Vasilis from Publisher Sometimes You and Developer Marginal Act
Kind of a weird story. If you’re looking for a slow paced game this is probably right up your alley. If you’re not a fan of walking simulators it may not be a good fit.
Hand drawn in black and white side scrolling adventure.
The story is based on political events in Ukraine during 2014. You play an elderly lady named Vasilis who is trying to locate her husband. While searching for him you’ll have to make your way through the troubled city. There are riots happening throughout the city as it starts to burn.
You have several locations to visit while exploring the town. The locations start to become weirder the further into the story you progress.
You’ll pick up items around the town to trade with the townspeople for other items necessary to continue the story and access new areas. There were a few times during the earlier “days” where we were unsure what to trade to whom in order to progress. We traded every item we had until finally finding the right thing. This was only confusing during the earlier parts of the game as it became clearer what you needed to trade with whom during the later days.
Most of the actual game play is walking back and forth around the town locating items to trade and going from location to location. It starts to feel like a walking simulator.
The controls are pretty simple but a little loose. We found the in game map to be pretty useless since you will be going to the same locations over and over again. You will also pick up a to-do list which will help you figure out what to do and where to go.
There were a few times we got stuck on invisible walls which became a little frustrating. Moving Vasilis around with the thumbstick seemed loose and it was very easy to drift up or down while trying to walk a straight line. We had better results using the D-pad to ensure there was no vertical drift when trying to walk horizontally across the screen.
The artstyle is hand drawn in black and white. Most of the animations are very simple with only a few frames that repeat over and over again.
The audio is very minimalistic. There’s not so much a “soundtrack” as there is different background or ambient noises for different locations. There’s no voice acting either. Just a “scratching” sound to represent speech while dialog boxes are on the screen.
The game is a little short and can be completed in just a few hours depending on how familiar you become with the best paths to traverse the town. After about an hour of walking back and forth you’ll wish there was the option to allow Vasilis to run.
Vasilis is available on Xbox One, PS4, PSP and Nintendo Switch. A digital copy of this game was provided to SimpleGameReviews for the purposes of reviewing the game.
7th Sector from Publisher Sometimes You and Developer Носков Сергей
A really good and challenging puzzle game.
A side scrolling dystopian cyberpunk puzzle game.
This is a visually dark game with a correspondingly dark narrative. The lighting and color palette really sell the dystopian cyberpunk future. You’ll want to pay attention to what’s happening in the background of the levels as that’s where you’ll see the majority of the narrative taking place.
The story is elegantly told without saying a single word. It unfolds organically while playing the game, scanning HDD’s, and watching the background to see what is happening.
The sound track and graphics are very well done. They really capture the feel of a dystopian future. The soundtrack is never overwhelming. It subtly enhances the feeling of the environment and transitions from level to level.
You start out as a little spark of energy traversing your way around the levels using power cables strung along the floor, walls, and ceilings. You will need to jump between these to gain access to other areas in the levels. As you move through the levels you’ll take over different objects from a remote control car, a robot ball that rolls around the floor, a mech with a gun, and more. Each new form will introduce new unique mechanics that will be needed to solve the different puzzles.
The puzzles are typically math, logic, and physics based. Some of the puzzles or obstacles have an element of timing or luck involved which can be a little annoying after multiple restarts.You can brute force some of the puzzles while others require a little more time and effort as a wrong answer results in death and a restart from checkpoint. We found a few of them to be harder than they should be due to the “answer key” or clues being too small and hard to see due to the lighting or issue with the controls or physics. Most of the puzzles will have different solutions when reloading which will either keep you thinking or frustrate you depending on how you feel.
One thing is for sure, the developer does not believe in holding your hand. They give only the bare minimum of instruction at the beginning of the game. The rest is up to you to learn through trial and error. As a result, some of the puzzles will take a few deaths to figure out what you need to do.
The game has 4 different endings that are determined by the extra puzzles you solve or not while playing through the levels. It has 48 different levels and can be completed in a few hours.
