Lindsay looks at Albert and Otto, and Salt in this week's Greenlight Special.

I happen to have an incredibly well-versed boss when it comes to indie games. I draw a lot of inspiration from him, and often put myself in his shoes near as I can in order to make better decisions when it comes to work. At gaming trade shows, we spend a great deal of time checking out what’s new with the indie scene. In anticipation of GDC and PAX East, coming up in a few weeks, I thought I’d delve into more adventurous puzzle games since the theme of 2015 seems to be Adventuretime. I’m not complaining.

This week’s Greenlight Game is Albert and Otto, created by Nikola Kostic. Posted on Greenlight January 27th, this game already has a bit of a buzz surrounding it, and the community seems excited that this is in development. They have a working demo, and you have to email them to request a key, which I thought was smart. So, going through my Greenlight queue this week, Albert and Otto popped up and immediately stood out because of the stunning art style: minimalist 2D side-scrolling platformer with dynamic background, a monochromatic color palette, and creepy ambience tempered by moody, reverb-inundated music? Yes, please!

From the website, creator Kostic drives home one of the most obvious aspects of Albert and Otto: "A&O is ... bringing gaming back to where I believe it belongs, simple, challenging, unforgiving and unforgettable." What keeps the game going is the story: a girl called Anna goes missing in a wave of sinister black smoke-clouds and you, Albert, have to find her with the help of a little red stuffed rabbit named Otto. Otto gives you certain bonuses, like double-jumping. You can also use Otto to hold down levers, get through traps, power up mechanisms, and a host of other goodies. As you progress, a series of events occur which enhance yours and Otto’s powers, which you’ll need to find Anna.

Pros (aside from the fantastic visual art pros I listed above): When I play games like these, I enjoy a certain level of punishment. Bear with me here. I like to play games knowing something’s at stake. Have infinite lives? Eh. All my items and progress are invincible? I get bored quickly. Having something at stake means there’s a certain level of emotional investment. I want to stay alive, because I don’t want other players to steam my gold. In Albert and Otto, you have a limited number of attempts to work out certain puzzles. For some people, puzzle games are infuriating because of this very reason. I happen to like being challenged. I am beginning to understand I have masochistic tendencies.

Cons: The game is compatible with controllers, and it seems that’s the preferred way to play. That tends to make figuring out games a little harder for me, because of my unfamiliarity with controllers. So I had some control problems initially, as a mouse and keys user. There’s also not much information online about the game, which is great because I feel less is more, and suspense is a good thing in gaming; however, for the purposes of writing this article, it made researching the game slightly problematic. But I’m fine now. Everything’s fine.

The game has an anticipated release date of Q4 2015. Seeing as they have a workable demo ready for download, I’d say chances are good that they can deliver, and I hope they do. You can check out their Developer Blog, ask them nicely for a Download Key and find them on Steam, here.

The Released Game for this week is the sandbox-survival game, Salt by Lavaboots Studio. This game, like Papers, Please last week, has been out for several months on Steam. Released in August of last year, it’s updated frequently, and there is a small, lively community of players who just love the game. I had no idea of any of this when I demoed the game. Apparently, I live under a rock the size of a small moon.

Speaking of moons, you start off by naming your world, which, so often for me in these instances, was named Enceladus. You’re dropped onto an island without anything but a curious book, a crafting book and a help book. No obvious instructions, aside from “explore, dummy…” If you’re thorough, on your first island you stumble upon logs, a pickaxe, a chest full of useful items, bamboo and plant fibers. Through exploration and crafting, you must get off your island and explore points beyond in a procedurally generated open world. Limitless oceans, and a ton of islands.

I felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway when I jumped in. It gets dark, and you basically have to wait until sunrise if you haven’t figured out how to make a campfire. I got stuck in the middle of the ocean the first time I attempted to island-hop; it was so dark and I had to sit, on my raft in the ocean, surrounded by stars and the sounds of waves lapping around me, waiting until the sun rose and I could see where I was going. I am not a smart man.

In any case, eventually, if you’re smart, you make your way to other islands where you come across villages, castaway pirate captains (the bad guys) and Ancients (more baddies). A very robust crafting system enables you to complete quests, build and customize sailing vessels, fight pirates and go fishing. The HUD is clean and minimalistic, which I happen to like. Health, Stamina and Hunger are all represented on the HUD; you have an inventory with a great deal of space, with lots of organization. Crafting is easy to do and the recipes are simple enough. The focus, Lavaboots Studios says, is on exploration. If you’re in the mood to dive into a world of pirates, castaways and ships, this is for you.

Pros: What got me liking this game was the sheer size of the world. It’s endless. If you’re hungry, you don’t die. You can only die from baddies, and when you do, you’re sent back in time with all of your inventory intact, but your raft will have de-spawned. Because you’re encouraged to explore, there’s little penalty in getting into a sticky situation. Like falling off your raft in the middle of the night while it goes sailing off, and you’re stuck in the water, not knowing where the nearest island is. All that dark water…

Cons: What you get in size, you lack in graphics. Granted, they’re not terrible, they just seem to have a distinct style. Simple, no frills, even though I must say the water and sun-rays coming through the trees are gorgeous. Something has to give in a game this size. Again, the graphics don’t suck, it’s just a style choice that isn’t my favorite.

I’m looking forward to spending more time exploring Salt. I dig the concept of a pirate-peppered Castaway meets Waterworld open-world game. I really want to exact revenge on that damned Pirate Captain who jumped me when I was near his campfire. Jerk. The game is out now with a lot of planned updates coming. You can check out their website and buy the game for $14.99 on their Steam store here.

Both games are excellent, and each with their own flavor. Check them both out on Steam Greenlight. If you have any suggestions on which games I should review for the Greenlight Special, feel free to contact me via Twitter @lindsaygeektr0n.

 Lindsay “amoril” Geektron, Brand Ambassador