Teeth Brushing Simulator

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: Kackaz Sila Games

I….don't know where to begin. I like odd games. I really like odd games….but I also want them to be fun in some way. Teeth Brushing Simulator, while definitely odd, is also definitely not fun. The description of the game on Steam says that you should play this game three times a day, for two minutes at a time, right after meals. That's a hint, by the way. Once you start playing Teeth Brushing Simulator, you find that there's not much that you can do. You can press the right mouse button to move the toothbrush and move your mouse around to look around you. Pressing a key changes the camera to a 3rd-person view, and pressing another key changes your appearance into more and more of a grotesque blob of a creature…I'd mention which keys those are, but I don't care enough to go back in and play it any more to figure it out. Anyway, if you brush your teeth for more than two minutes, then a creature comes out of the mirror and grabs you and the lights in the bathroom go out…you are then able to move around….awkwardly. If you move to the right spot in the bathroom, you drop down to the fiery depths of the underworld where the game scolds you for brushing to long and it tells you to run. Pressing Tab allows you to pray and find your way back into your bathroom….where the creature in the mirror attempts to grab you again and where you'll fall back down to a new awkward level. If the games in my Steam library are the equivalent of the teeth in someone's mouth, then Teeth Brushing Simulator is the rotten, decaying one that you wish you could just get pulled. It's nice for a VERY brief moment of bizarre entertainment, but the gameplay likely won't keep you playing long enough to see the stuff I mentioned in this mini review.

Review added: 10/31/2024

There's Something in the Ice

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: JustTomcuk

I've played most of JustTomcuk's games at this point now, and I think that this may be the best of the bunch. Some of his other games made me a fan, but I liked this one quite a bit. In the story of the game, you're a scientist stranded in a bunker with two other scientists, waiting for severe weather to die down. Prior to that, you discovered a block of ice and the team does some experiments on it. Long story short, you eventually discover that there was a life form frozen in that ice…and it has now come back to life. The rest of the game involves you trying to escape the bunker, and eventually the camp that the bunker is in. The story isn't perfect, but I liked it for what it is. It felt like a cheesy horror movie…and like the length of a typical cheesy horror film, you'll likely take about a 80-90 minutes to complete this on your first attempt. Anyway, like I said, this isn't perfect, but it's the most polished game that I've played from JustTomcuk, and it definitely shows that their games improve with each release. It makes me look forward to what comes next from them in the future - I'll definitely be playing whatever it is.

Review added: 10/31/2024

They Breathe

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: The Working Parts

I first played They Breathe back in 2014, when it originally released on Steam - it had been released a few years prior to that. Got pretty far into the game, but struggled without the use of a controller - I've never been great at controlling games that need precise control with a keyboard and mouse. Now that the game has been "remastered," it includes controller support, and I made pretty short work of They Breathe. It's a decent, simple action game. You swim around as a frog. You can boost through the water if needed. Otherwise, your goal is to get air bubbles, save drowning frogs, and defeat the enemies that you encounter. Initially, your enemies look like swimming cows, but you'll eventually discover that they're a bit creepier than that. Defeating enemies is a combination of making them drown and/or giving them air…depending on the enemy. Eventually, you'll make it to the bottom of the lake/pond/body of water and confront the source of your problems. Defeat it and you'll celebrate with your frog friends up at the surface. They Breathe isn't great, but it's decent, and if you want a decent game to pass a few minutes, then They Breathe may be a good choice.

Review added: 10/31/2024

The Town of Light

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: LKA

The Town of Light is a unique horror game in that there are no enemies. One would likely imagine that a horror game with no enemies wouldn’t be that scary…the Town of Light is a different kind of scary though. This is psychological horror. You play as Renee, a young woman who was committed to an insane asylum in 1930’s Italy. She talks to herself as you play, and because of that, as she gets anxious and uneasy, it often makes you feel that way as well. The way that this game manipulates you is extremely well done, as you can go from feeling a little paranoid to feeling sympathy toward Renee pretty quickly. Aside from the tremendous setting and storytelling, the Town of Light also gives you an opportunity to see how mental illness can have an effect on someone and as entertaining as the game is, it can also be educational in that regard and possibly even get empathy from the player. I feel like the Town of Light is just a very solid adventure game all around – it’s entertaining, well-made, and sends a good message to the folks that play it. If you want heart-pounding action, you won’t find it here, but if you want a solid story and a unique take on the horror genre, the Town of Light is well worth playing.

Review added: 10/16/2019

The Troma Project

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: Nekrosoft

I love awful movies. Throw in campy horror elements to those awful movies and I'm a huge, huge fan. Troma is a company that helps some of these terrible movies get released…though with the quality of some of them, you might think that rather than released, that they escaped. Troma films, in general, are not good to the average viewer…but there's a few of us where if we see the name "Troma" on a film, it means that we automatically have to watch. So, when I saw that there was a Troma game, I immediately purchased it. I'm not sure what I expected from this game…but it didn't really deliver, unfortunately. This is a turn-based strategy game where you take control of Troma favorites like the Toxic Avenger and Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD while you battle those awful Surf Nazis…who must die, from what I've heard. Fans of Troma movies may hear some familiar music while playing, as well as some movie posters plastered throughout the game for several of the more popular Troma films. But, despite the positives for Troma fans, the gameplay is overly simplistic, and the game itself can be very buggy. Troma movies are usually of the "so-bad-it's-good" quality…unfortunately, The Troma Project is not that same quality. It's a bad game with some good qualities for Troma fans…but I don't think there's enough good here to keep even the most die-hard Troma fans coming back for more.

Review added: 10/31/2024

The Typing of the Dead: Overkill

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: Modern Dream

I was always a big fan of the original Typing of the Dead on the Dreamcast, so when I saw that a new Typing of the Dead game was released about a decade ago, I had to get it. Typing of the Dead: Overkill is full of adult language and seems to go out of its way to offend and/or disgust you at times...So, if you're easily offended, this probably isn't the game for you. For the most part, I found it all to be comical - the way it's done, you can tell that the creators knew it was all cheap, b-movie humor and material, but they happily tossed it in anyway. As a b-movie junkie, I appreciated it for the most part. Anyway, for those not in the know about the gameplay, Typing of the Dead: Overkill is basically a rail shooter, except instead of shooting, you type what you see on screen. So instead of shooting bullets, you're typing words and phrases. It's an entertaining game, it's fun, and you might even learn to be a better at typing by playing this. It's also probably the only time you'll learn to do something with this many F-bombs dropped…and I'd be willing to guess that it's the only game that could be considered educational (since it helps you learn to type) with that sort of language, as well.

Review added: 10/14/2022