A Hardy Developer's Journal

Barrow Hill is the first project of Matt Clark, a British independent developer who created the game almost entirely on his own. It is a title I was really looking forward to based on a large amount of positive reviews, because of its unique setting, because of being promoted as rooted in authentic pre-christian history, and also because of it supposedly being a refreshingly subtler take on the horror genre. Publicly available images and game overviews didn’t speak of monsters or gore, but of dark woods, old lore, mystery and suspense. (more…)

As a reviewer, you can’t help not having particularly great hopes when asked to review a first time developer’s indie game. Especially a project that a single designer without any game-making background spent 5 years on. Yet a reviewer’s life can be full of surprises – Remigiusz Michalski‘s Downfall provided what I quite frankly consider to be one of the finest stories told in an adventure game in the last 10 years. Moreso it really takes advantage of being an involving player experience – challenging you with choices and actions that have real emotional impact. Some time ago I wrote down my own personal experience of playing the game, and today I have the distinct pleasure to  pick the mind of the creative genius behind Downfall… (more…)

I must admit before I even begin to pass judgement on this game that the indie adventure scene has never truly grabbed me. Many years ago, when money was tight and the school nights long and uneventful (how I long for those times now!), I would occasionally grab a free Adventure Game Studio project and give it a whirl. Sadly, for whatever reason, I could hardly ever enjoy these games. (more…)