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For Games Ranked 4–1
4.
Bale
by
guo
Release Type:
Original Release
Fuzzy Description:
An untold age has passed since the sword had last woken its hero, but now, in a dark librarian apocalypse, the hero and his sword must rise again to free the enslaved mages of the sealed-off temple to send them back into the world in order to…eh, something or other. It’s complicated.
Just play the game.
Average Score:
(Two-thirds Rule in Effect)
Raw Score: 5.88
Total Voters:
Highest Rating:
9
Lowest Rating:
4
Achievements
Achievement
Reading is Fundamental
-The library section offers so much reading that it could probably form a separate book.
Achievement
Oh, You’re Not the Enemy?
-The support hero, Lint, looks like a baddie you have to fight when you first encounter him.
Achievement
Inventive Grind
-The magic and health system is fairly innovative, but the battle system is still pretty bland and grindy.
Achievement
Can’t Find the Map!
-The dungeon is so large and winding that by the time you find the map (in a small corner near the west, if I recall), you no longer know where you are or how to get back to where you want to go.
Achievement
Redacted Quest
-It’s possible to defeat the giant worm creature that blocks the passage into the safe zone, but you have to travel through unfinished lands to get there.
Achievement
Prettiest Sadness
–Bale is a graphically stellar game, but kinda depressing, too.
Achievement
Reading is Fundamental
-The library section offers so much reading that it could probably form a separate book.
Achievement
Inventive Grind
-The magic and health system is fairly innovative, but the battle system is still pretty bland and grindy.
Achievement
Redacted Quest
-It’s possible to defeat the giant worm creature that blocks the passage into the safe zone, but you have to travel through unfinished lands to get there.
Achievement
Oh, You’re Not the Enemy?
-The support hero, Lint, looks like a baddie you have to fight when you first encounter him.
Achievement
Can’t Find the Map!
-The dungeon is so large and winding that by the time you find the map (in a small corner near the west, if I recall), you no longer know where you are or how to get back to where you want to go.
Achievement
Prettiest Sadness
–Bale is a graphically stellar game, but kinda depressing, too.
Audience Consensus:
Good looking game with an interesting magic and health system, but the sloggy battles make the whole thing painful. Dungeon is uber-huge with very few places to save, and every decision feels like a bad one. The world-building is fantastic, but largely because so much emphasis was put into the game’s library, which will inevitably intimidate most players who shun reading in games. Great idea with a need for some trimming.
3.
The Successor’s Legacy
by
Mammothstuds
Release Type:
Original Release
Fuzzy Description:
The successor has died, long live the successor. As a new “successor” ready to take the mantle to protect his queen and country, Successor chooses his random weapon (most likely the dagger) and sets off on a quest to rescue a mayor, solve problems and puzzles in a desert and a swamp, and gradually collect the keys to opening the magic orbs that stand between him and the lecherous king who has sealed the dark tower and enslaved the land.
Average Score:
Total Voters:
Highest Rating:
8
Lowest Rating:
5
Achievements
Achievement
The Little Gem
–The Successor’s Legacy is a game that basically came out of nowhere, didn’t look like anything, and somehow proved that it had lots of charm anyway.
Achievement
Empowered Politics
-After you rescue the brainwashed mayor (spoiler alert!), he’ll join your party and become a powerful ally.
Achievement
Random Weapon
-The first job in the game is to choose a random box to select your weapon, though there’s no indication what weapon you’ll choose (even though most people pick the dagger).
Achievement
Give a Little, Take a Lot
-The average sharp weapon will not only damage enemies quickly, but they will also refill your health.
Achievement
Watch Your Step
-The desert dungeon has a few ground puzzles that will warp you to the start if you step on the wrong tile.
Achievement
The Puzzler
-The puzzles in the game are fairly complex and interesting.
Achievement
The Little Gem
–The Successor’s Legacy is a game that basically came out of nowhere, didn’t look like anything, and somehow proved that it had lots of charm anyway.
Achievement
Random Weapon
-The first job in the game is to choose a random box to select your weapon, though there’s no indication what weapon you’ll choose (even though most people pick the dagger).
Achievement
Watch Your Step
-The desert dungeon has a few ground puzzles that will warp you to the start if you step on the wrong tile.
