Tachyon Dreams Anthology

Alright. [b]Tachyon Dreams Anthology[/b] is done and dusted. I guess this game existed in three parts on [i]itch.io[/i] and elsewhere prior to its release here on Steam as an Anthology with a bit of extra content. But now that it's here, and in Anthology form, how actually is the game? So, [i]Cosmic Void[/i] definitely and proudly leans into their love of old Sierra Entertainment text-parser games. And as a little bit of fun trivia, Sierra On-Line was the publisher for [b]Half-Life, Counter Strike, and even Half-Life 2[/b], although somewhere in there, they changed their name to Sierra Entertainment. Additionally, Sierra originally owned all the rights to the Half-Life IP, but after Ken Williams left Sierra, the rights were sold back to Valve. Eventually a dispute between Valve and Vivendi, who then owned Sierra, led to Valve and Sierra severing their relationship and Valve becoming the juggernaut we all know today. More or less. Anyway, the moral of that story is this game is a text-parser reminiscent of games from the 80's. Meaning that while it has all the hallmarks of a point and click, instead of pointing and clicking, you type appropriate words to advance scenes, solve puzzles, and in general playthrough the game. Although you do use the arrow keys to move. So, this is obviously a keyboard-controlled game. I doubt you could use a controller, and while you could probably use a Steam Deck due to it having a digital keyboard, I doubt it would be user friendly. Most of the prompts amount to typing 'look at x', 'use x', 'talk to x', and so on. But not all. Some of the command prompts will require a bit more thought. As it pertains to the strictly story related things, there are always hints to let you know what the game is looking for. As a side note, if you type something the game doesn't recognize, it will engage in a bit of smack talking directed at you lol. There are a fair few Easter eggs from actual Sierra games, and these are tied to achievements. If you are familiar with their games, you might understand the command prompts necessary based on the scenes. If not, you will 100% require a guide. Fortunately, there is a very straightforward one in this game's guide section that can help you with this. My playthrough was right at about an hour and forty minutes with me remembering some of the things that are Easter eggs in this game and looking up the rest. The story itself was pretty silly, but still actually made quite a bit of sense. There are obviously a lot of jokes all throughout the game, which the immature inner child in me definitely appreciated. And there are two endings. Both of which can be considered good endings and are good feeling endings on top of that. The graphics are what you'd expect from a game that finds itself wanting to be in the 80's. Heavily pixelated set pieces and character designs with a surprising amount of detail and enough charm for days. The audio wasn't prominent for me. I struggle to really have an impression other than it blended into the experience well. I did not experience any technical issues whatsoever. It does not however allow you to take screenshots, so just be aware of that if you are a screen archer. I think this was a quite fun and the perfect length for what this adventure offered gameplaywise. The constant references to old games and plethora of jokes helped keep this game feeling fresh and also introspective. It definitely doesn't take itself too seriously, which I appreciate. The retail on this is $4.99. That feels fair. Give it a look if you would like something old school but with a modern flair. [b]I received this license via our IndieGems Curator program.[/b] [code]If you found this review helpful and would be interested in supporting my Curator group, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32549618/]Robilar's Reviews[/url], it would be appreciated. Cheers.[/code] [code]Also follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] for more reviews like this one.[/code]

