About This Game Lifestream is a haunting tribute to the classic text adventure that plunges players into the roles of Randolph and John Holton, a father and son desperate for answers to the mysteries surrounding a mysterious realm and an enigmatic brotherhood.GameplayLifestream is a modern "blast from the past" that combines the best elements of interactive fiction, visual novels, and gamebooks with a graphic user interface that emulates the look of early 1990s text adventures. It features beautiful artwork and cinematic music. In place of a text parser is a context-specific multiple choice menu. A compass allows you to travel from room to room, and separate inventory, map, journal, and character screens are available at the push of a button.Lifestream plays like an interactive novel. You make a series of choices that determine what happens next in the story. But unlike traditional gamebooks and choose-your-own adventures, Lifestream also features more advanced adventure game mechanics, including locations to explore, items to collect and use, characters to meet and interact with, and puzzles to solve.Story"Father Randolph Holton was dead. Not literally, of course. But in his heart, he knew he could not live on...not after everything he had learned. Sitting at his dark oak desk in the corner of the dimly lit, cozy study, the white-haired, frail Catholic priest--even frailer of late--dipped an old quill into a container of jet-black ink and began to write..."John Holton's father, a Catholic priest named Randolph, has been missing for two weeks. Unable to go to the police for help, since doing so would tarnish his father's reputation as a celibate priest, John takes it upon himself to search for his father.Over the course of Lifestream, players take on the roles of both John in the present and his father, Randolph, in the past. While John searches for answers, players see the troubling events that led to Randolph's disappearance firsthand.FeaturesEXPLORE multiple detailed locations, including a quaint Victorian home and small village churchENJOY over 150 pieces of original artworkSOLVE a multitude of challenging puzzlesINTERACT with a variety of interesting charactersEXPERIENCE an emotional, hour-long soundtrackUNLOCK 30 achievements to view a special post-game bonus scenePLAY 8+ hours of content with over 78,000 words--the text equivalent of a full-length novel! 7aa9394dea Title: Lifestream - A Haunting Text AdventureGenre: Adventure, Casual, Indie, RPGDeveloper:Storycentric WorldsPublisher:Unimatrix ProductionsRelease Date: 25 Apr, 2016 Lifestream - A Haunting Text Adventure Free Offline lifestream - a haunting text adventure With a semi cheesy story that never winks and nods about it, it manages to charm you even with its semi ugly 3D stills. Combine that with a solid interface and an actual ending with no sequel hook nonsense like a lot of recent indie titles, I can recommend this.. GUI-driven text adventure starts slow but good value for the moneyPositives:+ GUI-driven text adventure like the mid 90's+ Very nice artwork (it's not HD, but it's in a style more like the 90's adventures)+ Detailed story+ About 8 hours of game play+ Cost only a few bucks, less if on discountNegatives:- Takes an hour to start getting into the plot (I almost gave up), you do much day-to-day priestly stuff without a clear plot hook- Some aspects of the characters backgounds are confusing at startNeutrals:-\/+ The GUI means that you can only chose from certain actions, unlike a true text adventure where you can type anything into the parser (this makes it less frustrating to play but you miss some of the fun)-\/+ You play as either a (presumably Catholic) priest or his son (who his incognito and claims to be his nephew)-\/+ Some of the storyline choices you have to do are a bit far-fetched (which is why this style of game works better for fantasy worlds than a real-life setting)-\/+ A few timed puzzles (not sure if it affects the final outcome)-\/+ Much of the dialog choices don't seem to affect the final outcome-\/+ Apparently a remake of a game from 2003. This is the second text-adventure I played on Steam (the other one from a different developer), but the plot in this one completely sucked me in.The game tells a supernatural story about a son investigating his father's disappearance, with each chapter switching between son and father, present and past perspectives. The story starts slow, but the mystery and suspense gradually build up, culminating in a completely unexpected ending.I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading and likes adventure\/detective games. Now I am going to check out the other text-adventures of this developer, hoping they will be as good as this one.. Very interesting gameplay, good story, will be looking out for more of this type of game.. I wasn't completely sure what to expect when I picked up