HEXCRAFT: Harlequin Fair

Oleander Garden's games are interesting because their particular brand of obtuse design rides a fine line between intentionality and facade. I love obtuse games, but there's a level of finesse that needs to be struck for the mechanics to feel engaging and rewarding as you uncover them - if you fumble this, your game risks appearing shallow because those obtuse mechanics don't show themselves and players don't know where to seek them out and experiment with them, so they stick to the safety of what they know (wander around, pick things up, loop through areas to see if anything's changed). To describe Harlequin Fair as "Vampire the Masquerade x KittyHorrorShow x Pathologic" does it a huge disservice because in the end, it's not really like any of those things unless you count the color palette as a direct reference, or the fact that there's plants in it and you can pick them to make potions, idk. Even the immersive inspirations don't chock up because most of them are "guys will shoot other guys if there's shooting happening" and "you can place an explosive and detonate it later." In reality, it's more like if Blood came out a few years later and someone made a mod for it that allows you to talk to some of the monsters and they say poetic things like "is hell hereditary" and then tell you where you might be able to find someone to shoot in order to steal their tarot card. Oleander's games appear - and claim - to be deeper than the player is capable of knowing at first glance, or second or third, but (in my experience) they also don't take bold enough steps to provoke players into looking further than their initial reactions. This is the sad reality of being an indie artist, especially when making experimental work; the simple truth is that the average player WON'T look deeper unless provoked to. There are layers here, but either too many to understand *why* we should be playing the game in the first place, or too few to back up the promises made in the game's storefront descriptions. What I find in the core of Harlequin Fair is a game where you wander around looking for floating PNGs until you get bored and see what can be accomplished through violence. Turns out that violence IS the answer, but I still don't know what question it's answering - to continue the vague gameplay loop for a nondescript narrative? To test out the immersive systems that just kind of happen without my knowledge? To find items until the game gives me a win screen? I've had the same problem with a few other famous examples already, if the game doesn't "get good until hour 30," and hour 30 is just more of the same, then why am I spending my time on it? I hate that I've become jaded towards this sort of thing, given my excitement for this game specifically, and my proclivities towards punishing immersive experiences. Blame it on having a full-time job and a crisis of self? Oleander, if you're reading this, I apologize for disliking your piece of art that was tailor-made for me. I'm still keeping my eye on your portfolio and I cannot wait to see how you grow as an artist.

In a word, cryptic. The game will explain nothing, write nothing down for you, and not direct you anywhere in particular. And, with how niche this game is, you're not exactly going to have much luck finding a guide. It's a fascinating game, but it can be daunting to play.

Deviously inscrutable, deceptively simple and deliciously compelling. HEXCRAFT: Harlequin Fair is a game far more than the sum of its parts, featuring a living world that turns with or without you where no two playthroughs are the same. The Harbour Dawn expansion is similarly excellent, mixing things up just enough for a familiar, yet fresh experience.

Sadly, for everything I love about the game, there is a problem I fail to tolerate: [list] [*]It's cool that the game doesn't hold your hand, but also, it completely fails to articulate the main goal. [*]There is an interesting simulated world here, but the actual gameplay is extremely unpolished. [*]Maps are dripping with atmosphere, but running back and forth to your apartment for saving quickly becomes a chore. [*]The game gives you a lot of items to experiment with, but everything is vague and the inventory is insultingly tight. [/list] I liked the demo a lot, so I hate to give a thumbs down, but the full game suffers from its problems just way too much. Despite all of this, I think I'm looking forward to check out the developer's future projects (if there will be any), because I can't deny there is something intriguing about their games.

Esoteric micro rpg for the girls The game basically encourages you to murder hobo by being able to kill and rob storekeepers infinitely. Sometimes you go into a area and there just be a demon or werewolf killing everyone for some reason. I couldn't figure out how to finish it but its really interesting discovering stuff and trying to figure it out. Would get gunned down by vampires again

I have no idea how to progress, where to obtain a weapon, how to use the alchemy, what the NPC's are talking about, where I am, who I am, or what my goals are. And I had an absolutely f*cking amazing time. I've only played about an hour of this and I barely progressed at all in this LSD fuelled nightmare, and yet I adored it. I will be giving this another go, and it will probably go roughly the same way with a slight chance of progressing further. And I am completely alright with that. The first thing I did was go to Chinatown and accidentally rob a wizard who proceeded to chase me down while I threw back grenades desperately screaming until he eventually found me and murdered me.

i've never been to toronto, so i assume this is what its like

A very interesting experience, one I know I need to come back to another time. Question though, has anyone found The Fool?

I am certain this is a fantastic game for a certain kind of player. I am not that kind of player. I just find the trial-and-error gameplay infuriating: try something, die, restart. Go somewhere, die, restart. Open a random door, get eaten by rats, restart. If you've got a lot of patience and like mystery, you might find this enjoyable. For me, I can't stand it. I do have to mention the FANTASTIC vibes the game creates. If you're a fan of urban exploration, you might want to pick this up just for the atmosphere alone.

hype game where you get to go fast and kick ppls ass with guns and sum magic if you find it, as long as you don't die like a loser before you get to that point, but you can always try again if you put Eventide Sigil on steam, i'll buy it