of the bare basics, so I'll keep spoilers to a minimum.

Silence of the Sleep is a psychological horror adventure game that seems to take inspiration from multiple horror related games including the Silent Hill franchise and The Cat Lady. One of the reasons why it's so fascinating is that a single person, Jesse Makkonen, is responsible for the entire game. That combined with how good it is just makes it really impressive to me.

Without giving too much away, the story is pretty decent. You're given enough information to have a vague idea about what's happening during the first half of the game, though the final chapter is kind of a plot dump. While it will likely go in a direction you'll mostly expect outside of a few twists, the story is still worth sticking with through to the end. The writing is a bit stilted at times, and I'm willing to bet that it's due to English not being Makkonen's native language (I'm pretty sure he's from Finland) along with the lack of an English editor. The English translation is serviceable, though, so it's fine.

The artstyle is all around excellent. There are times where it's hauntingly beautiful and times where it's surreal and slightly disturbing.

757D6631AB1A73BDAA9E46228AB37E92479A8752
Click to expand...

I really don't want to post any other screenshots because it's much better to just experience it yourself. Don't look up the monster designs, either. The monsters you encounter are surreal and lanky figures that I'll get to in a bit.

Gameplay is really divided into two sections. The first you'll encounter is the section without monsters that plays more like a traditional adventure game; it's basically the calm before the storm. You go around the environment talking to different characters, solving puzzles, and gathering items to advance to the next area. The puzzles can be a little obtuse at times, but you're still given enough hints to figure them out on your own. As long as you search the entire environment, you'll be able to get past the puzzles with brain work and a bit of luck. The other section is characterized by the appearance of monsters. You still have to gather items and solve puzzles in these sections, but hiding from the area's monster rather than talking to characters. Each monster will just instantly kill you, so it's important to use caution while searching different areas. And make sure to save often, since there are no checkpoints in the game. The lack of checkpoints might frustrate people, especially in Chapter 2, but it serves to make the monsters threatening along with penalizing you for your mistakes.

The sound design is fantastic, and used in all the right ways for a horror game, especially since it actually serves as a mechanic to avoid monsters. It also adds to the game's creepy atmosphere, which is the best part about the game.

The one negative thing that comes to mind are the controls. You basically move on a 2D plane and have the ability to turn and look at both the background and foreground. The main issue I have with that is that you can't turn from the background to the foreground, and instead have to turn left or right prior to that. It's a minor thing, but it can be really frustrating at times (mostly during the monster segments).

Sorry to keep the explanations sort of vague and short, but Silence of the Sleep is definitely a game that you should experience for yourself.
 
T

Turfster

Member
Bundlestars Vendetta Flash re-bundle
Price: 5.25€
  • Sniper Ghost Warrior 2
  • Alien Rage Unlimited
  • Disciples III Reincarnation
  • Deadly 30
  • Fearless Fantasy
  • Muffin Knight
  • Street Racing Syndicate
  • I Am Vegend
  • Iron Grip Warlord
  • Iron Grip Warlord Scorched Earth DLC
less impressive.
 
G

Gunstarheroes

Member
Freedom = $1.05 said:
Just poppin' in to say that Shovel Knight is a damn gem of a game. It's especially great given that I recently played through the ducktales remake which was such a bummer in comparison. Shovel knight should be owned by any person who likes a video game.
Click to expand...

My personal GOTY last year, glad that people are still getting and discovering it. Pretty pumped for Magfest this weekend where the composer is performing, i can't wait to jam out to some Shovel Knight tunes.
 
D

Dr Dogg

Member
someguyinahat said:
Are we in for another "TV TV TV Sports TV TV Sports Sports Callo'duty Callo'duty TV"? I mean, I hope they learned, but...
Click to expand...

More tablets, maybe Surface 4 and Windows Phone 10 unveiling if a fair few of the the folks in the Windows news and blogsphere are to be believed. Makes sense seeing as the last device that will have the Nokia brand, the Lumia 735, was released ages ago.
 
M

Miguel81

Member
Freedom = $1.05 said:
Just poppin' in to say that Shovel Knight is a damn gem of a game. It's especially great given that I recently played through the ducktales remake which was such a bummer in comparison. Shovel knight should be owned by any person who likes a video game.
Click to expand...

I hope I enjoy it as much as many of you seem to. It's on my gog cart, but I promised myself to play through a few greats on my list before purchasing/tackling this one.
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
Dr Dogg said:
More tablets, maybe Surface 4 and Windows Phone 10 unveiling if a fair few of the the folks in the Windows news and blogsphere are to be believed. Makes sense seeing as the last device that will have the Nokia brand, the Lumia 735, was released ages ago.
Click to expand...

*yonks ago
 
D

Dr Dogg

Member
MMBosstones86 said:
Well.

Looks like I'm heading to the hospital to start inducing labor. I'll see you guys on the other side.
Click to expand...