The developer already made Tachyon Dreams series free on Itch.IO, but this version has a few more areas and I believe extra interactions, essentially combining the parts into one coherent narrative. I got my 'Anthology' copy from the dev, and one copy will be purchased for a friend to support this release. A faithful tribute to 1986 adventure games such as the [b] Space Quest [/b], also known as the 'text-parser' games where you would type commands instead of using a mouse, it was more like a milestone for the genre before it eventually got replaced with the point&click interface. I think a big challenge with making a game like this today is that you have a very specific audience, almost exclusively adults, mainly because you would need previous experience to understand its limitations and their charm, it requires a certain amount of patience to play, and even among adventure fans these controls are not very popular. My personal relationship with this type of game is a contentious one, I think there are certain features in them that are worth bringing back, and there are other elements that I don't particularly care for, such as limited use of music or the continuous walk. I usually hype myself up whenever I play a text command game, if I see them as an obstacle I will not have a good time, but I try to look at it as a challenge, these games tend to be harder and more specific with how you solve the puzzles, not to mention you kinda need to spell the words correctly. In a weird way I do find these games more rewarding because you can't just brute force the hotspots. I will say that text commands are not necessarily inferior to the point&click interface, more so a different experience, [b]sometimes focusing on making the game intuitive you lose some nuances in the gameplay[/b], and frankly I think that [b] text commands bring a different type of immersion [/b], the game essentially demands your attention for everything that you do, where in a modern adventure you just hold a button and click on every item on the screen. It also has a different layer of puzzles to it, you not just trying to figure out the puzzle itself, [b] you also trying to figure out the correct words and the sequence[/b]. The dev said the game is around 2 to 3 hours, but I do think it's a little optimistic, there are some puzzles where you can easily get stuck, it kinda depends if you willing to use a walkthrough for the hardest puzzles. While the game is easier than many retro games, it's still relatively cryptic compared to your average adventure game, which certainly matches the experience of those older titles. As for the game itself I enjoyed some parts more than others, slightly overwhelmed by the narrative, I think that time-travel gimmick you did early was the most interesting part of the game, which wasn't an active gameplay element in the later chapters. The visuals and overall design were done in good taste, it kinda follows the same thematic beats with a decent variety of colorful locations. [h1] Pros: [/h1] (+) I thought the command options were more generous than similar games, but I mean that relatively speaking, you still have to be somewhat specific, usually there are a couple of correct choices. But I do like that you would put many funny responses when you make the wrong commands, I played a few games that were missing that aspect. (+) If you played any game by Cosmic Void, the art is always good, often surreal and colorful with a decent variety of locations. You doing a really good job imitating that 1986 aesthetic as well, it's not exact, but probably 90% there, the only thing I would note, it feels like you made the characters bigger, and the location perspective smaller - not as noodle looking if you know what I mean. (+) As for the story, I kinda found myself gaining and loosing interest at different points, sometimes getting maybe a little too much exposition. Same with the jokes, I think you were very funny in some areas, and sometimes they felt very forced. Overall it's not bad, but I think you could have focused on that relationship a little more, there was not much closure between the characters leading up to it. (+) These games have been around for a bit (free I think), but it seems the dev added a few small areas, as well as some optional things, basically the games were stitched together into a more coherent experience. [h1] Feedback: [/h1] - I thought the first chapter with the manual time-travel was the best part of the game, it had interesting navigation and puzzles that were more dynamic. However, every chapter after that felt very similar in the format, usually walk from left to right and backtrack a few times. I find that a lot of these mid 80s adventure games make you feel like you are lost in their world, and that vibe was only partially present for me in this game because of those compact chapters. - You didn't animate the jokes as much as I wanted, like in some games you see death animations and such, where here a lot of the humor was in the text and not shown. For example, I liked the moment with the "kiss", there is more visual feedback and not just hey, funny line. - I think if you gave the characters a few more cozy moments, maybe doing something silly together that is not connected to the progression, I think it would be more rewarding in the end. - For the music, I get that you trying to be faithful, but I think it should be optional. Like you could put an item into the game that would just play the music that is already in the game, you just lose so much by playing the game in silence. If someone wants to play with no music, they don't have to use it. - I was trying to type [spoiler] something like 'look inside pockets' in different forms, but it was a bit unexpected that you were specifically looking for search, if I am not mistaken. I also got stuck on the kiss because I am an immigrant and the B word mannerism is not something I ever think about. I kinda wish you could "combine" items in addition to saying something like, use tooth on a stick. [/spoiler] [b] Overall Thoughts: 7/10[/b] With a game like this it really depends on what you bring with you. Have you played similar games? Are you nostalgic for them? Do you even like text commands? Do you want to play with almost no music? On a technical level it's a very faithful game and made by someone that clearly loves the genre, as a narrative game I thought it was pretty decent, but I didn't love it, sometimes the game gave me a good reason to pay attention, and sometimes I was just having a tunnel vision. I felt like the game could use a few smaller moments, like him using that toilet, and maybe you could have explored that relationship a bit more leading up to it. [code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]

