Cacoma Knight in Bizyland

Realistically, I don’t think Cacoma Knight is going to blow anyone’s socks off. It’s a solid iteration on Qix with a fair amount going on mechanically and a juicy flavor to appreciate, but once the novelty wears off, I have to imagine the endless replayability and challenge of Qix will always win out in the end with diehard fans. Even so, I find Cacoma Knight to be one endearing game. I love the way it looks and I really appreciate how it takes a puzzle game formula and expands on it in such a way to make it feel like a proper adventure. Its increased emphasis on storytelling and cooperative play definitely give it a distinct identity, and even though people don't exactly play Qix for the story, the effort is absolutely appreciated nonetheless.

Effacer: Hangman from the 25th Century

Beyond the core loop of Hangman and a multiplayer mode, that’s really all there is to Effacer. It’s an undeniably slim package and even though it boasts a whopping 40,000 words, I can’t imagine most people will get anywhere near seeing all of those words. Still, there’s a lot to like about the general vibe of Effacer, both on its own merits as a bizarre twist on Hangman and as a representation of the curious world of the CD-i. There’s really nothing else like it and playing Hangman normally isn’t exactly going to be the same thing unless you create your own alien backstories and role play them or something!

Fighting Run

Fighting Run is simultaneously a game that’s a gigantic pain in the rear and also one that I kinda love. Everything about this game is just so dang cool! The aesthetics create an environment that’s both grim and silly, the concept is something that so rarely gets an entire game dedicated to it, and the mechanics leave a ton of potential for an indie developer to build upon and the foundation for a passionate competitive community to take root in. If this game was something people were aware of and if it was just a bit more polished, I seriously think it could be a proper cult hit!

Unbound Saga

I like how this game takes what Comix Zone put down and tries to grow it in ways that make sense for the era of gaming it came out in while making it more mechanically approachable, but at the same time, it feels like a showcase of many of the things wrong with that particular point in the medium's relative infancy. Unbound Saga feels like it so badly wanted to be "hip" and "cool" by seeming aloof and contradictory about its themes, but I think it would have been better served by just being sincere with its players and having faith in what it started as.