Interactive Noise 004
Heretical Affliction by Nomnom - https://nomnomdev.itch.io/heretical-affliction
It's impossible not to see the similarities with Aether Diving, but Heretical Affliction trades subtleties with grotesque body horror. Interactive medical encyclopedias as horrific interface systems are a genre I welcome with open heart surgeries.
Ritual Quest by Lichen - https://lichenritual.itch.io/ritualquest
Combinatorics and the occult go hand in hand. Ritual Quest acts as a simple but efficient demonstration of how video games, by their cybernetic roots, exemplify that fact.
Gas Station Weed Simulator by Possmonaut - https://possmonaut.itch.io/gas-station-weed-simulator-2024
Combinatorics and drugs also go hand in hand.
Beton by Fe26 - https://fe26.itch.io/beton
Marble Madness lost in brutalist, non-sensical architecture. The audio work is excellent.
Spasibo by lu608b - https://lu608b.itch.io/spasibo
Low resolution/high pixelation mastication and digestion.
Bad Parenting 1: Mr. Red Face by 2002 - https://2oo2.itch.io/bad-parenting-1
It's rare in horror games to discover a new talent who proposes a very personal and unique aesthetic. 2002 does not try to pander to any trends—every choice is fully dedicated to the subject matter the game explores. It lacks a certain finesse or maturity in dealing with the very sensible themes at the game's core, but this series is something to keep an eye on.
Sequoia by Forbidden Saucery - https://forbiddensaucery.itch.io/sequoia
The brilliant mind behind the Pyramid series takes a break from liminal maximalism to propose a minimal experience of contemplation and resonance.
Diov by vaporwario - https://vaporwario.itch.io/diov
A Bitsy adaptation of what happened in downtown Winnipeg during the movie Melancholia.
These Endless Plains by Kevin Hutchins - https://khutchins.itch.io/these-endless-plains
An abandoned (but with an effective public transit system) sprawl left for you to explore, strewed with solipsistic questions to discover.
Screen Savour by Duncan Corrigan - https://duncan74.itch.io/screen-savour
Screen Savour proposes an interesting experiment in new materialism/affect relations with technological devices – here, your computer. Strangely erotic.
Broken Through by JordiBoi - https://jordiboi.itch.io/brokenthrough
By now, the "haunted game" trope is wholly exhausted and requires transgressive blood and craftmanship to be of any interest. While I had next to no interest in the narrative building up in the third act, the initial sections are up there in originality, twisting humor in pure existential dread and virtual anguish.
Umbra Index by IridioDev - https://iridiodev.itch.io/umbra-index
Capture a collection of oddities before they capture you. It's tough, but the proposed compendium is exciting and worthwhile.
self.-aware by Todist - https://todist.itch.io/self-aware
Highly recommended experience of the frailty of the flesh and access to liminal mental spaces. Automatic functions must here be managed – blinking and breathing – with less and less motivation to do as we crawl through the agonal space of this artificial existence.