Good luck to you and your wife.

Grief.exe said:
*yonks ago
Click to expand...

Hahaha. Hey even a month is an age in the mobile phone world. Before Microsoft bought Nokia they were releasing upwards of 25+ new models of phones each year. The 735 was announced 6 months ago and was available 3 and no sign of the 930 successor which itself is 6 months old.
 
P

PetriP-TNT

Member
Silence Of The Sleep is an amazing game! Read my review:

http://steamcommunity.com/id/MemphisCreep/recommended/321870/

Silence of the Sleep is an impressive feat by a finnish one-man team: an 2,5D horror game that does not only have a well crafted story, it also looks great, sounds amazing and it manages to make your brain tick with puzzles that a reminicent of older Silent Hill games on higher difficulty levels. It does one thing and then throws you off with another, in the truest "what the hell just happened" sense.

The story is follows some horror tropes, but still finds a way to not only keep you entertained, but also has some twists that not even the most veteran horror game fan might not see. It's an amnesia story, which takes you through depths of darkness and back to light, only to drag you deeper. The game is divided in to chapters, each of which have their own gameplay twists and mood. The darkest parts are not just scary: they are horrifying to the point where you don't want to know what's behind that door.

The gameplay itself, might be the roughest part of the game. It's a 2,5D game, where you can run in 2 directions but turn in 4. Running and turning and some other sections are a bit clungy and slow, which sometimes makes certain parts of the game hard to complete. Especially on the enemy heavy sections it might frustrate you to no end, but also encourages to use the chapter-to-chapter changing mechanic. In one chapter you are running an hiding from enemies, in other you are exploring surroundings with an mysterious object. Sometimes you are listening through doors, sometimes you are peeping through a hole. Sometimes you are just engaging in everchanging conversations or having your hand in a bloody bathtub. There also seems to be some choices that might or might not change the progression of the story, so there's at least some replayability factor.

The strongest part of the gameplay are the puzzles and there are lots of them. Puzzles rely, in classic horror genre way, on items and tips found around the areas. Some are simpler, some make you search through every nook and cranny. The game also offers little tips on how to complete certain puzzles and items are many times well hidden (often without having any indication which points are searchable and which are not), encouraging for almost pixel-huntish adventure game logic. Still, the puzzles aren't unfair or overly difficult: they just require time and patience.

The graphics and sounds+music are beautifully handcrafted: there's tons variety, there are many interesting effects to creep you out and the music fits the mood perfectly. One minor complaint is that the art is only 720p native, which makes waste of higher resolutions. Game can be scretched to fit the screen though without any brutal graphical issues. At the time I was playing the game, there were a few slight glitches, such as being able to walk through a wall in a certain store room wall and some confusing gameplay choices, such as not showing that "E" is the default action button in the beginning, but at least the "E" problem was fixed with a recent patch.

If you can look past the rough edges, love games such as Silent Hill or Deadly Premonition and are willing to spend 6-8 hours on getting creeped out, intriqued and even slightly frustrated, this might be a game just for you.
Click to expand...

And buy the bundle!
 
M

Momentary

Banned
Reposting for those who've missed it.

ModBot said:
Instructions for Rayge:
Press the quote button to the left of this PM, select the quoted text, copy, and paste in the thread. You can remove these lines from the version you paste.

Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 16 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below that corresponds to the game you want. (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering). Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.

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t1cxE6r.gif
Sonic Generations -- MB-70993C7EE7BE38FC - Taken by TheLight. 13 entrants total.
Super Hexagon -- MB-C4AC5576F301D879 - Taken by woo and indeed hoo. 1 entrants total.
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome -- MB-EAB1F2314E2C4057 - Taken by mrks. 3 entrants total.
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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed -- MB-1E806B81432D8738 - Taken by gabbo. 2 entrants total.
Eleusis -- MB-E6B49E16C1F41659 - Taken by Ozium. 2 entrants total.
Super Puzzle Platformer -- MB-792B4B86090C1DF2 - Taken by Abomination. 3 entrants total.
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SpeedRunners -- MB-3D52F116E5BD1015 - Taken by fspm. 6 entrants total.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet -- MB-796BD5D2E6406B7A - Taken by titch. 1 entrants total.
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Shadow Warrior Classic Redux -- MB-559086392282A3D2 - Taken by Shadownet. 2 entrants total.
Tesla Breaks the World -- MB-B5B1E4F4A9F2067A - Taken by Darth Kupi. 1 entrants total.
Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition -- MB-FF4E183DE9ABBCCD - Taken by cardinalmind. 1 entrants total.
Volgarr the Viking -- MB-7203B17C38DFDF1D - Taken by BorntoPlay. 6 entrants total.
Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy -- MB-8F777B352BFBF337 - Taken by autoduelist. 2 entrants total.


t1421704357z1.png
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Haunted

Haunted

Member
Turfster said:
Bundlestars Vendetta Flash re-bundle
Price: 5.25€
  • Sniper Ghost Warrior 2
  • Alien Rage Unlimited
  • Disciples III Reincarnation
  • Deadly 30
  • Fearless Fantasy
  • Muffin Knight
  • Street Racing Syndicate
  • I Am Vegend
  • Iron Grip Warlord
  • Iron Grip Warlord Scorched Earth DLC
less impressive.
Click to expand...
Alien Rage is the best one out of that bunch, a fairly straightforward (but technically competent) linear FPS.
 
