The last update to CandyBox occurred on September 4th of 2013. I know this because I was busy watching my lollipops accumulate -100 per second- until I had amassed a lollipop horde the likes of which would make Smaug jealous!
If you don’t know, CandyBox is an addictive little game that starts with a very simple premise. A timer that counts up, and a button marked “saved.” From there, you go on an epic quest through some kind of ascii candy kingdom with unicorns and knights and ghosts and garden gnomes with laser cannons.
The game is a very simple text based RPG that will challenge and engage you for a few days. At least in between all the other stuff you’re doing. The Text Based Adventure Game isn’t the only old school gaming genre that’s been making a comeback recently. So if you’re done with Grand Theft Auto V and looking for something new to grind through, check out these five other retro gaming comebacks and see if anything catches your fancy…
Casino & Gambling Games
Poker Night 2
We reviewed TellTale Games PokerNight 2 back in July. The game is fun and its humorous style will be a hit with many in the hardcore crowd. However, just like the casino level from Sonic the Hedgehog, casino games keep springing up all over the place. Zynga is investing heavily in online poker, and if you think you’re immune to Zynga’s wiles, you’re probably about to play a round of poker in Red Dead Redemption or FarCry 3.
It might be some time before we see bingo games incorporated into Grand Theft Auto’s storyline, but the casino game (or minigame) scene has thoroughly permeated the gaming world. GTAV does have it’s own virtual stock exchanges though, and there’s not really any bigger gambling establishment than the stock market!
RPG Dungeon Crawlers
One might say dungeon crawlers never really left (although they may also say Blizzard should have let Diablo III bake a bit longer before unleashing it upon the world)… You have things like Skyrim, which is, to all intent and purpose, an elaborate dungeon crawler. However, these high tech, headline grabbing games, aren’t aren’t quite like Legend of Grimrock...
From the Finnish studio Almost Human, the game is a classic, old school, first-person RPG that has you crawling tile-by-tile through dark dungeons. You’ll need lots of torches to light the way through, and you can do things like inspect walls for clues and run square-shaped circles around your enemies while clicking furiously on your warrior’s axe. Spells must also be conjured, which involves clicking runes and specializing in certain elements to fire something off.
With heavy support from the Steam community (who are still making custom maps for the game), this one’s a must buy if you’re itching for the retro feel!
Point & Click Adventure Games
With the original Monkey Island series getting an awesome graphical update and TellTale’s new take on Guybrush’s tales, adventure games really are making a comeback! I can remember spending my good old days solving my way through Fear Effect and Discworld (the latter was particularly fun). However, the standout from this revival has to be TellTale’s The Walking Dead game. A dark, story driven game that really makes you feel your decisions matter, and make you care about the characters. We weren’t the only one’s who loved it, our readers voted it 1st place in the gaming category of last year’s Geektown Awards!
Though the graphics have changed, many of the concepts behind these retrograde masterpieces have not.
Turns out you can teach new dogs old tricks!
