This week, on Shoestring Gaming, we at TechRaptor decided to showcase some of the lesser known titles that we have enjoyed. There's a mixture of old Goldies as well as some new experimental games. Sacred Gold, Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption and Hippocampal: The White Sofa are this weeks titles that we will be discussing.
The first title, Sacred Gold is currently on sale for $2.49 USD on steam. It is the perfect combination of action rpg with open world exploration. A shadow having fallen across the land of Ancaria, you must rid the world of this blight. You will travel through icy caves, dark dungeons, wielding powerful weapons and spells as you travel, ridding the world of horrors unspeakable on your quest to destroy the Sakkara demon.
Hailed as one of the greatest action role playing games, you will play as one of 8 classes. There's the gladiator, dark elf, wood elf, vampiress, battle mage and the seraphim. Hacking and slashing your way through mob after mod gaining strength until at last you stand at the forest of Valor. Sacred gold also includes the expansion Underworld as well as the two extra classes dwarf and daemon. It is great value for the small price and for anyone who enjoyed Divinity: Original Sin and Diablo III: Reaper of souls it is highly recommended. With tonnes of customisation and spells, Sacred Gold is well worth getting before the sale expires on November 10.
This next title is one close to our heart. Not as well known as the phenomenal Bloodlines, Vampire the Masquerade is still an incredible game in it's own right.It's not currently on sale, however it is available on GOG.com for only $5.99 USD. Vampire the Masquerade is outdated, but if gamers are willing to look past such a dated titles veneer they will be rewarded with a rich original role playing game. You play as Christof Romuald as he meets a vampire by the name of Ecaterina who embraces and turns him. You will experience his story as you come to realise as he does, his corruption at the hands of the vampires and his thirst for revenge at the indecencies and wrongs bestowed on him.
Driven by a story quite deep and heart wrenching Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption is the quintessential vampire game. Exploring themes of corruption, you will build Christof up from a weakened thrall all the way up to a force to be reckoned with.For anyone disillusioned with the latest offerings in vampire horror we recommend this game. There is no expiry on this price however due to it not being on sale but vampire fans should play this game asap. Definitely required playing for any gamer.
As a strong purveyor of the narrative of Games being art medium this one is somewhat recommended. Hippocampal: The White Sofa is not going to be a game that is for everyone. It is currently on sale on Steam for $1.24 USD and at that price I feel it is worth it. You can quite easily get lost on your quest to retrieve your beach stuff, but it has some nifty little puzzles that make you think as well as some bizarre moments you just won't expect. Hippocampal describes itself as a satiric contemplative game. You will play an astronaut by the name of M. Curt C. He was out having a holiday as you do out in orbit, sunbathing in his space suit. Aliens who look like blazer jackets with tentacles and no heads attack. He is beset upon by these aliens and sent crashing back to Earth. You must guide him, floating through the maze-like space of Hippocampal to retrieve your holiday stuff.
The game really is as bizarre as it sounds. It isn't for everyone and we don't expect them all to be impressed by it. People tend to go into the game expecting something out of it but maybe that's not the required mindset. The game itself has something to say on this matter. "Hippocampal is structured to lose the player in a search for meaning and narration where there is none. The player can make their own interpretation depending on their current feelings. We are simply giving them reference. If it doesn't mean anything to the player, well at least they spent some time between smiles and observations." Perhaps this is a take on the games industry's need to handhold people as they play or the requirement of a thin story needing to accompany big budget AAA games. It's also possible that this game was created without any thought or reason and is to be declared shovel-ware. You decide.
The entire game is really short, with our playtime for the first playthrough clocking in at 45 minutes. There is some re-playability however due to the three different endings that can be accessed by finding the items in game and exploring. This game truly is bizarre and for the meager price $1.24 USD we feel it is worth the "WTF" factor to grab before the sale expires on November 10.
We hope the readers get a few hours of enjoyment from these selections. The last one may not be everyone's cup of tea but we urge people to give them a go. While the graphics for all 3 are rather outdated, each title holds a unique experience in it's own right. Feel free to provide feedback on this feature and offer suggestions. We will be back next week with Shoestring Gaming.