Well, here we go again. I think I figured out why these 8 games are at the end of the list and so egregiously out of alphabetical order. Whereas the other games on the list were all ".exe" files (whether real or not real), Abyss and Aurora were both ".msi" files. Well jinkies, guys, I think we solved the mystery.
Remembering some older posts of mine, I realized that I seem to have a strange attraction to "ball games." From Aescher to Leshy, whenever the protagonist is a spherical object traversing a world of geometric peril, I seem to be sold. That said, it may come as no surprise that Abyss gets my recommendation.
I can, however, say that Abyss is my favorite of the "ball games" that I've played, so I'm not just enamored with it for its nature. The game sold me with it's amazing controls. The common problem with "ball games," which I definitely mentioned in one of my reviews...maybe Leshy's (yay professionalism), is that the momentum always seems out to get you. In Abyss, while the physics may be a bit wonky at times, they are perfectly tuned to give the player maximum control over their character.
Abyss is careful not to overstay its welcome. It only has 3 levels, each of which introduce and explore a new mechanic. In the first level, you're just learning how to play. In the second, a spring power is introduced. In the third, an ice power. If you need more elaboration to understand the game...well, good. Go play it yourself and find out. That way I have to write less and Abyss gets closer to the attention it deserves. Win-win. My point is that the game is perfectly paced.
Basically Everything in this game is expertly done. The levels are designed to be manageable but challenging and always fun (with the exception of the very last section, which involves a lot of waiting...and I don't like waiting). The iteration time between failure and retrial is wicked fast, and the game just feels great to play.
So, yeah, that's all I can really say about Abyss. It's good enough to get my seal of approval. Go play it. Now, let's dive into Aurora.
This is a very interesting game that's very hard for me to describe. The super abridged version is that you can control 2 or 3 cannons, which you use to shoot moving targets on the screen. You can also shoot randomly spawning powerups for bonus points, upgraded weapons, etc.
The aesthetic can only be described as trippy. The bright yet calm red and blue meld together in a way that draws you into the experience, and the immersive music seals the deal. Add onto that the very active gameplay and you've got yourself one heck of a sense of flow.
The targets move along fixed rails, so the real challenge in the game is lining up your line of fire with the rail that your target is travelling along in order to maximize your chance at hitting it. Either that or you can just get really good at timing your shots and just try to fire one round after another without worrying about lining up your shots optimally. Both strategies have their advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest downside to this game is that, after playing through it, I still have no idea how half of it works. My opinion on game design like this wavers a tad (I have lauded games like Dark Souls for allowing the player to complete the game without experiencing a good portion of it), but I feel like when you are able to utterly destroy the AI opponent without even knowing what one of your 3 primary buttons does, or why you keep stealing a hundred points from your opponent, then maybe the game has flawed conveyance. I guess I can't fault the game too much for that last thing because it's literally the first thing mentioned in the tutorial, which I was too stubborn to look at before I played. This entire paragraph is a very minor gripe, to be honest.
The bottom line is that Aurora is immersive and intense. I only wish that the game explained itself a bit better and that the AI was a bit more of a challenge, but the experience was still very fun. Now, do I give this game my seal of approval too? Am I just getting way too generous? See, I'm not sure. Abyss got the seal of approval, yet I didn't have as much fun with that game as I did with Aurora. On the other hand, Abyss didn't have as many flaws, so from a technical perspective, it's the better game. I guess up until now, my seal of approval has been mostly reserved for games whose flaws, if they even existed, were negligible, and why would I change the formula halfway through my last month of writing? Sorry, Aurora. You still get a hearty recommendation from me, but Abyss is the only one walking home with the seal today.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay psychedelic.
Links
Ab-Yes: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=18581
Awrawrooo: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26727
