Space Hole 2018

In a nutshell it's a 3D platformer with hundreds of brief levels. The main selling point is the aesthetic of neon geometry floating in a black abyss as you zoom around to prog rock in your space shuttle, whether freely or contained in a giant cube or zorb. These levels are connected in a bizarre labyrinth or interlinking portals that are clearly illustrated when flying on the overworld map and levels have some variety to them whether it be a scenic trip to the end, a collectathons or a head-scratching platforming task

This game is really entertaining, has gorgeous visuals and a great soundtrack. At the start it isn't immediately clear what you're trying to do and I enjoyed discovering the mechanics as I went. There seem to be quite a variety of environments to play in, and it's done in such a way that you never are forced to be stuck on a single level due to some particularly difficult section. You can always choose to skip over difficult areas without feeling like you're missing the intended experience. Overall a great little experience to kick back and zone out with!

Space Hole 2018 lacks the polish you'd expect from a big-budget title (Sam Atlas was the only developer after all, thanks Sam), but in my opinion it more than makes up for that in its quantity of unique and interesting content. I was confused by the game at first, but a little while in I got hooked and proceeded to spend hours clearing areas and searching for new ones. Overall, Space Hole 2018 is designed to mesmerize, with all sorts of flashy effects used to turn otherwise simple graphics into a psychedelic artist's dream. dl Salo's perfectly fitting music enhances the otherworldly quality throughout, turning the experience into something truly special. The game is broken up into several named locations, each of them consisting of areas with some similarities, but few areas even under the same name feel identical to each other. Don't even think of getting this game if you're photosensitive or even just don't like flashing lights, but if psychedelic stuff is your jam, you're gonna love this. The main hook of Space Hole 2018 is exploration. Gameplay starts out rather simple, consisting of two modes: a flying mode where you can travel freely in 3D space, and a ball mode reminiscent of games such as Monkey Ball where you are constrained to rolling around, always facing gravity's pull. However, there are quite a few lab areas hidden around the map that unlock new abilities that can help you navigate the vast game world. This gives the game a bit of a Metroidvania flair, although you can get almost anywhere with your starting abilities and a good physics intuition. Hidden throughout many areas are "space gems", which can be used to access more routes from the game's hub areas, but these must be collected in ball mode - often getting the ball to the gems is not an easy task. You'll definitely want to check every corner of an area when looking for gems or "space holes" (exits), as many of them are hidden quite well. I did encounter some issues with the game. Although most of the game ran fine on my computer, some areas caused significant framerate drops that interfered with camera rotation and made precise movement difficult. The "Area Complete" message is a bit finicky, as I sometimes had to re-enter an area after entering its last space hole to get it to appear, and in one case it appeared before I entered the last space hole. Some of the abilities were hard to understand and some were rarely useful. However, these issues were minor in my experience and I still enjoyed most of my playtime. Overall, Space Hole 2018 is definitely worth playing (if you can handle the graphics) and can captivate for hours upon hours. After nine hours of playtime, there are still plenty of areas I have yet to visit and plenty of minor secrets left in areas I have already cleared. If a very indie, psychedelic, ball-rolling exploration game sounds like something you'd enjoy, pick this up and give it a try!

Now this is where it's properly at. Gone are the awkward controls of SH'16, replaced with more precise feeling input. Additionally rather than discreet individual levels, here the entire game is one big nonlinear voyage. You can pop out of the ball at any time to explore, change the shape of the ball, rewind time to try and undo errors and above all else it looks absolutely gorgeous. It is a little bit glitchy (I managed to completely knacker the camera to the point of needing to reload the level entirely) but that just adds to the charm. The weird physics abuse stuff is still here unfortunately but seeing how the aforementioned rewind power was something I unlocked by exploring, I have to imagine I will eventually find more powers that will let me access further areas. Absolutely worth picking up and playing.

Amaze-balls 10/10

surprised at how fun it was

Best game I've ever played. 10/10

BEHOLD THE LIGHT

This game is like if Yume Nikki was a ball-rolling game, except [i]way[/i] more psychedelic [i]and[/i] confusing. Despite that, it's a lot more free than you'd think while still managing to keep you on edge. You are a shuttle in the middle of space. You can fly freely, and the goal is to dive down rabbit holes upon rabbit holes while collecting gems. However, pretty much the only way to do that is by entering balls you find across the maps, as the majority require you to be in a ball. I honestly like this gimmick, because the free flying allows you to look all around the area to look for hidden gems or hidden gateways, and [i]then[/i] you can go for it. It gives you a lot more freedom to play as methodically as you want. The music is really, REALLY good. Most of the soundtrack seems to be split into two halves. One half of it is some atmospheric ambient, which I'm a sucker for, and the other is some post-rock which I'm [i]also[/i] a sucker for. My personal favorite is "abide, moment!" by Joy Wants Eternity, the song used in Departure. All of you, thank you for the amazing soundtrack. I like how the visuals change in every room, giving an even deeper sense of that Kairo/Yume Nikki type feel. Helps to give each area it's own personality, allowing non-hub areas to be just as memorable if they wanted to. If you ever think you're getting lost, you can return to any area and see what leads to what simply by pressing ESC. That's all you need to do in order to get yourself out of a dead end (If you think you've reached one, that is.) I think this hub is a nice way of allowing you to tie up any loose ends, by returning to an earlier area that you saw a different space hole in, so you can easily explore every branch of every path. I think the variety and surrealism of these types of games are the main thing that makes them so appealing to me. I like being in a world that I don't entirely know, getting completely lost and letting the game drift me on through, especially when the developers design the game as if they know this. I'd say, overall, this was a really good experience. For $4 especially.

Its a platformer type game on a LSD trip. I thought it looked kind of dumb but I was surprised at how fun it is.