The Grimsworth Reports: Woodfall

This game was a really pleasant surprise. I got this thinking it was just another detective point and click. You know, a nice way to spend an afternoon and support indie developers. I got that, but a lot more too. This game was really fun. The game description really underplays the importance of choices. You decide if you want to chase random items for people, what you want to investigate in a very major way and how you do it. Once you choose, those other options are closed off and you have decided your fate. At least until the next choice comes along. How you handle conversations with characters can help you or hurt you in all sorts of different ways. Because of the wide variations in how the story plays based on what you decide to investigate, this game has a very high replayability factor. And the "Grimsworth Reports" you collect are saved for your next playthrough. Very nice! The one drawback that wore on me a little was the fact we are playing in a very large game world and there is no map. So if you forget how to get to where you need to be, there can be times of wandering ... and wandering. The controls are a bit old school with you having to cycle the cursor through walk, look, interact, and run. And you have to keep clicking the run across the sceen to move through the levels of town. But if you can deal with that, you get a very fun game in return. Super mild spoiler - [spoiler] find that cardboard box. It's a life saver. Literally. [/spoiler]

I've been following the development of this little gem since the demo first dropped on GameJolt, and I do have to say straight up that the developers are very sociable chaps and open to discussion, so I hope they keep that up! Right, into the game itself. You fill the boots of Chuck, a guy who can't decide if he's a regular detective or a paranormal investigator (nobody's judging you though man, we all love ya no matter what you do) who has been summoned to the small town of Woodfall to investigate a mysterious murder. There's murderous cults, ancient curses, ancient psychopaths and ancient weirdos galore, and every decision you make shapes how the game finishes. I didn't choose the best paths available and half the town ended up dying (which geniunely upset me), but I know I can hold my head up high and say that hey... at least I survived. And I can always play again! There's a few little bugs here and there in the game (Chuck sometimes gets stuck on the kerbs and one time near the end of the game I was in disguise but still got straight up murdered by a cultist), but there's nothing game-breaking thanks to the regular autosaves. I'd recommend this one, it's full of quirky humour and fun characters (and guts and gore too, if that's your deal) and it has replayability too, what with the different choices you can make! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-HXKxThgM42wgA5OFuInFBpug2fxuwmG