Top 10 Casual Games, Part 2

Remember my first post from this series, from two months ago? Well, neither do I, talk about procrastination ehh. Now I’m back with the second and final list of my favorite casual games, so listen up!

*All prices are valid at the time of writing this article – June 18th

 

1. Puzzle Agent 1+2 (Telltale Games), 2010, 2011, Windows, OS X, PlayStation Network, iOS, etc.

Puzzle agent 1: 4,99€ on Steam, 1.09€ on GOG, Puzzle agent 2: 9,99€ on Steam, 2.09€ on GOG, bundle on GOG 3.18€.

A combination of Twin Peaks, Fargo, gnomes and puzzles, these games are extremely silly and weird. You play as special agent Nelson Tethers, from the puzzle division of the FBI, and you’re sent to Scoggins, Minnesota to solve the mystery of an eraser factory which stopped delivering erasers to the White House. Once you get to Scoggins though, you’ll discover more than you’ve expected.

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2. Monument Valley 1+2 (Ustwo Games), 2014, 2017, iOS, Android, Windows Phone

Monument Valley: $3.97 on Google Play, $3.99 on iTunes, Monument Valley 2: $6.63 on Google Play, $1.99 on iTunes.

This is a gorgeous, mind-bending puzzle game, with beautiful graphics and music. I’ve had a luck of getting the first one for free, and the second one on a huge discount, so I went and bought the expansion too, and played all of that three times in two days. It’s mesmerizing and beautiful, you have to try it! I’ll post a full review of it soon.

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3. Inside (Playdead), 2016, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS

19,99€ on Steam, 8.09€ on GOG.

Inside can be simply described as a dystopian puzzle-platformer. In reality, it’s so much more than that. If you’ve played Limbo, you know what I’m talking about. If not, then here’s a short summary: you play as an unnamed boy on the run, exploring a dark, surreal environment, mostly black and white with almost no music and dialogues, except eerie ambiental sounds that crawl under your skin. As you advance, you’ll slowly start to unravel the horrible story of the place you’re trying to escape, and the reason why and what you’re running from in the first place. As Limbo, this is not a horror game per se, but a survival game which will definitely scare you.

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4. Chuchel (Amanita Design), 2018, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android

9,99€ on Steam, 7,99€ on GOG.

I’ve done a full review of Chuchel a few months back, so you can read that, or a shorter description here. Chuchel is the funniest, craziest game I’ve ever played! It’s a non-linear series of funny puzzle gags, which you can replay each on its own. You play as a cute, black, fluffy creature called Chuchel, with serious anger issues, who is on a quest to retrieve a cherry stolen by another weird creature called Kekel. This game is so funny it’s impossible to contain yourself from laughing out loud, and the main point is to try as many wrong moves as you can, before picking the right solution, because you’ll be rewarded with hilarious outcomes. Click on everything!

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5. The Tiny bang story (Colibri Games), 2011, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Mac OS X.

4,99€ on Steam, $2.92 on Google Play, $2.99 on iTunes, $9.99 or $2.99 if it’s your first game on Big Fish Games with a free 1 hour trial.

One of the most beautiful and charming point and click puzzle games I’ve ever played. The graphics and music are beyond gorgeous, and the puzzles are simple but quirky, enough to pull you in until you’ve played the game in one sitting. It seems to have been a one hit wonder for Colibri Games, since they haven’t released a new game since, but this one is worth playing numerous times.

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6. World of Goo (2D Boy), 2008, Wii, Microsoft Windows, OS X Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry OS, Nintendo Switch.

9,99€ on Steam, $4.99 on Google Play.

World of Goo is a puzzle game where you solve various obstacles by picking up balls of goo, and stretching and sticking them together to create a structure which will get you from point A to point B. Sounds simple and stupid, right? Nope. World of Goo is a fun and complex game divided into five chapters, each one with unique graphics and atmosphere, becoming crazier and harder as you advance. What I most appreciate in this game (which I’ve played 10+ times), besides the fun puzzles, is the haunting music and backstory which you’ll discover bit by bit, and I’m not ashamed to say I cried when I found out what the evil corporation behind all this is doing to the poor goo balls. Laugh all you want, but try it out, it’s amazing.

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7. Child of Light (Ubisoft Montreal), 2014, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One.

14,99€ on Steam, $5.10 on Ubisoft Store.

At this point I’m sidetracking into less casual and more expensive games, but still gorgeous and worth your attention. Child of Light is a beautiful platforming role-playing game which takes place in the fictional land of Lemuria. You play as Aurora, a girl who wakes up in Lemuria after dying from a mysterious illness, and you start a quest to bring back the sun, the moon and the stars held captive by the Queen of the Night in order to return home. Battling enemies, leveling up, and playing multiple characters are all important features of this game, but it’s still amazingly charming, quirky and quick to play.

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8. The Witness (Thekla, Inc.), 2016, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nvidia Shield, macOS, iOS.

36,99€ on Steam.

The Witness is the most complex puzzle exploration game I’ve ever played. It’s gorgeous, mysterious, and mind-bending. It can be extremely difficult at times, until you figure out how to pull your head out of the box, and look at things from a completely different perspective. It’s set on a beautiful island, with different parts defining various chapters (a collapsed fortress, an orchard, a mysterious facility, etc.). There are no dialogues, no help whatsoever, except mysterious side-puzzles you need to remember for much later in the game, so I recommend taking photos of your screen or writing them down on paper. There’s also a whole different kind of puzzle hidden in the gorgeous scenery, and it might be too late when you discover it, because you could be stuck on the opposite side of the island, so pay attention to your surrounding right away. It can be really difficult at times, but I advise you not to give up – it’s worth playing to the end.

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9. Grim Fandango (LucasArts/Double Fine), 1998/2015, Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS.

14,99€ on Steam, $4.99 on Google Play, $4.99 on iTunes.

Grim Fandango is a cult game some of you may remember, and luckily for us a remastered version was released in 2015. It’s an adventure game set in the Land of the Dead where you play as Manuel “Manny” Calavera, trying to save Mercedes “Meche” Colomar on her way to the final destination. The visuals are done in the film noir style, and the game is witty, funny, and sometimes even utterly ridiculous. It’s one of the best ‘old’ adventure games, and one of the best ones I played when I was a kid.

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10. A Vampyre Story (Autumn Moon Entertainment), 2008, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X.

19,99€ on Steam.

Another cult point-and-click adventure game, A Vampyre Story earned its cult status for different reasons. It took four years to get it published, because of various financial and publishing issues, and for the last ten years its well-deserved sequel has constantly been delayed because of the publishing rights. Its fan base is small but persistent, and we hope that the sequel will see the light of day. The game revolves around Mona De Lafitte, an opera singer turned into a vampire and held captive by Shrowdy von Kieffer, who is as you may have guessed – an evil vampire. Mona is accompanied in her adventures to escape by a sarcastic sidekick Froderick the bat. One of my favorite games ever, A Vampyre Story is funny, sarcastic, and awfully entertaining if you like vampires like me. 🙂

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That’s it for my second and final part of this post! I hope you enjoyed it, and that I’ve made you look up, or even play some of these amazing games. As I’ve mentioned before, these titles often get awesome discounts on Steam and GOG, and you just need to put them in your wish list and be patient – the prices will drop! Hope you liked my post, and if you want to discuss these games further, hit me up in the comments section below! ⬇️