I adored CONSCRIPT. It's clearly taking inspiration from survival horror classics such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, but CONSCRIPT stands distinct.

Part of this is the top-down perspective, which reminds me of SIGNALIS - another modern classic. The top-down perspective (which makes aiming during combat significantly easier) is given a survival horror touch by having the player character manually eject shells from the barrel for strong weapons. This allows frantic moments where the player is desperately running away from enemy raiders, knowing that they cannot even shoot immediately, but have to participate in the slow process of ejecting and loading another bullet.

Part of this is the tone, which never strays from subdued and mournful, punctuated with tense, almost overwhelming action. Killing brings rats, which bring disease, so upon seeing an enemy you're not immediately motivated to kill them. It works both on a gameplay level (stopping you from simply killing all enemies and then proceeding with puzzles, keeping levels tense) and a thematic level: you're a soldier, not a super soldier - combat is scary and should be avoided.

A big part of it is the setting: WW1 and the Battle of Verdun is an inspired place to set a survival horror game. CONSCRIPT makes great use of it's locations: I particularly enjoyed the trenches and avoiding enemy raiders. Areas feel constantly bombarded and under attack, which is a unique feeling for this type of survival horror game. Storytelling is a light touch, which I think adds to the feeling of hopelessness shared by the characters.

Overall, if you're a survival horror fan CONSCRIPT is incredible, and is highly recommended. Even if you're not, CONSCRIPT is a unique enough voice that I think it's worth checking out.

Beautiful game, with excellent performances. A quiet reflection and examination of a life, done through a short walk through the farmer's typical day.

Sunless Sea has you play a Zee Captain based out of Fallen London, which has plunged into a massive cavern containing the Sunless Sea. You captain a boat, buying fuel and supplies to make forays into the Zee, while visiting strange and ominous locales and trading stories with the locals. If it sounds weird, it's meant to: The minute-to-minute gameplay (sailing and fighting) is a roguelite wrapper around the real content of the game - the seriously excellent weird fiction that you will be reading throughout your time in Sunless Sea.

It's a beautifully atmospheric game, and the writing is brilliant, but very niche. Check out their browser-based game Fallen London for a taste, delicious friend. If you enjoyed your time in Fallen London, then you should treat yourself with more in the Sunless Sea.