Achievement
Empowered Politics
-After you rescue the brainwashed mayor (spoiler alert!), he’ll join your party and become a powerful ally.
Achievement
Give a Little, Take a Lot
-The average sharp weapon will not only damage enemies quickly, but they will also refill your health.
Achievement
The Puzzler
-The puzzles in the game are fairly complex and interesting.
Audience Consensus:
Doesn’t look like much initially, but once the game gets going, it’s hard to deny its charm. Each region throws a new kind of challenge at the heroes, from connected cave lakes, to trap-filled desert shrines, to swamps overrun by cultish bullies, and even though the battle mechanics don’t make much sense (sharp objects steal health), they do ensure that progression is mostly guaranteed. An unexpectedly fun time that ends too soon.
2.
Labyrinthilium
by
Pheonix
Release Type:
Original Release
Fuzzy Description:
A ditzy demon princess is freed from her labyrinthine prison and commissioned by her companion to chase down those responsible for her captivity and restore her position on the throne. From there, she must navigate a series of pen and paper style 3D dungeons and fight colorful opposition to reclaim her lost stake in the world.
It’s all very stylish and retro.
Average Score:
Total Voters:
Highest Rating:
9
Lowest Rating:
4
Achievements
Achievement
Don’t Need Directions
-The game is basically a pen and paper dungeon crawler with the map always in view.
Achievement
You Made That How Fast?
–Labyrinthilium is a seemingly complex game that was made in just a few weeks.
Achievement
Villainous Heroes
-The main protagonist is a villainous character, even though she’s portrayed as kind of a flake.
Achievement
Window into the Soul
-The viewing area is pretty small, giving the player a glimpse into the game world, but not enough to take his eyes off of the 2D map in the lower right corner.
Achievement
Classic Three Dimensions
-It’s in 3D! It is reminiscent of older PC dungeon crawlers from the early 90’s.
Achievement
Any Harpies Here?
-Many of Pheonix’s games seem to focus on winged characters, including this one. His last major game, Winged Realm (2014), was about harpies. It was the previous Heart of the OHR winner.
Achievement
Don’t Need Directions
-The game is basically a pen and paper dungeon crawler with the map always in view.
Achievement
Villainous Heroes
-The main protagonist is a villainous character, even though she’s portrayed as kind of a flake.
Achievement
Classic Three Dimensions
-It’s in 3D! It is reminiscent of older PC dungeon crawlers from the early 90’s.
Achievement
You Made That How Fast?
–Labyrinthilium is a seemingly complex game that was made in just a few weeks.
Achievement
Window into the Soul
-The viewing area is pretty small, giving the player a glimpse into the game world, but not enough to take his eyes off of the 2D map in the lower right corner.
Achievement
Any Harpies Here?
-Many of Pheonix’s games seem to focus on winged characters, including this one. His last major game, Winged Realm (2014), was about harpies. It was the previous Heart of the OHR winner.
Audience Consensus:
Solid game design with a solid system. The aesthetic is pleasant, if not ultimately bland. The repetitive nature of the dungeon design is forgivable at first, but gets old fast. Heroes are well-written, if not slightly annoying. Some give and take for a game that has lots of potential. Overall, well done.
1.
Surfasaurus
by
RedMaverickZero
Release Type:
Original Release
Fuzzy Description:
After Brown is unceremoniously banished from his island via a swift kick in the butt, he washes up on a tropical island where surfing is king and becoming a champion is all in a day’s work…well, all in a many days’ work. With a colorful cast of interchangeable townies, a host of judges with varying tastes, costumes, trading cards, puzzles, and mini-quests, Surfasaurus is certainly a testament to must-come-back-for-more gameplay.
Average Score:
Total Voters:
Highest Rating:
10
Lowest Rating:
1
Achievements
Achievement
Surf’s Up, Yukka!
–Surfasaurus is basically a major upgrade from one of RMZ’s earlier titles, Surf’s Up Yuk.
Achievement
Extreme Mobility
–Surfasaurus was designed with mobile gaming in mind.
Achievement
Gotta Collect ‘Em All
-There are so many collectables in Surfasaurus that you may as well be playing Pokémon.
