An Untitled Story

By: Derek Yu

On: August 27th, 2007

An Untitled Story is the long-awaited platform game by Game Maker developer YMM. It’s almost impossible not to compare this game to Knytt and Seiklus, since it shares a lot of visual, thematic, and gameplay ideas with those classic games. If you’re fans of either of those classics, you’ll probably appreciate this one.

One thing to consider, however, is that An Untitled Story puts a lot more emphasis on upgrading and hardcore platforming skills than those other games. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of exploring and finding fun little areas… but if precision jumping isn’t your bag, well, you ain’t gonna get too far in this game.

Overall, I like the graphics and the atmosphere and the challenging platforming bits. It can be really frustrating at times, but there’s a lot of content here, and it’s well worth the $1 (or more) donation to get in.

(Thanks, ChevyRay, for mentioning this game in the forums!)

La Mulana Translated to English

By: Derek Yu

On: January 27th, 2007

La Mulana, the sprawling platformer that bears a resemblence to the old MSX game Maze of Galious, finally has an English translation thanks to Aeon Genesis:

“The game is huge, with many different areas to explore and dozens of items and weapons to find. Each area has a large variety of puzzles and traps (many of them quite fiendish) and you need to solve the puzzles in each area to discover the Ankhs and Ankh Jewels, which allow you to fight the eight Guardians of the ruins. To solve the puzzles you’ll need to be able to read the tablets scattered throughout the ruins, which will require a Hand Scanner and translation software for the portable MSX that Lemeza has brought along on the adventure. Your Hand Scanner will also allow you to find items and search the bones of less fortunate adventurers.”

The game and the patch can be downloaded together from the AGTP site.

EDIT: FYI, the patch also translates the manual, included with the game!

knytt

By: dessgeega

On: December 4th, 2006

nifflas, developer of within a deep forest, has just released a new game: knytt.

the titular knytt is a little pixel ratmonkey who shimmies along walls trying to find the pieces of the spaceship that can take it back home. the pieces are just an excuse to explore a beautiful videogame landscape. the jumping and climbing puzzles that are here are simple and straightforward; the real goal is simply to find and see lovely things.

i’m posting this because i think some of you will love it and some of you will hate it. download already, nifflas is your pixel from the west.

within a deep forest

By: dessgeega

On: May 23rd, 2006

within a deep forest is a freeware game that harkens back to the days of 16-bit design. it is lush and beautiful, drenched in twilight and ambience, with a mellow downtempo soundtrack. like many games of the 16-bit era, progress is tied to the unlocking of new abilities—new forms for your ball.

you’re a bouncy ball – holding A makes you bounce further, holding S makes you bounce less. different forms have different properties and abilities that need to be mastered. this game never lets lock-and-key design supersede skill – the game has no qualms about working you hard for your next upgrade, and then requiring you to get comfortable with it right away. be prepared to play many sections repeatedly until you get them right – instantaneous respawn keeps this from becoming too frustrating.

there’s a speedrun mode (and online low-time table) for players who finish the game, and a couple of unlockable bonus games for players who are thorough. completing the game the first time should be plenty satisfying, though.