Karma. Incarnation 1

Developer: AuraLab

Website: http://karma-adventure.com/

Platform: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, PC, Mac

A psychedelic quest that immediately resembles a Machinarium and Soviet cartoons of the late 80s, those marked “for adults”. The player plays the role of a creature that has just passed through incarnation and turned out to be a worm in a surreal world invented by the AuraLab team.

This project, as it seemed to me, is of a special make, requiring close attention. It is clear that there is no special point in considering it as a commercial product. Here, rather, we are talking about an artistic phenomenon – bright, non-standard, fascinating.

Another thing is that there is a downside to the chosen approach. Igor Kovalev’s school, partly read in it (“Wings, legs and Tails”, “His wife is a chicken”) and, in general, such an unusual approach to graphics raises the question – will the game be able to find a response even within the niche of “connoisseurs”?

Lost Socks Naughty Brothers

Developer: Nerf Game

Website: http://www.nerf-game.com/

Platform: iOS

The comic platformer /runner about socks Lost Socks Naughty Brothers is a modern Earthworm Jim adjusted for time and place: lovingly rendered, complex in a good way, short-session, and, most importantly, fascinating.

The problem is that despite the high quality of the game, I’m not sure if it has prospects in the mobile market. Rayman Jungle Run and Rayman Fiesta Run, which are, in fact, the closest analogues of the project under discussion, were released against the background of the success of the console Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends with the support of the Ubisoft marketing machine. To rock Lost Socks Naughty Brothers well, you will need a publisher of a similar level.

Anyway, I really liked the game, although, for example, there were questions about the game interface. Here is one of them: some of the hero’s skills require time to recharge, but just how much – you have to guess. I wish there was some kind of stopwatch that visualizes this case.

Perils of Man

Developer: IF Games

Website: http://www.perilsofman.com/

Platform: PC, iOS

Classic quest from the leading artist of The Curse of Monkey Island and The Dig Bill Tiller (Bill Tiller) in the spirit of the painting “Coraline in the Land of Nightmares” by Henry Sellick. Adding something to this is difficult. The project is a bright representative of the old quest school with all its advantages and disadvantages. However, there is no pixel-hunting. In the mobile version, just a long touch is enough to highlight the active zones, which, you will agree, is convenient.