An isometric world gradually succumbing to the nothing. A deeper sleep. A nested multiverse and a psychopathic Pac-Man. Dun-dun. Dun-dun. Dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun – it's a particularly good week for browser-based indie games, five of which we've collected for you below. Just don't go in the water, OK?
Jaws: The Text Adventure by Matt Round
Spielberg's seminal film classic Hook Jaws makes for a pretty good text adventure, as it turns out. He (or she, I can never remember) is a simple beast, so you don't have to remember a ton of different parser commands while you swim around an island searching for damp fleshy humans. The main one is EAT, understandably; as in the films, Jaws is an especially hungry sort, the aim of this terrifically nostalgic adventure being to fill its vast stomach with bits of meat. (Via Joystiq )
Naya's Quest by Terry Cavanagh
A striking isometric puzzle game from Terry Cavvvvvvanagh. It starts in a lost town in a mysteriously shrinking world, before moving on to a sort of techno-labyrinth full of tricksy platforms and hidden ledges. To see the real world, you use a scanning device, which reveals the true layout of the environment. Predictably, the isometric perspective coupled with the slightly obtuse scanning mechanics mean I'm still a bit bamboozled, but those of you with functioning morning brains should fare much better.
Deeper Sleep by scriptwelder
scriptwelder's reign over the world of indie horror-adventures continues with Deeper Sleep, sequel to the unsettlingly wonderful Deep Sleep. Like its predecessor, this is a point-and-click set in a literally nightmarish world drenched in shadow. scriptwelder does a lot with a grain filter and an increasingly effective lighting engine – this is one you should play in the dark, late at night. (You know, if you've decided that you're getting too much sleep.)
Nested by Orteil
! is really the best way to express my thoughts on Nested, a really quite extraordinary text-based title that crams in a gigantic multiverse – the whole damn thing – from universes to galactic superclusters to galaxies to star systems to planets to countries to living areas to rooms to people to their hair, bones, muscles, DNA and thoughts, all in a seemingly endlessly nesting cluster of beautiful words. Nested is an enormous, miniscule exercise in exploration; I recommend you poke around its many universes post-haste. (Via Free Indie Games )
Psychopath Pac-Man by Athletic Design
What is it with indie games and Pac-Man? We've already had FPS-Man , Pakkuman , Not Pac-Man and Chompston – now we have Psychopath Pac-Man, who mutters worrying thoughts as he makes his way around a 3x3 puzzle grid. The main hook here, however, is the grid itself. Rather than moving Pac-Man directly, you click and drag comic book-style panels instead. Connect them in the right way (by avoiding or eating ghosts and by arriving at Ms. Pac-Man straight-on) to succeed and be transported to the next stage. (Via IndieGames )
