S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl vs Superliminal
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is the first of a hugely popular post-apocalyptic-themed, first-person, survival-horror shooter which might have just amassed a cult following. Set in 2012, almost two decades after the worst nuclear disaster occured at the Chernobyl power station and around 6 years after a second explosion rocked the damaged reactor, causing various anomalies to ripple open and from them came waves of mutated creatures, deadly radiation and also rare artifacts that are somehow imbued with powerful anomalous energy... artifacts that many would kill to have.Since then, the existence of such artifacts have brought forth groups of "stalkers", scavengers who scour the cordoned areas around Chernobyl for these very objects... and in this game, you play as one of them.
The game has risen to acclamation partly due to the terrifying, nightmarish creatures that the game contains, in addition to the brilliantly immersive storyline and an incredibly realistic game environemnt that's modelled after its real-world counterpart deep inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The gameplay is excellent as well. The game has accurate ballstics and combat mechanics, as well as a challenging survival aspect that is further made difficult due to the impact day and night, and the weather system has on the environment. There is also a multiplayer mode that can support up to 32 players.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has just celebrated its 10-year anniversary earlier this year and as such, many aspects of the game aren't really up to scratch by today's standards at least. If you do plan on getting this game, you might want to download some mods to help improve the game somewhat.
Superliminal
Superliminal is designed to challenge even the most avid of puzzle solvers, providing them with mind-boggling puzzles, the unique ability to change the size of objects based on depth in perception, and a story filled with heart.The game starts off with you dozing off at the couch in front of a TV showing a weird commercial about some dream therapy program that promptly landed you in a weird dream-like state in which you find yourself the subject of an odd scientific experiment. Thankfully, unlike the more surgical kind of experimentation which would definitely turn the game into a horror show, the scientist behind this experiment is more concerned about testing your mind and its ability to perceive, pushing it to its very limits.
Superliminal offers a nice variety of perspective-based puzzles for you to solve as you move from room to room in what seems to be a vast yet empty scientific complex. The puzzles here start off easy enough since the game does have to do its job of introducing the mechanics to you. The mechanics here mostly involve finding objects that you can manipulate (a.k.a. resize and reposition) and then use in the puzzle’s solution in order to move on to the next “level” or room.
Once you got a hold of the basics, the difficulty of the puzzles starts to ramp up and at times, you might find yourself completely at loss as to what you should do, as I did… and I’m ashamed to say pretty early on in the game. When the game says that “what you see isn’t always what you get”, it’s not kidding.
Superliminal is one of those rare, trippy puzzle games that either you get it or you don’t. Puzzle enthusiasts might find the game more than intriguing to take a crack at due to its unique perspective-based puzzles. The game may be short but the experience it leaves you is unforgettable!