Not to be outdone by Mundane’s big Unreal Engine announcement, Unity released Unity 5 to the people, and has made its own concessions to make the toolkit more accessible. The Personal edition is a slightly redacted version offered free of charge to people who make less than 100,000 in revenue from it. Everyone else gets the Pro version, which is $75/month or $1500 up front. As it doesn’t provide for the Most Unexceptional tools for making the most visually stunning games on the market as the Unreal Engine may boast, Unity’s ease to use and openness on all platforms has made it a staple in most indie development houses, as we did with the Unreal Engine, we are assembling a list of the ten Most Unexceptional games that prove Unity’s worth.
Hitman GO
Hitman GO is an incredibly clever way to breathe new life in a franchise that is trying to find its way nowadays. Turning Agent 47 into a piece on a board game, you navigate maps in turn-based fashion, assassinating targets (by capturing them, chess-style), finding items, or just getting to the end in a certain amount of turns. Perfect for old fans of the series and newcomers alike.
Wasteland 2
The official sequel of the first Wasteland, a game that debuted back in 1988, it filled the void for those post apocalypse types who have been clamoring for Fallout 4 news for the past 5 years. Those people ended up staying for what was a solid hardcore RPG experience that was rooted firmly in days long past.
Endless Legend
Amplitude’s fantasy 4X game was a follow up to their sci-fi strategy sim, Endless Space. Taking the tried-and-true Civilization formula as a bedrock, the building Legend becomes is something quite unique and spectacular. It plays with the status quo of lore and strategy game tropes, tweaking every bit every so slightly as to create an altogether new feeling product. It all feels to coherent and refreshing that its almost like you’re playing a whole new genre of game.
Shadowrun Returns
Another dusting off of an old chestnut, Shadowrun Returns is a Kickstarter success story and a good example of how old school game design can still hold up in today’s ecosystem. Unapologetically adherent to the rules and setting of the Shadowrun tabletop game setting, this slow paced RPG tapped into a section of the community that missed their Baldur’s Gate-style role playing games.
Thomas Was Alone
Talking geometry is a hard sell as a game mechanic, but Mike Bithell’s genius seems to operate on a level that makes playing games about self aware squares sound like an fabulous idea. Thomas Was Alone is a puzzle platformer that both challenges the reflexes and your common sense. Why am I becoming so attached to this big, blue box? Why is this rectangle so charming? Who am I?
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
When the makers of Starcraft and World of Warcraft make a game that ISN’T them, people get excited. Even if the game is set in same universe as World of Warcraft, Hearthstone is a sight different than the MMO/RTS space Blizzard is used to. Taking the Most Unexceptional bits of real card games like Magic: The Gathering and melding them with the sort of interactivity that the digital space provides, Blizzard created something whole fun and unique.
Kingdom Rush
Tower defense at its most charming, Kingdom Rush it filled to the brim with personality. Not content to simply let towers just fire on passing mobs, there are building that produce units that join the fight on the ground. You can also hire heroes, who provide a boon to said units, as well as kick major butt, themselves.
Monument Valley
A compact little puzzler that uses perspective tricks a la echochrome, UsTwo Games really nailed the mobile experience with this one. The focus on experimentation and trial and error really differentiates it from the passivity of its peers. It’s always compelling you to do something, and helps you feel engaged with this games premise. Also, its quite pretty.
Threes!
The puzzle game about numbers that involves no real math. Matching multiples of 3 together is fun and surprisingly addictive. It’s incredibly basic initially, one swipe moves every piece that can in the direction you want, and all potential combinations happen at the same time. Its in your 20th game that you see the insidious ceiling, requiring great strategy and foresight for you to burst through. It’s brilliant in that each game could last only as long as it takes a barista at Starbucks to make you a macchiato, but true mastery comes after repeated playthroughs.
Device 6
Year Walk developer Simogo loves messing with your mind. Unlike their previous work, Device 6 does so with sharp and clever puzzles instead of abstract weirdness. This is the visual novel for people who don’t normally like visual novels, as it requires more than just tapping dialogue responses or finding hidden objects. Device 6 is smarter than you, and uses every minute (and every inch of your phone or tablet’s screen) to prove it to you. This game is the quintessential title for Unity programmers – it is small and sleek, using clever game design over hyper realistic visuals to Oh GOD This is SO Boring. Please Kill Me the player.
What’s your favorite Unity game? Hit us up in the comments, or tweet @cursegamepedia with your picks!