Achievement
Events Happen in Real Time
-The minute-by-minute television series 24 used to open each season with a reminder that events in the show happened in real time. Surfasaurus also happens in real time, as it uses the system clock to determine its events.
Achievement
Banana Picker
-The main way to make money in Surfasaurus is to collect and sell things, including bananas.
Achievement
A Community Affair
-Townies are dynamic and are just as involved with the island’s comings and goings as the player-controlled hero is.
Achievement
Don’t Leave Home Without It
-Again, the best way to play Surfasaurus is on the phone, wherever you are, for about 15 minutes a pop.
Achievement
Most Voted On
-14 out of 15 voters cast a vote for Surfasaurus, three votes more than the next most voted on game, Labyrinthilium (at 11 votes).
Achievement
Surf’s Up, Yukka!
–Surfasaurus is basically a major upgrade from one of RMZ’s earlier titles, Surf’s Up Yuk.
Achievement
Events Happen in Real Time
-The minute-by-minute television series 24 used to open each season with a reminder that events in the show happened in real time. Surfasaurus also happens in real time, as it uses the system clock to determine its events.
Achievement
A Community Affair
-Townies are dynamic and are just as involved with the island’s comings and goings as the player-controlled hero is.
Achievement
Extreme Mobility
–Surfasaurus was designed with mobile gaming in mind.
Achievement
Banana Picker
-The main way to make money in Surfasaurus is to collect and sell things, including bananas.
Achievement
Don’t Leave Home Without It
-Again, the best way to play Surfasaurus is on the phone, wherever you are, for about 15 minutes a pop.
Achievement
Gotta Collect ‘Em All
-There are so many collectables in Surfasaurus that you may as well be playing Pokémon.
Achievement
Most Voted On
-14 out of 15 voters cast a vote for Surfasaurus, three votes more than the next most voted on game, Labyrinthilium (at 11 votes).
Audience Consensus:
The bag of potato chips of OHR gaming, Surfasaurus is the game that must be played in doses, as new events unlock at different times of the day, and other new events happen at different times of the week, and some events happen even at different times of the month. It will control your life, unless you have it on your phone. Even then, it’ll grow to obsession at a rate that rivals Pokémon GO. You will dream about it. You will break dates to make sure you catch trivia night in time. You won’t remember if you have a family because the residents of La Rocca are your new family. And you’ll get mad at yourself for skipping a day at the gym because real life still gnaws at you. And you’ll constantly collect trash, and bust rocks, and collect trading cards, and trade trading cards, and run home on Sunday to meet with the gorilla traders, and stay home on a Saturday night to hear this week’s band, and you’ll spend your evening solving puzzles, and practicing your moves, and, and where is that dang boat pass??? *huff, huff, huff*
Eh, it’s alright.
And there you have it, your lineup for the 2016 Heart of the OHR Contest.
Thanks again to everyone who participated this year, and special thanks to RedMaverickZero for turning in a stellar game in Surfasaurus. Even though we did not escape the usual challenges to the rules this year, overall we got through it relatively unscathed, and with the turnout of ten games and fifteen voters, I think we did all right this time around. Every year I think the community is bleeding in participation, as the number of annual game uploads seems to decrease. But then Heart of the OHR comes around again, and I’m reminded that the heart of the OHR still beats, even after 18 years since James Paige had first uploaded the engine to the public. It’s generally exciting to see a new release hit the Slime Salad gamelist, and this year has given us a wealth of quality titles. So, thanks again to everyone who came out of hiding to produce a night’s worth of free entertainment, and thanks to those who still have something coming up the line. Good job. Even the lowest-rated game was worth checking out this year. I hope all of you continue to work on your projects and bring this crop of games to completion. And to those who didn’t upload anything during the Heart of the OHR window, I hope you’ll still upload something soon. The year needs more hits.
Thanks also to James Paige, RedMaverickZero, Spoonweaver, Willy Elektrix, Foxley, and Matokage for helping with the prizes. I hope you all remembered what you offered.
Heart of the OHR 5 begins on May 1st, 2018, and runs until December 31st, 2018, so get your entries started now if you want to make it even better than this year’s crop.
—Pepsi Ranger
