Publisher: Infocom
Developer: Infocom
Year: 1982
Platform: Everything
An ambitious final entry into the original Zork trilogy that is a pleasure to read but a veritable nightmare to play, Zork III’s value now is mostly for posterity.
Dreamfall Chapters
Publisher: Red Thread Games
Developer: Red Thread Games
Year: 2014, though released episodically through 2016
Platform: PS4, XBox One, Mac, Linux
After waiting six years for the second game in the series, fans of the epic The Longest Journey series waited eight years (and through a massive Kickstarter campaign) to play the final entry into the saga. The first is one of my favorite games ever and I feel similarly about Dreamfall, though in my review I compared it to The Empire Strikes Back: exciting and dark, but ending abruptly with many unanswered loose threads. And I must say Ragnar Tornquist did an excellent job tying up those threads; while Dreamfall Chapters is not always satisfying on a game level, the story itself resonates so broadly that it retroactively makes the first two games more satisfying as well.
Machinarium
Publisher: Amanita Design
Developer: Amanita Design
Year: 2009
Platform: PC, Mac, Android, Fire, iPad, PS3
If there was a Miss Congeniality award for adventure games, Machinarium would lap the field. Controlling a runt-of-the-litter robot whose goal is to save himself, his robot town, and his robot girl, charm endlessly abounds. Normally a game with no text or dialogue would turn me off completely, but with the exceptional use of picture thought bubbles and flashbacks, a thorough story is doled out to the player without the need for any words.
Her Story
Publisher: Self-published
Developer: Sam Barlow
Year: 2015
Platform: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Regrettably as the older I’ve become, the less effort I’ve found myself willing to put into playing computer games. I prefer to blame the time constrictions of maturation: fatherhood, home ownership, Netflixing with my better half. Ultimately, however, the greatest factor is my waning patience with gratification. This extends to all forms of media; if I have to wait longer than five minutes for stimulation, my interest wanders. Thus, the piled up bin of pilot episodes (sorry Nurse Jackie), second chapters (you too The Girl Who Played with Fire), and barely played computer games (maybe later Quest for Glory 2) awaiting continuation but more likely relegated to eternally gathering dust. Despite this I’m also not looking for cheap and unsatisfying thrills (I’m looking at you Angry Birds). Her Story may be my panacea, motivating me not only to play through its story, but also to forge on and try other games that have been sitting on my virtual shelf for far too long.
Smart Phone Games Worth Playing: Letterpress
Year: 2012
Genre: Word Game
Platform: iOS, Mac
Creator: Solebon LLC
I’ve downloaded many, many word games for my smart phone and this is the only one I’ve kept for any length of time.
Continue reading Smart Phone Games Worth Playing: Letterpress
Smartphone Games Worth Playing: A Dark Room
Year: 2013
Genre: Text RPG
Platform: iOS, Android, Web Browser
Creator: Michael Townsend, Amir Rajan (iOS)
A brilliant minimalistic RPG that hearkens back to 80’s games made in BASIC only with the polish and creativity of today’s designers.
Continue reading Smartphone Games Worth Playing: A Dark Room
Smart Phone Games Worth Playing: Super Stickman Golf 3
Year: 2016
Genre: Physics; Arcade
Platform: iOS, Android
Creator: Noodlecake Studios
For the record, the first two games in the series are also worth playing, but since Super Stickman Golf 3 was just released and it’s also damn amazing, here we are:
Continue reading Smart Phone Games Worth Playing: Super Stickman Golf 3
Smart Phone Games Worth Playing: Framed
Year: 2014
Genre: Puzzle, Noir
Platform: iOS, Android
Creator: Loveshack Entertainment
Man, I get giddy every time I think about this game. In a world naturally lacking in any original ideas, I can honestly say I have never played anything else like Framed.
Smart Phone Games Worth Playing: Sometimes You Die
Year: 2014
Genre: Platformer
Platform: iOS, Android
Creator: Philipp Stollenmayer
Everything you need to know about this platformer can be learned from that picture. You control that block on the left with the arrow. On this particular screen, you have to get that block in the pit on the right. But you can’t actually jump that far. How do you get there? Well, sometimes you have to die, using your block corpses to get to where you need to go.
Continue reading Smart Phone Games Worth Playing: Sometimes You Die
Smartphone Games Worth Playing
I’ve been using smartphones since 2011 and honestly I still haven’t come across that many games I enjoy playing. Some games–even Angry Birds–are decent time wasters, but rarely do I think, “Dang, I’m glad I spent my time on that!”
I’m going to guess many of you also share this experience, so over the next several days I’ll review the smartphone games I really enjoyed and felt worthy of keeping on my phone. I am also hoping I can parlay this into great recommendations from you guys.
The only other caveat for this list is that I’m reviewing games that were originally designed for smartphones only. In other words, no Walking Dead, Final Fantasy VI, or Limbo.
Death By Troggles 
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