Artistic Freeware

[lisalover1]

There's a ton of really good freeware games around, and that indie scene tends to draw in a lot of artists, or even just artistic ideas for games. What are some of the best "Artsy" freeware games you've played. [i.e Passage, Kaipuu, Knytt Stories, etc.]

[J T]

I didn't like The Passage. It's ok, but really overhyped. Knytt on the other hand was great. It's stripped down to the most basic of gameplay fun. Really enjoyable game. It's calming and easy to get lost in.

The Graveyard (trial edition) was thoughtful and intriguing. It's not really a great game by any stretch, but it would make a great scene in a game. It hints at the idea that sometimes slow and unwieldy controls are not necessarily a bad thing when they map onto the experience of the character. It makes a unique statemnent that games don't have to be all about action. They can be reflective. They can get you to slow down, pay attention, and think about your actions. It doesn't work as a full game, but it's a concept piece that could be expanded upon in ways that would improve the gaming industry.

Synaesthete is a wonderful free game. It's musical, artistic, thought provoking, and oozes with style. It also requires you split your brain into pieces trying to maneuvre your character away from enemies while jamming out guitarhero-esque musical button mashings. I love the presentation. I love the music. More people should play this game.

Brainpipe is an acid trip of a game and should be experienced for that reason. It's not perfect, but there is such nice synchrony between the action and the sound in a way that only videogames can create. It probably owes a lot to Rez and it's not as cool as Rez, but it's worth at least a quick playthrough.


If you want links to any of these games, check the PC/DL section of my backloggery by clicking in my signature.

[FreshChurros]

I second Knytt, and I'd like to add Chalk. It's an odd little shmup that has you controlling a piece of chalk with the mouse, clicking to draw/attack and right-clicking to guide a floating little guy through levels. Check it out: http://www.konjak.org/section.php?section=chalk

And I see you've already finished Cave Story, so that doesn't need mentioning.

[lisalover1]

Cave Story was essentially the reason I made this thread. I really want to play something as good as that again. I know that's a pretty tall order, but I'll always be looking.

[Anapan]

The really artsy ones tend toward casual gameplay, but are impressive.
flOw and Cloud - http://thatgamecompany.com/games/
De Blob - http://www.deblob.com/
Eets (trial) - http://www.eetsgame.com/news/index.php
Crayon Physics (trial) - http://www.crayonphysics.com/
Eagerly awaiting Fez - http://polytroncorporation.com/?page_id=61

[lisalover1]

Awesome, I'm a huge fan of the game Flower, so I'll have to check out the other one, Cloud. Is there any word of Cloud being ported to the PS3?

[FreshChurros]

Cave Story was essentially the reason I made this thread. I really want to play something as good as that again. I know that's a pretty tall order, but I'll always be looking.

Oh, now that I think about it, there's another game by Pixel called Ikachan. I never played it that much like I did with Cave Story, but it seemed to have the vast scope and style of Cave Story. http://www.tinsanity.net/ikachan/

[retrofuture]

I really enjoyed Miestas, it's short but sweet. For your browser:
http://media.fizzlebot.com/miestas.php

[J T]

The guy that made Flower is named Jenova Chen. He also did this game called Flow that you can play online for free:
http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/flowing/

Also, if you like Cave Story (and who doesn't. The game is AWESOME!), then you should also try IJI. Mozgus posted up a whole article about it awhile back:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/microsof ... ormer.html

Also, Pixel, who created Cave Story, has also done a little shmup called Guxt. It's not the same calibre as Cave Story, but it does have some classic arcadey-ness to it.
http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/othergames_11.php

[J T]

You also should check out this thread I made in the download section for TONS of freeware:

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 24&t=11760