You don’t have to be psychic to work at my psychic detective agency, but it helps. You also don’t have to be psychic to play the very strange Psychic Cat, the very poetic Summit, the very chickeny Super Poulet Poulet and more. Enjoy!
Trubadurr by Thibaut Mereu and co.
A Trine-like platformer—a very good-looking Trine-like platformer—made in nine months by students at Isart Digital Paris. You’re a bard, and like all bards in fantasy these days you’re a bit of a pompous dick, albeit a pompus dick quite good at battling monsters. As in Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, or Overlord, you use creatures as ammo here—I just love the way to cling to your character after you’ve picked them up. This is accomplished, interesting, and cute.
Cyclo 8 by Nusan
Well it’s Trials innit, but done in the elegant, beautiful Pico-8. And it’s really good! Capturing the physics and feel of that bastard series extraordinarily well. I like the strange, alien world you’re biking around in, which is nigh impossible to pinpoint (I think it’s a desert?) I like the addition of collectibles, which tempt you to stray from the (slightly safer) path. And I’m still trying to figure out if the rider is in the buff. It kinda looks like it, doesn’t it?
The Undertaking by Anna Anthropy
This minimalist, puzzle-less Puzzlescript game kind of got to me, and I’m not sure why. It’s a short, loopy game about exploring a world, activating a thing, and then having the experience suddenly end just as you’re getting interested in learning more. It’s inscrutable: the kind of inscrutable that demands scrutiny, and offers absolutely nothing in return.
Psychic Cat by George Royer
Speaking of inscrutable, what the hell is this? It’s a “journey across a blasted psychosphere”, obviously, and it’s one where you play as a cat lost in a neon wonderland patrolled by stompy naked green men.
So yeah, it’s a load of nonsense. But it’s strangely self-serious and coherent nonsense, and that makes it quite enjoyable to explore. (Via Warp Door)
Super Poulet Poulet by Retsyn
Sometimes you just need a good platformer, and here is a good platformer with a fun chicken theme. You are said chicken, and you’re able to take an extra hit by wearing a woolly hat, and slam into enemies for big poulet points. Slather your delicious frame in hot sauce and you can also burn enemies to a crisp. OK, so it’s nothing revolutionary, but the controls feel nice, the sprites are cute, and the music is pretty damned catchy.
Summit by Phantom Williams
The 2015 Interactive Fiction Competition is ongoing at the moment, and some great stuff has been uploaded to the site. Including Summit, a Porpentiney (but not by Porpentine) game about leaving your home to ascend a tantalising mountain. I chose the life of a strange fishpersonthing, in this rambling (in a good way) philosophical trek featuring good words and great graphic design. (Via Emily Short)
