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Tacoma is currently available for free on the Humble Bundle store for the next few days. It apparently requires signing up for the Humble newsletter, but since I was already subscribed to that, it just took me straight on to the download page. It's a direct download of a 2.6GB zip file, no Steam/GOG keys or anything like that.
(EDIT)
And... I already finished it. It's a very short game, but definitely cool.
I won't go into story spoilers, but it's a good one. The basic gist is that you have been sent to the Tacoma space station to retrieve the AI core and databases from various sections of the station. Beyond that, it is a mystery to be unraveled, and I will say no more about that.
The gameplay is pretty cool. Along with finding physical objects (files, photos, books, etc.) to look at for clues, you are also given several "scenes" to watch. The conceit is that all of the physical data of the crew members of the station, visual and sound, was recorded and can be viewed. Echoes of the crew members of the station are present, though they cannot be interacted with, with one exception. These scenes can be rewound and replayed at your whim, which you'll want/need to do, considering that the echoes of the characters are coming and going to differing parts of the station, so you'll be following one group and their conversation, then rewind to follow a different group. Generally, the echoes cannot be interacted with, as I said, but at certain points during the scenes, they may bring up their own UI interfaces, which you can then click on to see what they were viewing, or chatting about, at the time. It's a fairly novel approach to storytelling in video games, I think.
Overall, I would definitely recommend it, especially given that it is currently still free on Humble Bundle for another couple of days. Ordinarily, it is $20 on Steam and GOG.
(/EDIT)
(EDIT)
And... I already finished it. It's a very short game, but definitely cool.
I won't go into story spoilers, but it's a good one. The basic gist is that you have been sent to the Tacoma space station to retrieve the AI core and databases from various sections of the station. Beyond that, it is a mystery to be unraveled, and I will say no more about that.
The gameplay is pretty cool. Along with finding physical objects (files, photos, books, etc.) to look at for clues, you are also given several "scenes" to watch. The conceit is that all of the physical data of the crew members of the station, visual and sound, was recorded and can be viewed. Echoes of the crew members of the station are present, though they cannot be interacted with, with one exception. These scenes can be rewound and replayed at your whim, which you'll want/need to do, considering that the echoes of the characters are coming and going to differing parts of the station, so you'll be following one group and their conversation, then rewind to follow a different group. Generally, the echoes cannot be interacted with, as I said, but at certain points during the scenes, they may bring up their own UI interfaces, which you can then click on to see what they were viewing, or chatting about, at the time. It's a fairly novel approach to storytelling in video games, I think.
Overall, I would definitely recommend it, especially given that it is currently still free on Humble Bundle for another couple of days. Ordinarily, it is $20 on Steam and GOG.
(/EDIT)
