While there's an undeniable fetish for the new in the game world, that shouldn't distract us from real quality. Being a few years old now changes nothing about the fact that Gravity Bones remains, among free games, the top of the list of best games for PC. This brief standalone game drops the player suddenly into what seems to be some kind of exotic espionage scenario.
There are only two levels and you can play through the entire thing in probably about 20 minutes - at least once you figure out how the heck to get to that fourth bird. It is mission based with a learning arch embedded into the process, which is executed quite cleverly. It comes in a zip file and needs no installation. It requires about 20MB of disk space.
None of that though really gives you a sense of what's so great and fun about this game. It is experience-based and beautifully realized. Though technically a first-person game that description is misleading. This one kind of busts open a genre all of its own: bossa nova noir!
Ascribing a story to it is a bit tricky. There are certainly tasks and as you uncover and accomplish them, a unity emerges, but for all that, this game functions more as a work of slightly avant garde art: it's open to a lot of interpretation.
Right from the start you're thrust into a kind of Euro-spy scene as you find yourself wandering amid elegantly dressed blockheads (really, you have to see it, to understand) all making merry at some black tie cocktail party spread out over a series of terraces with spectacular views of a lake and surrounding mountains. A smooth bossa nova sound track follows you among the crowd. You're already on your first mission the moment you're out of the elevator.
This first level is a quicker and simpler mission that really serves as a tutorial for the player to learn the game's world and rules. It is quickly completed. The second level is more testing and in some ways interesting -- but no less atmospheric. The mission here is more elaborate and complicated. Now, far from the sunny and broad vistas of the mountainside terrace, we find ourselves travelling through deserted corridors and across exterior catwalks on a stormy night.
Incidentally, one of my few complaints about this game is that I could have done without the clue cards. They at least should have been optional. On the first level I ignored the protruding card corner and simply wandered around the party. Eventually I stumbled upon the briefcase necessary to complete the mission. That was way more fun.
The aesthetics of this game are beautiful and the play is engaging. I really appreciated the creator's wise choice to not resort to the standard polygon realism so rampant in the gaming world today. Instead, the choice to conjure up a vivid and original world is far more beautiful and satisfying than would have been the same challenges put into the usual boring "realism." The espionage sensibility evokes a sense of playful self-mocking that doesn't slip over into cloying irony.
Though short and sweet, for play and aesthetics alike, this game is a real treat. It's definitely still our number one choice among the best games for PC in the free category.
There are only two levels and you can play through the entire thing in probably about 20 minutes - at least once you figure out how the heck to get to that fourth bird. It is mission based with a learning arch embedded into the process, which is executed quite cleverly. It comes in a zip file and needs no installation. It requires about 20MB of disk space.
None of that though really gives you a sense of what's so great and fun about this game. It is experience-based and beautifully realized. Though technically a first-person game that description is misleading. This one kind of busts open a genre all of its own: bossa nova noir!
Ascribing a story to it is a bit tricky. There are certainly tasks and as you uncover and accomplish them, a unity emerges, but for all that, this game functions more as a work of slightly avant garde art: it's open to a lot of interpretation.
Right from the start you're thrust into a kind of Euro-spy scene as you find yourself wandering amid elegantly dressed blockheads (really, you have to see it, to understand) all making merry at some black tie cocktail party spread out over a series of terraces with spectacular views of a lake and surrounding mountains. A smooth bossa nova sound track follows you among the crowd. You're already on your first mission the moment you're out of the elevator.
This first level is a quicker and simpler mission that really serves as a tutorial for the player to learn the game's world and rules. It is quickly completed. The second level is more testing and in some ways interesting -- but no less atmospheric. The mission here is more elaborate and complicated. Now, far from the sunny and broad vistas of the mountainside terrace, we find ourselves travelling through deserted corridors and across exterior catwalks on a stormy night.
Incidentally, one of my few complaints about this game is that I could have done without the clue cards. They at least should have been optional. On the first level I ignored the protruding card corner and simply wandered around the party. Eventually I stumbled upon the briefcase necessary to complete the mission. That was way more fun.
The aesthetics of this game are beautiful and the play is engaging. I really appreciated the creator's wise choice to not resort to the standard polygon realism so rampant in the gaming world today. Instead, the choice to conjure up a vivid and original world is far more beautiful and satisfying than would have been the same challenges put into the usual boring "realism." The espionage sensibility evokes a sense of playful self-mocking that doesn't slip over into cloying irony.
Though short and sweet, for play and aesthetics alike, this game is a real treat. It's definitely still our number one choice among the best games for PC in the free category.
About the Author:
To get the news on the best pay games for PC, you need to check out Mickey Jhonny's picks of the best games for PC. Those keen on the joys of emersive, parallel experiences will love his piece over at Pretty Much Dead Already on the phenomenon of the Walking Dead Fanfiction .
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