Ladderhead

Disclaimer: this reviewer is not a gamer, but is more interested in seeking out interesting & original concepts, styles and presentations and new creative voices in whatever medium there is. I'd highly recommend Ladderhead to people who are either interested in exploring great, mystical narratives with lynchian motifs, also to other creators and video game developers who are just starting out and are looking for a strong reference point on how to develop an out of the box product with minimal resources but a very fresh and original look/feel to it. The strongest aspect of Ladderhead is the design and production value. The minimalist art style chosen is spellbinding and mysterious, the soundtrack again, although minimalistic, is very complementary to the rest of the game and works very well. And the storyline is really good too - if you like surrealistic, detectivy kind of narratives, be sure to check this one out. The most important point I can make though, is that if you found Ladderhead interesting, you should be on the lookout for future games from this developer. I am more than excited to see what he'll be able to create with more time & resources. A strong recommendation overall.

It's a David Lynch video game.

This game is certainly a game that can be played. It can be bought, downloaded, and played from start to finish. Things happen in it. Give it a try.

I really don't know what to say about this game. It happened? If there's a deeper meaning to the expierience I can safely say i did not find it. You could probably write paragraphs upon paragraphs describing your own mentality around this game and it's inner themes and ideologies but I can not bring myself to. This is when I wish there was an in-between yes and no option. For 2 bucks, sure, play it, and let me know your thoughts on it.

I really enjoyed this dreamy game. The art was perfect and I love the text parser interface. The unified vision of the solo indie dev comes shining through! Thanks for making this.

A companion piece to Desert of Vice, Ladderhead shares many of the same aesthetic choices and design pitfalls of the former. There is still a lack of standard text commands that necessitate reliance on the hints command, but I also think the environment of this game is more suitable for this constricted set of commands. It's probably due in part to my recent play-through of its predecessor but I found myself using the hints command less in this game. Also, the repetition of commands in this game leaves the player wanting for a hotkey to cycle through previous commands (it should be the Up key if it's already in there). This quality-of-life adjustment is also in line with the themes of the narrative. Despite these criticisms, I think Ladderhead is a triumph of indie design. The story is more abstract than the previous entry and imbued with more of the developer's original creativity. By focusing on a singular story, Ladderhead features a stronger narrative with events and player choices that feel less arbitrary. A storyteller is getting better and more confident in their craft.

Interesting and quite unexpected. It’s a looped story where, upon dying, the day resets, but we keep the items in our inventory. The plot is confusing and surreal, but it's also intriguing and, above all, satisfying because it’s cleverly designed. Plus, it’s a bargain when on sale. [quote] [i] Check out [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44959158-Critiques-Sans-Frontiers/] our curator page [/url] to discover more little games like this one. [/i] [/quote]

拢共十来条评论，这居然还能是第一条中文评论 中评。 游戏很简单，扮演一个男人去一座神秘建筑的顶层寻找所爱。从商店页面也能看出来游戏也是真简洁：简单的儿童一般的手绘画加上大段的文字，玩法也是那种比较古老的——蹦出一大段文字之后根据情景输入单词以进行下一步，所以自由度也不会很高，随便输入单词基本没戏，不知道干啥就输入“hints”找提示，同义词替换倒是可以的（比如键入“leave”或者“go back”都可以返回，开门的话“enter”和“open”都行） 看似可以自由输入单词，然而囿于游戏限制，可以输入的有效词汇其实有限，这种设计除了某些地方需要输入关键信息（比如[spoiler]第二层找正确房间，第四层做仪式时输入那家伙的梦[/spoiler]），其他地方还不如跟一般游戏那样设置成可以选择的ABC选项让人选择呢，一遍遍地键入重复的单词除了让人熟悉一些单词以外并无任何意义。 基于商店页面游戏介绍，游戏里主角很容易陷入死亡，错误的选择或者很多推动故事情节的地方都会嘎掉，然后就会被踢回主界面continue，每次死亡再进入都会继承之前获得的所有东西，所以即使是一次不选错也会被剧情杀N次。反正每个场景可交互的就那么点东西，每个地方看一看摸一摸，无非多死几次的事。傻卵的地方在于每次都会从大楼门口重新开始，加上之前提及的键入单词而非选项的玩法，光是“elevator”这个词就打了几十遍。 游戏剧情也是很癫，NPC基本上没个正常玩意，打完之后很多场景只让人觉得莫名其妙，光怪陆离仿佛谁把梦里的情景表述出来了一样。好吧，能耐着性子不看攻略硬着头皮打完的我也够癫的。 （这个作者还有一个更早的游戏《desert of vice》，一看介绍玩法啥的跟这个游戏类似，不过我是没心情再尝试了，我还没那么癫）

I like the hand-drawn graphics, coupled with the strange sound effects and music it does a great job at fostering a surreal atmosphere to experience the story in. Unfortunately that is where my fun ended. While I understand the game is narrative driven and I wasn't expecting a huge amount of freedom or challenge, it feels like almost every time you're asked to type something, the expected response has been spoon fed to you in the previous panel. To the point that it might as well have a button saying "next" This lack of player agency, clue solving and deduction is in stark contrast to my experience of other text based adventures. To put it simply, being text based does not enhance the narrative or the gameplay in a way that justifies the format. The games focus is clearly on setting a mood, rather than creating an interactive experience or delivering upon the promised 'perilous mystery to solve.' If the game looks interesting to you, it's probably worth the price of entry to experience the atmosphere, but in terms of fun, it falls short.

really cool game i highly recommend