O

Ozium

Member
ModBot said:
Instructions for Ozium:
Press the quote button to the left of this PM, select the quoted text, copy, and paste in the thread. You can remove these lines from the version you paste.

Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 6 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below that corresponds to the game you want. (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering). Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.

ModBot Basics:
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Rules for this Giveaway:
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- This giveaway is a raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 3 hours after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.



To The Moon -- MB-F43275A07CA61190 - Taken by Naked Snake. 2 entrants total.
Quest for Infamy -- MB-949999EBA9119CB1 - Taken by thereisnoif. 6 entrants total.
The Joylancer: Legendary Motor Knight -- MB-0ACB0F647A978E73 - Taken by Bayonetta. 16 entrants total.
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack -- MB-49DC4C253C434E2D - Taken by crimsonheadGCN. 2 entrants total.
Making History II: The War of the World -- MB-50034C1676990717 - Taken by Shalashaska. 1 entrants total.
BlazeRush -- MB-9B35DC667776A5DD - Taken by Tizoc. 10 entrants total.


t1421706812z1.png
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Forgot to do Auto Repost, so here it is again...
 
A

Amzin

Member
anarckitty said:
I guess I didn't know if I needed a specific type of gaming headset for it to work. Also, I'm not familiar with software that you would use with the headset. We definitely aren't looking for a walkie talkie deal, so if you have any recommendations for the software, that would be awesome. I'm not very tech savvy.
Click to expand...

You can use any mic with any voice communication software really. Skype and Google Hangouts both among the easiest and best free options for software. Nothing fancy about setting them up, just plug in your headset and place the call.
 
C

C4rter

Member
Turfster said:
Bundlestars Vendetta Flash re-bundle
Price: 5.25€
  • Sniper Ghost Warrior 2
  • Alien Rage Unlimited
  • Disciples III Reincarnation
  • Deadly 30
  • Fearless Fantasy
  • Muffin Knight
  • Street Racing Syndicate
  • I Am Vegend
  • Iron Grip Warlord
  • Iron Grip Warlord Scorched Earth DLC
less impressive.
Click to expand...

Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 and Alien Rage Unlimited are both really fun shooters. If you are in the mood for FPShooting get this bundle.
 
M

Miguel81

Member
Bayonetta said:
Vampire The Masquerade looks like it will affect my little social life. Now to dig on the mods.
Click to expand...

VMB has some of the most absorbing atmosphere in a game. Decided on a Gangrel for my first playthrough, and it was pretty much beast mode. People tend to rec Malkavian for the extra bit of weirdness, though.

MMBosstones86 said:
Well.

Looks like I'm heading to the hospital to start inducing labor. I'll see you guys on the other side.
Click to expand...

Good luck!
 
ModBot

ModBot

Not a mod, just a bot.
Thanks to an anonymous benefactor, I am giving away 5 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below that corresponds to the game you want. (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering). Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.

ModBot Basics:
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two.

Rules for this Giveaway:
- If you are a lurker you are not eligible for this giveaway. You need five or more posts in either the current Steam thread or the previous one to be eligible
- This giveaway is a raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 24 hours after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.



The Banner Saga -- MB-6A0193DE4D79DD22 - Taken by Akuosa
Hitman Absolution -- MB-0134D56231FAF55B - Taken by pupo. 13 entrants total.
Tomb Raider -- MB-8C7B7D4F2808D3C2
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack -- MB-65108E4FE9420BCB
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By the way, there were some errors processing your keys...
Note: You did not include a valid thread URL. To use the THREAD rule you must include a valid thread URL including ?t= in the thread URL. Resubmit this giveaway if you want to correct this.


t1421791173z1.png
 
K

Kagemusha

Member
ModBot said:
Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 2 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below that corresponds to the game you want. (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering). Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.

ModBot Basics:
- No need to thank me. Please don't post thank you messages in thread or in PM.
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two.


The Few -- MB-D4DF1F277E7799BB - Taken by Haunted
The Joylancer -- MB-AA8103CAB6039213 - Taken by dot
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.
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
dante81 said:
VMB has some of the most absorbing atmosphere in a game. Decided on a Gangrel for my first playthrough, and it was pretty much beast mode. People tend to rec Malkavian for the extra bit of weirdness, though.
Click to expand...

Malk is generally recommended for a subsequent play through as the references will have context.
 
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