One of the biggest bummers I've faced in maintaining this blog is the tendency of the games on this list to fall into categories. There are, obviously, way more tower defense and RTS games on here than I'd like (but whatever, de gustibus non est disputandum, it can't be helped), but there is also a saturation of the kind of games I tend to like. A good platformer every now and again is wonderful, but make it a daily staple and before long you'll be crying out for something new and interesting...something like...survival horror.
I only recall one game on this list so far that can actually claim to be survival horror, even though it kind of tripped over the whole "survival" aspect, forgetting that games become significantly less scary when you play in god mode. That game is Erebus, and other than that one flaw, it certainly knew how to keep me on edge.
Stonewick Manor started out in a similar fashion. Its trippy screen effects and weeping cherubs that only move when you don't look at them had the little man in my brain screaming with terror...for the first 5 minutes of the game. Eventually, you realize that the little baby angels are literally the only threatening thing in the game. That doesn't sound too bad, right? After all, that one SCP: Containment Breach game was super scary and it used a very similar type of enemy. The difference is that in SCP, getting anywhere near the enemy would leave you with three of your vertebrae where your teeth should be faster than you can say "oops." In Stonewick Manor, I only got hurt once unintentionally, and all that resulted was the world's least intimidating hit sound effect and the loss of about a fifth of my health, which replenished the second I got out of the room. It was an almost cosmic loss of tension. Suddenly, the game became nothing but a fetch quest with a new coat of paint. Good try, Stonewick Manor. You made it one step past Erebus and made it actually possible to die, but you're just too anemic and nonthreatening to hang out with it and the other greats.
Well, that was a nice breath of fresh air. Time for some more plafromers....uuuggghhhhhh....
To be fair, Starside Continuum is not a bad platformer. It's actually very well put together and holds up fine save for some nitpicky things. For example, your armor is literally the exact same color as the background, making you seem more like if the dude from Perspective and King Fluff from Kirby's Epic Yarn had a baby and it went into space.
You are armed with devices that literally allow you to bend space and time to your will, yet you're only allowed to use them to combine certain items and make floating platforms. A missed opportunity, perhaps, but again, the game is far from boring. The mechanics are conveyed neatly without pandering and it's fun to toy around with different combinations of things to see what happens. It's like Dead Rising 2 but without needing to truck it back to a workbench every time you want to try something new. Definitely an improvement in my book. Of course, there are no zombies here...boo.
Starside Continuum is definitely the more competent of the two games, but Stonewick Manor is more interesting. Unfortunately, I've probably already spoiled the latter for you, but if I hadn't said all that stuff about the babies being harmless, you'd be on edge for a little while, I know you would. If you're a platforming enthusiast, I'd give Starside Continuum a shot. Will it blow your mind? no, but there's nothing to complain about, and hey, lesser games will have the gall to charge you upwards of $5 for a similar experience, so check it out if only in the name of opportunistic frugality.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay scary
Links
Pardon me, where are my Stonewick Manners?: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25905
Big Words that mean "Sci Fi:" https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25443
PS- yes, I know I skipped over Stone Age, but I had already written this by the time I realized it. Shut up...I'll get to it tomorrow...