7th Sector is available now on Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Windows and Steam. A digital copy of this game was provided to SimpleGameReviews for the purposes of reviewing the game.
SGR: Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you, what do you do at GrimTalin?
CM: I’m a solo indie developer, so I kind of am GrimTalin. I do almost everything I can, design, code, art, sounds, marketing, sales, and so on. When I need something that is outside my skills range, especially on the art and audio side, I usually license assets. In the future I’ll likely work with some freelancers on specific things, like music and cover art.
Getting back to more about me, I’m 35 years old, husband, father of two little boys. I’ve been in this industry for about 13 years and I started my indie adventure two and a half years ago.
SGR: Where did you come up with the name GrimTalin?
CM: It’s actually my gamer name. When I was thinking how to name my company, which I knew it was going to be only me for a long while, I figured might as well use my alias, since the company would be me and I’d be the company. Talin is short for Catalin, my name. And GrimTalin because I tend to be a bit dark, sometimes grumpy. At least I was when I was younger. Now I’m a bit more relaxed until I’m not and I start stressing out about everything.
I’ve always thought of my “business” as something small, where I make games from my heart. I don’t have dreams of growing it into a big team. I’ll collaborate, but I want the games I make to come mainly from my heart, my experiences. I guess I’m a bit self absorbed. But I like personal things and sometimes in bigger teams that personal stuff tends to be lost.
For example Elena Temple would never have come to life in a team, because nobody would think it’s a good idea. :))
SGR: Working in the Gaming Industry for 13 years how many titles have you worked on? And what did you do for the other games? (art, coding, game, or level design)
CM: I honestly lost count. I’ve worked for 10 years in a mobile games company and we made a lot of games. Definitely in the tens. I started out as a programmer, then I added game designer, then producer (project manager).
Our biggest commercial success was Frozen Free Fall, made in collaboration with Disney. I was the producer, lead game designer, and one of the coders for that game.
After the company shut down, I took a few months break, then started working on Elena Temple.
A bit of extra insight regarding my tendency to work mostly alone. We were working on a indie-like game before the company shut down. I was helming it, it was very personal, a narrative driven first person game about love and loss. And then it ended up lost, so I decided that for as long as I could, I’d make games where I would be in control of everything, where I wouldn’t put my heart into something only to see it go away for various reasons.
SGR: I can see why you chose to be a team of 1 and will contact others if/when needed.
CM: Yeah, I guess it’s mainly like a scar rather than arrogance. 🙂
SGR: What was the Inspiration for the game? and the name?
CM: I always remember fondly the old games I played as a child. I remember how fascinated I was with some of the early ones I tried, even if their visuals were very simple. So I wanted to try to recreate that feeling, where the fun you had with a game was primarily from its gameplay, not the visuals, not the story. You played because it was fun. And I wanted to recreate that vibe that those early games had. Plus I had to make something with my limited skills in making pixel art, so there’s also that. I guess I always wanted to be a part of that early generation of game makers, but was born too late and on the wrong side of the world, so this was as close as I could get to that. It’s just my love letter to those early days of gaming. She’s named Elena because that’s my wife’s name. I also wanted something that sounded kind of like Lara Croft, so I decided on Elena Temple.
SGR: You did a really good job recreating the feeling. I know I spent about 20 minutes each time I played it going back and forth changing the look.
CM: Thank you!
SGR: What influenced your choice of Music / Art style for the game?
CM: Since I wanted that old school feel for the game, pixel art and 8-bit music was mandatory. The reason why I went with black and white pixel art is that I always had so much respect for the visuals in games like Prince of Persia and Dark Castle on the Macintosh and GameBoy games in general. Some of those games looked so awesome. Now I don’t have the skills to make something as beautiful, but I tried to recreate that feel.
SGR: What are your Favorite moments from the game? (As the Creator and as a Player)
CM: The “boss” room in the original dungeon, Chalice of the Gods. The snake puzzle in a lower room, where you need to figure out that you have to shoot the snake, but first you must open a gap through which to shoot it. Finding a secret room, with that specific music.
