TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Here's a look at the slate of recent game releases:
FOBIA - ST. DINFINA HOTEL
Chasing "Resident Evil" and "Silent Hill"-style thrills and chills, developers Maximum Games and Pulsatrix Studos craft a grim survival horror experience that's best played with the lights out.
You play as amateur journalist Treze Trilhas, who searches out a historic hotel that seems to be connected to all sorts of freaky goings-on.
Confronting ghosts, monsters and a cavalcade of jump-scares, you piece together clues that take you deeper into the bowels of the hotel and the mysteries it harbors.
While some of the clumsier puzzles create a bottleneck effect that slows the momentum, a steady tone of unease and a steady drip of tension-shattering revelations keep things intriguing.
It takes a high tolerance for backtracking and some patience, but those looking for a solid virtual scare will find shivers and shocks in scores.
PARASITE PACK
Indie publisher Ratalaika Games and Lowtek Games Studio show off their love for old-school, single-screen experiences with a pair of games that would be hard to justify single releases, but combined make for a reasonable way to spend $8 or so.
Both bug-themed games revel in love for addictive keyboard-phone games from days of yore.
"Tapeworm Disco Puzzle" is something like "Snake," tasking you to direct the long, winding body of a nightclub-owning tapeworm as he wriggles his way around obstacles to stay alive.
"Flea!" is a timing-based platformer that puts you in control of a hopping flea as he makes his way through increasingly perilous landscape.
While both games are as thin as they come, they pack in just enough aggravating appeal to keep you coming back for more and more failure.
REDOUT 2
The high-speed, futuristic hovercraft racer takes some cues from Sony's waylaid "Wipeout" and Nintendo's dormant "F-Zero" series to slam on its throttle.
The key to success in the array of creatively-designed tracks is to avoid slamming into walls and align your movement with powerup strips that allow you to boost at opportune times. Overtax your boost meter and you'll burn up your racer, leaving you in tattered pieces and stuck with a time penalty.
Another wrinkle comes in the form of long-distance jumps. Midair steering and tilting challenges you to take the correct angle to ace your landing and continue your run at maximum speed.
Several difficulty modes and a dizzying array of design elements keep the racer from dev studio 34BigThings lively. The lack of depth catches up to it, though, leaving replayability in question unless you can round up a reliable group of multiplayer competitors.
STEVE JACKSON'S SORCERY
Derived from "Choose Your Own Adventure"-style gamebooks of the early 80s, "Steve Jackson's Sorcery" lives and dies on its writing.
Relying on "Dungeons & Dragons"-style storytelling, you make choices that send you along branching paths that build upon your past choices, leading you to different outcomes. The myriad choices challenge you to come back again and again to see how things turn out differently.
The game was released episodically on PC between 2012 and 2016. You can play each of the four episodes on their own or start a character in the first chapter and advance it all the way through.
While more attuned to hobbyists who can appreciate the anachronistic nature of "Steve Jackson's Sorcery," there is plenty to relish for those who can appreciate the tongue-in-cheek humor and slow-burn dramatic flair.
Publishers provided review codes.
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Phil Villarreal is the senior real-time editor for KGUN 9. He is also a digital producer and host of "Phil on Film" seen weekly on Good Morning Tucson, Phil moved to KGUN after 17 years with the Arizona Daily Star. He is married and has four children. Share your story ideas and important issues with Phil by emailing phil.villarreal@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