this game, having never really played a text adventure of any kind before. But, now that I've completed it, I can safely say that pciking it up was a very smart move.If you're not used to this type of game then it might take you a few moments to get used to the controls and especially the navigation, but after 10 minutes or so, you'll be whizzing around the place without any issue at all. It's very intuitive and very simple, and there is a map screen if you suddenly find yourself a little lost.Graphically, the game is beautiful. The interface, the icons, the in-game images, all look very nice and professional.In terms of sound, the game presents a perfect mix of peaceful, melancholic and dramatic background music, all inserted at just the right moments, as well as enough sound effects to make sure you're always satisfied that things are being selected correctly, and that things are generally getting done the way they should be.Storywise, the game is excellent. It's a mystery at heart, incorporating themes of loss, desire, heartache, faith, religion, and the never ending search for peace and happiness. I was gripped right up until the very end, and this being a text adventure, where story is paramount, I'd say that is a very big plus.The only negative thing to say about this game, for me personally, is when it comes to the overall game design. I had to consult a walkthrough on 3 occassions, simply because I just would never have thought to do a certain thing, and on another occasion just because I forgot that I could access a certain area because I hadn't been there since the very start. This is a trivial complaint though, and something that practically all adventure games suffer from, so I don't hold it against the game at all.So, if you like a good mystery, and a good character driven yarn, all wrapped in a great looking, and sounding, package, I definitely, without a doubt, recommend you pickup LIfestream. It took me just over 5 hours to complete, and so for the price, I'd say it's a real bargain. :). It starts a little slow - kind of seems like a text Catholic Priest simulator at first - but then the story opens up and you're swept along with the intrigue. I didn't realize how much I've missed text adventures like this. I really hope this developer releases many more similar text adventures - hopefully some in the light fantasy vein of the original Infocom classics - like ZORK and the ENCHANTER series. It has a definite Gabriel Knight feel to it - which isn't bad - but I can definitely see this format is ripe for many different genres of storytelling; i.e. murder mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, time travel and so forth. I used to write dozens of games like this myself when I was a teenager in the 1980's and playing Lifestream really made me nostalgic for those days of thinking up unique locations and devising interesting puzzles. I like it and want many more.. It starts a little slow - kind of seems like a text Catholic Priest simulator at first - but then the story opens up and you're swept along with the intrigue. I didn't realize how much I've missed text adventures like this. I really hope this developer releases many more similar text adventures - hopefully some in the light fantasy vein of the original Infocom classics - like ZORK and the ENCHANTER series. It has a definite Gabriel Knight feel to it - which isn't bad - but I can definitely see this format is ripe for many different genres of storytelling; i.e. murder mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, time travel and so forth. I used to write dozens of games like this myself when I was a teenager in the 1980's and playing Lifestream really made me nostalgic for those days of thinking up unique locations and devising interesting puzzles. I like it and want many more.. A Well made Text-Adventure redone from scratch by Unimatrix Productions using the story of their original first-person Graphic Adventure of the same title released in 2004 (Storywise it make sense as what one of the protagonists say at the end about the dates kinda don't add up to the year of the steam release, but in a way I think add instead a unique charm to the game and made me appreciate more the effort spent by the creators in trying to keep their stories alive and after the release of Stonewall Penitentiary I really hope to see more to come from this little company. As In my opinion they get so much hidden potential to show) with a new Engine (Storycentric Worlds) that charm your way in to a good story, it make less of a game and more of a grasping supernatural mystery novel but the kind you would want in your library (the visual is limited in static images and even if I find them pretty helpful to feel the story (especially the characters portraits) and wouldn't change a thing for today standard (spoiled brats) they could be considered "bland". The