For my first Gaming Spotlight post I am happy to cover Ether an Indie 2D horror puzzle game from Dakoting.
I became aware of this game thanks to a retweet I saw on Twitter earlier this week ( I can not say enough just how something as simple as a retweet can help a developer /creator help get their content out there to larger audience). The pictures of an eerie black and white horror style game caught my attention immediately. So at the first chance I got I headed over to the developers Itcho page and picked up the game. It is needless to say that Ether not only met the excitement I had for the game going in to it, but it also gave me an afternoon of a few pretty tense moments of game play (and no that's not a bad thing).
Ether is a short black and white 2d puzzle horror game where you make your way through a sprawling dark crypt in order to awake a demon that lies within. The game's background music perfectly wraps up it's eerie atmosphere into a nice complete package! The game starts off with a perfect mysterious chilling tone and by the time you near the game's end Ether has some pretty" on edge" moments.
While completing puzzles is at the core of advancing through the game's grim labyrinth, the puzzles are pretty straight forward (though one in particular might take you a few tries). So for those of you who aren't very fond of complex puzzles in your game, don't worry as you be able to find enjoyment while playing Ether without getting hung up on any major puzzles.
The game uses the keyboard as it primary mode of controls. I do not believe that there is any controller support for the game currently. However, I will say that the controls are pretty easy to grasp using the keyboard : the arrow keys to move, the spacebar to interact, and the shift keys to sprint. I know at least on my end, I really don't feel that you will be missing out by not having controller support.
The game is pretty short, depending on how long you take to solve the game's puzzles. I would say it could take you anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes to complete. Honestly though don't let that deter you from wanting to play this game. It's perfect for those casual pick up and play afternoon games when you have a few moments to yourself and don't want to really invest into a long gaming session.
Overall I really enjoyed playing Ether. It was really the perfect mixture of puzzles and tension put together in a nice quick afternoon gaming session. There have only been a very few seldom games that I have had a jump scare from and now Ether proudly joins that list. For those of you looking to add a little creepy tension to your day, or even as just a quick casual fun game to play I would highly recommend you give this game a shot. You can find Ether over on Dakoting's Itcho page over here. They do have another short demo you can check out on their Itcho page called Indigo, which I will say after playing Ether I am looking forward to giving it a shot. While you are there be sure to give them a follow on Itcho or Twitter.
Thank you all for reading and I will see you all back here next week,
-Rich (RKGaming)
*pictures used in this post were used with permission from the game's Itcho page, all rights for the pictures belong to Ether's developers*
