World Tree

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I hate the words "cozy" and "comfy". But I liked this game. I liked the idea that world peace has been achieved, and the nonviolent nature of the game.

"World Tree" is a weird and badly made 2D top down retro adventure puzzle game. The game takes on a not completely unwelcome pacifism theme as you solve some problems and help the Earth get ready for alien contact. Certainly fantasy... call me cynical if you like but while greed and money infest the powerful, there will always be those who want more at the expense of peace and life. Anyway, this isn't a great game. This features really godawful, lazy MS-Paint "art" instead of real graphics. It's hard to say if this was because the developer didn't have the skill to do the job of creating 3D visuals, or couldn't afford to hire someone who does, but it also doesn't matter. What matters is that this looks bad because of that decision, and that's a major deterrent to gamers. Games like Terraria and Stardew Valley succeeded [i]despite[/i] the bad graphics, not because of them. It's free... now, but it wasn't before. The developer was charging $2 USD for this. Price barriers, especially on low quality products, can be a direct cause of failure. It's a nice gesture for the game to be given away for free, but it also tells us that the game wasn't good enough to succeed as a paid…

Noice

World Tree is one of the strangest adventure games I have played, but I found its unusual world surprisingly interesting. I play as a human in a peaceful future where humanity has already made contact with hidden civilizations and beings from the cosmic spheres. Instead of focusing on traditional fantasy conflict, the game asks me to explore, solve mysteries and learn what is really hidden beneath the World Tree. The gameplay mixes open world exploration with puzzles and riddles. I move between different locations, interact with unusual characters and build up my Chi so that I can access new areas. I liked that progression because exploration and character development are connected together instead of feeling like completely separate systems. Trading crystals for useful items and crafting potions also gives me something productive to do while exploring. The world itself is probably the most interesting part. I can visit places such as a mothership, a crystalline city, underground tunnels and a strange futuristic citadel. The game also includes friendly Sasquatch, fae, elven and extraterrestrial characters, which creates a very unusual mixture of fantasy and science fiction. I enj…