A pure text parser AGI Sierra adventure game from Cosmic Void, known for their decent adventure games (albeit sometimes a bit on the short side). And this is too, i only got 6 hours in because i was writing a walkthrough for it alongside. As many know these are a mixture of 3 games that are free on itch.io, combined with a few extra's, but i mean few (like a few extra scenes/puzzles and steam achievements). Again in my personal opinion it shows the limitations of AGI but perhaps also that this was Cosmic Void's first game? And thus they were testing the waters, but all 3 games (or parts as i would call them here) consist of 3 to 8 scenes at a time. Where in a scene the objects are very clearly given in the description, and the puzzles are rather straightforward so you won't easily get stuck unlike the games from Sierra, where you had to buy hint books or spend lots of evenings on it. As i wrote in my review about their previous game Twilight Oracle, i really wish they should focus on slightly longer games, but in this case it's only 5 euro, and that's a reasonable price for this. I wouldn't mind a sequel to this, with double the points to get, and it would be splendid.

[quote] Love RPG? [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39973073/]Make sure to Follow my Curator Page[/url] for plenty more! [/quote] A stunning text-parser adventure through space and time, highly recommended for fans of Roger Wilco and Space Quest. But this time we get the role of a dishwasher... The game is full of humor and will make you strain your brain at some points. The game is not very long (5-6 hours). BUT... Oh how I wish this was Point & Click Adventure, typing commands on the keyboard practically turns the game into a text game, and will be real torture for non-native English speakers (like me). And even despite this, it is worth it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxJvEHWEQ_E [quote] And don't forget to [url=https://www.youtube.com/c/WizardWorm?sub_confirmation=1] Subscribe to my Youtube [/url][/quote] [quote] Join my [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/wizard_rpg] Steam Group [/url] [/quote]

Tachyon Dreams is a really enjoyable game! It is inspired by the Space Quest series for sure, and that is definitely a good thing. The graphics are beautiful, and the game took me a few hours to complete, so for my money it is a good deal too, because I had a great, spacey, time! Thanks, Cosmic Void for helping me with some hints when I got stuck! :) Be sure to check out Cosmic Voids other adventures too, because he's made quite a few great adventures!

Beautiful pixel art that you can appreciate even if you didn't play these type of games back in the day. Very well written (hints are diegetic, smoothly integrated), and the puzzles are well-balanced; not too hard, but clever enough to make you work for their solutions. Not over-written; you'll be making progress fairly quickly. Highly recommended!

After so many adventure games, Tachyon Dreams Anthology goes back to its roots with a text parser inspired by the old 80s adventures, but without all the elements that frustrated players. A nice discovery, well worth playing. Full review here: https://oneupnerd.com/review/tachyon-dreams-anthology-review/

From the developer of the acclaimed adventures “Blood Nova” and “Twilight Oracle”, comes a new (or in fact renewed) retro-adventure in text-parser style. “Tachyon Dreams” puts you in the shoes of a space dishwasher named Dodger, who finds himself in the midst of an adventure that will decide the future (and past, even) of entire civilizations – though despite the epic scope of the story, the game itself is short and rather minimalistic. It is most resembling to the early Sierra adventures, particularly the first three Space Quests, except here the atmosphere is not that much humorous, rather I had a feeling of light melancholy from it. Game is done in EGA graphics that is traditional for this subgenre, with well-designed scenes, and also according to tradition there is almost no music with the exception of title screen and end credits. Text parser is quite clever and recognizes wide range of synonyms, so you shouldn’t have any trouble with getting stuck on trying to figure the right commands. “Tachyon Dreams” feels like an excursion back into the time where games like this were pinnacle of adventure gaming, and manages to convey the atmosphere and fun that gamers at that time had with these.

Pure Cosmic Void Gold. If you like the more modern mini-adventure games, this is a great game for you. It is an extended version of the original 3 Tachyon Dreams games with additional scenes and puzzles. It has the more modern "smart but fair" puzzles that remove the frustration of the older "golden age" adventure games. This was my original gateway-game into modern adventure games. Highly recommended.

Absolutely fantastic, both for fans of old Sierra and Lucasfilm adventure games as well as for other adventurous people! The graphics are a really enjoyable callback to the days of 8-bit and EGA games, plus the innovative combination of point and click walking around and classic parser commands makes for a playing experience that is both nostalgic and exciting. The humorous references to sci fi literature classics like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as well as video game legends like Zak McKracken create a wonderful atmosphere, and the puzzles are complex enough to make you think of creative solutions but never outlandish to the degree of frustration. All in all, Tachyon Dreams Anthology makes for a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I can't wait for the next project by this talented software creator!