Believe it or not, I’m actually playing the games I bought during the winter Steam sale!
Crazy, right? I hope you’ve found the time to enjoy some of your purchases, whether they were pre-planned or impulse buys. As always, I’ve discovered some games I really, really want AFTER the sale, but so far I’ve been able to resist temptation. (Feel free to keep tempting me with your tales of awesome games, though. This wishlist isn’t going to update itself!)
Crazy, right? I hope you’ve found the time to enjoy some of your purchases, whether they were pre-planned or impulse buys. As always, I’ve discovered some games I really, really want AFTER the sale, but so far I’ve been able to resist temptation. (Feel free to keep tempting me with your tales of awesome games, though. This wishlist isn’t going to update itself!)
One of my last-minute finds was Why Am I Dead At Sea, a game where you solve your own murder as a ghost. While there are a handful of games with this premise, Why Am I Dead has a uniquely strong focus on the characters in this nautical murder mystery. Who are these people, and why are they on this terrible ferry? It’s a true thriller, one I quickly finished because the story was so intriguing.
In the game, you gain clues by possessing other travelers, each with their own backstory and special abilities. The goal of the game is to figure out what makes each of them tick, their inner thoughts, their deepest fears-- granting you more power over their bodies. It’s heavy stuff, and the story deals with some mature and disturbing themes. There are some moments of humor, though—the special power the first mate has is to make “announcements” over the intercom, and it is delightful.
Despite having new-school mechanics, be prepared for some old adventure game leaps of logic and getting stuck. If you’re into that sort of thing, knock yourself out, but there’s a character that gives really good hints if you’re getting frustrated. The indie-ness of this game definitely shows, since the ambitiously large number of characters and clues led to some nasty bugs on my first playthrough. It’s not polished to perfection, but it’s worth muddling through the iffy parts to get to the explosive ending.
Why Am I Dead At Sea is a quick voyage, taking less than 10 hours to finish even for perfectionists, but it’s one that will haunt you for the duration of the journey. Story game people, this one’s definitely for you! Just don’t play it right before going on a cruise ship.
Abusing the intercom as much as possible,
The Dungeon Dame
The Dungeon Dame
