The Budget Gamer: How to Game on $5 Next Week (2nd Edition)
Well, I am back again for yet another week of being poor and consequently, another week of digging for the most “gemtacular” free games. I now realize, in the process of doing the $5 thing, that finding absolute gold in cheap and awesome free games is a ton of work. The irony is that maybe with that time I spend rummaging through old cartridges and begging folks on Twitter, the subway, and in 3rd grade classrooms for their favorite cheap and/or free games, I could instead be working a real job that pays people money for people things. This would subsequently allow me to write “The Less Strictly Budgeted Gamer: How to Game on as Much Money as you Damn Well Please Next Week”. However, I cannot, and the fact of the matter is that there is plenty of junk out there, which makes the great free games shine all the brighter. So… without further ramblings from my pea-shaped mouth-hole, here is how you can game for $5 next week.
Recommendation for Monday
Race the Sun from Flippfly (Price: $FREE on Kongregate) – This was my easiest choice of the week. My Mondays are absolutely dreadful and I have no choice but to give myself a break. Last week, I recommended SWOOOORDS! and during my time playing it Monday, I realized it was so brutal to my psyche that I needed a lighter gaming excursion for this Monday (it is a learning process people, do not chastise me in front of my friends!). Flippfly’s beautiful arcade Unity-based game titled Race the Sun was the perfect way to bring in the Monday night. Essentially, the game boils down to your solar-powered racer speeding super fast through towns and past trees and as the sun reaches the point of sunset the plane powers down and the game ends. Add in boosters and crashes, as well as some amazing black and white graphics (not fooling, this Unity powered game is stylish), and you have a wonderful distraction for your Monday which will not take away too much of the time you need to sleep off that lingering hangover from Saturday. You can also pre-order a full version from Flippfly‘s Official Website and learn more about Race the Sun.
Recommendation for Tuesday
DLC Quest from Going Loud Studios (Price: $1.99 on Desura)- I was all about the quirkiness on Tuesday. I put on my Zooey Deschanel pants, threw on some Animal Collective on my Zune, and ate nothing but rice (what?). To fit such an interesting mood, I found DLC Quest, a delicious morsel of a platformer which in order to beat, you must purchase all of the downloadable content, this includes abilities such as being able to move left. When I say purchase I do not mean with real human dollars, rather with in-game coins collected through playing each level. It is a total parody of the modern mainstream gaming release and may be short, but it makes up for it with a boatload of hate and heart. The whole thing is ridiculous, quirky, and pretty dumb, which perfectly fits a Tuesday where you likely need a break from the monotony of work. The game is also featured on Going Loud Studios’ official web page and is making the effort to be featured on Steam.
Recommendation for Wednesday
Qbeh from Liquid Flower Games (Price: $FREE on Desura)- Calm down party people it is only Wednesday. Calm down workaholics because it is already Wednesday! Seriously though, chill out. To help you meet my demands, I have found the perfect calm Wednesday game and it is one which you can drop $FREE on to keep that pesky financial manager of yours from killing you. Regardless, Qbeh is a very short puzzle platformer which focuses on the picking up of and placement of blocks in an obscure translucent world. The experience is quite calming but the lack of checkpoints can be frustrating on occasion. The graphics are quite gorgeous and the puzzles are polished although the length of the game hurts the evolution of the puzzles a bit. It strikes me as the perfect game for the midweek, as you are likely loaded with work, but want something short and thought-provoking.
Recommendation for Thursday
The Briefcase from doopus (Price: $FREE on IndieDB)- I hate horror games with a freaking passion, even though I write about them with a sense of adoration and yet, despite this, I believe I need to stay true to the reader and offer the proper recommendation for Thursday, and I feel like you need to get off your cozy chair and realize life is not going to let you coast through every day you pansy. Likewise, you need a game that will punish you for being in the lull that Thursday often brings. The Briefcase, which was recommended to me by co-worker Brad Ward, is a horror romp through a destroyed and decrepit warehouse, which focuses on one main goal; the finding of a single briefcase. The whole adventure takes place in first person, which is becoming a standard for modern gaming, and plays out more as a modern psychological thriller than a supernatural affair. I do not want to ruin anything for you, but the one thing I do know is that this will knock you out of your Thursday lull.
Recommendation for Friday
They Breathe from The Working Parts (Price: $2.99 on Desura)- Last, but not least, we have our Friday recommendation, which is a fascinating but innovative little amphibious experiment. Friday is a day of finality and freedom, which allows for a bit more flexibility and a possibility to take a risk of sorts with a gaming choice. They Breathe is exactly the type of game I am willing to take a chance with, as it combines a bunch of weird genre elements to create a new style of game, with different applications and psychological terrors. We see a little frog delve deeper and deeper into the ocean only to be met by unseen and unheard horrors which only learning through trial and error can overcome. The enemies are dynamic and challenging and the environment is second to none for a platformer focused on creating terror. It is something to chew on for an entire weekend and will leave you thinking about the genre long after it ends.
That is it for this week, people. I presented you with five sweet games, spanning across different genres, which can surely occupy the nights of your week. If you have any recommendations as to games that could be featured in this column and I’m too stupid to find, please let me know about them in the comment box below. I appreciate your readership and, as always, stick with Indiegamemag.com for all your indie gaming news, reviews, and editorials.
