Samorost 2Synopsis: Main character is the little white gnome whose dog has been kidnapped by the aliens. Your mission is to rescue the poor puppy.
I'm not kidding. That's the plot of the game. It's actually a two-part game--the second part, after you rescue the puppy, takes place on a strange planet you crash land on--you have to find your way off!
Where do I start on how much I love this game? I think what really hooked me from the very start was the beautiful and eerie designs and illustrations. The gnome's home planet looks like a hovering chunk of tree root, complete with weeds and what looks like a rusty screw in the bark. A lot of love and passion went into each screen, and in contrast with the rich settings, the active characters moving on screen (the gnome, dog, and aliens, amongst other strange things) are so simplistic that somehow they fit just right.
Who cares about graphics if the game is no fun? But don't worry, it's definitely challenging. It's a click-around puzzle game where you have to manipulate your surroundings in order to move from one area to the next. For example, in one scene you're descending into the aliens' lair and there's a small hole on the right side. The only way to get there is by using the spider web, but in order to do that you have to get one of the strange creatures nearby to eat a bug, regurgitate it, stimulate the fly to land on the puke (don't worry, it doesn't look yucky XD), then click on the spiderweb, launching the spider to roll up the poor fly--THEN you can swing on into the hole. Each level is engaging and it's a real treat just to look around at the imaginative and creepy settings. XD
Oh, and did I mention the music is really clever? If you have an eerie atmospheric game, you really need music that fits. The only thing I dislike about this game is that the free version ends right after you save the dog, so I couldn't go any further. ;_; And being a poor college student, I'm not paying to pursue the rest. XD It took me a really long time to work through the puzzles, but it was a great exercise for my brain!