In the second dungeon, The Golden Spider, using that platform with two buttons on it to navigate through arrows shooting from the ceiling. And the rearranging of the room past the coins guardian.
And in the third dungeon, The Orb of Life, coming back to this chest that you can see early on but can’t access it. Also getting chased by ghosts.
I guess those count on both sides, Creator and Player. If I had to choose one as the creator, it’d be the boss room. It’s really hard, but I had fun making it and balancing it. It really tests all the skills you acquired up until then.
Also as the creator I loved adding more vegetation to the third dungeon, making the rooms more dense and better looking – at least in my eyes, not sure if anyone else would describe them so. :))
SGR: Are there any Easter eggs in the game? Are there any Easter Eggs that have not been discovered yet?
CM: Yes, there are 5 Easter eggs in the Definitive Edition, one of which is a secret game modifier. A too powerful one actually, but I wanted everyone to be able to experience the game how they see fit. And if you find the game too difficult, you can just search for help online and you’ll surely see guides on how to get the modifiers easily and then you can adjust the game to your liking. You can make it silly easy or crazy hard. For example you can have Limited Lives with no Campfires, so no respawning at a checkpoint if you lose all lives – that means that when you lose all lives you lose all progress and start from scratch. I don’t know if anyone will play like that, but it’s there. There’s also kind of a souls-like approach if you want, with Campfires on but no Limited Lives. That means that when you get hit you respawn at the last campfire you visited and lose all progress since your last visit. It makes for much more of a challenge, if you want it. All the Easter eggs have been found, the secret modifier and the four hidden messages.
SGR: Are there any parts that got cut that you wish could’ve been kept and if so what got cut and why was it cut? (length of game time etc?)
CM: I didn’t cut too much, I think the biggest feature I scraped was a thoughts system, where Elena would comment on some of the things happening in the game. Like if you died a lot, she’d say something supposedly funny. But I cut that because I wanted the game to be as close to pure gameplay as possible. So if it didn’t support the gameplay or the nostalgia of the eighties, it didn’t make it in the game. I think it was a good decision, both for the result and for my time budget. Maybe I’ll revisit this feature in a future game, but for The Adventures of Elena Temple I’m very satisfied with the result and wouldn’t want anything else added to this game.
SGR: What inspired the achievements/trophies/steamies (Cold Heart, I got 99… and Useless Junk)? What is your favorite and why?
CM: I try to make little jokes or word play when I name some of the achievements. I can’t help it. They’re either references to movies, music, literature, memes, internet jokes and so on. Some are bad or too obscure, some are probably funny, but it’s a part of who I am. So expect achievements for my future games to be named in the same manner. My favorites are “Chest master” and “Don’t rest in peace”.
SGR: I noticed that the gaming community found an exploit (letting you jump over the wall) and let you know about it and that you reached out the same community to see if you could remove it or keep it in the game. Why did you choose to reach out to the community and let them make the choice?
CM: I think it’s best to have a dialogue with your community. I ran a poll on twitter, so it wasn’t targeted just at the achievements hunters, but they were the main voice answering and asking to keep it in. And I didn’t see the harm in it. If it made some people happy and doesn’t hurt anyone else, why not? It ultimately comes down to your choice as a player. Do you want to experience the game as intended or do you want to find your own fun? I’m ok either way, as long as you’re enjoying yourself.
So it wasn’t that they made the choice, it was still my choice, it was just that the way they felt about it really helped me understand where they were coming from. It did get some people upset, but the huge majority were very grateful for letting it stay in.
SGR: As a part of the gaming community I really appreciate that you gave us the option and let us use it if we wanted to.
What do you hope gamers come away with after playing your game?
CM: I hope they have this moment like “Man, games were so simple back then, but still so fun!” To remember the time when they weren’t playing for visuals and story. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But a lot of times today games use shiny visuals and a decent story to hide some very bland and repetitive gameplay. And I wanted to take those away and to make a game where the gameplay would have to stand on its own, where the level design is there to enforce new gameplay ideas or combinations. I don’t know how well I did that, but that’s what I tried. And many indies are trying that, I’m not saying I did anything unique, this was just my take on it.