text is what as I already mentioned the best part of the game. You want to spent 8+ hours reading? if you're not inclined to do so try this game and would rethink it. Puzzles are easy to figure it out but fun (mostly are memory based as you get all the notes and just had to put them together) Only the one about cooking the herbs got me stucked for a moment but reassured myself after seeing there is an archievement for that .About this Engine I expecially liked the automapping as there is a little backtracking to do in your movements and with the map and compass given to you is thankfully extremely hard to get lost and after some hours you end up to feel pretty much "at home" in each scenario. instead of a parser is used a click button with multiple choices to select given to you (even if there is a lot of red herring choices and rarily make a difference as the story got his own flow and I'm sure any reader could easily tell they are lured by the nose but don't get me wrong the choices given to the player do their best to make you feel the characters roles (One of them a priest) and allow to define their motivation as Ethical discussion on the kind of protagonist you play is debatable by the end. (But Human). so not "Choices" but "Discovery" is the key word i would choose to describe this game.Other things this Game successfully deliver are: - A Good soundtrack as it is really charming and pleasant to hear or creepy and disturbing at the right points of the story.- Good Protagonists Characters: : John (Loved), Randolph (It's a love it \/hate it with This guy by the end let me question my religion)- Good Side Characters: Old Lady (Anne), The Couple (Lucy and her husband), - Good Villain: ??? (no spoiler but a HINT: Creepy dude) - Inventory (refreshing to see just in words and not as bunch of icons, and for me it works more easily in combining things just like popular graphic adventures)- Classic Point System. I love to see it again as it allow to keep track how much you completed the game.Few points of suggestions that consist the bad points of the game in my opinion are: The Journal it could end up pretty messy by the end and as you have to read it more than once in at least 2 cases a way to order his entries by not just order but also for argument would be sweet to see in next games.Wish you could add few rpg element (I mean stats like health bar and such) in there even if the story don't need it (.. GUI-driven text adventure starts slow but good value for the moneyPositives:+ GUI-driven text adventure like the mid 90's+ Very nice artwork (it's not HD, but it's in a style more like the 90's adventures)+ Detailed story+ About 8 hours of game play+ Cost only a few bucks, less if on discountNegatives:- Takes an hour to start getting into the plot (I almost gave up), you do much day-to-day priestly stuff without a clear plot hook- Some aspects of the characters backgounds are confusing at startNeutrals:-\/+ The GUI means that you can only chose from certain actions, unlike a true text adventure where you can type anything into the parser (this makes it less frustrating to play but you miss some of the fun)-\/+ You play as either a (presumably Catholic) priest or his son (who his incognito and claims to be his nephew)-\/+ Some of the storyline choices you have to do are a bit far-fetched (which is why this style of game works better for fantasy worlds than a real-life setting)-\/+ A few timed puzzles (not sure if it affects the final outcome)-\/+ Much of the dialog choices don't seem to affect the final outcome-\/+ Apparently a remake of a game from 2003 Kilmonger is coming: April 26 the long-awaited mystical novel Kilmonger from the creators of the acclaimed Crystal City will release.Villains, demons, violence and sex only emphasize and set off the main thing - this story is about love and good. Guide the heroes through darkness and horror to the perfect bright and kind ending.Add the game to your wish list, do not miss the start of sales!https://store.steampowered.com/app/678680/Kilmonger/. Kilmonger is out now: Available for purchase now:https://store.steampowered.com/app/678680/Kilmonger/. What's under your blanket !? A free demo version of Failed State is available now!: The release of one of our main developments of the past years is coming. You can plunge into the harsh atmosphere of the Apocalypse now. It is enough to download a free demo version of the project. Believe me, the feeling of this piece of the game is enough to add Failed State to your wish list and wait for the release with us!https://store.steampowered.com/app/409350/Failed_State/And here you can follow the latest development news:https://steamcommunity.com/games/409350/announcements/detail/1618392223375767789. WOW! NEW GAME!: What's under your blanket 2 !?http://store.steampowered.com/app/605500
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