SGR: I know I had a few of those moments while playing Elena Temple
Any plans for more DLC for The Adventures of Elena Temple?
CM: The Adventures of Elena Temple: Definitive Edition is aptly named, so it’s final, no more updates for it, aside from the possible bug patches, if something bad comes up. I’ve moved on to work on my new game, Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale, plus I have two more games that I’m publishing, Buddinpals and Last Days of Lazarus. After all these are done, I’ll see if I’ll come back to Elena Temple for a sequel or a spin-off, or do something else. Time will tell.
SGR: Can you tell us a little about Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale? or Buddinpals and Last Days of Lazarus?
CM: Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale is a puzzle game with 3D graphics in isometric view and with a fairytale like story told in rhyme. You can check out a few details here:
SGR: Long Ago looks pretty interesting and colorful
CM: Buddinpals is a Steam game that I’m helping to bring on Nintendo Switch, it’s a pet game with a twist. It felt so unique and quirky when I first played it. And the developer @dungeonation is adding more content to the game, so the Switch version will be packed with all the new stuff.
As for Last Days of Lazarus, it’s a horror adventure game set in post soviet era, heavily inspired by Eastern European communism. It intertwines politics, religion, mental health and supernatural elements. It’s quite an awesome experience from what I’ve played so far – the perk of publishing a game is that you get to play early builds. And I’m also helping out with story, texts and a bit of game design, so it’s a bit more than just porting and publishing the game. The developer, @darkaniaworks is also from my city, so we meet up quite often to discuss the game.
Going back a bit to Long Ago, while it definitely uses more modern techniques and visuals, I think it’ll still feel a bit classic in game design. I’m going for sort of a AAA puzzle game that could’ve been made in the nineties when puzzle games could still have AAA releases.
SGR: Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for others that want to get into game design or development?
CM: If you want to get into game design, you need to get away from thinking that all you need are game ideas. You need to know how to make stuff. You can use paper prototypes, design board games, if you don’t have any technical skills. But there are so many tools today to start actually making game prototypes.
If you want to get into gamedev, but don’t know what area you should work on, the best way to find out is to make something yourself, a whole tiny game. Try to make everything, or at least to find everything by yourself, all the sounds, the visuals, the story and so on. Then you’ll know what you’re most attracted to. And then just keep on making more and more of that thing you feel is right for you. Draw more art or code more prototypes and so on. Build a portfolio, keep the best few things in there and keep showing it to people.
If you want to go indie, and this applies even more to professionals than to newcomers, be sure you have enough funds to support yourself in case of a few failures. It’s tough out there, so if you want to do this for the long run, it’s best to be covered. Spending time on a regular job to gather those funds is a sacrifice worth making, especially if it’s a job where you get to hone your game making skills.
But the most important advice is that there isn’t a right way to make games. You have to find your way. What works for someone else doesn’t necessarily work for you, so just keep trying until you find your way. This industry changes so much so fast that the ability to adapt is likely the best skill you can develop. Not sure if any of this made any sense!
SGR: That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for sharing from your insights and experience and for joining us today for the interview.
You can read our review of The Adventures of Elena Temple: Definitive Edition Here
You select your vehicle, the music track, the game mode, and the level. Your objective is to collect the notes by driving over them while avoiding red obstacles. At the end of the level you’ll see how many notes you hit, your combo, your score, and how many stars you earned out of 3.
The controls are simple. You only use the d-pad or the left thumb stick to move left or right on the road while driving. There is no acceleration or braking. You could play this game one handed if you wanted to.
It has retrowave style graphics with a lot of neon. The levels are extremely colorful and the game has a photosensitivity warning before you start the game. This warning is well deserved. If you have any issues with bright or flashing lights you should stay away. While our reviewer doesn’t have any issues with photosensitivity they did find that they could only play for a maximum of an hour at a time due to the eye strain from the light.
The audio is good and the soundtrack is enjoyable. The game has a large track list with 23 songs you can pick from.
There are 14 different levels you can choose from and you can choose any song to play on the level. You can also choose from any of 25 different vehicles; one of which is a giant bird.
Most of the cars will look familiar. They feature the Delorean from Back to the Future, KITT from Knight Rider, the TRON bike as well as a bunch of other well known vehicles. You can customize the color of the car and rims which adds to the enjoyment of the game.
The game has 4 different modes to fit your mood.
Standard: You drive over the notes and try to avoid the red obstacles. Hitting obstacles breaks your combo, reduces notes collected, and slows you down.
Hard: Same premise as Standard but with a greater penalty for hitting an obstacle. Instead of just breaking your combo it ends your run.
Zen: A more relaxed game mode without any obstacles to worry about. You can freely “zen-out” collecting notes and enjoying the music.
Cinematic: Puts you in the passenger seat instead of the driver’s seat allowing you to move the camera around and enjoy the scenery. There are no notes to collect. Just a relaxed audiovisual experience. It reminded us a little of the experience of watching the visualizations on media player or winamp in full screen.
We did wish that there was an option to create a playlist for the Cinematic mode as it would be a great addition to have playing in the background of a party. It would also be nice to be able to upload your own music and extend your playtime.
Sadly there is no leader board or any sort of internal tracking that shows what songs you have or haven’t played or what your current high score/star count is. Score is only used as ingame currency to unlock some of the cars and levels. Fortunately, you can replay the same levels and songs over and over and continue earning more currency.
A very bright audiovisual experience. Good music selections to choose from. You might need sunglasses.
Music Racer is available on Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch. A digital copy of this game was provided to SimpleGameReviews for the purposes of reviewing the game.
This is a classic pinball game that harkens back to long hours spent at the arcade. All of the tables let you toggle between a snazzy animated landscape and the original version of the tables at any time. Seeing the tables in the original version really adds to the nostalgia and captures the feel of playing the tables in person. The animated versions are fun and provide more interaction than their more static counterparts.
Each table has a great animated LED Score screen. They also each have a skippable intro that gives you history on the table.
No Good Gofers
A golf themed table that reminds me a little of the Caddyshack film as you are harassed by a pair of gophers. The table is really colorful and has a cartoonish look and the animated golfer freaking out breaking his clubs and tossing them around was nicely done and fit the table.
Out of the 3 tables in the pack this table seems to be the simplest and is the only table to have a 3rd flipper. That’s right, a 3rd flipper. It’s on the right side in the upper part of the table and is tied to the traditional right flipper. It’s nice having the assistance getting a little more oomph out of your shots but requires some quick reflexes to take the best advantage of it.
Cirqus Voltaire
This table has a Circus theme. You have the option to change the color of the neon lights and the ball before you start the table. The table is very colorful and has more lights on it than the other tables in this pack.
One of our favorite things about this table is the Greenfaced Ringmaster. In the animated version he taunts you and dances around on the side talking smack everytime you make a mistake. In both the animated and physical version of the table his head pops out at the back of the table and opens a target for you to shoot with your ball. After all that taunting it’s rather satisfying to knock him in the noggin a time or two when you get the chance.
Tales of the Arabian Nights
This table takes us through several of the Tales of the Arabian Nights. There is a huge Genie, a flying carpet, and fireballs in the animated version. The original version has a physical genie and both versions of the table have a magic lamp that spins around on the table when you hit it with the ball. The lamp is an interesting twist that introduces some extra challenge to the table. Depending on the position of the lamp, different pathways are either open or blocked. This introduced a much higher level of challenge for scoring but also a really fun mechanic.
With the addition of the extra obstacles on this table it requires a lot of skilled shots to make it through the challenges or to successfully complete any of the stories from the Tales.
Whether you’re a pinball wizard or not, this expansion offers something fun and can help you while away many hours.
Williams Pinball: Volume 5 is available on Android, Mac OSX, PS4, Switch, Windows, Xbox One and iOS. A digital copy of this game was provided to SimpleGameReviews for the purposes of reviewing the game.
